<p>Will following the template that the princeton review book gives you really get you a good score on the essay?
Basically, they say to make a 5 paragraph essay. </p>
<p>Intro-State stance on issue, restate prompt, 3 pronged thesis</p>
<p>Defend- say why the other opinion is wrong, acknowledge you know something about the other side</p>
<p>Offend- 1 reason why your side is right, and an example to support it</p>
<p>Offend- 1 reason why your side is right, and an example to support it</p>
<p>Conclusion - restate prompt, restate topic sentences of each support paragraph</p>
<p>Will this really get you a 12 if you follow this exactly, or do you need to add something extra to get the 12? Any opinions are appreciated</p>
<p>It’s a safe, solid approach. But you can get a 12 without following the template, and you can probably get a 2 even though you followed the template. I wouldn’t say you need to “add something extra”, but your writing needs to be relatively free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors; your reasoning needs to make sense; and your writing in general needs to be…mature: sentence structure, transitions, etc.</p>
<p>I also don’t think you should force the template if it doesn’t quite fit what you have to say. You really do need to acknowledge the other side and make at least some gesture of defense against it, but this could be your fourth paragraph instead of second, or it could be a part of your introduction or conclusion paragraph if it isn’t too long. Your paragraphs 3 and 4 could have a different relationship than two separate points, and two examples might not be necessary if your position is well-supported otherwise.</p>
<p>Totally agree with Mrs. Ferguson. Use the template as a guide to get you organized, and tweak as you need to. The template structure is a good one, though…it’s very similar to what I was taught in a persuasive writing seminar. Very effective in helping you plan what to write.</p>