Toolkit

Tools

Outlines, organizers, and sentence-level tools. Search the gallery, then open any tool.

IRROutline

Simple IRR Outline

The paragraph-by-paragraph map: context, perspectives, limitations, thesis, expert-by-expert body paragraphs, synthesis, conclusion.

IRROrganizer

IRR Organization Decider

Six questions about your sources and your lens, then the organization that fits your paper, with its outline and sample.

Open the IRR Organization Decider

IRROutline

IRR Drafting Template

Pick one organization. Work in that tab. Every part of the paper with a frame, the sentence a 30 wrote for it, and room for your draft.

Open the IRR Drafting Template

IRROrganizer

Test Your Pick With Your Sources

Pick one of the three organizations, label your sources, and see whether the pick holds up. Five short steps.

ResearchOrganizer

Source Tracker

Log up to 15 sources, then rate each one on Reputation, Ability to observe, Vested interest, Expertise, and Neutrality.

IRR / IWAOrganizer

Annotated Bibliography

One entry for every source on your Source Tracker: citation, summary, credibility, relevance. Downloads as one file for Canvas.

ResearchBuilder

Question Check

Five tests for your research question. Type your question and press Check my question.

IWA / EOC BBuilder

Thesis Builder

Two modes: an argumentative thesis for the IWA and EOC B (you take a side), and a framing statement for the IRR (a research report frames the conversation and does not argue for a solution). Sentence starters, a five-quality checklist, and weak-vs-developed examples.

WritingSentence Tools

Stuck on a sentence?

Sentence templates and transitions for introducing sources, quoting, naming naysayers, conceding, disagreeing, and clinching why it matters.

IRRChecklist

IRR Self-Check

The checklist to run before you turn the paper in.

Go to the IRR Self-Check

TMPOutline

TMP Team Checklist + Flow Chart

The full team checklist (story, evidence, slides, weaving, OD prep, tech) plus the Flow Chart: speaker order and weaving.

IMPOutline

IMP Pre-Submission Checklist

The rubric-row-by-rubric-row review to run before presentation day, including the four delivery techniques College Board names.

IWAOutline

IWA Outline Planner

The full outline planner: foundation, introduction, body sections, counterargument and rebuttal, conclusion, thesis templates, and the final checklist.

EOC AOrganizer

EOC Part A Organizer

The question-by-question response plan for Q1, Q2, and Q3, with the moves that separate a 4 from a 6.

EOC APractice

Give Every Claim a Job

A 6 on Q2 names each claim and says what it does for the next one. Practice giving each claim its job.

Open Give Every Claim a Job

EOC BOrganizer

EOC Part B Essay Organizer

The one-format-every-time essay frame: thesis template, Define/Complicate/Implication structure, and the 6/6 synthesis move.

Oral DefensePrep Sheet

Oral Defense Question Banks

Current Events (8), TMP team defense (8), and IMP oral defense (14 official questions in two categories), plus the most/least prepared self-assessment, on the Oral Defense page.

Go to the Oral Defense Question Banks

WritingOrganizer

Evidence Evaluation Organizer

How to apply RAVEN instead of naming it: the evaluation sentence frame, the limitation menu, and the 4 versus 6 example.

PolicyAll Tasks

Can I use AI on this?

The Generative AI Acceptable Use Policy, phase by phase: what is allowed, what is not, and what costs you the task.

GradingReference

Square Root Curve Chart

How raw rubric scores convert to gradebook percentages for the IRR, TMP, IWA, IMP, Oral Defense, EOC A, EOC B, and current events.

Every term below shows up in the rubrics, the prompts, or Mrs. Cohen's feedback. The Big Six come straight from the classroom Key Definitions poster, with the same examples.

Open the Classroom Poster Practice these skills

Term	Definition	Example
Lens	A filter through which an issue or topic is considered or examined.	Looking at the political impacts of climate change compared to the scientific impacts versus the social impacts.
Perspective	A point of view conveyed through an argument. The test: can someone disagree with it? Scored in: IRR Row 4, the IWA, and EOC B, wherever you put arguments in conversation.	The most important step on climate change is holding major corporations responsible vs. implementing more climate-friendly legislation.
Stakeholder	An individual or group affected by the ideas and decisions around an issue.	Government officials, scientists, researchers, consumers, CEOs of major corporations.

Term	Definition	Example
Implication	A possible future effect or result.	Increased climate-friendly legislation may lead to more accountability for climate-friendly practices.
Argument	A claim or thesis that conveys a perspective, developed through a line of reasoning and supported by evidence. Scored in: EOC B Row 1 and IWA Row 1 (Establish Argument). IRR Row 2 is where you analyze the arguments inside your sources.	For consumers to hold companies responsible, they must make their stances clear through purchasing habits and collaborate with ethical companies to create real social change.
Line of Reasoning	The purposeful arrangement of claims with supporting evidence that leads to a conclusion. Scored in: EOC B Row 2 (Line of Reasoning), IRR Row 2, EOC A Question 2.	Each claim sets up the next; shuffle the paragraphs and the argument should break.

Term	What it means in this course
Claim	A single debatable statement your evidence must prove. Topic sentences carry claims; your thesis is your biggest claim. Scored in: EOC B Rows 1 and 2; every topic sentence in the IWA and IRR.
Evidence	Facts, statistics, expert findings, examples, or testimony used to support a claim. Evidence never speaks for itself. Scored in: EOC B Row 3 (Select and Use Evidence), IRR Row 3, EOC A Question 3.
Commentary	Your explanation of what the evidence proves and how it supports the claim. This is where rubric points actually live. Scored in: EOC B Row 3 and IRR Row 2: the reasoning right after each citation.
Counterargument	The strongest opposing view, presented fairly, not a strawman version of it. Scored in: EOC B Row 1: a complex argument engages the strongest opposing view instead of dodging it.
Rebuttal / Refutation	Your response showing why your argument holds despite the counterargument.
Concession	Honestly granting the part of the counterargument that is true before explaining why your position still stands.
Qualification	Limiting a claim so it stays defensible: "in most urban districts" instead of "everywhere, always."
Call to action	What the author wants people to do, change, support, or stop. Finding it is the fastest route to an author's argument on EOC A Q1.

Term	What it means in this course
Credibility	Whether a source deserves trust, judged with RAVEN: Reputation, Ability to observe, Vested interest, Expertise, Neutrality. Scored in: EOC A Question 3, IRR Row 3, IWA Row 3. Apply RAVEN; never name it.
Relevance	Whether the evidence actually bears on the specific claim it sits next to. Credible evidence can still be irrelevant.
Validity	Whether reasoning or a study design actually measures or proves what it claims to.
Reliability	Whether a source or method produces consistent, repeatable results.
Bias	A leaning that shapes how information is selected or framed. Every source has some; your job is to name how it matters.
Vested interest	When a source stands to gain (money, power, reputation) from a particular conclusion.
Limitation	A specific weakness of evidence: small sample size, missing credentials, dated data, vested interest, or narrow scope. A limitation has to come from the text. Guessing that a source might be biased earns nothing.
Job word	A verb or phrase that names what a claim does for the argument (sets up, builds on this by, backs it with, widens the problem by, raises the stakes). The opposite of an order word.
Order word	then, next, after that, finally, first. Describes sequence, not reasoning. Harmless when a job follows it, a 4 when it stands alone.
Load-bearing background	A paragraph with no claim and no evidence that still does a job for the argument, usually defining a baseline so a key term makes sense. Read for the job, not only the content.
The borrow test	Could the author have written this sentence without doing any research? If yes, it is a claim. If no, it is evidence.
Subject, Topic, Issue	The ladder you climb down to find a research question. A subject is too big to research; an issue is a specific problem with stakeholders and a real tension.
Scholarly / peer-reviewed	Work checked by other experts before publication. The backbone of a Tier 1 source list.

Term	What it means in this course
Context	The who, what, where, when, and why-it-matters that situates your issue in a larger conversation. IRR Row 1 territory.
Complexity	Treating an issue as having multiple causes, stakeholders, and trade-offs rather than one obvious answer.
Synthesis	Putting sources in conversation until they say something together that none says alone. The most rewarded move in the course.
Stimulus material	The College Board packet of texts, released each January. Your IWA must connect to a theme from at least one of them, organically.
Resolution / Solution	The realistic answer your argument lands on, always presented with its limitations and implications.
Plagiarism / Attribution	Using ideas or words without credit vs. clearly naming where every idea came from. Missing attribution can zero out an entire task.

Want these in flashcard form? Cover the right column, read the left, and define out loud. The terms repeat across every assessment, so this list works for the EOC too.

Lens or perspective?

The sunglasses analogy. A lens works like a pair of tinted sunglasses: it filters what you see. Put on the economic lens and money questions jump out; put on the ethical lens and right-and-wrong questions jump out. A lens is a filter through which an issue or topic is considered or examined. A perspective is a point of view conveyed through an argument.

The one test that always works

Ask: can a reasonable person argue against it? If no, you have a topic, a lens, or a stakeholder. If yes, you have a perspective. "Scientists" is not a perspective. "Scientists who argue geoengineering is too risky to deploy" carries a perspective.

See the samples and frames

The test: can a reasonable person argue against it? No: topic, lens, or stakeholder. Yes: perspective.

The ladder: from topic to argument

Level	What it is	Example	Can someone disagree?
Topic	The issue itself	Climate change	No. It is just a subject.
Lens	A focus point for viewing the issue	The economic lens on climate change	No. It is just a viewing angle.
Stakeholder	A person or group affected by the issue	Fossil fuel workers; coastal homeowners	No. They are people, not claims.
Perspective	A point of view conveyed through an argument	"Carbon taxes are the most effective climate policy because they price the true cost of emissions"	Yes. This is the test.

The eleven lenses

Your IRR takes one of these eleven lenses on your team's question, and your group needs a different lens for each member: two people on the same lens write two papers that see the same thing.

Choosing yours: your two articles hint at your lens. Read the guiding questions below and pick the lens whose questions you already want to answer. Then, under your name on the team slide, write one line: what your lens puts in focus that your teammates' lenses cannot.

Artistic and Philosophicalwhat does this mean, and how is it represented?

Questions it makes you ask

How is this problem represented artistically?
Could art (fine art, music, literature, film, television) be part of a solution to this problem?
What philosophical stances or beliefs does this problem involve?
How are artists engaging with this problem?
Are there design-based solutions to this problem (architecture, etc.)?

Political and Historicalwho holds power here, and how did we get here?

Questions it makes you ask

What are the different political perspectives on this problem?
If divided by party lines, what is the reasoning behind each party's stance?
What is the history of this problem?
How have people attempted to address it in the past?
What has prevented this problem from being solved already?

Environmentalwhat does this do to the natural world?

Questions it makes you ask

What environmental consequences does this problem have?
What environments will be affected by this problem?
What environmental actions might solve this problem?
Are there unintended consequences of possible environmental solutions?
What environmental ripple effects exist due to this problem?
What might happen to humans as a result of environmental changes resulting from this problem?

Economicwho pays, who profits, and what does it cost?

Questions it makes you ask

Are there economic reasons this problem exists?
Who profits as a result of this problem? Who loses money?
What economic solutions exist for this problem?
What will a given solution cost? Who will pay for it?
Will solving this problem be beneficial or detrimental to the economy?

Scientific and/or Medicalwhat does the evidence and research show?

Questions it makes you ask

What is the science behind this problem?
Are there scientific solutions to this problem? What innovations could address it?
How effective are the scientific solutions? What limitations do they have?
What medical effects could this problem have?
Are there medical solutions to this problem? How effective are they?

Futuristicwhere is this heading, and what happens if it continues?

Questions it makes you ask

If this problem is not solved, what will be the consequences in the future?
What are the possible future consequences of solving this problem?
How will the future be changed by solving or not solving the problem?
What precedents for the future might be set by solving or not solving this problem?

Ethical and/or Religiouswhat is right here, and by whose values?

Questions it makes you ask

What ethical issues exist around this problem?
How do we know what the right or wrong thing to do in this case is?
What ethical precedents might be set by solving or not solving this problem?
What are the perspectives of different religions on this problem? Why does each religion hold this perspective?
How might different religious perspectives affect work toward a solution?

Legalwhat do the laws allow, forbid, and leave unclear?

Questions it makes you ask

What laws or regulations exist around this problem?
Are there court decisions related to this problem?
How might legal precedent affect different solutions to the problem?
Are there legislative solutions? What issues might exist in getting them passed?

Educationalhow does this shape what and how people learn?

Questions it makes you ask

What educational programs exist around this problem?
What kind of education might be helpful to solve this problem?
How does a lack of education contribute to this problem?
How does this problem affect the education and learning of stakeholders?
How does this problem affect the educational experience of students?

Internationalhow does this look beyond your borders?

Questions it makes you ask

How have other countries solved or addressed this problem?
How successful have their solutions been? What solutions might work here?
What factors in the United States might prevent another country's solution from working here?
How would another country's solution need to be modified to be implemented in the United States?

Remember: a perspective is a source's argument, not a lens and not a group of people. Inside one lens you should still find two or three perspectives that clash.

Curve formula: Curved % = square root of (raw / max) x 100, floored to the nearest whole number. The curve always rounds down, so what you see is exactly what you receive.

Gradebook categories: Argumentative Writing and Synthesis 35%, Analytical Reading and Questioning 25%, Speaking and Listening 30%, Formative 10%.

Assessment Your raw score

--%Enter a raw score to see your curved grade

Open the Reference Doc

EOC Part A (out of 15)

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
15	100%	100%	A
14	93%	96%	A
13	86%	93%	A
12	80%	89%	B
11	73%	85%	B
10	66%	81%	B
9	60%	77%	C
8	53%	73%	C
7	46%	68%	D
6	40%	63%	D
5	33%	57%	F

EOC Part B and TMP (out of 24)

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
24	100%	100%	A
22	91%	95%	A
20	83%	91%	A
18	75%	86%	B
16	66%	81%	B
14	58%	76%	C
12	50%	70%	C
10	41%	64%	D
8	33%	57%	F

IRR (out of 30)

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
30	100%	100%	A
28	93%	96%	A
26	86%	93%	A
24	80%	89%	B
22	73%	85%	B
20	66%	81%	B
18	60%	77%	C
16	53%	73%	C
14	46%	68%	D
12	40%	63%	D
10	33%	57%	F

Practice IRR. The real IRR is scored by College Board readers and does not receive a class grade.

Current Events (out of 18)

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
18	100%	100%	A
16	88%	94%	A
14	77%	88%	B
12	66%	81%	B
10	55%	74%	C
8	44%	66%	D
6	33%	57%	F