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10
Grade ESLR
Controversial Topic
Overview
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Research Question
Research Materials
Divided Thesis Statement
Graphic Organizer
Opening Paragraph
Inserting Quotes
Counter Argument
Rough/Final Draft
MLA format of course!
Oral Presentation
Research Question – 25 pts
• You must first pick a topic that is controversial.
• Controversial means that it is a subject that is often debated and has many
strong view points.
• Pick a well known topic that is easy to research and interesting to you.
• The topic will be presented to me initially in the form of a question (Should
the term “Under God” be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?)
• Once you have done your research you will revise your question into a
statement.
• Remember – Persuasive writing is designed to influence or change an
audiences thoughts or actions.
Research – 50 pts
• You will be required to research your topic.
• You will need a minimum of three pieces of research material (three
articles, two articles and one book, etc.) to gather information from.
• You are required to use the NPHS library’s on-line databases such as
Opposing Viewpoints and/or any website that ends in .edu or .gov.
• You must complete your work cited when doing
your research.
Work Cited – 50 pts
• This step should be completed as you are gathering your research.
• Steps:
1. Go to NPHS
2. Click on Library
3. Click on Databases and Ebooks
4. Click on “Opposing Viewpoints”
5. Password is panthers
6. Click on your topic and search for your articles.
7. Open up a word document
8. Go back to your article and click on the “citation tools” on the right hand side of
the page.
9. Copy and paste the citation, without the web address, onto your word document.
10. All citations should be in alphabetical order and in MLA Format.
Divided Thesis Statement – 25 pts
• Once you have completed your research you will be submitting a
divided thesis statement.
• A thesis statement is the most important sentence in your essay
because it is the basis of your argument.
• A divided thesis statement lists the opposing viewpoint and your
three reasons to support your statement.
• Example of a “simple” thesis statement:
• The word “God” should be removed from the pledge of allegiance.
Divided Thesis Statement Cont.
• Example of a divided thesis:
• Although reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is not mandatory,
ultimately it is vital to recognize that because of the numerous
religious belief’s in the United States, the law requiring a
separation of church and state, and the fact that students only
recite it because they are conditioned to do so, the phrase “Under
God” should be removed.
Although, ________________ (Counter Argument), ________________
ultimately it is vital to recognize that _________ (first argument),
_________________(second argument) and __________________ (third
argument) and claim_____________________________.
Sample Opening Paragragh
• Every morning across the United States of America, over 60 million
teachers and students recite the Pledge of Allegiance. However, in
2002, a California man named Dr. Michael Newdow, sued the federal
and state governments and his daughter’s local school board because
the words “under God” offended him, and he felt it was
unconstitutional. The courts in California agreed, but the Supreme
Court overturned the decision. Should the term be removed? Although
reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is not mandatory, ultimately it is vital
to recognize that because of the numerous religious belief’s in the
United States, the law requiring a separation of church and state, and
the fact that students only recite it because they are conditioned to
do so, the phrase “Under God” should be removed.
Body Paragraphs
• Sentence One – Topic sentence
• Sentence Two/Three – Commentary
• Sentence Four – Direct Quote
• Sentence Five – Analysis of Quote/Commentary
• Sentence Six/Seven – Transition into the next paragraph/review thesis statement.
• The United States of America has many different cultures, languages and religious beliefs and
faiths, including atheism. This cannot be ignored. “There are over seven different main religions
being practiced in the country” (U.S. Department of Commerce). Not to mention numerous, but
less popular, non-mainstream faiths. Not all of these religions worship the God that is in the
Pledge of Allegiance. Some believe in multiple deities and some do not believe in a god at all. All
different faiths in America cannot be equally represented under the banner of one god so the term
“under God” must be removed. This is not the only reason this phrase should be removed.
Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing
• Quoting a source brings the exact words of the source into your
paper and encloses them in quotation marks.
• Paraphrasing is restating a source's ideas in your own words.
Paraphrased material tends to be roughly the same length as the
passage being paraphrased and does not use quotation marks.
• Summarizing is condensing a source's main ideas into your own
words. Summarized material is shorter than the passage being
summarized and does not use quotation marks.
Direct Quotes in MLA Format
• Signal Phrase – Signal phrases introduce the direct quote you insert
into the middle of your body paragraphs.
Example:
According to Sam Pollock in his book, The Autobiography of a
President, Thomas Jefferson, who was a deeply religious man,
“Introduced the notion of separation of religion and government to
insure that all Americans have freedom of religion” (39).
Closing Paragraph
* It is important to remember that the purpose of
a persuasive paper is to make your reader think
about the topic and believe your point of view.
* Keeping this in mind, the concluding paragraph
must evoke the strongest emotion, restate the
thesis and urge the reader to act.
Closing Paragraph Cont.
Sentence One: Restate your thesis.
Ultimately the Pledge of Allegiance should revert back to its original version
if school children are going to continue to be asked to recite it in the United
States.
• Sentence Two-Three: This is when you make clear the significance of the
topic. Use effective, strong vocabulary that will evoke strong emotion.
• When the Founding Fathers of this great nation banded together to protect
our rights they did so with a full and rational understanding of the risks and
rewards they faced. When school children recite the pledge to the flag they
usually so out of a force of habit, not a love of a god.
Closing Paragraph Cont.
• Final Sentence:
This sentence can be done in one of two ways – Urge your reader to act
or leave them with something powerful to think about.
The laws of our constitution must be upheld to ensure that the freedom
of religion that has been so strongly fought for, remains.
Editing and Submission
• Use the self-editing checklist to help with the editing process.
• Exchange your ESLR with another student and have them also check-off the self-editing checklist
and then initial it.
• On the day it is due, submit your ESLR in your folder in the following order:
1. Final draft
2. Work Cited
3. Rough Draft
4. Articles
Make sure that you have a copy of your final draft for yourself in order
to complete the power point presentation portion of the assignment!