Post-Writing: Analysis and Evidence
WORLD HISTORY PROJECTORIGINS/ LESSON 4.1ACTIVITYPOST-WRITING: ANALYSIS AND EVIDENCEUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Post-Writing: Analysis and Evidence”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeThis activity will show you how to use a rubric-aligned tool to evaluate and improve upon a piece of writing. A useful strategy for improving writing skills is to analyze samples as an editor, using peer drafts or your own graded essays.Process1.Use your essay on Early Complex Societies(Unit 3)or this sample essaytocompletethis activity. Reminder: The promptfor this essaywas:In what ways did complex societies positively and negatively impact the people living within them, as well as those outside their borders?2.If you received any feedback on your own essay, make sure to review it,particularly feedback about the essay’s analysis and use of evidence.3.Evaluate your essay (and any feedback you may have) or the sample essay using the checklist below. Only check a box if the essay met the criteria. Step 1—Review and Revise: Thesis/Major Claim and Suppor>ng ClaimsReview the thesis/major claim to be sure it is clear, specific, and debatable. This is important because all analysis and evidence should Pe back to this claim.☐The wriPng prompt/quesPon is directly answered.☐There is a preview of the supporPng claims in the thesis/major claim.☐Counterclaims are addressed.Review the supporPng claims to be sure they are related to the focus of the essay.☐Each paragraph has a clear supporPng claim that is directly related to the thesis/major claim.☐Each paragraph focuses on its supporPng claim and onlyits supporPng claim throughout the paragraph.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS/ LESSON 4.1ACTIVITYPOST-WRITING: ANALYSIS AND EVIDENCE2☐Each paragraph contains ideas, words, or phrases that link back to your claim.Review each paragraph, making sure there is enough jusPficaPon provided to prove the idea presented in the supporPng claim.☐At least one detail (evidence) from a source is included to back up the supporPng claim presented.☐Sentences are included that introduce the evidence.☐Sentences are included that explain the evidence.☐Counterclaims are addressed.Review the use of counterarguments or counterclaims. Counterarguments can be addressed anywhere they make sense in the argument, or wherevera reader might say, “But what about...?”☐Each paragraph addresses alternaPve or opposing viewpoints to theargument. (Hint: Simply start the sentence with the phrase that captures an alternaPve or opposing viewpoint, such as,“While some have argued...”.)☐Counterclaims include evidence and analysis specifically refuPng that counterclaim.Step 2—Review and Revise: EvidenceReview each paragraph to be sure you (or the essay’s author) have selected the best evidence to support the point you(or they) are trying to prove.☐The detail selected is the most compelling detail from the source.☐The detail selected is the best detail to prove the point presented.☐There is evidence to refute a counterclaim in the argument.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS/ LESSON 4.1ACTIVITYPOST-WRITING: ANALYSIS AND EVIDENCE3☐There is enough specific evidence text to make the detail clear, but not so much that there is a long summary or a large chunk of quoted text in the middle of the essay.Review each paragraph to be sure it includes an introducPon to the evidence being presented.☐The evidence is introduced, perhaps by summarizing details about the source (who wrote it, when, why, and how it relates to the larger quesPon at hand).☐There is enough context for the reader to understand the source this evidence came from or to understand why the evidence supports the argument.Review each paragraph to be sure it includes an explanaPon of the evidence presentedand explains to readers exactly why the detail provided proves the point being made.☐The explanaPon links back to the supporPng claim using specific ideas, words, or phrases from the supporPng statement.☐The reader can point to an exact line in the paragraph that answers the quesPon, “Why does the writer think this detail proves their point?”Step 3—Review and Revise: ReasonEach paragraph explains how the evidence links to the thesis/major claim.☐Each paragraph has a sentence or two that links the details and analysis presented back to the claim.☐There are specific ideas, phrases, or words that mirror a part of the claim.4.Finally,for any items you haven’tcheck inthe checklists above, it’s time to revise! Use the unchecked boxesfrom step 1 and step 2as guidance for improvingthe essay. You can use the Analysis and Evidence Warm-Upto helpguide your edits, as well.