Outline for Performance Task 1 IRR

I was lucky to have a great English teacher in high school.  When you left her class, you knew how to write an essay.  Her favorite thing to say was "Never start to write until you know what you want to say."  Before we started writing anything in her class, we had to prepare an outline first.

Her favorite thing to say was "Never start writing until you know what you want to say."  Before we started writing anything in her class, we had to prepare an outline first.  An outline was the skeleton that would give form to our writing.

When I first started teaching, I was shocked to find that most students just dive write into writing their paper, whether they have a good idea of what they actually want to write or not.  The result was always a rambling, illogical mess.

For the first Performance Task for AP Seminar, I developed this OUTLINE to help my students organize the elements that must be included in a successful IRR.

After they've come up with their group topics, my students spend about a week to two weeks doing research, finding evidence and filling out this outline.  Almost all of my students admit that it's the hardest part of writing the IRR.

Once they've submitted their IRR outlines, we do a peer review to improve them and to identify any weaknesses in their arguments.

Only then do they actually get down to the business of writing their IRRs.  The great thing about the rubric is that it forces the students to think about the elements that are most important to the IRR scoring.  In addition, it helps them to develop logical arguments where the claims are supported by strong evidence.

I hope you find it as helpful as my students do!