Argument Writing
A Resource for English 11 Teachers
2011
Howard County Public School System
Sydney L. Cousin, Superintendent
Howard County
Sydney L. Cousin, Superintendent
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Board of Education
Howard County Public School System
Janet Siddiqui, M.D.
Chairman
Sandra H. French
Vice Chairman
Allen Dyer, Esq.
Brian J. Meshkin
Frank J. Aquino, Esq.
Ellen Flynn Giles
Cynthia L. Vaillancourt
Sydney L. Cousin
Superintendent of Schools
Copyright 2011
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Acknowledgements
The development of this resource was a team effort between the Office of Language Arts Office
and Howard County teachers.
Curriculum Writers
Julia Carter, Howard High School
Cindy Clemens, Lime Kiln Middle School
Leila Chawkat, Glenelg High School
Hillary Frank, Glenwood Middle School
Kim Hopkins, Patapsco Middle School
Annette Kuperman, Mayfield Woods Middle School
Natasha LaVoie, Howard High School
Robin Russell Mitchell, Glenwood Middle School
Rebecca Oberdalhoff, Howard High School
Holly Pascuillo, Centennial High School
Suzi Plaut, Mayfield Woods Middle School
Lee Ann Read, Central Office
Robyn Richardson, Wilde Lake High School
Maria Tolson, Reservoir High School
April Valdesuso, Marriotts Ridge High School
Abraham Wright, Oakland Mills High School
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How to Use this Guide
This resource includes teacher and student materials for argument writing instruction. Titles of
texts from each grade level are accompanied by sample claims a teacher or student might
generate from class discussion or study of the text. In each instance, the last claim listed has been
designed with supplementary resources as models for how students might synthesize pieces and
genres into the construction of an argument.
HCPSS Argument Writing Instructional PowerPoint presentations are available in the Document
Repository, and copies of the texts appear in this document. Where applicable, texts for
“argument” games (Jeopardy format) are included in this document. The actual game is
retrievable from the Document Repository location.
Using Movies in the Classroom
Some sample activities include movie titles; however, HCPSS’s Policy 8040 states, “Rarely
should teachers show full-length feature videos during class time.” The Office of Secondary
Language Arts stipulates that teachers may only show one full-length movie in class per year.
Consider using clips from these film suggestions in your classroom. Contact the Office of
Secondary Language Arts Office if you need assistance in this area.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Contents
College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor Standards for Writing .............................................. 1
Questions and Answers about Teacher Expectations ........................................................................ 2
The Thesis Statement ......................................................................................................................... 4
Argument Writing: What is it? ......................................................................................................... 5
Argument Writing Glossary............................................................................................................... 6
Common Core Standards .................................................................................................................. 7
Write to Source
Write to Source: Of Mice and Men .................................................................................................... 8
Write to Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ....................................................................10
Write to Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Outline ......................................................15
Write to Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Student Response ...............................................17
Write to Source: The Scarlet Letter ..................................................................................................23
Write to Source The Great Gatsby.....................................................................................................24
Write to Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God ............................................................................27
Write to Source: Maus I ....................................................................................................................29
Write to Source: “Civil Disobedience,’ “Self-Reliance” ..................................................................33
Argument Claims and Counterclaims for Text .................................................................................34
Supporting Argument with Textual Support in a Letter ...................................................................36
Teacher and Student Resources
Major Choice ....................................................................................................................................40
Lesson Plan - Argument in Context ..................................................................................................45
Identifying Claims in and Article ......................................................................................................52
Graphic Organizer .............................................................................................................................56
Common Fallacious Terms ...............................................................................................................58
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Argument Writing Grade 11
College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor Standards for Writing
The CCR anchor standards and high school standards in literacy work in tandem to define
college and career readiness expectations—the former providing broad standards, the latter
providing additional specificity (Common Core State Standards).
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly
and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wellchosen details and well-structured event sequences. *
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and
collaborate with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter
time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note:
*Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative elements effectively into
arguments and informative/explanatory texts. For example in history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate narrative accounts into their
analyses of individuals or events of historical import. In science and technical subjects, students must be able to write precise enough descriptions of the
step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations or technical work that others can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results. (Common
Core State Standards, page 65)
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Questions and Answers About Teacher Expectations
1.
Is the instructional term “argument writing” or “argumentative writing”?
Argument Writing is the correct instructional term. Curricular staff at the Maryland State
Department of Education currently uses the term argument writing in the Maryland
Common Core Curriculum Framework, English Language Arts. This is the language
that will also appear in Howard County documents.
2.
How does argument writing instruction differ between elementary and middle
divisions?
Elementary teachers provide instruction in “opinion pieces.” Students begin hearing and
using the term argument in grade 6.
3.
How does argument writing differ between middle and high?
Middle school teachers require students to develop a thesis/claim in all three grades;
however, the Common Core document requires students to acknowledge counterclaims
only in grades 7 and 8. The Maryland Common Core Curriculum Framework, English
Language Arts expands on this requirement; in fact, this June 2011 document states that
all Maryland middle school students are expected to “develop” alternate claims in grades
7 and 8.
In high school, in addition to acknowledging the counterclaim, students identify and
fairly develop counterclaims in their essays.
4.
5.
What exactly are teachers expected to do during the 2011-2012 school year?
 All teachers will shift instruction from persuasive writing to argument writing.
 All English teachers (6-12) teachers will provide explicit instruction in argument
writing and opportunities for students to construct and develop claims in the
written mode.
 Middle school English teachers should not limit instruction to merely requiring
students to acknowledge alternate claims when students demonstrate the ability to
advance to the next stage- developing counterclaims, an HCPSS 2012-2013
requirement.
 Middle School Reading teachers are expected to have students make argument
writing applications to Big6™ and career units in regular reading classes and have
students produce a written response based on research.
 Advanced Reader Teachers are expected to have students defend interpretations
of a text using argument writing skills and produce a written response based on
research.
What about the English local assessments that require students to write persuasive
essays? Are students expected to write argument responses now?
Local assessments will not be modified this year to address argument writing because
teachers would not have sufficient time to make changes to their instruction, nor can
teachers be expected to be at the same point in argument instruction to ensure students
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Argument Writing Grade 11
are prepared to respond to a prompt that requires argument writing. The 2012-2013 local
assessments will reflect the change.
6.
The 2014-2015 state assessments will require students to “write to source.” What does
that mean?
Write to source means students construct a response based on something they read,
referred to as diverse media. The source is “cold text” since students will be required to
respond to sources for which they receive no preparation.
7.
I have always instructed my students to develop a thesis statement when writing an
essay. Are we using the term “claim” instead of “thesis statement”? How does the idea
of claim relate to a thesis statement, and does the claim appear at the end of the first
paragraph, as does the thesis statement?
 The thesis statement in argument writing is often referred to as the “claim.” The
writer provides an argument for the reader to accept his/her claim.
 The introduction leads to the thesis/claim statement.
 For other types of writing, such as literary analysis in high school and explanatory
writing in middle school, the term thesis is still appropriate.
8.
Are students expected to generate their own claims or support/refute claims that the
classroom teacher provides?
The samples in this document reflect our best thinking as English and reading teachers.
Sample activities include opportunities for students to respond to a given claim and
generate their own claims, which requires students to read and synthesize texts and then
generate a claim.
9.
What about the writing charts that were developed four years ago? Will they be
updated?
Yes, the 2007 K-12 Writing Charts are currently under revision.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
The Thesis Statement
The information in the introduction prepares the reader for the thesis statement, which
traditionally appears at the end of the introduction and which specifically presents the main point
and indicates the purpose of the essay. The thesis statement is the most important sentence in the
introduction because it states the controlling idea or point. It also clarifies the purpose for the
essay and helps to set the tone. The thesis statement is the keystone of an essay.
The main point in the thesis statement can be:
 a statement of fact
 a statement of opinion
 a dominant impression
 a general truth.
Explanatory/Informational Thesis Statement
The thesis statement for an explanatory essay seeks to explain, support, or clarify. The thesis
statement for an explanatory essay should be factual and objective. It conveys the writer’s
purpose to increase readers’ knowledge, not to change their minds.
Sample Introduction
In the daytime, we see only one star--our own sun. But when we gaze up into the evening
sky, we see thousands and thousands of stars--or suns. And from our earthly vantage
point, we see few, if any differences among them. However, if we could travel through
space, we would be surprised to find that huge differences characterize the millions of
suns in the universe. We would note that while some are quite similar to our own sun,
most are vastly different, particularly in size and temperature. [The thesis statement
presents a factual main point.]
Argument Thesis Statement
The thesis statement for an argument essay should be a debatable or even highly controversial
assertion. It introduces the writer’s argument for the reader to consider or accept:
 some interpretation
 an opinion
 a stand on an issue.
It should sound both reasonable and forceful and should indicate that the writer intends to try to
influence the reader’s thinking or actions.
Sample Introduction
When traveling main highways such as Route 29 or 495, it is not out of the ordinary to
have a driver change lanes without signaling. Even on back roads where the speed limit
is much lower, drivers frequently encounter other drivers speeding well above the posted
speed. Although in Maryland it is against the law to use cellular telephones to text others
when driving, many drivers ignore this law. The number of negligent drivers is
increasing. Although most Maryland drivers are responsible drivers, Maryland state
leaders should institute severe penalties for negligent driving and moving traffic
violations. [The thesis statement establishes an argumentative purpose.]
Prentice Hall, Grammar and Composition, High School (Grade 12)
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Argument Writing: What is it?
An argument is a "claim" that must be supported by evidence. When writing an argument,
students are required to do more than summarize material or repeat what has already been said.
One strategy for advancing an argument is to anticipate and address counterarguments or
oppositions. By developing counterclaims, the writer discredits the counterclaims and thereby
invalidates reasons the reader might have for not accepting the writer’s argument.
Here are four examples of claims. Specific types of evidence used to support claims are
discipline-specific.
Claims of
Cause and
Effect
Claims of
Definition or
Fact
Claims About
Values
Claims About Policies
One person or
thing causes
something else
to occur
How a thing is
defined or if
something is an
established fact
How something
is valued by
society
For or against a certain
policy
Although there
are several
factors that lead
to Romeo’s and
Juliet’s deaths,
Friar Laurence
is primarily
responsible for
Romeo’s and
Juliet’s deaths
Romeo is more
capable of falling
in “like” than
following in
“love.”
Romeo has little
or no respect for
family customs
and traditions.
The Capulets have their
daughter’s well-being in
mind when they make
arrangements for her to
marry Paris.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Argument Writing
Glossary
1. Argument must be supported by evidence.
2. Bias is a general tendency or leaning in one direction; a partiality toward one view over
another.
3. Claims are statements about what is true or good or about what should be done or
believed.
4. Cohesion is the arrangement of ideas in such a way that the reader can easily follow one
point to the next (literally “sticking together”). Devices for creating cohesion are using
appropriate transition words and phrases, repeating words as needed, and the use of clear
pronouns.
5. Conventions are commonly accepted rules of language such as spelling, punctuation,
complete sentences, subject-verb agreement, verb tense, and usage.
6. Counterclaim is an argument that negates the writer’s claim.
7. Credible sources are primary or secondary sources that generally:
a. Are written by someone who is considered knowledgeable regarding the topic
b. Present an objective point of view (free of bias)
c. Are considered legitimate by the reader/audience
d. Present evidence that is current where necessary.
8. Discipline-specific content is text associated with individual subjects or areas of
instruction.
9. Evidence is something that gives a sign or proof of the existence or truth of something,
or that helps somebody to come to a particular conclusion
10. Formal style is free of slang, trite expressions, abbreviations, symbols, email shortcut
language, contractions, and the use of the personal pronoun “I.” The writer does not
speak directly to the reader by using the word you. Formal style ensures that readers are
able to read and understand what is written.
11. Syntax is the way in which the words and phrases of a sentence are ordered to show how
the words relate to each other.
12. Tertiary source is a term used for information that has been compiled from both primary
and secondary sources.
13. Tone is an author's attitude toward a subject.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Common Core Standards
Grades 11-12
Writing Standards
W.11-12.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using
valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s),
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that
logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
 Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant
evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner
that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
 Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the
text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between
reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
 Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
 Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Responses to Of Mice and Men
Unit:Modern/Contemporary Literature
Write to Source: Of Mice and Men
1. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent “Mercy killing’ or euthanasia as
presented in Of Mice and Men is justifiable.
2. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent the American dream is a possibility
for major characters in the novel.
Write to Source: Of Mice and Men and Outside Sources
1. Read the sources that appear below. Sources include two articles, lyrics from a song, and
a cartoon. Using evidence from the novella and two or more outside sources as evidence
develop an argument that addresses George’s life without Lenny.
a. “Supporting Someone with a Serious Mental Disability”
http://www.mentalhealthanswers.org/page.asp?pageid=0|6|16|69&id=0|supporting_so
meone_with_a_serious_mental_illness
b. “One” by Three Dog Night: at www.threedognight.com/l_one.html and reprinted here:
One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one
No is the saddest experience you'll ever know
Yes, it's the saddest experience you'll ever know
`Cause one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
One is the loneliest number, worse than two
It's just no good anymore since she went away
Now I spend my time just making rhymes of yesterday
One is the loneliest, number one is the loneliest
Number one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
One is the loneliest, one is the loneliest
One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
It's just no good anymore since she went away
(Number) One is the loneliest
(Number) One is the loneliest
(Number) One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
(Number) One is the loneliest
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Argument Writing Grade 11
(Number) One is the loneliest
(Number) One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
c. An article entitled Epidemic of Loneliness:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/connections/200905/epidemic-loneliness
a. Cartoon from Looney Toons:
HUGO: The Underappreciated Abominable Snowman
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Response to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Unit: American Frontiers
Write to Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written during a time when slavery
was prevalent in America and African Americans were viewed as being the inferior race,
Jim is portrayed as being morally superior to white men in the novel.
2. Although critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn believe Mark Twain was a racist
due to his portrayal of blacks, his attitudes toward slavery and racism in the book prove
otherwise.
Write to Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Outside Sources
3. Read the sources that appear below. Then use the information from the sources to
respond to the following claim: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be taught
in public schools because of offensive language and stereotypical characters.
Secondary Sources for Claim 3:
a.
Gloria Naylor’s “The Meaning of a Word,” an essay in 40 Model Essay, A
Portable Anthology by Jane E. Aaron.
b.
Images
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Argument Writing Grade 11
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Argument Writing Grade 11
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Argument Writing Grade 11
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Support your claim
with solid evidence
from credible
sources. Anticipate
other views and
supply counterclaims.
The reader should
clearly see and easily
follow the
organization of your
paper.
Connect with the
reader about the
position you are
taking. Speak to the
audience and make
the reader feel that
your argument is solid
and better than any
other position.
Select words that
clearly and
purposefully support
and advance your
position.
In order to keep the
reader’s interest, use
well-chosen
transitions between
and among your
varied sentences as
you advance your
argument.
This is not the time
to show carelessness.
Misused words or
incorrect spellings
and other
grammatical errors
can get in the way of
your message.
This is the place to
show that you care
about a first
impression. Does the
Ideas
o Clearly worded, well-defined claim
o Anticipate reader’s opposition
Organization
o Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s)
o Provide brief background information that helps to lay the foundation
for stating the claim.
o Establish the significance of the claim(s)
o Distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create
an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
o Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the
most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and
limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
o Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.
70 points
Voice
o Establish and maintain a formal style/voice
o Respectful tone
5 points
Word Choice
o Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
5 points
Sentence Fluency
o Uses transitional words and phrases between points (however, such as,
most important)
5 points
Conventions
o Paper is clear of mistakes in

Spelling

Punctuation

Capitalization

Usage
10 points
Presentation
o Easy to read handwriting
o Double spaced typing
o Well-defined margins
5 points
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Argument Writing Grade 11
paper look as though
you took pride in
what you produced?
o
Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font and double space.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Thesis Statement: Despite attempts to censor the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain should not be banned from schools in the United States because it is classic
literature that uses the language of the time to define America's pre-Civil War era and the peak of
slavery.
I. The diction (word choice) used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn reflects the language
of the time period.
A. Mark Twain uses the N-word prolifically in order to poke fun of American heritage by
causing uneasiness in the reader.
1. “It makes sense in this novel to teach it with the controversy. It makes sense to bring
up all of the hard emotions. They come with it. It’s not just a classic book. It’s not
just the way the words are written, it’s the ideas.” (Pitts 3)
2. “Profane words are taboo because they are powerful, they question or challenge the
various parts of our humanity that we are the most self-conscious about: our religion,
our sexuality, our race, our base bodily functions.” (Robb 1)
3. “Profanity in its many forms is an assault on the reader and what they hold as dear, a
form of mental shock hat when used correctly, can jolt the reader.” (Robb 1)
II. Some people, including African-Americans, think that it is only natural to say the N-word
during the reading of this novel, for it is a part of American history.
A. Gloria Naylor, author of The Meanings of the Word writes: “The written word is inferior
to the spoken.” (251)
B. Nora Wise, a teacher at Woodbury High School, teaches the book with the word said out
loud in class.
C. “The word is not hurtful. How it is used is hurtful; the people who are saying it are
hurtful.” Bradley (Pitts 4)
D. David Bradley, a professor at the University of Oregon states: “Having an awareness that
you have, your people have overcome centuries of oppression.” Bradley (Pitts 4)
III. Modern critics often point to the fact that the N-word has a profound effect on people and
even reading it can cause unease and shame.
A. African-American students in a predominantly Caucasian class may feel uncomfortable
discussing the N-word.
1. “Richardson said that while he didn’t have an external reaction, ‘Internally, I just
though about it like, ‘This is wrong. Like I don’t think she should be saying this out
loud.’’” (Pitts 5)
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Argument Writing Grade 11
2. “Having the teacher read it out loud to everyone, then everyone’s looking at me like,
‘Oh, well, she just said that. What are you gonna do about it?’ Like I didn’t really
have a reaction. I basically ignored the fact.” (Pitts 5)
B. Other students don’t feel comfortable with the N-word just being tossed around.
1. Melvin Efesoa, an eleventh grader, states “I smiled because like I just kind of think
that constant use of the N-word, and to me, it feels unnecessary.” (Pitts 3)
2. Efesoa says, “It reflects on African-American history back then. And like I said, it’s
a history that nobody wants to relive.”
C. While this may be the case for some students, proper introduction and instruction can
relieve some of the power.
IV. One solution proposed is to replacing the N-word with slave, but this dilutes the novel’s
effectiveness.
A. Bradley feels very strongly about the replacement of the N-word.
1. “No. It’s not Huckleberry Finn anymore…We’re talkin’ about students: What are we
teaching them? This may be their first encounter with slavery. It shouldn’t be their
only one. But that’s one of the reasons we can’t mess around with it. There is a
reality there that you cannot avoid.” (Pitts 4)
2. “Yeah. ‘Slave’ is a condition. I mean, anybody can be a slave. And it’s nothin’ for
anybody to be ashamed of. But ‘n-word has to do with shame. ‘n-word’ has to do
with calling somebody something. ‘N-word’ was what made slavery possible.” (Pitts
4)
V. For a majority of the book, Huck treats Jim like a person rather than as property again
revealing that the dialect is in opposition to the character’s actions.
A. Bradley says that “the key to understanding Huckleberry Finn is through Twain’s use of
language, as the friendship between Huck and Jim unfolds.” (Pitts 2)
B. Because Jim treats all people with kindness and looks out for Huck, his morals are better
than those of the white men.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The N-word, a word that has plagued many African-Americans for centuries, is a complex
issue. In older works or works set in time when the N-word was common, the N-word is
prevalent and causes discomfort for many people. Huck Finn, a white teenage boy living along
the Mississippi River, meets up with a runaway named Jim; both characters are trying to escape
something. Huck flees his abusive, drunken father while Jim eludes slavery. Because The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is taught in high school, many critics think that the novel’s
language is too offensive for this age audience. Despite attempts to censor the novel, The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain should not be banned from schools in the
United States because it is classic literature that uses the language of the time to define America's
pre-Civil War era and the peak of slavery.
The diction used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn reflects the language of the time
period realistically, even if it causes discomfort. Mark Twain uses the N-word prolifically in
order to poke fun at American heritage and cause uneasiness in the reader. Nora Wise, a teacher
at Woodbury High School in Minnesota, states “It makes sense in this novel to teach it with the
controversy. It makes sense to bring up all of the hard emotions. They come with it. It’s not
just a classic book. It’s not just the way the words are written, it’s the ideas” (Pitts 3). Students
need to learn all the facts about American history not just the sugar-coated version. Readers
should not focus on the frequency of the N-word, but rather the concepts that Twain effortlessly
describes. Some individuals believe the N-word, written 219 times, is excessive, but others feel
that the language is necessary to open the eyes of the readers. Bradley Robb, a self-promoted
writer, writes:
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Profane words are taboo because they are powerful, they question or challenge the
various parts of our humanity that we are the most self-conscious about: our
religion, our sexuality, our race, our base bodily functions… Profanity in its
many forms is an assault on the reader and what they hold as dear, a form of
mental shock hat when used correctly, can jolt the reader” (Robb 1).
Profanity actually adds to the novel’s effectiveness, for it is more likely to catch the reader’s eye.
Vulgar language speaks louder than clean language because it shows more passion and feelings
toward the subject at hand. The language of the novel does not take away from the reading, but
rather adds to the overall tone.
Some people, including African-Americans, think that it is only natural to say the N-word
during the reading of this novel, for it is a part of American history. Gloria Naylor, the AfricanAmerican author of The Meanings of the Word, writes: “The written word is inferior to the
spoken” (251). When reading a novel, the N-word is just another word in the book; when an
individual says it, the feelings become more personal and emotional. Contradictory David
Bradley, an African-American professor at the University of Oregon believes, “The word is not
hurtful. How it is used is hurtful; the people who are saying it are hurtful.” (Pitts 4) Bradley
states, “Having an awareness that you have, your people have overcome centuries of oppression”
(Pitts 4). Saying the N-word aloud shows the trials and tribulations as well as the dark past of
African-Americans. Most schools simply skip over the word when reading it aloud; however,
Nora Wise teaches the book with the word said aloud in class. While this may cause discomfort
in her classroom, she believes that it is the best way to teach this classic novel.
Modern critics often point to the fact that the N-word has a profound effect on people and
even reading it can cause unease and shame. African-American students in a predominantly
19
Argument Writing Grade 11
Caucasian class may feel uncomfortable discussing the N-word. Byron Pitts, a reporter for CBS
news, interviewed Jerry Richardson, an African-American student at Woodbury High School.
“Richardson said that while he didn’t have an external reaction, ‘Internally, I just thought about
it like, ‘This is wrong. Like I don’t think she should be saying this out loud’’” (Pitts 5). The
other students in the classroom only added to his discomfort. “Having the teacher read it out
loud to everyone, then everyone’s looking at me like, ‘Oh, well, she just said that. What are you
gonna do about it?’ Like I didn’t really have a reaction. I basically ignored the fact” (Pitts 5).
Other students also do not feel comfortable with the N-word just being tossed around. Melvin
Efesoa, an eleventh grader at Woodbury High School, states, “I smiled because like I just kind of
think that constant use of the N-word, and to me, it feels unnecessary” (Pitts 3). Efesoa says, “It
reflects on African-American history back then. And like I said, it’s a history that nobody wants
to relive.” While this may be the case for some students, proper introduction and instruction can
relieve some of the power of the N-word. The N-word needs to be in literature because while we
don’t want to relive the history, it needs to be understood so that it can never be repeated.
One solution proposed is to replace the N-word with slave, but this dilutes the novel’s
effectiveness. Bradley feels very strongly about the replacement of the N-word. “No. It’s not
Huckleberry Finn anymore…we’re talkin’ about students: What are we teaching them? This may
be their first encounter with slavery. It shouldn’t be their only one. But that’s one of the reasons
we can’t mess around with it. There is a reality there that you cannot avoid.” (Pitts 4) There is a
distinct difference between the N-word and slave. While the word slave is less vulgar, it does
not display the years of hatred and mistreatment. Bradley agrees, “Yeah. ‘Slave’ is a condition.
I mean, anybody can be a slave. And it’s nothin’ for anybody to be ashamed of. But ‘n-word’
has to do with shame. ‘N-word’ has to do with calling somebody something. ‘N-word’ was
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Argument Writing Grade 11
what made slavery possible” (Pitts 4). By replacing the N-word with slave, the book loses a lot
of his meaning and accuracy for the time period. The N-word was a derogatory term that was
used frequently to disrespect African-Americans. The book will ultimately suffer if the word
slave replaces the N-word.
For a majority of the book, Huck treats Jim like a person rather than as property again
revealing that the dialect is in opposition to the character’s actions. Bradley says, “The key to
understanding Huckleberry Finn is through Twain’s use of language, as the friendship between
Huck and Jim unfolds.” (Pitts 2) Huck continually views Jim as someone like him; instead of,
someone inferior. Because Jim treats all people with kindness and looks out for Huck, his
morals are better than those of the white men. Twain’s language contradicts with his message
for the reader. He satires the N-word by using repetition and overstatement while he wants the
readers to look at the heart of the characters rather than the language.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned in high school, for it has a
deep understanding of good character in an era with inhumane actions. Twain’s use of the Nword is to not to offend anyone but to portray the language of the pre-Civil War era and the peak
of slavery and illustrate people’s hypocrisy. Readers need to understand all the hatred behind the
N-word to learn from it and never repeat it.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Works Cited
Naylor, Gloria. “The Meanings of a Word.” 40 Model Essays. By Jane E Aaron. Boston:
Bedford/. Martins, 2005. 251-56. Print.
Pitts, Byron. “’Huckleberry Finn’ and the N-word debate.” CBS News. N.p., 8 July 2011. Web. 8
July 2011. <http://www.cbsnews.com//////.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody>.
Robb, Bradley. “Profound or Profane? Swearing in Literature.” BradleyRobb.net. N.p., 8 July
2011. Web. 8 July 2011. <http://www.bradleyrobb.net///or-profane-swearing-inliterature/>.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Response to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Unit: Emerging American Vision
Write to Source: The Scarlet Letter and Outside Sources
Confessing sins as a religious or political leader shows an element of morality. Consider current
religious or political leaders who have “fallen from grace.” Develop an argument that addresses
to what extent a public confession is a social and moral responsibility for such leaders. Use the
four outside sources to support your argument.
a. Article: “Should Leaders Publically Confess Their Sins?”
athttp://wbmoore.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/should-leaders-publically-confesstheirsins/
b. Article: “The Duties of Christian Leadership”
athttp://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/dutiesofchristianleadership.html
c. Blog: “Touch Not God’s Anointed”
athttp://exitchurchianity.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/the-untouchables-touch-notgods-anointed/
d. Article about what happened to ex-evangelist Jim Bakker
athttp://philcooke.com/Bakker/
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Response to The Great Gatsby
Unit:Modern/Contemporary Literature
Write to Source: The Great Gatsby
1. Fitzgerald’s novel shows that the quest for the American dream is more important than
the attainment of the American dream.
2. The Great Gatsby is still relevant today and accurately portrays American society.
Write to Source: The Great Gatsby and Outside Sources
3. Read the sources that appear below. Develop and support a claim regarding the meaning
of the American Dream. Refer to your sources in your argument.
a. The Effects Of Societal, Familial, And Genetic Factors On Individual Life-Style
David San Filippo, M.A., LMHC, April 26, 1992
http://www.lutz-sanfilippo.com/library/counseling/lsfeffects.html
b.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
c.
d. “Money” lyrics by Pink Floyd at http://www.songlyrics.com/pink-floyd/money-lyrics/ and
reprinted here:
Money
Money, get away.
Get a good job with good pay and you're okay.
Money, it's a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a football team.
Money, get back.
I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money, it's a hit.
Don't give me that do goody good.
I'm in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Money, it's a crime.
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise it's no surprise that they're
giving none away.
"HuHuh! I was in the right!"
"Yes, absolutely in the right!"
"I certainly was in the right!"
"You was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a
bruising!"
"Yeah!"
"Why does anyone do anything?"
"I don't know, I was really drunk at the time!"
"I was just telling him, he couldn't get into number 2. He was asking
why he wasn't coming up on freely, after I was yelling and
screaming and telling him why he wasn't coming up on freely.
It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the matter out"
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Response to Their Eyes Were Watching God
Unit: Modern and Contemporary Literature
Write to Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God
1. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent Hurston uses of figurative language
enhances the reader’s understanding of Janie, or distract from the story?
2. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent Richard Wright ‘s 1937 review of
Their Eyes Were Watching God as: “The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no
message, no thought…her novel is not addressed to the Negro, but to a white audience
whose chauvinistic tastes she knows how to satisfy” is justifiable.
Write to Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God and Outside Sources
3. Janie demonstrates her ability to thrive in two contradictory societal communities, one
homogenous community and one heterogeneous community. Read the sources that are
listed below. Then consider contrasting educational structures that exist today and where
students best thrive as learners. Choose from the following, or create a claim of your
own.
o
o
o
o
Race-specific education is superior to multi-cultural education.
Multi-cultural education is superior to race-specific education.
Gender-specific classrooms are superior to mixed-gender classrooms.
Mixed-gender classrooms are superior to gender-specific classrooms.
Secondary Sources for Claim 3:
a. Eatonville’s homepage: http://www.townofeatonville.org/
b. Editorial: “Can You Avoid
Segregation?”http://www.understandingprejudice.org/segregation
c. A timeline of the Civil Rights Era:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01.html
d. Article: “Teaching Boys and Girls Separately”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/magazine/02sex3t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin
e. Article: “Why single-sex education is not the route to better results”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jun/25/schools.gender2
f. Blog: “It’s Not Choice; It’s Inequality” http://www.aclu.org/2008/05/19/its-notchoice-its-inequality/
g. Article: “The Promise and Peril of Single-Sex Public Education”
http://www.singlesexschools.org/edweek.html(Also consider:
http://www.singlesexschools.org/NYT.htm
h. The Guarian’s Institute’s homepage: http://www.gurianinstitute.com/
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Argument Writing Grade 11
i. Article: “Supreme Court Rules: Discrimination; Military College Cannot Bar
Women…” http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/27/us/supreme-court-discriminationmilitary-college-can-t-bar-women-high-court-rules.html
j. Article: “Lakeville sings praises of all-boys, girls choirs”
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/18561899.html
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Response to Maus I
Unit: Modern and Contemporary Literature
Write to Source: Maus I
1. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent the nature of the narrative style
(the genre of the graphic novel, the depiction of people as animals, etc.) is
inappropriate for the sensitive and serious material of the Holocaust that Maus I
presents.
2. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent the casual style and meta-narrative
structure are counterintuitive to the notion that the events in Maus I are
autobiographical.
Write to Source: Maus I and Outside Sources
3.
Read the three sources which follow and use them to develop a claim about the
competitiveness of the father-son relationship.
Secondary Sources for Claim 3:
a. John Updike’s short story, “Son.” Available here:
http://nexuslearning.net/books/Elements_of_Lit_Course5/Son.htm and
reprinted below.
b. Cartoon by Randy Glasbergen
c. “Marvin Gaye is shot and killed by his own father”
(An article from Apr 1, 1984 that appears onHistory.com)
At the peak of his career, Marvin Gaye was the Prince of Motown—the soulful voice behind hits
as wide-ranging as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "Mercy Me (The Ecology)."
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Like his label-mate Stevie Wonder, Gaye both epitomized and outgrew the crowd-pleasing sound
that made Motown famous. Over the course of his roughly 25-year recording career, he moved
successfully from upbeat pop to "message" music to satin-sheet soul, combining elements of
Smokey Robinson, Bob Dylan and Barry White into one complicated and sometimes contradictory
package. But as the critic Michael Eric Dyson put it, the man who "chased away the demons of
millions...with his heavenly sound and divine art" was chased by demons of his own throughout
his life. That life came to a tragic end on this day 1984, when Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by
his own father one day short of his 45th birthday.
If the physical cause of Marvin Gaye's death was straightforward—"Gunshot wound to chest
perforating heart, lung and liver," according to the Los Angeles County Coroner—the events that
led to it were much more tangled. On the one hand, there was the longstanding conflict with his
father dating back to childhood. Marvin Gay, Sr., (the "e" was added by his son for his stage
name) was a preacher in the Hebrew Pentecostal Church and a proponent of a strict moral code he
enforced brutally with his four children. He was also, by all accounts, a hard-drinking crossdresser who personally embodied a rather complicated model of morality. By some reports,
Marvin Sr. harbored significant envy over his son's tremendous success, and Marvin Jr. clearly
harbored unresolved feelings toward his abusive father.
Those feelings spilled out for the final time in the Los Angeles home of Marvin Gay, Sr., and his
wife Alberta. Their son the international recording star had moved into his parents' home in late
1983 at a low point in his struggle with depression, debt and cocaine abuse. Only one year
removed from his first Grammy win and from a triumphant return to the pop charts with "Sexual
Healing," Marvin Gaye was in horrible physical, psychological and financial shape, and now he
found himself living in the same house as the man who must have been at the root of many of his
struggles.
After an argument between father and son escalated into a physical fight on the morning of April
1, 1984, Alberta Gay was trying to calm her son in his bedroom when Marvin Sr. took a revolver
given to him by Marvin Jr. and shot him three times in his chest. Marvin Gaye's brother, Frankie,
who lived next door, and who held the legendary singer during his final minutes, later wrote in his
memoir that Marvin Gaye's final, disturbing statement was, "I got what I wanted....I couldn't do it
myself, so I made him do it."
Son
by John Updike
He is often upstairs, when he has to be home. He prefers to be elsewhere. He is almost sixteen,
though beardless still, a man’s mind indignantly captive in the frame of a child. I love touching
him, but don’t often dare. The other day, he had the flu, and a fever, and I gave him a back rub,
marveling at the symmetrical knit of muscle, the organic tension. He is high-strung. Yet his sleep
is so solid he sweats like a stone in the wall of a well. He wishes for perfection. He would like to
destroy us, for we are, variously, too fat, too jocular, too sloppy, too affectionate, too grotesque
and heedless in our ways. His mother smokes too much. His younger brother chews with his
mouth open. His older sister leaves unbuttoned the top button of her blouses. His younger sister
tussles with the dogs, getting them overexcited, avoiding doing her homework. Everyone in the
house talks nonsense. He would be a better father than his father. But time has tricked him, has
made him a son. After a quarrel, if he cannot go outside and kick a ball, he retreats to a corner of
the house and reclines on the beanbag chair in an attitude of strange—infantile or leonine—torpor.
We exhaust him, without meaning to. He takes an interest in the newspaper now, the front page as
well as the sports, in this tiring year of 1973.
He is upstairs, writing a musical comedy. It is a Sunday in 1949. He has volunteered to prepare a
high-school assembly program; people will sing. Songs of the time go through his head, as he
scribbles new words. Up in de mornin’, down at de school, work like a debil for my grades. Below
him, irksome voices grind on, like machines working their way through tunnels. His parents each
want something from the other. “Marion, you don’t understand that man like I do; he has a heart
of gold.” His father’s charade is very complex: the world, which he fears, is used as a flail on his
wife. But from his cringing attitude he would seem to an outsider the one being flailed. With
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Argument Writing Grade 11
burning red face, the woman accepts the role of aggressor as penance for the fact, the incessant
shameful fact, that he has to wrestle with the world while she hides here, in solitude, at home. This
is normal, but does not seem to them to be so. Only by convolution have they arrived at the
dominant/submissive relationship society has assigned them. For the man is maternally kind and
with a smile hugs to himself his jewel, his certainty of being victimized; it is the mother whose
tongue is sharp, who sometimes strikes. “Well, he gets you out of the house, and I guess that’s
gold to you.” His answer is “Duty calls,” pronounced mincingly. “The social contract is a balance
of compromises.” This will infuriate her, the son knows; as his heart thickens, the downstairs
overflows with her hot voice. “Don’t wear that smile at me! And take your hands off your hips;
you look like a sissy!” Their son tries not to listen. When he does, visual details of the downstairs
flood his mind: the two antagonists, circling with their coffee cups; the shabby mismatched
furniture; the hopeful books; the docile framed photographs of the dead, docile and still like cowed
students. This matrix of pain that bore him—he feels he is floating above it, sprawled on the bed
as on a cloud, stealing songs as they come into his head (Across the hallway from the guidance
room / Lives a French instructor called Mrs. Blum), contemplating the view from the upstairs
window (last summer’s burdock stalks like the beginnings of an alphabet, an apple tree holding
three rotten apples as if pondering why they failed to fall), yearning for Monday, for the ride to
school with his father, for the bell that calls him to homeroom, for the excitements of class, for
Broadway, for fame, for the cloud that will carry him away, out of this, out.
He returns from his paper-delivery route and finds a few Christmas presents for him on the kitchen
table. I must guess at the year. 1913? Without opening them, he knocks them to the floor, puts his
head on the table, and falls asleep. He must have been consciously dramatizing his plight: His
father was sick, money was scarce, he had to work, to win food for the family when he was still a
child. In his dismissal of Christmas, he touched a nerve: his love of anarchy, his distrust of the
social contract. He treasured this moment of revolt; else why remember it, hoard a memory so
bitter, and confide it to his son many Christmases later? He had a teaching instinct, though he
claimed that life miscast him as a schoolteacher. I suffered in his classes, feeling the confusion as
a persecution of him, but now wonder if his rebellious heart did not court confusion, not as
Communists do, to intrude their own order, but, more radical still, as an end pleasurable in itself,
as truth’s very body. Yet his handwriting (an old pink permission slip recently fluttered from a
book where it had been marking a page for twenty years) was always considerately legible, and he
was sitting up doing arithmetic the morning of the day he died.
And letters survive from that yet prior son, written in brown ink, in a tidy tame hand, home to his
mother from the Missouri seminary where he was preparing for his vocation. The dates are 1887,
1888, 1889. Nothing much happened: He missed New Jersey, and was teased at a church social for
escorting a widow. He wanted to do the right thing, but the little sheets of faded penscript exhale a
dispirited calm, as if his heart already knew he would not make a successful minister, or live to be
old. His son, my father, when old, drove hundreds of miles out of his way to visit the Missouri
town from which those letters had been sent. Strangely, the town had not changed; it looked just as
he had imagined, from his father’s descriptions: tall wooden houses, rain-soaked, stacked on a
bluff. The town was a sepia postcard mailed homesick home and preserved in an attic. My father
cursed: His father’s old sorrow bore him down into depression, into hatred of life. My mother
claims his decline in health began at that moment.
He is wonderful to watch, playing soccer. Smaller than the others, my son leaps, heads, dribbles,
feints, passes. When a big boy knocks him down, he tumbles on the mud, in his green-and-black
school uniform, in an ecstasy of falling. I am envious. Never for me the jaunty pride of the school
uniform, the solemn ritual of the coach’s pep talk, the camaraderie of shook hands and slapped
backsides, the shadow-striped hush of late afternoon and last quarter, the solemn vaulted universe
of official combat, with its cheering mothers and referees exotic as zebras and the bespectacled
timekeeper alert with his claxon. When the boy scores a goal, he runs into the arms of his
teammates with upraised arms and his face alight as if blinded by triumph. They lift him from the
earth in a union of muddy hugs. What spirit! What valor! What skill! His father, watching from
the sidelines, inwardly registers only one complaint: He feels the boy, with his talent, should be
more aggressive.
They drove across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to hear their son read in Pittsburgh. But
when their presence was announced to the audience, they did not stand; the applause groped for
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Argument Writing Grade 11
them and died. My mother said afterwards she was afraid she might fall into the next row if she
tried to stand in the dark. Next morning was sunny, and the three of us searched for the house
where once they had lived. They had been happy there; I imagined, indeed, that I had been
conceived there, just before the slope of the Depression steepened and fear gripped my family. We
found the library where she used to read Turgenev, and the little park where the bums slept close
as paving stones in the summer night; but their street kept eluding us, though we circled in the car.
On foot, my mother found the tree. She claimed she recognized it, the sooty linden tree she would
gaze into from their apartment windows. The branches, though thicker, had held their pattern. But
the house itself, and the entire block, was gone. Stray bricks and rods of iron in the grass
suggested that the demolition had been recent. We stood on the empty spot and laughed. They
knew it was right, because the railroad tracks were the right distance away. In confirmation, a long
freight train pulled itself east around the curve, its great weight gliding as if on a river current;
then a silver passenger train came gliding as effortlessly in the other direction. The curve of the
tracks tipped the cars slightly toward us. The Golden Triangle, gray and hazed, was off to our left,
beyond a forest of bridges. We stood on the grassy rubble that morning, where something once
had been, beside the tree still there, and were intensely happy. Why? We knew.
“‘No,’ Dad said to me, ‘the Christian ministry isn’t a job you choose, it’s a vocation for which you
got to receive a call.’ I could tell he wanted me to ask him. We never talked much, but we
understood each other, we were both scared devils, not like you and the kid. I asked him, Had he
ever received the call? He said No. He said No, he never had. Received the call. That was a
terrible thing, for him to admit. And I was the one he told. As far as I knew he never admitted it to
anybody, but he admitted it to me. He felt like hell about it, I could tell. That was all we ever said
about it. That was enough.”
He has made his younger brother cry, and justice must be done. A father enforces justice. I corner
the rat in our bedroom; he is holding a cardboard mailing tube like a sword. The challenge flares
white-hot; I roll my weight toward him like a rock down a mountain, and knock the weapon from
his hand. He smiles. Smiles! Because my facial expression is silly? Because he is glad that he can
still be overpowered, and hence is still protected? Why? I do not hit him. We stand a second,
father and son, and then as nimbly as on the soccer field he steps around me and out the door. He
slams the door. He shouts obscenities in the hall, slams all the doors he can find on the way to his
room. Our moment of smilingly shared silence was the moment of compression; now the
explosion. The whole house rocks with it. Downstairs, his siblings and mother come to me and
offer advice and psychological analysis. I was too aggressive. He is spoiled. What they can never
know, my grief alone to treasure, was that lucid many-sided second of his smiling and my
relenting, before the world’s wrathful pantomime of power resumed.
As we huddle whispering about him, my son takes his revenge. In his room, he plays his guitar.
He has greatly improved this winter; his hands getting bigger is the least of it. He has found in the
guitar an escape. He plays the Romanza wherein repeated notes, with a sliding like the heart’s
valves, let themselves fall along the scale:
The notes fall, so gently he bombs us, drops feathery notes down upon us, our visitor, our
prisoner.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Written Respoonse to “Civil Disobedience” and “Self-Reliance”
Unit:Transcendentalism
Write to Source: “Civil Disobedience” and “Self-Reliance”
1. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent Henry David Thoreau’s assertion is
valid: “I HEARTILY ACCEPT the motto, 'That government is best which governs
least.'”
2. Develop an argument that addresses to what extent Ralph Waldo Emerson’s assertion is
valid: To be great is to be misunderstood.
Write to Source: Thoreau and Emerson and Outside Sources
3. Use the four sources that follow to support or refute the claim that being a nonconformist in today’s society means being an outcast.
Secondary Sources for Claim 3:
a. Film: Dead Poet’s Society,1989Rated: PG
b. Song: “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin DeGraw, available
athttp://artists.letssingit.com/gavin-degraw-lyrics-i-dont-want-to-be-lzwmhtxand
reprinted here:
I don't need to be anything other than a prison guard's son
I don't need to be anything other than a specialist's son
I don't have to be anyone other than the birth of two souls in one
Part of where I'm going is knowing where I'm coming from
I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I've peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
I'm surrounded by liars everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn
Am I the only one to notice?
I can't be the only one who's learned
I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I'd be somebody
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
Can I have everyone's attention please
If you're not like this and that
You're gonna have to leave
I came from the mountain, the crust of creation
My whole situation made from clay to stone
And now I'm telling everybody
I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I've peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
I don't want to be
I don't want to be
I don't want to be
I don't want to be
c. “What Makes a Great Leader?”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879377,00.html
d.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Activity
Argument Claims and Counterclaims for Texts in English 11
Directions: Read each set and identify which statement is a claim and which is
anon-claim.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1. Steinbeck’s use of characterization represents real-life during the
Depression.
2. Steinbeck’s character, Lennie, is not a realistic persona of disabled citizens
of today.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne
1. Although regarded as a well-learned doctor in the Puritan community, Roger
Dimmesdale is an evil person.
2. Although Hester and Dimmesdale suffer severely-Hester publicly and
Dimmesdale privately-overall Hawthorne’s treatment of Dimmesdale is
more favorable than his treatment of Hester.
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
1. Gabriel has several deep rooted issues from his past.
2. While Gabriel has deep rooted issues from his past, his physical and
emotional discipline toward his family is based on what he perceives as love.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
1. The Joy Luck Club is a gathering place for Chinese-American families to
gather and share stories of their experiences after immigration from Chinese
culture to American culture.
2. The Joy Luck Club is a gathering place for Chinese-American families to
share stories, but they do not adequately depict the expected lifestyles that
the mothers are expecting their daughters to live as a result of sharing two
cultures (American and Chinese).
“The Lowest Animal” by Mark Twain
1. Mark Twain’s depiction of humans and animals teaches the reader how
much more sophisticated animals are as opposed to human beings.
2. Lessons can be learned by watching animals.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Lesson Plan
Supporting an Argument with Textual Support and Writing a Letter
Fromnytimes.com
Major Issues: Writing Text-Supported Arguments About the Purpose of College
By SARAH KAVANAGH and HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO
Overview What is the purpose of a college education? In this lesson, students examine the
controversy over restructuring university curriculum to focus more on job-related skill
development and less on traditional liberal arts learning. They then develop and practice the skill
of supporting an argument with textual evidence by crafting a letter that argues for or against
restructuring university curriculum.
Materials
 “Major Choices” (Student Resource Sheet 1)
 “Making College Relevant” (Student Resource Sheet 2)
Warm-up
1. Provide students with “Major Choices” (Student Resource Sheet 1) to complete.
2. Then have all students share with the class which majors they chose and why. Ask
students share, keep a tally on the board of the majors they chose and the factors that
contributed to their choice.
Procedure
3. Invite students to take note of patterns as they emerge. Ask: What majors were the most
popular? What majors were the most unpopular? Do the popular majors have anything in
common? What about the unpopular majors? What factors contributed to students’
choices? Were there any factors that contributed to most students’ choice of a major?
Why do you think these factors were so important? What factors did not impact most
students’ choice of majors? Why did most students think these factors were less
important?
4. Ask, what is the purpose of a college education? What do you seek and hope to gain from
your college experience? How do your views on this question correlate to the majors that
you are interested in? For example, if you believe that job preparation is the purpose of
college, did you choose majors that prepare students for a specific career or skill set? If
you believe that the general acquisition of knowledge and thinking skills is the purpose of
college, did you identify liberal arts majors?
5. Tell students they are going to be reading an article about controversies about college
curriculum currently being debated at many American universities.
6. Across the country, universities are restructuring their curriculum to make coursework
more relevant to the job-market. With limited budgets, universities often make these
changes at the expense of majors in the humanities. In the article Relevant,” Kate Zernike
examines the resulting controversy:
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Even before they arrive on campus, students — and their parents — are increasingly
focused on what comes after college… How will that major translate into a job?
The pressure on institutions to answer those questions is prompting changes from the
admissions office to the career center. But even as they rush to prove their relevance,
colleges and universities worry that students are specializing too early, that they are so
focused on selecting the perfect major that they do not allow time for self-discovery,
much less late blooming.
7. Read the article “Making College Relevant” (Student Resource Sheet 2) with your class,
using the questions below.
a. What steps are universities taking to make their curriculum more relevant to the changing
job market, and what has prompted these changes?
b. Do you think these are positive changes? Why or why not?
c. What majors are facing elimination at many universities? What reasoning have
universities given for eliminating these majors? Do you agree with their reasoning? Why
or why not?
d. What arguments do supporters of the humanities provide for having universities continue
to support and encourage humanities-based liberal arts education? Are these arguments
convincing? Why or why not?
e. How are humanities departments changing in response to concerns about their relevance
to the job market? How do you think these changes will impact students?
8.Explain to students that they will now prepare to write a piece expressing their views on
college curriculum to develop their skills in written argumentation using supporting evidence.
Together, settle on a summary statement, such as this one: “Many colleges and universities are
restructuring their curriculum to make coursework more relevant to the job-market by phasing
out some humanities majors and focusing more attention on career preparedness.”
9. Have students generate a graphic organizer that uses pros and cons to prepare their ideas.
10. Have them share the pros and cons that they found with the class. During sharing, have
students add other ideas to their organizers.
11. Invite students to reflect briefly on the warm-up activity that they did at the beginning of
class. Ask: Did reading and analyzing this article impact your thoughts about what they may
wish to major in? Have you changed your mind about anything since the beginning of class?
Have your initial thoughts about choosing a major been strengthened?
12. Finally, prompt students to begin to weave together their own interests with their thoughts
about appropriate college curriculum, in preparation for writing their letters. Ask: How might
you be able to use evidence from the article to support your opinion about curricular restructure
at the university level? What quotes, statistics or arguments presented in the article might be the
most persuasive pieces of supporting evidence to back up your viewpoint? If you were to argue
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Argument Writing Grade 11
your opinion on this issue to university leaders, would using textual evidence like the quotes and
data found in this Times article help you persuade your audience? Why is it important to cite
textual evidence to support an argument? Why is it important to provide the sources of such
information? How can you smoothly introduce and incorporate evidence and data into your
writing?
Going further, students use the pros and cons that they collected in class to write a letter to the
president of a college or university that they are interested in attending. If desired, have students
find more evidence to cite to substantiate their arguments, starting perhaps with the list of related
resources above.
Students’ letters should accomplish the following:




Introduce themselves and their academic interests by discussing what they might be
interested in choosing as a major and why.
State clearly whether they are for or against restructuring the university’s curriculum to
make coursework more relevant to the job market by phasing out some humanities
majors and focusing more on career preparedness.
Include at least three pieces of supporting evidence (these could include quotes from
experts, statistics, examples from other universities, etc.).
Restate the argument and connect it to their academic interests and their reason for
pursuing a university education.
Once this writing is completed, have students compare the writing that they did in the warm-up
activity to the letter that they wrote using textual evidence. Did using supporting evidence from a
text make their arguments about college majors stronger?
Alternatively or additionally, students create “30-second commercials” on their “personal
brand,” as discussed near the end of the article. They write, film ,or act out a “commercial” that
advertises themselves to employers, highlighting the skills they have learned in school.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Teacher and
Student Resources
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Major Choices
Student Resource Sheet 1
Name: ______________________________ Date: ____________________
Look at the college majors listed below and circle the five that you most likely would select as possible
majors.
Accounting
Fine Arts
Agriculture
Foreign Language
American Studies
French
Anthropology
Global Studies
Arabic
Government/Political Science
Astronomy
History
Business/Economics
Law/Legal Studies
Bioengineering
Mathematics
Biology
Military Science
Chemistry
Music
Chinese
Philosophy
Classics
Physics
Communication/Journalism
Psychology
Computer Science
Public Health
Construction Trades
Religion
Earth Science
Sociology
Education
Spanish
Engineering
Theater
English
Women’s Studies
Entrepreneurship
Zoology
Environmental Science
other: _______________
Ethnic Studies
____________________
Film Studies
Why did you choose these particular majors? What factors influenced your choices? Explain below.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 2
1 of 4
Making College ‘Relevant’
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: December 29, 2009, nytimes.com
THOMAS COLLEGE, a liberal arts school in Maine, advertises itself as Home of the
Guaranteed Job! Students who can’t find work in their fields within six months of graduation can
come back to take classes free, or have the college pay their student loans for a year.
The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan
State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of declining
enrollments in those majors.
And in a class called “The English Major in the Workplace,” at the University of Texas, Austin,
students read “Death of a Salesman” but also learn to network, write a résumé and come off well
in an interview.
Even before they arrive on campus, students — and their parents — are increasingly focused on
what comes after college. What’s the return on investment, especially as the cost of that
investment keeps rising? How will that major translate into a job?
The pressure on institutions to answer those questions is prompting changes from the admissions
office to the career center. But even as they rush to prove their relevance, colleges and
universities worry that students are specializing too early, that they are so focused on picking the
perfect major that they don’t allow time for self-discovery, much less late blooming.
“The phrase drives me crazy — ‘What are you going to do with your degree?’ — but I see
increasing concerns about that,” says Katharine Brooks, director of the liberal arts career center
at the University of Texas, Austin, and author of “You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path
From Chaos to Career.” “Particularly as money gets tighter, people are going to demand more
accountability from majors and departments.”
Consider the change captured in the annual survey by the University of California, Los Angeles,
of more than 400,000 incoming freshmen. In 1971, 37 percent responded that it was essential or
very important to be “very well-off financially,” while 73 percent said the same about
“developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” In 2009, the values were nearly reversed: 78
percent identified wealth as a goal, while 48 percent were after a meaningful philosophy.
The shift in attitudes is reflected in a shifting curriculum. Nationally, business has been the most
popular major for the last 15 years. Campuses also report a boom in public health fields, and
many institutions are building up environmental science and just about anything prefixed with
“bio.” Reflecting the new economic and global realities, they are adding or expanding majors in
Chinese and Arabic. The University of Michigan has seen a 38 percent increase in students
enrolling in Asian language courses since 2002, while French has dropped by 5 percent.
Of course, universities have always adjusted curriculum to reflect the changing world; Kim
Wilcox, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Michigan State, notes that
universities, his included, used to offer majors in elocution and animal husbandry. In a major reexamination of its curriculum, Michigan State has added a dozen or so new programs, including
degrees in global studies and, in response to a growing industry in the state, film studies. At the
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 2
2 of 4
same time, it is abandoning underperformers like classical studies: in the last four years, only 13
students have declared it their major.
Dropping a classics or philosophy major might have been unthinkable a generation ago, when
knowledge of the great thinkers was a cornerstone of a solid education. But with budgets tight,
such programs have come to seem like a luxury— or maybe an expensive antique — in some
quarters.
When Louisiana’s regents voted to eliminate the philosophy major last spring, they agreed with
faculty members that the subject is “a traditional core program of a broad-based liberal arts and
science institution.” But they noted that, on average, 3.4 students had graduated as philosophy
majors in the previous five years; in 2008, there were none. “One cannot help but recognize that
philosophy as an essential undergraduate program has lost some credence among students,” the
board concluded. In one recent survey, two-thirds of public institutions said they were
responding to budget cuts with extensive reviews of their programs. But Dr. Wilcox says
curriculum changes at Michigan State have just as much to do with what students, and the
economy, are demanding. “We could have simply reduced the campus operating budget by X
percent,” he says, “but we wouldn’t have positioned ourselves any differently for the future.”
In Michigan, where the recession hit early and hard, universities are particularly focused on
being relevant to the job market. “There’s been this drumbeat that Michigan has got to diversify
its economy,” says Mary Sue Coleman, the president of the University of Michigan.
Dr. Coleman says she had an “aha” moment five years ago, when the director of admissions was
describing the incoming class and noted that 10 percent — some 600 students — had started a
business in high school. The university has responded with about 100 entrepreneurship courses
across the curriculum, including “Financing Research Commercialization” and “Engineering
Social Venture Creation,” for students interested in creating businesses that not only do well
financially but also do society good. Next year, the university will begin offering a master’s to
students who commit to starting a high-tech company.
At the same time, Dr. Coleman is wary of training students for just one thing — “creating them
to do some little widget,” as she says. Michigan has begun a speaker series featuring alumni or
other successful entrepreneurs who come in to talk about how their careers benefited from what
Dr. Coleman calls “core knowledge.”
“We believe that we do our best for students when we give them tools to be analytical, to be able
to gather information and to determine the validity of that information themselves, particularly in
this world where people don’t filter for you anymore,” Dr. Coleman says. “We want to teach
them how to make an argument, how to defend an argument, to make a choice.” These are the
skills that liberal arts colleges in particular have prided themselves on teaching. But these
colleges also say they have the hardest time explaining the link between what they teach and the
kind of job and salary a student can expect on the other end.
“There’s no immediate impact, that’s the problem,” says John J. Neuhauser, the president of St.
Michael’s College, a liberal arts school in Vermont. “The humanities tend to educate people
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 2
3 of 4
much farther out. They’re looking for an impact that lasts over decades, not just when you’re
22.”
When prospective students and their parents visit, he says, they ask about placement rates,
internships and alumni involvement in job placement. These are questions, he says, that he never
heard 10 years ago.
St. Michael’s, like other colleges, has adapted its curriculum to reflect demand. The college had
to create new sections of chemistry labs and calculus on the spot during summer registration, and
it raised the cap on the number of students in a biology lab. “I’d say, given the vagaries of the
business cycle, people are looking for things that they know will always be needed —
accountants, scientists, mathematicians,” says Jeffrey A. Trumbower, dean of the college.
“Those also happen to be some of the most challenging majors academically, so we’ll see how
these trends hold up.”
Still, Dr. Neuhauser finds the careerism troubling. “I think people change a great deal between
18 and 22,” he says. “The intimate environment small liberal arts colleges provide is a great
place to grow up. But there’s no question that smacks of some measure of elitism now.”
There’s evidence, though, that employers also don’t want students specializing too soon. The
Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked employers who hire at least
25 percent of their workforce from two- or four-year colleges what they want institutions to
teach. The answers did not suggest a narrow focus. Instead, 89 percent said they wanted more
emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,” 81 percent asked for
better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” and 70 percent were looking for “the
ability to innovate and be creative.” It’s not about what you should major in, but that no matter
what you major in, you need good writing skills and good speaking skills,” says Debra
Humphreys, a vice president at the association.
The organization has conducted focus groups with employers before and heard the same thing.
With the recession, she says, they weren’t sure the findings would hold. “But it’s even more
intense. Companies are demanding more of employees. They really want them to have a broad
set of skills.” She adds that getting employer feedback is the association service that “college
leaders find the most valuable, because they can answer the question when parents ask, ‘Is this
going to help in getting a job?’ ”
Career advisers say that colleges and universities need to do a better job helping students
understand the connection between a degree and a job. At some institutions, this means career
officers are heading into the classroom.
Last fall at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the career office began integrating
workplace lessons into capstone research seminars for humanities majors. In one of three classes
taught by Anne Scholl-Fiedler, the director, she asks students to develop a 30-second
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 2
4 of 4
commercial on their “personal brand.” “When somebody asks, ‘How are you going to use that
English degree?’ you need to be able to clearly articulate what you are able to do,” she says. “If
you don’t know, employers probably won’t either.”
At the University of Texas, Ms. Brooks says, many parents drop their children off freshman year
asking, “How can my child transfer to the business school?” She tries to establish the value of
the liberal arts with a series of courses called “The Major in the Workplace.” Students draw what
she calls a “major map,” an inventory of things they have learned to do around their major.
Using literature — “The Great Gatsby,” perhaps, or “Death of a Salesman” — she gets students
to think about how the themes might apply to a workplace, then has them read Harvard Business
Review case studies. The goal, she says, is to get students to think about how an English major
(or a psychology or history major) might view the world differently, and why an employer might
value that.
“There’s this linear notion that what you major in equals your career,” Ms. Brooks says. “I’m
sure it works for some majors. If you want to be an electrical engineer, that major looks pretty
darn good.
“The truth is,” she says, “students think too much about majors. But the major isn’t nearly as
important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have.”
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Lesson Plan
Argument in Context
This lesson was created by the staff at Santa Rosa Junior College. It is available online at “SRJC
English Department Online Writing Lab.” It is for classroom use only.
Introduction
When blithe to argument I come,
Though armed with facts, and merry,
May Providence protect me from
The fool as adversary,
Whose mind to him a kingdom is
Where reason lacks dominion,
Who calls conviction prejudice
And prejudice opinion.
—Phyllis McGinley
As much as we would have it be otherwise, our belief that something is true or right is not proof
that it is right. All of us have had an encounter with a policy or practice that seems to go dead
against what we know to be right. In such moments, we feel there is no justice in the universe, or
no God to ensure that there is good in the world. Other human beings, however, do not
necessarily see truth and righteousness as we do, and so we must argue, prove to others that our
truths are valid truths.
An argument is an attempt to convince others of a truth as we perceive it. Arguments in written
form have been around since ancient Greece, and so today, we expect arguments to have
particular features: a claim, evidence to support a claim, a refutation of opposing arguments, and
a conclusion. In this module, students will learn to construct a strong argument that has these
features.
Objective

The students will identify claims, types of evidence, and counterclaims in argument
writing.
Background
1. Making a Claim
A "claim" is like a thesis for an essay in that it is a promise to the reader about what will
be supported or proved in the essay; however, a claim is usually a stronger and often
more emotional proposition that a thesis in an expository essay. As Arlo Bates writes in
Talks on Writing English (1894), "The difference between exposition and argument is the
difference between peace and war." In an argument, the writer is generally ready for
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Argument Writing Grade 11
disagreement, and writes to convince those who disagree to change their minds. Take a
look at the following claims that set up argument essays:
We need to stop repeating nonsense about the uncertainty of global warming and start
talking seriously about the right approach to address it.
Mr. Gore assures us that "the debate in the scientific community is over.". . . That
statement, which Mr. Gore made in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC,
ought to have been followed by an asterisk. What exactly is this debate that Mr. Gore is
referring to? Is there really a scientific community that is debating all these issues and
then somehow agreeing in unison? Far from such a thing being over, it has never been
clear to me what this "debate" actually is in the first place.
In each of these essays, the author makes a strong and clear claim at the beginning of the
essay. With this clarity established up front, the reader knows what to expect in the essay
that will follow.
2. Using Evidence
In argument, evidence is key. Without solid support, well explained, the reader will
never accept the writer's claim. Below are examples of the kinds of evidence that you
might use to build a strong argument.
Cite authority on a topic: quotations from experts used to back up (not replace) your
points work very well. In using quotes and paraphrase effectively, you show that you
have done your research and that you are able to distinguish expert from amateur
authorities. Who you side with can go a long way to establishing the validity of your
argument. Be very careful, however, not to hide behind these quotes. If you let others
speak for you, you risk appearing unsure of yourself.
Cite statistics or research: Often solid research findings or statistics can complement a
more theoretical argument. They work especially well as a complement to anecdotal or
narrative examples to support an argument.
Anecdotal Evidence and Case Studies: Though case studies are not very effective if a
study is the only evidence one has (not a large enough sample to be valid), such studies
can be very effective in showing readers the way more abstract or general principles have
an effect in the real world, on real lives. In an essay on Parkinson's Disease and the
importance of stem cell research to find a cure, a student might write a case study of an
individual with Parkinson's to show how devastating the disease is.
3. Refuting Opposing Arguments
If one fights a battle in an argument, however, great or small, there is an opposition that
must be dealt with. It is not effective to write an argument without acknowledging
opposing arguments and showing why those arguments are not valid. Otherwise, your
opposition will come away from the essay with a lot of "Yes, but . . . " thoughts. A good
way to handle opposing arguments is to look for what makes sense in the argument—find
something you can agree with—and then find where the position falls apart, or fails to be
substantial enough to support a particular position. Then, in your own writing you can
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Argument Writing Grade 11
discuss these arguments with phrases like "While . . . is true, there are many problems
with this position," or "X would seem like the answer; however, . . . ," etc. Sometimes
writers like to "do away with the opposition" right away after the opening paragraph and
then get into the position that the writer wants the reader to adopt in the rest of the essay.
Take a look at the following arguments for an against stem cell research. Note the way
the authors respond to opposing arguments:
Cal Thomas' article against stem cell research....is not particularly useful, because
it does not deal with his fundamental belief that human personhood begins at
conception. Similarly, articles by medical groups that promote stem cell research
are not helpful, because they do not touch on their fundamental belief that
embryos are not human persons. If there is to be any hope of resolving these
issues, we must debate when human personhood begins. If we can reach a near
consensus on this, then abortion, in-vitro fertilization, stem cell research and other
debates will neatly resolve themselves. (Religious Tolerance)
"...it is ridiculous for people who have already decided that it is moral to kill
babies in the womb to show some squeamishness about destroying human
embryos in a Petri dish. Hell, man, once you decide to become a child-killer, their
ages no longer matter. Or the numbers. Damnation of your soul is completed with
the first one." (Religious Tolerance)
Religioustolerance.org. 2007. http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm
4. Know The Audience
It is very important to understand one's audience when making an argument, particular
when the issue, such as abortion rights, stem cell research, genetically modified foods,
immigration policies, is controversial. A writer needs to try and empathize with the
reader, to understand the reader's biases and concerns, in order to know how to talk to the
reader, and what it would be best to talk about. In addition, it is important to know the
knowledge level of one's audience in order to not waste time defining terms the reader
already knows, or conversely, to avoid using too many terms the reader does not
understand. Tone is a factor as well with readers: Would the reader respond to a more
lighthearted tone, a bit of humor, or a more serious, passionate angle. Would an
objective, scholarly tone work best? The answer depends largely on who one is writing
to.
Procedure
Part I. Have students read the essay "Countryside" below, then, as a class, answer the questions
following the essay.
"Countryside"
Anthony Wayne Smith (National Parks, October 1973)
WITH THE FALL EQUINOX, autumn returns to the northern hemisphere. A wave of brilliant color washes the
woods of Appalachia from Maine to the Carolinas. The last swallows have long since left for the south; junco and
chickadee arrive. Countrymen close their barns against the cold; city men escape from the freedom of the
countryside, return to the shelter of the prison cities.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Time was when the open country was home for most of mankind. Cities were for a minority, a privileged group
perhaps, predatory, alien to the purposes and tempos of the vast majority. The change was as of yesterday: a century
and a half since the industrial hells of England appeared; a hundred years in America; as a short breath to a lifetime,
for the history of man.
The powerful flow of the human tide from country to city has borne all the aspects of inevitability. Men adapted to
it, did not make it. They went to the city for jobs, and hopefully for money. They went there also, some of them, to
share in the cultural intensities which the early cities did indeed provide, until choked by the mills, traffic, streets,
crowds. A few found power and great wealth as the supercities preyed on the land and its people, drawing the
abundance of soil, forest, and mineral riches into their grasp.
THE RURAL VALUES are spaciousness, sunlight and wind by day, darkness and silence at night. They are what a
man feels when he steps from his door directly into fields that slope to a flowing stream. They are in houses open to
the calls of the frogs in the spring, the birds in early summer, the cicada when summer deepens. They are in the
flowers of the earth, bloodroot, adders-tongue, cowslip after the snows, aster and golden-rod before they return.
They were in the old communities; not that the towns of agrarian America were invariably centers of enlightenment
and brotherly affection; but within them people knew one another as persons, and from that knowledge love and
wisdom could arise.
All this wealth has been lost, massively, violently, crushingly, but not yet hopelessly lost. The early cities, economic
and cultural centers integrally related to the land, lost their own inner life as their centers hardened, compacted, as
they ringed themselves in traffic away from their natural setting. These barriers of traffic must now be surmounted
in the daily commuting of millions, consuming hours and years of lives in barren transportation; for others there is
no escape from the confinement. Within the metropolis the ease of meeting and communication which was thought
to be its greatest virtue has vanished. More comfortably can one journey from Washington to New York than from
Wall Street to uptown Manhattan.
AS URBANIZATION, blindly fatalistic, assumed the aspects of the ideal, of a value in itself, simultaneously it lost
its justification. Over most of the modern world, crowds enter the cities, forced from the land, finding mainly
unemployment, poverty, disease, congestion. In the industrial countries, the human spirit perishes within walls of
glass and steel, in sunless, treeless streets, amidst noise and fumes and frantic wheels. The human will freezes,
paralyzed, impotent against asphyxiation by the internal combustion engine.
As economic engines the cities are absurd; food must be brought from hundreds of miles at enormous expense in
preservation and packaging; vast stores of the energies of city people must be expended merely to bring the
wherewithal of life to the urban table; the countryman finds this wealth readily at hand in garden, berry-bush, fruit
tree.
What arrogance leads anyone to suppose that this insensate flow or urbanization can be reversed? The American
people, if the polls are to be trusted, regret their dislocation from country to city; most people long to escape, to find
their way back somehow to the rural setting. That change of attitude has actually occurred, and is of signal
significance.
OUR EFFORTS at escape have been clumsy; suburbanization held out its lure for a generation or so, only to be
frustrated by the burdens of commuting. Urban sprawl despoiled the natural world around the cities, brought
centerless developments devoid even of the physical aspects of community. The country cabin and second home
have multiplied the economic burden of housing, and have all too often destroyed the rural environment which they
sought to find. These efforts have been haphazard, reflexes against inhumane conditions brought on by
technological, industrial, and economic forces which must now be opposed deliberately if salvation is to be found.
A certain arrogance will indeed by needed, and most assuredly a release of new imaginative powers, if the
countryside is to be redeemed as the true home of man, and if the evil of urbanization, as it has recently revealed
itself, is to be ended. The work of transformation will not be accomplished in a decade, nor in a generation. The
catastrophe which has required a century and more to overwhelm us will not be righted in less than another century,
more likely half a millennium; and so patience, endurance, and conviction will also be needed. And yet, among the
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Argument Writing Grade 11
beneficial results of science and technology has been our generalized sense of competence, the widening of a faith,
perhaps recently shaken, that men can in fact, if they will, command their own collective destiny.
IF A VISION guides, perhaps the first step is to visualize the alternatives; then we can examine into what practical
measures may be available for their realization. The image will not be the agricultural society of the past in all its
aspects; the long days of toil in the fields, the drudgery of the household, the big family and its labor supply, the
overburdened work animals, the isolation and parochialism; these are behind us. The machine, even the factory,
which can be made serviceable, even automation, which can be made tractable, even technology, if it can be
domesticated: these emergents can be forced into the service of mankind, can be made to yield abundance, security,
leisure, foundations for a cultural efflorescence, seated within a generosity of field and forest. Granted a rapid
stabilization and a gradual reduction of population, essential to any future human order, the small cities which dot
the land can be revitalized without any grave impingement on the environment, and new communities can be built in
reasonable number. The big cities can be opened up, and the countryside brought back to them in broadened open
spaces, parks, and avenues freed from curbisde parking and the uproar of traffic.
WITH A SHIFT of budgetary priorities from the construction of superhighways and useless dams, and from arms to
education, as expanded institutions of world order permit, new schools, with room space for small classes, and with
more teachers, aided by the mechanical marvels of the age, microfilm, television, can make high quality universal
education as readily available to rural communities as it was thought to be in the cities. And the art gallery, library,
concert hall, theater will be seen as functions of interest, attention, leisure, and abundance, not of urban
concentration.
Perhaps there will be a new sense of time within the new society; or better, we shall return to an almost forgotten,
basically rural sense of time, familiar to older generations, a slow time, not the modern frenzy, an ample time, with
room for reflection, for a return upon the spirit. Perhaps also a remembered sense of security; a world which is in
constant flux can yield no man security of spirit; within the reborn countryside we shall build our houses again for
the centuries, for the continuity of generations, and shall preserve our churches once again as symbols of eternity.
IN THE MEANTIME, campaigns for the defense of the countryside and for an attack on the problem of
urbanization will have to be mounted. Land-use planning based on the preservation of rural values, not the
exploitation and destruction of the land, will be fundamental. The entire environmental protection arsenal must be
deployed. pollution abatement programs must not be compromised. The old soil conservation programs should be
reactivated, as contrasted with lake building, fruit of speculative ambitions. Ecological forestry action will be
essential, and vigorous wildlife restoration and protection.
A workable system of industrial plant location and continuity should be developed without delay, not focused on
unending growth, which many communities are now resisting, but on stable employment for settled populations
within the essential economic and cultural amenities. Telically valid plant location will mean small plants for a
variety of human reasons, a varied product within a coherent region, a deliberate reduction of transportation, both
for materials and product, and a rigorous respect for the surrounding environment.
A GENERALIZED stabilization, as contrasted with endless expansion, will be fundamental to the new order,
always including stabilization and reduction of population and a differential economic stabilization, correcting for
the needs of under-privileged groups and nations, but working toward a sufficiency, not a surfeit, of beneficial
goods, and against harmful commodities. The frame of reference will be the metropolis no longer, but the verdant
fields, the refreshing woods, the clean and sparkling streams of the resurrected and beloved countryside.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is the author's primary claim?
What KIND and QUALITY of evidence does the writer provide to support the claims?
What assumptions underlie the argument?
Describe the writer's tone. How does the author's tone affect the argument?
Has the writer committed any fallacies? If so, what are they?
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Part II. Take a look at the following argument about genetic modification of the food supply. Identify
where the author, Tracy Gonzales:




Establishes a claim in the opening paragraph
Refutes opposing arguments
Presents evidence to support her argument
Uses authority, statistics, and anecdotal evidence.
"A Cautious Approach to Genetic Modification of Foods" by Tracy Gonzales
Advances in science and, specifically, genetic engineering are proceeding at an amazingly fast pace. There are
stories in the media seemingly every day about biotechnology developments from growing pest resistant corn to
growing new human teeth. In the area of genetically modified (GM) plant technology, some of these developments
are creating concern and controversy. Historically intentional plant modification has been laborious and not very
accurate, but has been used for years to breed plants that were bigger and better - to breed out undesirable traits and
breed in better ones. Now that the science of genetic modification is so advanced, plants can be modified by direct
manipulation of genes. It is faster, more accurate, and advances are incredible and maybe a little disconcerting.
Proponents of GMO (genetically modified organisms) technology tout the developments as potential cures for world
hunger, agricultural pollution, and pest control problems. Opponents raise concerns over possible effects on health
and the environment. Religious groups express outrage over tampering with nature – in effect “playing God”.
Considering all the arguments, it can be deduced that there are no quick fixes to the world’s agricultural and
ecological concerns. The science of genetic engineering needs to be handled with caution, and all possible hazards
considered and addressed. The genetic modification of foods in particular needs to be approached not as a panacea
for all the current agricultural and nutritional needs, but as part of a holistic approach to managing the planet’s food
supply.
GMO proponents claim that farmers will be the biggest winners when it comes to the newest seeds and plants being
developed. Yields will increase and costs will decrease. But, there are other agricultural techniques that are being
used today successfully without using GM products. Organic and ecologically minded farmers are using holistic
approaches to food production (Clark). They take into consideration all of the ecological elements of their location
and use crop rotation and land-use rotation (rotation between crops and animals) to replenish soil. Input - meaning
introduction of aids like fertilizers and pest control - is natural instead of chemical, especially in organic farming.
Studies have shown that although there are claims that this type of farming produces lesser yields, it is usually due to
factors that affect “traditional” farming (commonly used to refer to large-scale farming using chemicals and
technology) as well, and which will produce concurrent smaller yields within those other agricultural techniques. A
good example of alternative farming methods is Cuba (Rosset). Since a tightened trade embargo forced them to
“turn inward”, they have created a self-reliant agricultural system based on smaller farms, higher prices for goods,
local production, environmentally friendly inputs, and bio-diversity, all of which has been successful without GM
involvement. Before we accept the solutions to agricultural issues that GM puts forward, these other techniques
should be studied on an equal basis.
Proponents of GMO’s also claim that the technology of plant modification is necessary to feed the world’s growing
population. The claims are that genetic engineering will create crops that are nutritionally advanced, less expensive,
more tolerant to adverse conditions, and more abundant. But, historically, it has not been lack of available food that
causes starvation, but instead poor distribution of available food and poverty. According to E.Ann Clark, a professor
at the University of Guelph in Canada, “we [the US and Canada] already produce vastly more food than we could
possibly need ourselves”. She goes on to say that developing countries do not have the funds to pay for this excess
food, and so continue being undernourished. Much has been made of the Rockefeller foundation and its
development of nutritionally advanced rice and subsequent offering of that product to impoverished countries at
reduced cost. This appears to be a step in the right direction, and more approaches could be made to provide surplus
food to the impoverished whether or not the food is genetically modified. Humanitarian efforts are key here, instead
of technology.
Of course money plays a huge part in all of this technology. Opponents claim that the biotechnology companies
producing the GMO’s are the ones who will reap all the monetary benefits. There are concerns that seed companies
are manipulating genes to force farmers to buy new seeds each year and use only certain pesticides and herbicides,
all to corner their share of the market. According to Professor Clark academic funding has been going more to
biotechnology than other agricultural research, and that this funding is unfortunately tied to commercial interests.
50
Argument Writing Grade 11
Money and big-business cannot be what determines the welfare of our food sources. Studies in all the various
techniques of agriculture and nutrition need to fairly funded so that our bio-diversity and ecology is preserved.
Arguments abound about the potential dangers of biotechnology’s tampering with nature. Concerns include crosscontamination through pollen exchanges, the development of super-weeds, threats to animal life, and reduced
effectiveness of pesticides. Already there are questions about how genes that are lethal to certain insects will affect
other animal life in the same eco-system, and modified plants that could, in effect, take over all the plant life in the
surrounding area. Concerning human consumption of modified foods, there are concerns over allergenicity, and
unknown effects on human health that are unforeseeable. These concerns are argued back and forth, studies are
done, claims are proved and disproved, and evidence is unclear. What is clear is that the genetic modification of
plants and foods needs to undergo the same type of testing that bio-engineered pharmaceuticals undergo to
determine safety and long-term effects. Who will do this testing? Editor and author Deborah B. Whitman attended
an FDA meeting in Washington D.C. in November 1999 that was held in response to the public’s concerns over GM
products, and her deduction from the information presented is that current jurisdiction over regulating GM foods, at
least in the United States, is “confused”. The jurisdiction is shared between the EPA, the USDA and the FDA. none
of which has specific jurisdiction over “genetically modified food”. According to Whitman the EPA “evaluates GM
plants for environmental safety, the USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to grow, and the FDA evaluates
whether the plant is safe to eat”. Logically, GM foods themselves would seem to fall under the FDA’s umbrella, but
their jurisdiction is over pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products and additives. Whole foods, which, for
example, B.t. corn would be considered, are not included under their regulation. In order to determine the safety and
long term effects of GMO’s someone needs to take responsibility, and it would seem logical that the FDA, EPA, and
USDA guidelines need to change as this technology changes, so that someone takes responsibility for the plants and
foods being produced, and GMO’s undergo the testing, and subsequent labeling required.
In the end consumers will be the deciding factor in how accepted GMO’s become in the marketplace. It has already
been made clear, especially in Europe, that there is nervousness and a general unwillingness to trust the claims about
GM safety, and as a result there is very little market for food products containing genetically modified ingredients.
Heinz and Gerber have responded to pressure and have removed all GMO’s from their baby foods. There have been
incidents of crop burnings and demonstration in protest of crop modification. Much of this hysteria is likely due to
people being uninformed. The field of genetic engineering needs to develop the practice of being forthcoming about
their work – to disseminate information about what they are doing so people will be more informed and educated.
The more people are informed, the less hysteria there will be. But, ultimately people have the right to decide what
they put in their own bodies, and alternatives to GM food will always need to be available.
Economically and ecologically proponents are claiming that GMO’s will be nothing but good for the planet. Farmers
will benefit from increased yields and decreased expenditures on input. Plants modified to grow in adverse
conditions will flourish. Ecology will benefit from reduced pollution. Impoverished countries will benefit from
increased supply and advanced nutrition, and from availability of vaccines and pharmaceuticals incorporated into
crops that are easy to administer and store. Pharmaceuticals and industry have benefited from GM technology
already. Opponents protesting genetic engineering neglect to acknowledge some of those benefits already in use
such as insulin, and bacteria that eat oil-spills. There are many who would argue in favor of eliminating GMO’s
entirely. There needs to be a balance, because there is much at stake – our children, our ecology, our planet.
Our ecology is a constantly changing thing. Evolution changes our plant and animal life over time, but it could be
risky to rush things to the extent that the biotechnology companies seem to want to. Our fears and concerns over
genetic engineering in general need to be addressed. Bio-diversity and ecologically healthy farming techniques, food
distribution to the impoverished, thorough testing, elimination of big-business influence, dissemination and
education, and extreme caution are needed if this technology is to proceed at a safe pace and make GM something
that consumers and agriculture can accept and benefit from.
Works Cited
Clark, Professor E.Ann, from study done by Science Magazine, GMF Questions, Many Positions (Copyright 20002002 by the SCOPE Research Group, UC Berkeley, UW, AAAS), Nov. 29, 2002
<http://scope.educ.washington.edu/gmfood/position/>
Rosset, Dr. Peter, co-Director of Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy Toward an
Agroecological Alternative for the Peasantry, Posted: May 7, 2000
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/ge/agalternative.html.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 3
1 of 4
Identifying Claims in an Article
Responding to an Article with Argument Writing
Name:
Brainstorming Activity:
Look at the definition in the center of this thinking map. Brainstorm the POSITIVE (left) and
NEGATIVE (right) beliefs associated with “gangsta rap.”
Positive Associations
GANGSTA RAP:
rap music with lyrics
explicitly portraying
the violence and drug
use of urban gang life
and typically
expressing hostility
toward whites,
women, and civil
authority.
Negative Associations
52
Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet
2 of 4
What aspects of life might affect how a person completed this thinking map?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________.
Do you listen to “gangsta-rap”? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Directions: As you read the following article about “gangsta rap,” highlight 3-5 claims.
“Much More to Rap Music than What Meets the Ear.”
By Gina Poltrok
UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 19, Page 1 February 10, 1994 (Published by the University of Delaware)
Rap music has long been considered controversial by those in the mainstream. With recent
criminal charges brought against rappers TupacShakur and Snoop Doggy Dog, gangsta rap has
received added attention. However, the term gangsta rap seems to be an all-purpose word used
by the media to generalize many types of rap into one broad category, according to Bill E.
Lawson, associate professor of philosophy at the University. A few years ago, Lawson taught
"The Art of Social Protest from Be-Bop to Rap," a course that examined the role of protest in
music from a philosophical point of view. Gangsta rap, he said, is a specific type of music that
has evolved from anger expressed in earlier "hard core" rap forms.
Gangsta rap portrays urban life and its sometimes violent nature. It talks about people trying to
have control over that environment, how they need to take on a certain persona. Rappers try to
show that, in order to survive in such a violent atmosphere, people must look after their own selfinterests and do what is necessary to take care of themselves. This particular rap style proclaims
that money and power are the basis for respect, Lawson said.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 3
3 of 4
Gangsta rap is attractive to both black and white youths, he said, because it is rebellious and antiestablishment oriented. It glamorizes the "bad" guy who will not be pushed around or told what
to do. "For those who are involved in drugs and crime and killing, these raps are...the expression
of their lives," Lawson said. The controversy over this music raises the question of whether or
not gangsta rap affects behavior. Lawson said the answer depends on whom you talk to.
Rappers will say their music has no effect on people's behavior, but rather, it shows life in
America today and what kids must do to get respect. Others will disagree and say it has a bad
impact on behavior because it shows a lack of respect for life, especially when the music content
involves killing people. Gangsta rap also talks about drug use and portrays negative attitudes
toward women, especially black women. To question gangsta rap's impact on behavior is the
same as asking how television, video games or pornography affect people, Lawson said. Similar
problems have risen with Satanic messages in heavy metal music.
"Given what's going on in the black community, it's easy to pick out the music as the cause" of
so much violence, he said. However, the claims people make must be supported with evidence.
Lawson pointed out there is no evidence that gangsta rap is the cause of problems in the urban
community. A recent assault charge leveled against TupacShakur has been associated with
gangsta rap, but Lawson said this is not accurate.
Shakur's actions may be considered "gangsta" activity, he said, but his music does not reflect the
prevalent opinion of a gangsta rapper's attitude. Before rapping on his own, Shakur was a
member of Digital Underground. This group's music belongs to a different type of rap, focusing
more on dancing and having fun. Public Enemy, a group that has caused controversy in the past,
belongs to yet another type of rap, focusing on raising a consciousness of problems in the black
community. The gangsta attitude in the music of Dr. Dre or Snoop Doggy Dog is totally different
from these other types of rap, Lawson said. They accept the situation as it is. Their general idea
is "if you mess with me, I'll kill you." There does not seem to be a call for social change. Lawson
said gangsta rap can be positive if it makes listeners stop and think about what went wrong in
American society. But he also pointed out that rappers have to consider what kind of message
they are sending out about laws and women.
As with all music, people react. Some radio stations are now refusing to play gangsta rap.
Women's groups are lobbying against it, and female rappers like Queen Latifah have questioned
the negative names used and attitudes directed toward black women. Who knows where gangsta
rap will go from here? Even with so much negative response by the public, the music will still be
bought and played. Many songs become popular without ever getting aired by most radio
stations, but rather receive play in clubs and on college radio stations. "People will always be
pushing music to the limits and extremes," said Lawson. "They will try to push it beyond
mainstream value boundaries.
54
Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 3
4 of 4
Create a claim:
a. Do you think “gangsta rap” is harmful?
b. Find one statement within this article with which you strongly agree or
disagree. Explain.
c. What events from life and literature support your opinion?
d. What evidence would someone who disagrees with you use to prove you
wrong?
Compose your claim:
Quote from article
Interpretation that ties quote to your claim
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 4
1 of 2
Graphic Organizer: Developing a Claim Based on Any Text
Directions After developing your arguable claim, identify quotes or events from the text that
support your claim and build your argument.
Claim:
Textual evidence #1 (direct quotation or event):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________ (page ____)
Textual evidence #2 (direct quotation or event):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________ (page ____)
Textual evidence #3 (direct quotation or event):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________ (page ____)
Counterclaim:
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Student Resource Sheet 4
2 of 2
Textual evidence for counterclaim (direct quotation or event):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________ (page. ____)
Refutation (Why is the counterclaim not valid?):
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Teacher Resource
Common Fallacious Terms
When building an argument, it is imperative to show that the argument is logical
and based on sound reasoning- not fallacious or faulty reasoning. The writer should
avoid faulty reasoning. Here are examples of common faulty reasoning.
Overgeneralization: statements that are so general that they oversimplify reality
Begging the question: when arguing a claim, instead of supplying additional grounds
supporting the claim - one simply assumes the validity of the claim he/she is making
Loaded language: words with strong positive or negative connotations that unfairly
frame words into limited or biased contexts.
False analogy: an elaborate comparison of two things that are too dissimilar.
Straw man: attacking an exaggerated or caricatured version of your opponent's position.
Genetic fallacy: an idea is either accepted or rejected because of its source, rather than
its merit.
Guilty by association: the writer uses an unfair attempt to make someone responsible for
the beliefs or actions of others.
Ad populum: trying to prove something by showing that the public agrees.
Red herring: introducing irrelevant facts or arguments to distract from the question at
hand.
Non sequitor: stating, as a conclusion, something that does not strictly follow from the
premises.
Rationalization: perceived controversial behaviors or feelings are explained in a rational
or logical manner to avoid the true explanation.
Slippery slope: an argument that says adopting one policy or taking one action will lead
to a series of other policies or actions also being taken
Card Stacking: Concealing, withholding, or ignoring evidence, or selecting only that
evidence favorable to your side.
Ad ignorantiam: assuming something is true simply because it hasn't been proven false
Post hoc: assuming that A caused B simply because A happened prior to B
Equivocation: (1) twisting a secondary meaning of a word and claiming that it has the
same weight as another meaning. (2) Using doublespeak; trying to hide the truth behind a
euphemism or passive voice.
Ad baculum: based upon the appeal of force or threats in order to bring about the
acceptance of a claim.
Ad hominem: attacking the character or motives of a person who has stated an idea,
rather than the idea itself.
Ad Misericordiam: an argument that appeals to pity.
Plain folks appeal: an attempt to convince the public that his/her views reflect those of
the common person and that they are also working for the benefit of the common person.
Snob appeal: stating that a claim is accurate simply because someone famous, scholarly,
aristocratic believes it.
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Argument Writing Grade 11
Tuquoque: defending an error in one's reasoning by pointing out that one's opponent has
made the same error.
False dilemma: Claiming that there are only two alternatives to choose from when in
fact there are many options; refusing to see gray areas.
59