Name____________________________Hr._____
Outline for Argument Paragraph Writing
Claim: The beginnings of an argument. Your claim is an analytical statement that requires
evidence to be proven—without evidence, it is merely an assertion. Your claim is the first step in
building an argument.
Evidence: What you supply to prove your claim. It is your responsibility as a writer to explain
clearly the relationship between your supplied evidence and your stated claim.
Explanation of Evidence/Inference or Analysis: to form an opinion or reach a conclusion
through reasoning of information. You must infer ideas or greater insights from your evidence.
This may also be referred to as developing your evidence.
Warrant: a statement that explains why a particular example provides evidence that supports a
particular claim
Paragraph #1:
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: Your argument will be
about WHY the author uses tropes/schemes to achieve
a certain purpose.
Essential Question (PROMPT):
ESSENTIAL QUESTION 1: How does
Alexie characterize Samuel Builds-theFire through the use of figurative
language (TROPE)? (simile, metaphor,
personification etc.)
4 STEPS:
1. CLAIM (argument)
2. EVIDENCE (proof; quotes from the
book)
3.
(ONLY HAVE 1 CLAIM, 1 piece of
evidence, 1 interpretation (analysis), 1
Exit (warrant)
SUBMIT TO TURNITIN.COM
Claim: Do not use personal pronouns, unless instructed
otherwise.
Example Claim: In Tanto and the Lone Ranger
Fistfight in Heaven, Alexie uses figurative language
such as____________(simile, metaphor, or
personification) to characterize Samuel Builds-the-fire
as a ____________(lost, confused, disheartened, or
hopeless) man.
Guzdziol’s Claim: In Tanto and the Lone Ranger
Fistfight in Heaven, Alexie uses figurative language, such
as a simile and personification, to represent Samuel
Builds-the-fire as a hopeless man.
Evidence #1: (Direct quote via quote weave, paraphrase,
or summary) + Citation in MLA from a text with context
or necessary background for evidence.
On his birthday, Samuel Builds-the-Fire, a skilled
storyteller living on the Spokane reservation, loses his
job. Alexie describes Samuel as lost and hopeless,
when he uses a simile, representing his assent into
alcoholism and poor decisions: “
_____________________________” (Alexie 19 ).
EVIDENCE:
1-2 sentences of background info before your quote
Quote weave
- Direct quote
- Paraphrasing
- Summarizing
- MLA FORMAT
INTERPRETATION/ANALYSIS #1: Analyze this
example. What are the KEY words from the evidence, if
you provided a direct quote? What do these KEY words
reveal? What else needs to be explained about this
evidence.
When Alexie uses a simile to compare Samuel Buildsa-Fire to _____________, he shows that____________.
“Samuel Builds-the-fire felt like a horse after the car
was invented”
EXPLAIN: When Alexie uses a simile to compare
Samuel to a horse, which was forgotten after cars were
invented, it reveals the hopelessness that he felt when
his stories were no longer recognized and important.
The lack of care for his stories makes him feel
hopeless, which is similar to his feelings when he loses
his job and begins to drink.
EXIT/WARRANT (ties back to claim #1: How does
evidence #1 support your claim? How does this evidence
prove the position you have taken? (Do not use the words
“my claim” in the warrant).
Alexie uses a simile, comparing Samuel Builds a fire to
a horse that is no longer used because of new
technology, to characterize Samuel Builds-a-Fire as a
_____________________.
CLASS EXAMPLE: Alexie uses a simile comparing
Samuel Builds a Fire to a horse that is no longer used
because of new technology, to characterize Samuel
Builds-a-Fire as a man who has lost all hope.
Concluding Sentence: Restate your claim and compare
your two major pieces of evidence using fresh language.
In the example, such as__________________Alexie
characterizes Samuel Builds-the-Fire as
______________________________.
In the example, such as when Sherman Alexie
compares Samuel Builds the fire’s feelings to car using
a simile, Samuel Builds-the-fire is characterized as
being hopeless and lost.
(RESTATE CLAIM IN DIFFERENT WORDS)