Transcript Argument Writing - Dallastown Area School District

Argument Writing
Fun! Necessary! Easy!
Think of the last time you needed to be persuasive.
• Were you trying to convince your parents/ guardians to
buy you something?
• Were you trying to convince your friend to see the movie
of your choice?
• Were you trying to convince a sibling to do your chore for
you?
How successful were you in getting what you wanted?
Making a successful argument depends on several factors….
Concept #1
To make a persuasive argument, one
must back up a
debatable claim (opinion)
with evidence (facts, details, reasons)
that directly relates to and
supports the claim.
Concept #2
There are two kinds of evidence:
• Factual- Confirmed facts, data &
statistics, research by experts
• Anecdotal- Personal experience,
family & friends’ observations,
acquaintance/ interviewee’s stories
Watch “The Marriage Ref.”
This is a TV show in which a couple presents two sides of
an argument and asks for an outsider’s opinion to settle
the disagreement.
In this episode, a husband and wife are disagreeing about
where to move.
Each side has an opinion, or claim, about the best
location.
• Mimi’s debatable claim is that the couple should move to Hollywood.
• Pat’s debatable claim is that the couple should move to Amish country
in Indiana.
Vote with your feet. If you would like to side with the wife, move to the front of the room.
If you would like to side with the husband, move to the back of the room.
Find a partner in your group and discuss why you thought this argument was the more
effective of the two.
Return to your seats to watch the clip again. This time pay special attention to the
evidence that each side gives to support his/her claim. List these facts, details, or reasons
on your “Marriage Ref ” handout.
Now examine the “Evidence Types” handout.
Whether you sided with Pat or Mimi probably had something to do
with the types of evidence they each presented. Look back at the
list of evidence each side gave.
Now decide as a group which points were factual, and which were
anecdotal. Fill in the “Marriage Ref ” handout “Types of
Evidence” column.
Be ready to discuss your answers with the class.
Both factual and anecdotal evidence
have strengths and weaknesses.
What do you think they are?
Discuss your opinions with your table.
Factual:
• Positive- facts, statistics, data, and research can be proven
• Negative- sometimes facts can be manipulated to support one side or the other,
depending on how the research is presented (advertisers are often guilty of this)
Anecdotal:
• Positive- this kind of information makes an argument seem more human and true
to life
• Negative- it’s only one person’s story and doesn’t represent everyone’s experience
The Bottom Line:
It’s good to have a mix of both types of evidence, but it’s best to rely more on
the factual. Having only anecdotal evidence can make an argument weak.
Concept #3
Argument writers use only the best evidence
that will most effectively support their claim
and persuade the reader to agree with their
point of view. For evidence to be effective, it
must come from a variety of credible sources
and be correctly cited.
In order to provide a strong argument, one
needs to use credible sources when
researching a topic. Credible sources are
publications that are convincing and able to
be believed. Answer the questions: Who?
What? Where? When? and Why? to determine
the credibility of a source.
Think about it this way. We all hear rumors at school. Sometimes you choose to
believe these rumors and sometimes you don’t. You probably base this decision
on Who? What? Where? When? and Why?
Imagine this. You just heard that your best friend has a crush on your boyfriend! You are MAD!
But wait,
• WHO said it?........................the girl who’s getting less playing time now that you’re on the
basketball team
• WHAT did she say?..............something that seems wrong because your best friend has liked
someone else for a while
• WHERE did this happen?...at a sleepover that your teammate “forgot” to invite you and your
bestie to, meaning the story didn’t even come directly from her
• WHEN did this happen?......the day after you made the game-winning three-pointer
• WHY did this happen?..........jealousy, DUH!
What do you do? Drop it. It’s not worth your time.
You MUST drop unreliable sources of information!
Next, examine the Credible Sources on
the Internet document.
For homework, complete the Website
Credibility Activity.
•
•
•
•
Concept #4
Citing information is absolutely necessary.
What gets cited?
Quoted information from a secondary
source.
Paraphrased information from a secondary
source.
Information obtained in an interview.
Any idea that is not your own.
How do you cite a source?
In-text Citation
• Insert the in-text citation before the period at
the end of the sentence in which the
quotation or paraphrase appears.
• Include the first item that appears in the
works cited entry that corresponds to the
citation (e.g. author name, article name,
website name).
How do you cite a source?
Works Cited List
At the end of an essay, a writer includes a list of
works cited that gives details about all the intext citations.
See the Citing Sources handout for more detail.
Concept #5
After including research in the writing, one
must also provide commentary. Commentary
sentences explain what is important about the
evidence and tell the reader how it proves and
supports the claim.
Very simply, your commentary sentences are “explain”
sentences. Notice that the root of the word commentary is
comment.
How do you comment on the research? Answer:
• What do I need to make sure the reader understands
about this evidence?
(Re-explain the evidence.)
• Why is this evidence especially important?
• How does it prove and support the claim?
The Importance of BECAUSE
“Because” is a word that tells a reader they are about to hear an
explanation. It signals significance (importance) and
relationship. It’s an effective word to use when writing
commentary. For example:
• These statistics are important because they point to the effects
of poor nutrition and how serious the school lunch problem is.
• Leaders and decision-makers must pay attention to such
experiences because they prove that there is a relationship
between what we eat and how well we learn.
Notice that the strong verbs are underlined.
Support your argument!
Now complete the You Try! activity in your notes
Concept #6
It’s time to organize your paragraph! Your topic sentence should be your
Claim (opinion) + a Summary of your Evidence
For Example: People should not eat fast food because it causes health problems.
The rest of your paragraph should be set up like a well-developed
paragraph. Your details can either be the research or the
explanation. Your explains can either be the research or the
explanation. The important thing is to support your claim with
evidence on which you make a comment.
Concept #6
It’s important to organize your ideas! Your essay has an overall provable claim,
purpose statement, or thesis in its introduction (for example: It is certain that
people should not eat fast food.). However, it is the body of your essay that will
prove your main idea. Your body topic sentences should be your
Claim (opinion) + a Summary of your Evidence
For Example: Foremost, people should not eat fast food because it causes health
problems.
Complete the
Practice with Topic Sentences
handout
Concept #7
Include transitions in your writing. They are words and phrases that
form idea bridges for the reader to let them know how the
information they just read is related to the information they are
about to read. Transitions show the reader how your ideas fit
together so they are more likely to be persuaded by your argument.
Where are they located?
Transitions are located within sentences, between sentences, and
between paragraphs.
Complete the Identify the Transition
and Transition Madlibs handouts for
practice.
Concept #8
People who are successful debaters are people who seem fair and unbiased. These are people who have arrived at their point-of-view after
having considered both sides of the argument. One way to truly sound
unbiased is to include a counterargument and a rebuttal as part of your
writing.
A counterargument is an argument (point/reason/view/evidence) that
your opponent would make.
A rebuttal is when you respond directly to your opponent’s argument to
show how or why he or she is wrong.
Concept #9
Tone is the author’s attitude toward the topic. When writing an
argument piece, an author’s tone may be objective or subjective. The
author’s attitude is expressed through the words and details he or she
selects. For our purposes, taking an objective tone is the best
approach.
Textbooks are usually written with an objective tone which includes
facts and reasonable explanations. The objective tone is matter-offact and neutral. The details are mostly facts.
On the other hand, fiction and personal essays are usually written
with a subjective tone. A subjective tone uses words that describe
feelings, judgments, or opinions. The details are likely to include
experiences, senses, feelings, and thoughts.
 Objective tone is impartial. It does not show any feelings for
or against a topic; therefore, it is unbiased or neutral. Often
objective tone uses higher level words and avoids pronouns
such as I and you, creating a formal tone.
 Subjective tone is personal, biased, emotional, and often
informal.
Concept #10
Persuasive Strategies
Thesis
-state your position & take a side!
Statement
Example: American teens
must eat a healthier diet
in order to fight
childhood obesity, avoid
life-threatening diseases,
and set nutritious lifelong eating habits.
Emotional Appeal
evidence that appeals to a person’s feelings
(can be positive or negative)
Example: If you eat
healthy, people will
notice you because
you’ll look your best.
Logical Appeal
evidence that appeals to your sense of
reasoning as well as shows cause &
effect
Example: Meals high in calories and
fat, such as those offered at fast
food restaurants, cannot be very
healthy.
Expert Opinion/Big Names
a “professional in the field” who provides
evidence (this can make an argument seem
more convincing)
Example: Former U.S.
president Bill Clinton states
junk food should be removed
from vending machines.
Examples
specific details/types used as evidence
to support your topic
Example: Drinking
fruit smoothies, such
as Mango Banana,
boosts your energy
level.
Specific Facts / Statistics
evidence that can be proven
Example: A recent
study found that 92%
of teens that drink
several soft drinks a
day don’t do as well in
extra curricular sports.
Now you’re ready to write.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Consider the question you are being asked to answer.
Gather reliable evidence (both factual and anecdotal)
Decide on your claim (opinion) in answer to the question
Decide on your commentary. How will you explain the supporting
evidence?
Use organization with topic sentences that state your claim and summarize
your evidence.
Use strong verbs and transitions.
Use a strong, objective argumentative tone.
Use persuasive techniques to get your point across.
Write with passion!
People will believe in you if you believe in yourself !