L. E. A. P. INTO
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
Sarah Brown & Sundae Eyer
Workshop Objectives
Help students L. E. A. P. into argumentative writing through
these four steps:
 (L)earn how to define Claim, Evidence, & Reasoning
 (E)ngage in activities to practice identifying Claim,
Evidence, & Reasoning in text
 (A)pply knowledge of Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning
through discussion activities
 (P)lan & (P)ractice creating a Claim with Evidence &
Reasoning in argumentative writing
Sign-in list
(L)earning to define Claim, Evidence,
Reasoning
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With a partner or group, please come up with your
own definitions of claim, counterclaim, reasoning,
and evidence on the butcher paper provided.
These might be refined as we work through some
ideas.
(L)earning to define Claim, Evidence,
Reasoning
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Argument - “Super Claim”: The overarching idea of an argumentative essay
that makes more than one claim.
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In some cases, an argument has a single claim, but in sophisticated writing in
8th-12th grade, multiple claims are made.
Claim: a simple statement that asserts a main point of an argument (a side)
Reasoning: 2 parts – a) the “because” part of an argument and the
explanation for why a claim is made; b) the explicit links between the evidence
and the claim; the explanation for why a particular piece of evidence is
important to the claim and to the argument
Evidence: support for the reasoning in an argument; the “for example” aspect
of an argument; the best evidence is text-based, reasonable, and reliable.
From Angela Orr, WCSD
Tips for (L)earning to define Claim,
Evidence, Reasoning
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Start Basic – ice cream flavors, dog/cat, etc.
Cl “aim” – what is your purpose or “aim” – what
are you trying to prove?
Prove it with evidence that you connect directly to
your claim – show the reader how or why the
evidence proves your claim – Remember reasoning
matters!
(L)earning to define Claim, Evidence,
Reasoning
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After you introduce evidence into your writing, you must
say why and how this evidence supports your argument.
What turns a fact or piece of information into evidence
is the connection it has with a larger claim or argument:
evidence is always evidence for or against something,
and you have to make that link clear with reasoning.
We should not assume that our readers already know
what we are talking about. The audience can’t read our
minds: although they may be familiar with many of the
ideas we are discussing, they don’t know what we are
trying to do with those ideas unless we indicate it
through reasoning.
Adapted from UNC at Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences Writing Center
& from Angela Orr, WCSD
(E)ngaging Activities to Identify Claim,
Evidence, & Reasoning
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Color Coding Text or student exemplars
Paraphrasing/restating Claims, Evidence, and
Reasoning
Claim/Evidence Jar
Claim Strips (matching with evidence or reasoning)
(A)pplying Discussion Activities
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Pair/share
Bucketing (categorizing)
Structured Academic Controversy
Socratic Seminar
Philosophical Chairs
Fishbowl
Jigsaw (and variations)
(P)lan & (P)ractice Creating a Claim
with Evidence and Reasoning
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Foldable
Outlining (independently or group)
*Hamburger Paragraph
*Chicken Foot
*5.8.8.8.5 model
Round Robin (group- one starts with claim, others
add evidence in turn and build on each other)
Introduction
Argument/Super Claim
(adapted from Angela Orr, WCSD)
• Context
• Super Claim
• Claim 1, 2, & 3
Claim 1
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
Claim 2
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
Claim 3
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
• Evidence & Reasoning
Conclusion
Can Include
Counterclaim
• Evidence
• Counter-Reasoning (the reasoning that explains
why this evidence and claim are invalid)
Wrap-up
CCSS – reconnect to CCSS objectives
 Resources
www.procon.org
www.projecttahoe.org
 Exit Ticket
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