Three Sides to Every Story
There are dozens of controversial topics that make the headlines. It would be great if every issue
were black and white and had a clearly correct answer. We do not live in that world, and we
must be able to see others’ viewpoints as clearly as our own and acknowledge that most
controversies have more than one side.
Your assignment is to compose a detailed persuasive editorial that views
several sides of a controversial topic and has the following criteria:



Two fact-based arguments supporting your opinion
Two rebuttals with reasonable support
In-text citations that link to a works cited page with at least two sources
Paragraph 1
 State your opinion as specifically as possible.
 I am pro-drone.
Bad
 I am anti-global warming.
 I believe the military should use drones.
Okay
 I believe that global warming is exaggerated.
 I believe that the military should be able to use drones in
military conflict to attack combatants.
Great
 I believe that human activity does not significantly affect
global climate change.

Then, give two fact-based arguments that support your opinion.
Paragraph 2
 REBUTTAL 1: Give a fact-based argument against your opinion.

RESPONSE 1: Give a response to rebuttal 1. Acknowledge that the other side has good
information, but then respond to it with facts that support your side.
Paragraph 3
 REBUTTAL 2: Give another fact-based argument against your opinion.

RESPONSE 2: Give a rebuttal to rebuttal 2. Acknowledge that the other side has good
information, but then respond to it with facts that support your side.
“Paragraph” 4
 Summarize your opinion in one sentence. In newsprint, one sentence can act as a paragraph.
Your article must include two
quotes from outside sources
with proper in-text citations.
“Paragraph”4
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 1
Here is the prewriting for an example essay on the US military’s use of drones.
Your prewriting can be in full sentences, lists, or bullets. Full sentences are used
below to show you how a full article might be outlined.
State your opinion
as specifically as
possible. This is
similar to your
thesis statement;
everything should
help support this.
Give two factbased arguments
that support your
opinion.
Give a fact-based
rebuttal against
your opinion.
I believe that drones should be able to be used in military conflict to attack
combatants.
Keeping our soldiers as safe as possible should be a top priority, and
drones do this by keeping them farther away from the action. Even when a
drone is destroyed, its pilot is far out of harm’s way when it happens.
 none
Money is always another priority, so it should be noted that drones save
our military forces money. They make up only 1% of the Department of
Defense’s 2014 budget.
A
Some like Jeremy Scahill with TheNation say that drone strikes should not
be used because they create more terrorists than then kill.
B
Give a response.
But sources like William Saletan from Slate say that “drones kill fewer
civilians than any other military weapon,” and therefore fewer people are
motivated to become anti-American terrorists.
Give a fact-based
rebuttal against
your opinion.
Mental health professionals like BJ Weber and JL Otto have written
studies showing that many drone operators have emotional and
psychological stress. Our soldiers are important, and these effects should
be held in sharp consideration. We cannot ignore these effects.
Give a response.
But research shows that drone pilots actually have a lower with for PTSD
than pilots of manned aircraft and other battlefield soldiers. According to a
2011 study by Wayne Chapelle and Kent McDonald, “only 4% of activeduty drone pilots are at "high risk for PTSD" compared to the 12-17% of
soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Summarize your
opinion drawing
on the information
you used above.
Source
 none
Because of their effectiveness of keeping not only our soldiers safe, but
also foreign non-combatants safe, I believe that the US military should
have reasonable access to drones to help protect the world’s people.
C
D
E
 none
Prewriting Grid
Topic:_________________________________________
Source
____________________________________________________________
State your opinion
as specifically as
possible. This is
similar to your
thesis statement;
everything should
help support this.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Paragraph 1
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Give two factbased arguments
that support your
opinion
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Source
____________________________________________________________
Rebuttal 1:
Paragraph 2
Give a fact-based
counter-argument
against your
opinion
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Response 1:
Give a response to
rebuttal 1 that
acknowledges its
good points
but provides facts
that support your
side.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Rebuttal 2:
Paragraph 3
Give a fact-based
counter-argument
against your
opinion
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Response 2:
Give a response to
rebuttal 2 that
acknowledges its
good points
but provides facts
that support your
side.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
“Paragraph”4
____________________________________________________________
Summarize your
opinion drawing
on the information
you used above.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________