THE ARGUMENT ESSAY
THE SIX-PART ORATION:
AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE FIVE
PARAGRAPH THEME
• From Jolliffe and Roskelly Writing America: Language and Comp in Context
• Cicero taught his students to create speeches by
following a six-part model:
• Exordium
• Narration
• Partition
• Confirmation
• Refutation
• Peroration
SIX-PART ORATION CONT
• In the exordium, literally the web that draws the
listeners into the speech, the speaker would
introduce the subject at hand and include material
that would make the audience both attentive and
receptive to the argument.
• The narration would offer background material on
the case at hand
• The partition would divide the case and make clear
which part or parts the speaker was going to
address, which parts the speaker would not take
up, and what order would be followed in the
development
CONT
• The confirmation would offer points to substantiate
the argument and provide reasons, details,
illustrations, and examples in support of these points.
• The refutation would consider possible objections to
the argument or its supporting points and try to
counter those objections
• The peroration would draw together the entire
argument and include material designed to
compel the audience to think or act in a way
consonant with the central argument
NOTICE HOW THESE SIX MOVES MIGHT
STRUCTURE AN ARGUMENT ESSAY:
(But before we get to that,
recognize that “MOVE” does
not equal “paragraph”– some
may take more than one
paragraph to accomplish,
some less)
TRANSLATING TO AP ARGUMENT
ESSAY
• You contextualize the issue at hand for your readers
and let them know why your topic is an important
one for them to consider (exordium).
• You provide some background information on your
topic. Briefly, you sketch out what the “going
wisdom” or “word on the street” about your topic
is– what do people generally talk about when your
topic comes up. “Most people contend ____.”
(narration)
CONT
• You divide your topic into smaller chunks, and then
commit to developing one of them– your thesis–
mapping out for your reader how you intend to do
so. “I could argue blank, or blank, or blank. The
most important point, however, is blank.” (partition)
• You generate points to support your thesis, and you
make these points substantial by providing reasons,
details, examples, illustrations (confirmation)
CONT
• You anticipate your readers’ objections and
address them, again with reasons, details,
examples, and illustrations. (refutation)
• You conclude by doing two things: a. by addressing
the “so what” question– so what are the
implications of your thesis for further discussions of
the topic? So how are the readers better off for
having read your essay? B. by sounding like a
conclusion– by having the rhythm of your
conclusion sound like the end of a symphony
performance, when the orchestra goes “dum-dumda-dum.” (peroration)
ARGUMENT QUESTION:
• Recognize the complexity of the question
• That is ½ of the purpose of the argument
• That is a path to a higher score- qualify!!!
• Qualifying not only addresses the other side of the
argument (which is a very sophisticated and
mature way to improve your ethos), but it also even
concedes points to the side with which you
disagree. If you qualify, make sure you still favor a
side. Don’t come across as wishy-washy.
• Do not use hypothetical evidence
• It must be real (use your AP History knowledge, your
knowledge from reading & being an informed citizen)
CLAIM, DATA, UNSPOKEN BECAUSE
• Claim- take-home idea– your central
claim/proposition/thesis
• Data- material (specific) that you will cite in support
of your thesis
• Unspoken “because”- underlying assumptions,
opposing viewpoints, etc.
• A good argument brings the unspoken to
addressed.
FOR STRUGGLING WRITERSTHESIS AND TOPIC SENTENCES
• - Everything you write should relate back to your
thesis, which should, in turn, relate back to the
prompt.
• - Use topic sentences and transitions for each
paragraph.
• - Have your thesis and topic sentences written out in
your outline before you begin to write. This will help
keep your essay tight and structured. Don’t spend
too much time on your outline. 10 mins. MAX
THESIS CONT’D
• Here’s a nice formula for your thesis statement:
• Answer the prompt directly because reason,
reason, and reason.
• Reasons– can be facts or opinion supported by
evidence
• At this point, be quick about just introducing your
reasons here in a few words. The body paragraphs
are for expounding.
EVIDENCE
• For each reason that you have mentioned (each of
which should be at least its own paragraph, if not more),
you need evidence to support why you feel the way you
do. Evidence for the AP exam can come from current
events/news, politics, social observation, literature (if it’s
famous and actually relevant to the topic), history, and
personal experience.
• Personal experience is limited in its ability to convince
your target audience that you are correct, but it does
show the AP graders that you have a reason (albeit
personal) to feel the way you do outside of emotion or
blind tradition. Consider beginning your essay with a
personal anecdote (Gladwell style) instead of using it for
support.
WARRANT
• For each paragraph, make sure you have a
warrant. A warrant is a sentence or a few that
describe how your evidence ties into that
paragraph, or what it has to do with your
point/overall argument. This could be seen as
metacommentary that helps the reader stay with
you and understand what point you are trying to
make.
OUTLINE
• If you just figure out your answer to the prompt, your
reasons, and the evidence you want to use by filling
out the thesis formula I just gave you, this would
serve to help organize your paper, make sure you
have addressed what you should have addressed,
and give you a much better product. Warrants can
be written out as you are actually writing your
essay.
ARGUMENT ESSAY CONT.
Also, remember every grader is human. Grading gets
tedious and when you come across boring, safe,
predictable arguments, readers aren’t impressed. If you
can be creative in your approach, rationale, evidence, or
thesis statement, you will score higher. If you can pull it off,
that is. You want to make sure you still use appropriate
evidence and stay on topic, directly answering the
prompt. Special insight into the plight of humanity requires
critical thinking. Evidence of critical thinking in any essay is
always a plus. Also, wit is good. Corniness or humor that falls
flat isn’t. Be certain when writing a humorous essay or
making a humorous point that someone else besides you
thinks it’s funny.