MB ELA 40S study plan

Annotate three unseen literary passages (prose, poetry, drama excerpt), marking speaker, tone shifts, and structural turning points in the margins

Write a one-sentence defensible thesis for each of the three annotated passages, then rank them by how well the evidence supports the claim

Build a personal glossary of 20 literary and rhetorical terms, each with an original example sentence you compose yourself

Time yourself reading one passage and answering three questions in 12 minutes to establish a baseline pace

Identify and label the function of every paragraph in two expository essays (claim, evidence, concession, rebuttal, conclusion)

Draft four body paragraphs using the claim-evidence-commentary pattern, each with at least two sentences of original analysis after the quotation

Revise those four paragraphs to eliminate first-person hedging and unsupported generalizations

Practise embedding quotations of fewer than 15 words into your own syntax rather than dropping them in as standalone sentences

Compare two texts on a shared theme and write a comparison thesis that names a specific point of divergence rather than a vague similarity

Construct a point-by-point outline for a comparative essay with three coordinated body sections

Draft an introduction that moves from a broad hook to a narrow thesis in no more than five sentences

Self-score your outline against a four-item checklist: arguable thesis, matched evidence, explicit commentary, logical order

Write one complete timed essay (40 minutes, handwritten or typed) in response to an unseen prompt

Apply a fixed planning routine: five minutes of outline, thirty minutes of drafting, five minutes of proofreading

Mark your own essay against a three-criterion rubric (ideas and support, organization, language) and record a score for each

List the three most frequent errors in your timed writing and write a correction rule for each

Analyse two visual or multimodal texts (an advertisement and an infographic you source yourself) and write 150 words on how each uses layout, colour, and wording to persuade

Explain in writing how a filmmaker's or designer's choices create meaning, using at least three precise technical terms per analysis

Compare the persuasive strategies of a visual text with those of a written editorial on a similar issue

Draft a paragraph that evaluates, not just describes, the effectiveness of one visual technique

Complete two full practice sections under exam conditions, timing each and recording start and end times

Classify every missed question by cause: misread question, missing evidence, vocabulary gap, or time pressure

Rewrite the explanation for each missed question in your own words without looking at any answer key

Identify the single highest-frequency error cause and design a two-week corrective drill for it

Write two timed essays in a single week, cutting planning time to four minutes on the second attempt

Revise one earlier essay from week 4 using your error log and note every change you make

Practise three short-answer responses that require citing specific textual evidence in two sentences or fewer

Proofread a sample of your own writing specifically for comma splices, run-ons, and pronoun agreement

Sit one full-length mock exam in a single sitting with no breaks and no notes

Score the mock against the same three-criterion rubric used in week 4 and compare results side by side

Compile a one-page review sheet of your ten most persistent errors with the correction for each

Rehearse a five-minute pre-exam routine: skim the prompt, plan, then write, in that fixed order