Argument WritingFun! 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 #1To 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 #2There 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 #3Argument 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 #4Citing 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 in-text citations.See the Citing Sources handout for more detail.

Concept #5After 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 #7Include 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 #8People who are successful debaters are people who seem fair and un-biased. 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-of-fact 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 #10Persuasive Strategies

Thesis Statement-state your position & take a side!

Example: American teens must eat a healthier diet in order to fight childhood obesity, avoid life-threatening diseases, and set nutritious life-long eating habits.

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.

Emotional Appeal

Logical Appealevidence 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 Namesa “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.

Examplesspecific details/types used as

evidence to support your topic

Example: Drinking fruit smoothies, such as Mango Banana, boosts your energy level.

Specific Facts / Statisticsevidence 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!