The assignment was called the Written Argument Defense. Each student would choose a topic they had a genuine opinion on, write a two-page argument, and then defend it live in front of the class. The defense was not a speech.
Students would give a one-minute summary, and then Ms. Nair would ask follow-up questions for around five minutes, drawn directly from what they’d written. The rubric was explained in plain language on the handout: Is your main point clear? Do you back it up with facts or examples? Does your argument hold together all the way through? Can you answer questions about your own writing? Do you actually understand what you wrote?
The live defense counted for sixty percent of the total project score. She told the class on a Monday. A few students groaned. She told them the follow-up questions would only be things anyone who had genuinely written the essay could answer without hesitation. She watched Brennan during this explanation. He was half-turned in his chair, passing notes and making sly comments to his friend. Across the room, Deacon looked stricken.