essay support + reasoning

More often than not, our writers treat evidence like loose puzzle pieces... unsure which ones belong together, which ones support what point, or how any of it connects back to the claim.

As a result, their writing feels disorganized and shallow...no matter how many times we remind them to explain and extend their points!

Most students don’t struggle with body paragraphing because they lack ideas — they struggle because they can’t see how ideas fit together. 

The Tree of Reasoning strategy was built to fix that. It gives students what their writing has always lacked...

Instead of thinking of arguments as paragraphs to fill, students begin to literally SEE them as systems —

a visible structure.

Once students build the full 'Tree', they finally understand what a strong argument is — not because we told them, but because they constructed it themselves. 

with context that grounds the issue
a claim that holds everything together
branches of reasoning that are each distinct
evidence that grows in the right place
analysis that shines meaning onto each idea

analysis that shines meaning onto each idea

with context that grounds the issue

evidence that grows in the right place

branches of reasoning that are each distinct

a claim that holds everything together

By the end of this lesson...

Understand how arguments organize structurally, from context through conclusion

Break main claims into distinct supporting sub-claims

Recognize opposing views and effectively develop counter strategies

Translate visual argument structure into flexible essay outlines and, eventually, essays

Your students will:

Attach evidence to reasoning rather than presenting disconnected facts

Include analysis that explains what evidence means and how it proves reasoning