Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Including Opposing Views Class Copy – Do Not Write On!
Now that you have a draft of your essay, you are going to revise it by adding in opposing views to transform it into an
argumentative essay. You will acknowledge that opposing views exist, not only to hint at what a fair-minded person you are,
but to give you the opportunity to counter these views tactfully in order to show why you feel that your own view is the more
worthy one to hold.
By adding in a few key words and phrases, you can begin your change your argument into an opposing one. Then, you can
return to your argument and actually show the reader why yours makes more sense.
Part I: Here are some sentence starters that you can insert into one of these “subordinators” into your argument to make it
the opposite view. Subordinators are words or phrases that depend on the writer’s and/or the opposing view to make sense.
You may want to add more to this list. Read the example sentence below and identify the writer’s view and the opposing
view.
Although
Despite
Even though Some people believe that ____________,
__________
Example: Although some people may think that the bus driver was just doing his job getting the white children to and from
school, the school bus, the driver, and its passengers were bullies.
Writer’s view: ________________________________________________________________________________
Subordinator: Although some people may think
Opposing View: _______________________________________________________________________________
Part 2: Analyze the follow argument paragraphs from a sample essay. Identify the opposing views.
1)
Many people argue that animal testing is cruel. In some cases, this is true. However, it would be much more cruel to
test new drugs on people or children, or to let people die because there was not enough information about a drug.
Furthermore, legislation in most countries sets standards for animal treatment, and laboratories have guidelines to prevent
cruelty.
2)
Opponents of animal research also say that information from animals does not apply to humans. They point to certain
commercial drugs, which have been withdrawn because of side effects in humans. While it is true that animal systems differ
from human systems, there are enough similarities to apply information from animals to humans.
3)
Animal rights campaigners claim that we don’t need new tests because we already have vast amounts of information.
However, many new deadly infections appear every year and new treatments and drugs are needed to combat these deadly
plagues.
*For each of the above paragraphs, identify the following:



Writer’s View
Subordinator(s)
Opposing View
Part 3: Here’s an example paragraph from the novel. Discuss with your partner how you would add subordinator word or
phrase to link an opposing view and finish with your viewpoint. Write that sentence on your paper with the opposing view and
subordinator(s).
The bus terrorized the children. Every day, the children listened for the bus coming so they could get out of its way.
When the weather was dry, the bus kicked up red dust and exhaust that billowed around them. When the weather
was wet, the bus tried to splash them with water and mud from puddles. Regardless of the weather, the bus was
intent on running the children off the road, and the driver and passengers delighted in seeing the children run off the
road.