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Course 64 · Work course 21

Write for College and Career Training

Build a clear argument from sources, address a fair objection, and revise an essay with evidence behind each claim.

Before you start

Open a blank document or use paper for drafts. Keep a separate source ledger: a table recording each source, its facts, and how you use it.

See everything you’ll need
What you’ll leave with

A 450–650-word essay with supported claims and revisions that make your argument clearer.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners age 14 and older, including adults returning to education; no current enrollment, employment, account, or credential is required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Open a blank document or use paper for drafts. Keep a separate source ledger: a table recording each source, its facts, and how you use it.
  • Use the supplied fictional sources. You do not need interviews, accounts, or personal records.
  • Reserve six short sessions; the essay is built in parts before the final revision.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

Submit a 450–650-word argument about a fictional training-center equipment-loan trial, with a source ledger and revision memo.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Translate the assignment into a claim, audience, and evidence plan.
  • Keep a three-source ledger distinguishing supplied facts, paraphrase, and your own reasoning.
  • Integrate at least two sources in a reasoned argument with accurate attribution.
  • Address one strong counterargument and acknowledge a material evidence limit.
  • Revise the complete draft structurally and submit a memo documenting two substantive changes.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Argument: a focused, defensible claim answers the assignment.
  • Evidence: facts are accurate, attributed, and connected through reasoning.
  • Complexity: the counterargument and limits are represented fairly.
  • Revision: the final structure improves the argument and the memo explains meaningful changes.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

A claim makes a choice

An argument takes a position that evidence and reasoning can support, challenge, or refine.

02

Attribution preserves boundaries

Readers should be able to tell what a source says and what you infer from it.

03

Revision changes thinking

Reorganizing or narrowing a claim can improve an essay more than substituting impressive vocabulary.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Thesis
The central claim the essay develops and supports.
Paraphrase
An accurate restatement of another source’s idea in your own wording and structure, with attribution.
Synthesis
Reasoning that brings sources together to show a relationship, tension, or implication.
Counterargument
A serious alternative position or objection relevant to your claim.
Reverse outline
A brief map of what each paragraph in an existing draft actually does.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Turn an assignment into a defensible claim

    Identify the writing task and draft a focused, conditional thesis.

  2. 2
    25 min

    Build a source ledger and identify limits

    Record accurate facts, source scope, and claims each source can support.

  3. 3
    33 min

    Paraphrase and connect sources through reasoning

    Write paragraphs that distinguish source information from your analysis.

  4. 4
    31 min

    Address the strongest relevant objection

    Represent a counterargument fairly and revise the recommendation when warranted.

  5. 5
    37 min

    Assemble and reverse-outline the full draft

    Build a complete argument and diagnose its paragraph-level structure.

  6. 6
    37 min

    Revise, verify attribution, and explain your changes

    Deliver a coherent final argument and a substantive revision memo.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

UNC Writing Center: Argument
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the handout and read claims, evidence, audience, and charitable counterargument. The loan-program assignment is original.

Access: Free public reading; no account or purchase required.

Reuse: Linked for further study. Life Starter explanations, scenarios, and assessments are original; free access alone does not grant reuse rights.

UNC Writing Center: Evidence
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the handout and read distinctions between evidence types and analysis. No handout passages or exercises are copied.

Access: Free public reading; no account or purchase required.

Reuse: Linked for further study. Life Starter explanations, scenarios, and assessments are original; free access alone does not grant reuse rights.

UNC Writing Center: Plagiarism
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the public handout to verify attribution and paraphrase guidance. Local citation and academic-integrity rules must still be checked for actual assignments.

Access: Free public reading; no account or purchase required.

Reuse: Linked for further study. Life Starter explanations, scenarios, and assessments are original; free access alone does not grant reuse rights.

UNC Writing Center: Revising Drafts
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the distinction between substantive revision and proofreading. UNC marks the handout CC BY-NC-ND; this curriculum links it and uses wholly original writing tasks.

Access: Free public reading; no account or purchase required.

Reuse: Linked for further study. Life Starter explanations, scenarios, and assessments are original; free access alone does not grant reuse rights.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one