Writing Argumentatively

1. Writing Argumentatively How to prove your point effectively—and win any argument!

2. Article Jigsaw – Part One With the people at your table, read the article provided. Discuss what you think the main takeaways are. 

3. Article Jigsaw – Part Two After your group has finished discussing the article, make a group with one person from each of the other groups. Share the main points of the article with your new group.

4. How to Organize the WHOLE Essay • When looking at an argumentative essay, the goal is to convince your audience that your point is the correct one.  • You should use strong language, convincing evidence, and clear claims to show your reader why they should believe you.  • An easy way to structure your essay is to do the following: • Introduction • Body Paragraph (Your Side) • Body Paragraph (Your Side) • Counterargument (Addressing + Disproving the OTHER side) • Conclusion 

5. Using this prompt, make a Do/What chart. Then, make a basic outline for the essay. • In the articles provided, the author's present various information about "Shut Down Your Screen Week," a week without any electronic media. Write an essay that argues for or against schools adopting "Shut Down Your Screen" week and includes a counterargument which analyzes the opposing viewpoint. Be sure to cite evidence from the articles to support your argument. Follow the conventions of standard written English.

6. Writing a Claim! • Claims go with argumentative writings—this is the thing that you are trying to prove to your audience in your essay. • Claims tend to follow a pretty specific pattern: • ____________________ should/should not _____________________ because __________________________. • So, your claim for this essay would come from the most important sentence of the prompt. This is the sentence you used for the Do/What chart on the previous slide. • Schools should/should not adopt "Shut Down Your Screen Week" because ______________________________. • Because you pulled the information for the first two blanks from the prompt, all you have to add is your reasoning in the last blank.

7. Share Your Outline and Claim! Find a partner and share your outline and claim with them.

8. How to write an Introduction—Hook • Introductions start with a hook—this is usually something to grab your audience's attention. • A good hook gets your reader's attention without giving away too much about the essay, as this is just the very first sentence (or two, or three) of the introduction! • Try to avoid asking a question—your audience can't respond anyway, and it tends to start off your essay in informal language, a big no-no. • Look for ways to interest your reader using information you learned in the articles—this is likely to interest your reader too! • A good rule of thumb is to be relatively broad at the beginning of your essay, then to get more narrow as you go through your introduction. A broad hook gives you more of a chance to catch reader's attention.

9. Write A Hook! • Example: • In the past twenty years, teachers have begun using more and more technology. From projectors to PowerPoints and classroom laptops, there is a wide range of technology used in the classroom every day. Students also are able to carry a small computer in their pocket, changing the way that they look at research and classroom tasks. • Talk with your table, and answer the following questions: • What makes this hook effective?  • Are you interested in this topic?  • Do you know what the essay is going to be about? • Now, write your own hook to interest the reader in your argumentative essay about "Shut Off Your Screen" Week.

10. How to write an Introduction—Context • After you've gotten your reader's attention, you need to give them just a little bit of context for the essay as a whole. • Your context should cover BOTH sides of the argument in one or two sentences each.  • Basically, if you had to sum up both sides of the argument into one sentence each—what would that look like? • This really helps your reader start to invest in the topic, as it helps them pick a side and understand where you are coming from as a writer.

11. Write the Context! • Example:  • In the past twenty years, teachers have begun using more and more technology. From projectors to powerpoints and classroom laptops, there is a wide range of technology used in the classroom every day. Students also are able to carry a small computer in their pocket, changing the way that they look at research and classroom tasks. Some people believe that the technology use in younger generations is out of control because of the rampant use of social media, gaming, and video watching. However, many also see the benefits of a technological era—one where students can have an answer to any question at the tap of a fingertip. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What are the two sides of the argument? • Does the author lean toward either side in this context? • Now, write your own context immediately following your hook.

12. How to write an Introduction—Claim • Claims go with argumentative writing, and they tell your audience what you are going to be talking about in your essay.  • Claims generally follow a set pattern: • ___________ should/should not _______________ because _________________. • You've already written your claim for this practice. • Add your claim to the very end of your introduction.

13. Share Your Introduction Paragraph! Find a partner and share your introduction paragraph with them.

14. How to write a body paragraph—topic sentence • When you are writing a body paragraph, you need to start by connecting your reader back to the claim. • This is the purpose of your topic sentence, reminding your reader that it connects to your claim, and informing them about what's in the paragraph. • This is a short, one sentence connector. Use language from your claim if you need to.  • Write a one sentence topic sentence about your first point in your argument.

15. How to write a body paragraph—Authorization • One important thing that writers must do is show their audience that the information they are presenting is from an authentic, reliable source. This is the job of the authorization statement. • The authorization statement follows a clear pattern every time. • In "Article Title" by Author's Name of Publication, the author discusses/shows/describes/talks about/etc ______________. • All you have to do is fill in the blanks! Article title, author's name, and publication are usually found at the beginning of the article. Then fill in what they talk about broadly in the article. 

16. Write the Authorization! • Example:  • Students should have access to social media to interact with people who are different than they are. In the article "Social Media as a Community" by Keith Hampton of The New York Times, the author discusses the importance of using social media to build social skills. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What is the article title and who is the author? • Is this a trusted, reliable source? How do you know? • Now, write your own authorization immediately following your topic sentence.

17. How to write a body paragraph—Evidence • The evidence that you put into your argumentative body paragraph should be strong, effective, and to the point.  • Try to avoid the following things: • Really long pieces of evidence (aim for 1-2 sentences!) • Evidence that shows both sides of the argument • Evidence that doesn't really help your argument or is weak on it's own. • When putting evidence into your essay, make sure that you put an attribution and that you use proper punctuation. • The author states, " EVIDENCE SENTENCE GOES HERE."

18. Add the Evidence! • Example:  • Students should have access to social media to interact with people who are different than they are. In the article "Social Media as a Community" by Keith Hampton of The New York Times, the author discusses the importance of using social media to build social skills. The author states, "Because of cellphones and social media, those we depend on are more accessible today than at any point since we lived in small, village-like settlements." • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • How effective is this piece of evidence? • Does this evidence help prove my point? • Now add your own piece of evidence to your body paragraph.

19. How to write a body paragraph—Explanation • Sometimes, explaining the evidence you used can be the hardest part of a body paragraph. You want to be effective and not repetitive, but that can be hard. • When thinking about your explanation, pretend that your audience knows absolutely nothing about your topic. • This way, you know to explain all the important parts of the quote! • You should also be proving WHY you chose that piece of evidence and HOW it helps build your argument. • If you can't do this, choose a different piece of evidence. Seriously. • There should always be twice as many sentences of explanation as there are sentences of evidence. (You are proving YOUR point, not someone else's! • That's why it's a good idea to keep your evidence shorter!

20. Write your Explanation! • Example:  • Students should have access to social media to interact with people who are different than they are. In the article "Social Media as a Community" by Keith Hampton of The New York Times, the author discusses the importance of using social media to build social skills. The author states, "Because of cellphones and social media, those we depend on are more accessible today than at any point since we lived in small, village-like settlements." This evidence shows that kids that use social media are able to connect with people across the world--something that makes people more accessible than ever before. With this new ability to connect to people, students should not have to shut that down for a whole week, as they would miss out on valuable connections. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • Does this explanation show why the author chose that evidence? • Do you better understand the author's side now? • Now add your own explanation to your body paragraph.

21. How to Write a Body Paragraph—Conclusion • Before moving on from your body paragraph, you need to wrap up your thoughts on the topic. • Your conclusion sentence is a good way to remind your audience that your paragraph connects to your claim and to lead into your next paragraph.  • Try to avoid repeating things that you've already written—it makes your audience bored and feel like you're not quite sure what you're talking about. • Conclusions are often the last thing your audience reads before moving on in the essay—make sure it wraps up your thoughts!

22. Write your Conclusion! • Example:  • Students should have access to social media to interact with people who are different than they are. In the article "Social Media as a Community" by Keith Hampton of The New York Times, the author discusses the importance of using social media to build social skills. The author states, "Because of cellphones and social media, those we depend on are more accessible today than at any point since we lived in small, village-like settlements." This evidence shows that kids that use social media are able to connect with people across the world--something that makes people more accessible than ever before. With this new ability to connect to people, students should not have to shut that down for a whole week, as they would miss out on valuable connections. Students need to be able to use cell phones so that they can communicate with the outside world and learn valuable lessons about people who are different than they are. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • Does this conclusion wrap up the paragraph well? • Do you think that the author is ready to move on to the next paragraph? • Now add your own conclusion to your body paragraph.

23. Share Your Body Paragraph! Find a partner and share your body paragraph with them.

24. How to Write a Counterargument—Topic Sentence • In a regular body paragraph, your topic sentence connects back to your claim. • However, in a counterargument paragraph, the topic sentence needs to serve a different purpose: it must introduce your audience to the opposing viewpoint. • This sentence (or two, if needed) should tell what the opposing viewpoint from your own thinks about the topic.  • Some good sentence starters are: • While many believe (your opinion), some feel that (counterargument). • Those who believe (counterargument) claim that (counterargument information).

25. Write your Topic Sentence! • Example:  • While some believe that social media is important for student development, some teachers and parents are still ultimately concerned that students are too easily attached to the internet and their smart phones. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What does the author think? • What does the opposing side think? • Now, write your own counterargument topic sentence.

26. How to Write a Counterargument—Authorization • One important thing that writers must do is show their audience that the information they are presenting is from an authentic, reliable source. This is the job of the authorization statement. • The authorization statement follows a clear pattern every time. • In "Article Title" by Author's Name of Publication, the author discusses/shows/describes/talks about/etc ______________. • All you have to do is fill in the blanks! Article title, author's name, and publication are usually found at the beginning of the article. Then fill in what they talk about broadly in the article. 

27. Write the Authorization! • Example:  • While some believe that social media is important for student development, some teachers and parents are still ultimately concerned that students are too easily attached to the internet and their smart phones.In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid: Yes," Nicholas Carr of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains highlights the importance of deep understanding of a topic—not just a quick skim understanding. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What is the article title and who is the author? • Is this a trusted, reliable source? How do you know? • Now, write your own authorization immediately following your topic sentence.

28. How to Write a Counterargument—Evidence • While you want your evidence to be strong and to the point, counterargument evidence needs to also prove that the other side isn't completely wrong.  • Try to avoid the following things: • Really long pieces of evidence (aim for 1-2 sentences!) • Evidence that shows both sides of the argument • Evidence that doesn't really help your argument or is weak on it's own. • When putting evidence into your essay, make sure that you put an attribution and that you use proper punctuation. • The author states, " EVIDENCE SENTENCE GOES HERE."

29. Add the Evidence! • Example:  • While some believe that social media is important for student development, some teachers and parents are still ultimately concerned that students are too easily attached to the internet and their smart phones.In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid: Yes," Nicholas Carr of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains highlights the importance of deep understanding of a topic—not just a quick skim understanding. The author argues, "That's the problem with Google—and with the Internet in general. When we use our computers and our cellphones all the time, we're always distracted." • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • How effective is this piece of evidence? • Does this evidence help prove show that the counterargument has a good point? • Now add your own piece of evidence to your counterargument.

30. How to write a Counterargument—Explanation • When working through your counterargument, you want to make sure that you are showing your audience that the opposing viewpoint has a decent point—after all, it wouldn’t be a debate if they didn’t. • In a counterargument, your explanation is split into two parts: • In the first half of your explanation, explain to your audience that your opposing viewpoint has a good point. • In the second half of your explanation, show your audience that your point is BETTER than the opposing one. • You should also show how this piece of evidence, while a good point, is ultimately proven wrong because of some part of your argument. • There should always be twice as many sentences of explanation as there are sentences of evidence. • That's why it's a good idea to keep your evidence shorter!

31. Write your Explanation! • Example:  • While some believe that social media is important for student development, some teachers and parents are still ultimately concerned that students are too easily attached to the internet and their smart phones.In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid: Yes," Nicholas Carr of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains highlights the importance of deep understanding of a topic—not just a quick skim understanding. The author argues, "That's the problem with Google—and with the Internet in general. When we use our computers and our cellphones all the time, we're always distracted." While some see the Internet as solely a distraction, the key uses of the Internet are not to be overstated. With a click of a key, a student can connect with someone from a completely different world than them. The educational experiences are innumerable and invaluable to a growing student. Further, teachers are using devices more than ever, from PowerPoints to virtual reality field trips. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • Does this explanation show why the author chose that evidence? • Do you better understand the opposing side now? • Now add your own explanation to your body paragraph.

32. How to Write a Counterargument—Conclusion • Before moving on to your conclusion, make sure that your reader remembers why YOUR side is the better one—not the other side. • Your conclusion sentence is a good way to remind your audience that your paragraph connects to your claim and to wrap up the main part of your essay. • Try to avoid repeating things that you've already written—it makes your audience bored and feel like you're not quite sure what you're talking about. • Conclusions are often the last thing your audience reads before moving on in the essay—make sure it wraps up your thoughts well!

33. Write your Conclusion! • Example:  • While some believe that social media is important for student development, some teachers and parents are still ultimately concerned that students are too easily attached to the internet and their smart phones.In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid: Yes," Nicholas Carr of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains highlights the importance of deep understanding of a topic—not just a quick skim understanding. The author argues, "That's the problem with Google—and with the Internet in general. When we use our computers and our cellphones all the time, we're always distracted." While some see the Internet as solely a distraction, the key uses of the Internet are not to be overstated. With a click of a key, a student can connect with someone from a completely different world than them. The educational experiences are innumerable and invaluable to a growing student. Further, teachers are using devices more than ever, from PowerPoints to virtual reality field trips. While some believe that the Internet is causing distracted students, when used appropriately, schools are the best place to learn how to use technology as tools, not distractions. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • Does this conclusion wrap up the paragraph well? • Do you think that the author is ready to move on to the next paragraph? • Now add your own conclusion to your body Counterargument.

34. Share Your Counterargument! Find a partner and share your counterargument with them.

35. How to Write a Conclusion—Restated Claim • The very first thing in your conclusion is your claim, restated. • When you restate something, you put it in different words. • Try to think about the most important parts of a claim (YOUR OPINION) and make sure that it is written at the beginning of your intro. • You are basically trying to restate your main thoughts in a slightly different way than you already have. • If you are running out of time, and ONLY if you are running out of time, restate your claim exactly.

36. Write your Restated Claim! • Example:  • Schools should not participate in Shut Down Your Screen Week because students benefit from having technology in the classroom. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What is the author’s claim? • Do you feel like they covered this topic? • Now, write your own claim, restated.

37. How to Write a Conclusion—So What? • Your conclusion does not need to be a repeated list of all of what you already said. ESPECIALLY because your essays are not 10+ pages long, your reader can remember your points. • Instead of repeating yourself over and over, think about the question: So What? • Why should your audience care about your claim? • Why would someone beyond the people you might think are reading your essay care? • You wrote this whole essay, so what? Why does it matter? • These are not easy questions to answer—but answering them in 1-2 (minimum) sentences gives your reader something to think about as they are done reading your essay.

38. Write your So What! • Example:  • Schools should not participate in Shut Down Your Screen Week because students benefit from having technology in the classroom. Because of the evolving technological world around them, students need now more than ever clear instruction in how to use the technology at hand responsibly. Where else would students learn this if not at school? Teachers should also incorporate this technology to help maintain student interest and the longevity of their subjects. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • Why should you care about this topic? • Who else do you think the author could be talking to, beyond schools and students? • Now, write your own So What section.

39. How to Write a Conclusion—Call to Action • After you have proven to your audience why they should care about your topic, you need to give them some way to act on their feelings. • This is called a Call to Action. • There’s not an easy way to do this, and usually you are looking for something with which to connect to the audience. • Theoretically, if you don’t feel like you could “Drop the mic” after your conclusion, it doesn’t have the power that you want. • It should be a powerful statement that cannot be argued with.

40. Write your Call to Action! • Example:  • Schools should not participate in Shut Down Your Screen Week because students benefit from having technology in the classroom. Because of the evolving technological world around them, students need now, more than ever, clear instruction in how to use the technology at hand responsibly. Where else would students learn this if not at school? Teachers should also incorporate this technology to help maintain student interest and the longevity of their subjects. Parents, teachers, administrators, and students must all work together to prove that technology in the classroom is an effective and helpful tool that will help grow all involved. • Talk with your table and answer the following questions: • What is the author suggesting that you do? • Do you feel compelled to do this? • Now, write your own Call to Action.

41. Share Your Conclusion Paragraph! Find a partner and share your conclusion paragraph with them.