Ben Franklin writing exercise

# Ben Franklin writing exercise

An assignment type where students study a model essay (from the Essay Examples library), analyze what makes it work, then attempt to reconstruct key elements from memory — getting feedback after each attempt. Two rounds per element, working through thesis, intro, topic sentences, evidence/analysis, and conclusion.

## How it works

### Phase 1: Read and analyze

The assignment starts with a full model essay on screen. Students read at their own pace. When they're ready, they hit an **"I'm ready"** button — no timer, student-controlled.

Before the essay disappears, students answer analysis questions:

- What does this essay actually accomplish?
- What does it do well?
- What, in your opinion, could be better?

### Phase 2: Reconstruct from memory (the Ben Franklin part)

The essay goes away. Students work through each element one at a time, each getting two attempts:

1. **Thesis** — Attempt 1: recreate the thesis from memory. Feedback: explain what they did differently from the original, *then* show the original. The idea is that students are more likely to actually read the feedback if it comes before the "answer." Attempt 2: try again with what they learned. Feedback again (same pattern).
2. **Introduction** — Same two-round pattern.
3. **Topic sentences** — Same two-round pattern.
4. **Evidence and analysis** — Same two-round pattern.
5. **Conclusion** — Same two-round pattern.

### Feedback pattern (each round)

The feedback order matters:

1. Student submits their attempt
2. Feedback explains what they did differently from the original — what they missed, what they changed, what they got right
3. *Then* the original is revealed so they can see it for themselves
4. Original goes away
5. Second attempt
6. Same feedback pattern again

Showing the analysis *before* the answer makes students engage with the feedback instead of skipping straight to "oh, here's what it was."

### Grading

Graded on effort and completion, not accuracy. The point isn't to perfectly reproduce the original — it's to engage with the process of studying, attempting, reading feedback, and trying again. A student who completes all sections and writes substantive attempts scores well even if their reconstructions diverge from the model.

### No tutor

The tutor is not active during this exercise. It's a fully structured experience — the feedback loop between attempts replaces what the tutor would normally do. The structure *is* the coaching.

## Entry points

Both entry points ship:

1. **From assignments/courses** — Teacher assigns it like any other assignment. Called "Essay Analysis" in the assignment type picker. Teacher selects which model essay to use at assignment-creation time.
2. **From an essay example** — At the bottom of any essay in the Essay Examples library, an "Assign as Essay Analysis" button lets the teacher launch this exercise against that specific essay. (Teacher-only — students don't self-assign from here since the teacher picks the model.)

## Resolved decisions

- [x] Both entry points coexist — assignments/courses for the standard flow, essay example page for the "I'm looking at this essay and want to assign it" flow.
- [x] Teacher picks the model essay (at assignment creation or from the essay example page).
- [x] Feedback shows the analysis/diff first, then reveals the original — feedback before the answer.
- [x] Graded on effort and completion, not reconstruction accuracy.
- [x] Student-controlled pacing — "I'm ready" button, no timer.
- [x] No tutor — fully structured exercise.

## Open questions

- [ ] What does the effort/completion grading rubric look like concretely? Word count thresholds, or something more nuanced?
- [ ] Does the feedback between attempts need to be AI-generated (comparing the student's attempt against the original), or can it be a simpler mechanical diff?
- [ ] Should Phase 1 analysis answers be visible to the teacher, or are they just for the student's own thinking?
- [ ] Can a teacher preview the full exercise flow before assigning it?
- [ ] How does this interact with the essay elements practice spec — could a teacher assign just the thesis reconstruction without the full five-element sequence?