Writing to Learn - Argument Paper

Today you are going to write as quickly as you can, without editing yourself and without worrying about organization, paragraphing, perfect sentence structure, and even citing! You just need CONTENT. You just need IDEAS.
At the very, very end, you'll use what you thought about to draft a working thesis.

You will get credit on this assignment based on effort, so work hard.
Name: 


  1. Which ideas we've been studying stick out to you the most? (Some, but not all, are listed below to get you thinking.)

    conformity, following the crowd, scapegoating, dystopian societies, rituals, social cohesion, in-groups, outgroups, etc.

    Think also about the short stories we've read: Harrison Bergeron, Examination Day, The Pedestrian, The Lottery, All Summer in a Day. Which ones have stuck with you? What can you relate together?

    WRITE without editing yourself. The ideas will come together.


  1. Write a working thesis, if you can. Something like: Scapegoating can serve to release individuals or groups of negative feelings, but the practice can also backfire.





Camille Napier Bernstein
English teacher
Natick High School
Natick, MA