Four assignments that ship out of the box.

Available templates

1. 01

   Argumentative essay

   A claim worth defending, in 1,200–1,800 words.

   When a coordinator picks this

   First major writing project of the semester. Builds thesis-and-evidence discipline before research-paper scope arrives.

   The starter prompt the student sees

   Pick a claim you can defend in 1,200 to 1,800 words. The claim should be one a reasonable person might disagree with. Lay out the position in your introduction, then build your case in three to five body sections. Each section should advance your claim with evidence, and should address at least one obvious counterargument before moving on. End with a conclusion that does not summarize, but answers the question your essay made the reader ask.

   Craft cues a teacher can layer in

   • Name the strongest counterargument before you answer it.
   • Lead each section with a claim, not with a source.
   • Quote sparingly. Paraphrase carries your voice; quotation moves the source's voice into yours.

2. 02

   Research paper

   A question, the literature, and your answer — at college depth.

   When a coordinator picks this

   Mid-to-late semester. The student has handled the argumentative essay; now they can do it with primary sources.

   The starter prompt the student sees

   Pick a question that does not have an obvious answer in the literature. State the question in your opening section, summarize what the existing scholarship says about it, identify the gap or the contradiction your paper will sit in, then build your answer with primary sources. Aim for 2,500 to 3,500 words. Cite consistently in whatever style your section uses; whichever style you choose, use it on every reference.

   Craft cues a teacher can layer in

   • Introduce each source the first time you cite it. Do not assume the reader knows them.
   • The literature review is not a survey. It is the map of where your question lives.
   • Primary sources are not props for your argument. They are the data; your argument is the reading of the data.

3. 03

   Rhetorical analysis

   Read a text the way a rhetorician does.

   When a coordinator picks this

   Anywhere in the semester. Sharpens close-reading discipline transferable to every other genre.

   The starter prompt the student sees

   Pick a single text — an essay, a speech, an op-ed, a podcast monologue, a social-media thread — that does something rhetorically interesting. Analyze how the text persuades its audience, not whether you agree with its conclusion. Identify the rhetorical situation (who is speaking, to whom, in what context), name two or three rhetorical moves the text makes, and show how each move does its work. Use direct evidence from the text. 1,000 to 1,500 words.

   Craft cues a teacher can layer in

   • The analytical claim is about HOW the text works, not WHETHER the argument is correct.
   • Lead with the move you are about to analyze. Then quote. Then read.
   • Do not summarize the text. Assume the reader has read it.

4. 04

   Literature review

   Synthesize a scholarly conversation, then position yourself in it.

   When a coordinator picks this

   Often paired with the research paper. Builds the skill of reading sources for their relationships to each other, not just for their content.

   The starter prompt the student sees

   Pick a focused scholarly conversation — a question, a debate, or a theoretical move — that has at least six to eight substantive sources you can engage with. Map the conversation: who agrees with whom, where the contradictions sit, what the major shifts have been over time. End by positioning yourself: not by stating an opinion, but by naming the question you would take up next given the current state of the literature. 1,500 to 2,200 words.

   Craft cues a teacher can layer in

   • Group sources by what they argue, not by when they were published.
   • The structure of your review is itself an argument about how the conversation is shaped.
   • Your positioning at the end is a research question, not a conclusion.