Teaching Argumentative Writing
Using the Common Core
State Standards
David Pook
Why Argumentative Writing?
The CCSS incorporates several fundamental shifts that
highlight the need for teaching argumentative writing:

greater reliance on informational texts

emphasis on writing to texts and extracting evidence

an argumentative writing anchor standard
In addition, the next generation of assessments will likely
move in the direction of argumentative writing:

responding to complex texts vs. de-contextualized prompts

marshalling arguments vs. writing narratives
Argumentative Writing Anchor Standard
CCR Anchor Standard
for Writing Arguments:
Write arguments to
support claims in an
analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using
valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Decoding the Anchor Standard
CCR Anchor Standard #1 for Writing:
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Create a “reading” of the standard:
Decoding the Anchor Standard
CCR Anchor Standard #1 for Writing:
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
One “reading” of the standard:
Argumentative writing analyzes complex texts to support a thesis
in an organized fashion using relevant evidence and sufficient
reasoning.
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning. and proving theses with reasons.
Grade Level Standards
 Grade-specific end-of-year expectations
 Cumulative progression of skills and understandings
 Skills and their application are the focus of instruction
Progression Chart for Standards
 Grade-specific end-of-
year expectations
 Cumulative
progression of skills
and understandings
 Skills and their
application are the
focus of instruction
Focusing on Grade 6
 Grade-specific end-of-
year expectations
 Cumulative
progression of skills
and understandings
 Skills and their
application are the
focus of instruction
Unpack Standard W.6.1
Argumentative writing
analyzes complex texts
to support a thesis
in an organized fashion
using relevant evidence
and sufficient reasoning
“write arguments”
Standard W.6.1 Unpacked
Argumentative writing
“write arguments”
analyzes complex texts
“using credible sources”
to support a thesis
“support claim(s)”
in an organized fashion
“organize the reasons and evidence…
clarify the relationships among claim(s)
and reasons”
using relevant evidence
“relevant evidence”
and sufficient reasoning “clear reasons”
Grade 6 Argumentative Writing Rubric
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning. and proving theses with reasons.
Selecting the Text
Selecting the Text
analyzes complex text
“using credible sources”
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning and proving theses with reasons
Generating Evidence for Theses
“I have approached the
teaching of argument from
the examination of data as a
first step… the process of
working through an argument
is the process of inquiry. At
its beginning is the
examination of data, not the
invention of a thesis
statement in a vacuum.”
- George Hillocks Jr.
(pg. xxii)
Employing Close Reading

Asks text dependent
questions that require
carefully analyzing the
text for evidence

Offers questions that
build upon each other to
ensure students follow
the line of argument

Requires students to
demonstrate
understanding via
writing
Close Reading Exemplar Template
Text Dependent Questions
Look at the role played by individual words, phrases, sentences and
paragraphs
Ask how meaning can be altered by changing key words and why
an author may have chosen one word over another
Examine how changes in the direction of an argument or
explanation are achieved and possible reasons for the change
Analyze paragraphs on a sentence by sentence basis and sentences
on a word by word basis
Consider what the text leaves uncertain
Question why authors choose to begin and end when they do
Note and assess patterns of writing
Evaluate each argument in persuasive text, each detail in
informational text, and observe how these build to a whole
Close Reading Exemplar
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning and proving theses with reasons
Generating Theses Using Burke’s Pentad
What was done?
When and where was it done?
Who did it?
How was it done?
Why was it done?
Juxtapose the why question
against the others to create a
thesis question:
Generating Theses Using Burke’s Pentad
What was done?
When and where was it done?
Who did it?
How was it done?
Why was it done?
Juxtapose the why question
against the others to create a
thesis question:
Why was Marian Anderson’s
concert on the Mall in
Washington an important
event in the struggle for civil
rights?
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning and proving theses with reasons
Using the Exemplar to Inform Structure
Structuring the Essay
“clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons”
The noted singer Marian
Anderson was not permitted
to perform in Constitution
Hall because of her race.
Influential people helped
relocate the concert to the
steps of the Lincoln
Memorial.
Many people came to the
concert despite the weather
to show their support for
racial equality.
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning and proving theses with reasons
The Problem with Evidence
“In my experience and in my
research, teenagers see no
reason to question or
substantiate claims in any
context… test makers do not
know what constitutes
evidence any more than our
youngsters do.
- George Hillocks Jr.,
pg.xx-xxi
Using Exemplar to Select “Relevant Evidence”
The noted singer Marian Anderson
was not permitted to perform in
Constitution Hall because of her race
“one of the great voices of the time”
performed for many heads of state as
well as the President
African-Americans were not allowed
to perform there
“Black artists… [b]arred from
Constitution Hall”
Selecting “Relevant Evidence”
Influential people helped
relocate the concert to the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial
Many people came to the
concert despite the weather
to show their support for
racial equality
Selecting “Relevant Evidence”
Influential people helped
relocate the concert to the steps
of the Lincoln Memorial
“DAR’s ban had caused an
angry controversy and set the
stage for a historic event”;
intervention of influential
politicians relocated the
concert to the Mall; Secretary
of the Interior Harold Ickes
introduced her; “open-air
concert on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial”; “the great
marble monument”; “massive”
“appropriate concert space”
Many people came to the
concert despite the weather to
show their support for racial
equality
“the streets leading to the Mall
in Washington, D.C., were
jammed with thousands of
people”; a “huge turnout”;
“estimated 75,000 people”;
“cold and threatening
weather”; “chilly Easter
Sunday”; “demonstrate their
support for racial justice”;
“struggle for civil rights”;
“profound hush”
Identifying Instructional Needs
Argumentative writing
Teachers need guidance in
analyzes complex texts
selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &
to support a thesis
teaching students how to generate theses,
in an organized fashion
structure argumentative essays,
using relevant evidence
select pertinent evidence,
and sufficient reasoning and proving theses with reasons
Offering “Clear Reasons”
The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform
in Constitution Hall because of her race
“one of the great voices of the time”
performed for many heads of state
as well as the President
African-Americans were not allowed
to perform there
“Black artists… [b]arred from
Constitution Hall”
Offering “Clear Reasons”
The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform
in Constitution Hall because of her race
“one of the great voices of the time”
performed for many heads of state
as well as the President
African-Americans were not allowed
to perform there
“Black artists… [b]arred from
Constitution Hall”
Justification for Anderson
being a noted singer
Why Anderson was not
permitted to perform
Offering “Clear Reasons”
Many people came to the concert despite the weather to show
their support for racial equality
“thousands of people”
“huge turnout”
“an estimated 75,000 people”
“cold and threatening weather”
“chilly Easter Sunday”
“demonstrate their support for
racial justice”
“struggle for civil rights”
“profound hush”
Using Exemplars to Meet Instructional Needs
Close reading exemplars of complex texts
teach students how to generate theses,
structure argumentative essays,
select pertinent evidence,
and prove theses with reasons
Bringing to Scale
California researchers in the early nineteen-eighties conducted
a five-year study of teacher-skill development in eighty schools,
and noticed something interesting. Workshops led teachers to
use new skills in the classroom only ten per cent of the time.
Even when a practice session with demonstrations and personal
feedback was added, fewer than twenty per cent made the
change. But when coaching was introduced—when a colleague
watched them try the new skills in their own classroom and
provided suggestions—adoption rates passed ninety per cent. A
spate of small randomized trials confirmed the effect. Coached
teachers were more effective, and their students did better on
tests.
- Atul Gawande, “Personal Best”
Questions & Comments