"...so like, how do I actually write?"

It's far from my favorite Monty Python sketch, but Argument Clinic hilariously illustrates a problem we've all seen in student writing: lack of argument. Whether what they turned in is just their opinion/thoughts/feelings/rants or maybe they actually have incredibly thorough research but... it's just that. Just research. (BTW, my favorite Monty Python sketch might be Cheese Shop and that might also be one of my red flags.)

Around November/December, when my AP Seminar students are fully in the throes of a mock project, I put them through my argument clinic: a series of lessons designed to build on the Talking Points that I start the year with and show them how to use all those awesome notes they've been taking as they research.

The following is a sequence of five lessons that can be done over the course of several weeks while students move out of the initial phase of their research and begin crafting their actual arguments. Like I said, I normally do this during a mock project, but there's no reason these lessons can't be used in the Spring during the performance tasks. Sign up (or log in if you already have) to get all the details and the slide deck too.