Truisms FRQ Activity

Step One: With a partner, conduct a Peer Review

Take turns discussing your thesis, evidence, and elaboration/commentary with a partner. Be sure to take notes
on what your partner says and suggests.

Answer the following questions about each partner’s thesis statement:

● Does the thesis articulate a clear, defensible position? Could the claim be reasonably supported by
evidence and also reasonably argued against?
● Does the thesis respond directly to the prompt? That is, does it put forward a clear position on the
extent to which the chosen truism is valid? Does it take a position, for instance, on why the truism is
worth defending, qualifying, or challenging?
● Are there ways the thesis could be improved? Could it be stated more clearly? Could its position be
sharpened or refined?

Now turn to the chosen evidence and answer the following questions:

● Can you see how the evidence supports (or could support) the thesis statement?
● Is the evidence specific? Are there ways to narrow it down?
● Are there additional pieces of evidence your partner might consider? Do a quick brainstorm to generate
more ideas.
● If your partner were to organize their evidence into two separate paragraphs (each with its own, clear
topic sentence/sub-claim), can you imagine ways the evidence might be organized into two logical
groupings? Are there a few different ways the evidence might be divided? Discuss these with your
partner. (Please note that you will likely be unable to use every piece of evidence that you come up with as
your brainstorm; some evidence—even good evidence—may, alas, need to be jettisoned for the sake of a
brief, cohesive, well-organized essay.)

Finally, discuss how each partner might introduce their thesis statement.

● How can your partner grab their reader’s attention and make them want to continue reading?
● What does the reader need to know before they reach the thesis statement?
● What would someone who disagrees with the thesis statement claim—what would be their
counterclaim—and why might they think that? How can your partner include, in their introduction, a
concession and refutation that addresses the opposition’s counterargument before turning to their own
claim?
Step Two: Write a full draft of an essay supporting your thesis statement.

While your responses to the Argument essay prompt on the AP exam might take a number of different forms,
for the sake of this activity, your draft should include the following:

● An introductory paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention, addresses a potential counterclaim with
a concession and refutation, and logically leads your reader to your clear, defensible thesis statement,
which will come as the final sentence of the introductory paragraph.
● Two body paragraphs, each with a topic sentence/sub claim (that clearly supports your thesis
statement, answering the question why, how, in what ways, or to what extent?), 1-3 pieces of evidence
(depending on the evidence and how much elaboration/explanation it might need), sufficient
elaboration (context, background, explanation), and some commentary to add more depth and
sophistication to your analysis.

Step Three: Submit your completed draft to Schoology.