Understand the assignment before you write
Before you build with blocks, you look at the picture on the box. The assignment sheet is that picture. If you don't read it, you might build a car when the teacher wanted a house.
- Circle the task word. It tells you what kind of writing to do:
| Task word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Describe | Say what something is like |
| Explain | Say how or why something happens |
| Compare / contrast | Show what is the same / different |
| Analyze | Break it into parts and show how they work |
| Argue / persuade / "to what extent" | Take a position and prove it with evidence |
| Evaluate | Judge how good, useful or true something is |
- Common essay types: expository (explains), argumentative (takes a position and backs it with evidence), analytical (breaks an issue into parts and evaluates it).
- Also find: length (words or pages), due date, number and type of sources, citation style (APA or MLA, see course 13.11), format (font, spacing), and the rubric (how marks are given).
- If anything is unclear, ask the teacher early, not the night before.
- Read the whole assignment sheet slowly.
- Circle the task word (describe, explain, compare, analyze, argue or evaluate).
- Write what that word asks you to do in your own words.
- Highlight the length, due date, number and type of sources, citation style, format and rubric.
- Write any unclear point as a question for your teacher.
- Ask the teacher early, not the night before.
- Check: you can say the assignment in one sentence, starting with the task word.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host, holding an assignment sheet] "Most essay mistakes happen before the first word is written."
[Screen: circling 'Compare' on a sheet] "Circle the task word. Compare means similarities and differences, not a summary."
[Text on screen: Length. Due date. Sources. Style. Rubric.] "Then find these five things."
[Host] "Confused? Ask this week. Not at midnight."
Take your current or most recent writing assignment. Circle the task word and write the five details (length, due date, sources, citation style, rubric) at the top of a blank page.
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I'm learning "Writing Essays & Reports" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Understand the assignment before you write". What the lesson teaches: - Circle the task word. It tells you what kind of writing to do: - Task word - What it means - Describe - Say what something is like - Explain - Say how or why something happens - Compare / contrast - Show what is the same / different - Analyze - Break it into parts and show how they work - Argue / persuade / "to what extent" - Take a position and prove it with evidence The exercise I'm working on: Take your current or most recent writing assignment. Circle the task word and write the five details (length, due date, sources, citation style, rubric) at the top of a blank page. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Understand the assignment before you write" from the course "Writing Essays & Reports". Here's what the lesson says: Before you build with blocks, you look at the picture on the box. The assignment sheet is that picture. If you don't read it, you might build a car when the teacher wanted a house. The activity: Take your current or most recent writing assignment. Circle the task word and write the five details (length, due date, sources, citation style, rubric) at the top of a blank page. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Purdue OWL, Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips (types of papers): owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statemen
The thesis statement
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Outline and body paragraphs
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Introductions and conclusions
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Reports: how they differ from essays
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Revise, then edit
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Final project
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Quiz
What does the task word "analyze" ask you to do?
Break the topic into parts and show how they work.
Why is "Many teenagers use social media" not a good argument thesis?
It's a fact nobody would disagree with.
Why is a narrow thesis easier?
Broader claims need more evidence to convince readers.
What four parts make up a strong body paragraph?
Topic sentence, evidence, explanation, link.
Should a conclusion add new evidence?
No.
What are the three parts of a simple introduction?
Hook, context, thesis.
What is the main structural difference between a report and an essay?
Reports are split into labelled sections with headings.
What's the difference between revising and editing?
Revising fixes big things (ideas, order); editing fixes sentences, grammar and spelling.
Final exam
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Certificate
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