Argumentative Essay
Take Notes
Preplanning
 1.
Main argument
Objection
Reply
2.
Your Position - reasons people disagree
1.
counterarguments
2.
3.
Claim – What you will prove?
A Claim must:
•
be debatable, something that you will prove.
•
Answer - What’s your point?
•
Answer- Where do you stand on that?
•
When writing your claim - State your position on the issue and the
reason that will validate it.
•
Claim: Teens should attend high school from Monday thru Thursday so
they may benefit from completing homework and projects on Fridays; in
addition to being able to rest and be prepared for the following week of
school.
Writing an Argumentative Essay
•
Introduction:
 Introduce your topic – describe an issue, problem. Hook
 Why is this topic important & state your position –
background info. (You may use two sentences for this.)
 Why should the audience care? -- counterargument
 Thesis statement – claim + reasons (3-4)
 Transitional statement
Choose a Topic
•
All students should study abroad.
•
Athletes are paid too much.
•
Kids should be able to vote.
•
Football is dangerous/safe.
•
We need a military draft.
•
School days should start later.
•
Cheerleaders' costumes are too skimpy.
•
Night school is better than day school.
•
Kids should get paid for grades.
•
Technical training is better than a college degree.
•
School should take place in the evenings.
•
Immigration laws should be stricter/more lenient.
•
Country life is better than city life.
•
Students should be able to pick their schools.
•
City life is better than country life.
•
Everyone should learn to play a musical
instrument.
•
Life is better than it was 50 years ago.
•
Kids under 15 shouldn't have Facebook pages.
•
Cockroaches should be eliminated.
•
SATs should be eliminated.
•
Sharks should be protected.
•
Teachers should be paid more.
•
We should do away with cars and go back to horse
and carriage for transportation.
•
Reincarnation is possible.
•
We should use more wind power.
•
There should be one world currency.
•
We should provide food for the poor.
•
The government should impose household trash limits .
Claim + Reason + Warrant
•
Your statement + Backs up the point + How you get from the data to the claim.
Unstated idea
•
Examples:
 1. The mushroom is poisonous so don’t eat it since eating poisonous
things is dangerous.
 2. Smoking causes serious diseases in smokers and endangers
nonsmokers as well so the federal government should ban smoking since
the constitution was established to “promote the general welfare” and
citizens are thus entitled to protection from harmful actions by others.
 3. I’ve been drinking since age fourteen without problems so the legal age
for drinking should be lowered since what works for me should work for
everyone else.
Write a claim.
Transitional sentences
•
However, many do agree….
•
Nevertheless, the evidence does point to the …
•
Consequently, these are the facts that help us understand …
•
In simpler terms, our world would be much better if …
•
In fact, the best alternative would be …
•
Due to the advantages of …
Body of the Argumentative Essay
Body 1 =
Counterargument and refutation
Explanation for each
Evidence or Support
Commentary
Transitional sentence
Body 2 =
Scope one of thesis + reasons 1
Explanation for each
Evidence or Support
Commentary
Transitional sentence
Body 3
• Scope
2 of thesis + reasons 2
• Explanation
• Evidence
or Support
• Commentary
• Transitional
sentence
Body 4
• Scope
3 of thesis + reasons 3
• Explanation
• Evidence
or Support
• Commentary
• Transitional
sentence
Transitions for Counterargument
 May be
 Could be
•
It
might be
argued
asserted
contended
maintained
claimed
said
Some people
may argue, may assert
could contend, could maintain
might claim, might say
that…
Conclusion
• So
what?
• Why
is this topic important?
• Why
should people agree with you?
• Rewording
• Persuade
of claim
to take action or to think differently.
Works Cited Page
•
Elshahawi, Aya. “Structure of an Argumentative Essay.” March
2014. https://youtu.be/VSgj9TqxaHg
•
Keller, Ben. “Argumentative Writing and the SEE Method.”
September 2014. https://youtu.be/_ZTHO6ED-EM
•
Lundsford, Andrea; Ruszkeiwics, John and Keith Walters.
Everything’s an Argument. 2013. Bedford St. Martin.
•
Tabbakh, Sam. “Introduction to Argumentative Essay Type !”.
August 2009. https://youtube.R3fCIuX7BMc