argument paragraph unit
essential questions |
key concepts |
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argument/persuasion
audience block organizations vs. alternating organization commentary credible source debatable claim evidence - factual and anecdotal reflection revision topic sentence transition |
assignments
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Using the website to the left, write one argument paragraph that follows this format: Claim Evidence #1 Complex Commentary #1 Evidence #2 Complex Commentary #2 Concluding Sentence * Choose a bold subtitle and tweak it into your claim. Then choose two pieces of evidence under the bold title to support your claim. Next, write commentary using the commentary anchor chart. Lastly, write a concluding sentence for your paragraph. Remember to: Claim = italics Evidence #1 = underline Complex Commentary #1 = bold Evidence #2 = underline Complex Commentary #2 = bold Concluding Sentence = italics |
add commentary to your plastic bags PARAGRAPH
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•Claim
•Evidence 1 •Commentary 1 •Evidence 2 •Commentary 2 •Evidence 3 •Commentary 3 •Concluding Sentence (should mirror your claim) •Fluency. Fluency. Fluency. |
1. Re-explain the evidence: WHAT do I need to make sure my reader understands about THIS evidence?
2. Why is THIS evidence IMPORTANT? EX: This DATA is important because it PROVES … 3. Connect it back to your claim – How does THIS evidence prove that your claim is true? |
argument
commentary
Questions for Writing Commentary – Ask Yourself:
“Because” is a word that tells a reader they are about to hear an explanation. It signals significance and relationship. It’s an effective word to use when writing commentary. Take a look:
- How would you re-explain this piece of evidence?
- Why is this evidence especially important?
- How does it prove and support the claim?
- What NEW point can you make about the claim using this evidence?
- What does this evidence reveal about your claim that the other evidence does not?
“Because” is a word that tells a reader they are about to hear an explanation. It signals significance and relationship. It’s an effective word to use when writing commentary. Take a look:
- These statistics are important because they point to the positive effects school uniforms can have on attendance, behavior, and academic achievement.
- School decision-makers must pay attention to such experiences because they prove that school uniforms will decrease the levels of violence and bullying.
evidence types
persuasive strategies poster
sessions
session 5 & 6 links to websites
session 7
Debatable Claim: Uniforms should be worn in schools because they decrease the economic and social barriers between students.
Evidence #1 – “President Clinton dismissed critics who say that school uniforms hinder free expression. ‘I think these uniforms do not stamp out individuality among our young people’” he said...’Instead, they slowly teach our young people one of life's most important lessons: that what really counts is what you are and what you become on the inside, rather than what you are wearing on the outside’" (New York Times).
Evidence #2 - Rita White, Principal of Riverwood Elementary in Memphis, Tennessee explains, “I worked in an urban school with a very high poverty level. I had many incidents of arguments or fights because someone was making fun of [a student’s] clothing. More times than not children came to school with the same clothes on several days in a row…Once the uniform policy was in place students began taking more pride in their appearance. It no longer mattered if they were wearing the same clothes because they all looked alike” (Education.com).
Text structure
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topic sentence anchor chart
transitions
study guide
10-16-2019
vocabulary
Argument
Fact – information that is certain and can be proven.
Debatable Claim – an opinion that is a matter of personal experience and values that must be backed up with evidence. Others can disagree with this claim.
Evidence- details, facts, and reasons that support a debatable claim.
Transitions – words and phrases that show the reader the relationships between sentences and parts of sentences, including evidence and commentary, by creating idea bridges.
Topic Sentences – the first sentence of a paragraph, which provides a promise to the reader about what is to come. In an argument paragraph, the topic sentence must contain a debatable claim and should provide a sense of the evidence that is to come.
Subordinating Conjunctions – words and phrases such as because, even though, since, if, when, and while are helpful in crafting commentary and topic sentences because they point to the relationship between the claim and the evidence.
Paragraph Structure – the way the writer chooses to organize the sentences in a paragraph to best present the argument.
- In life – conflicts that use language.
- In writing - opinions that can be backed up with evidence.
Fact – information that is certain and can be proven.
Debatable Claim – an opinion that is a matter of personal experience and values that must be backed up with evidence. Others can disagree with this claim.
Evidence- details, facts, and reasons that support a debatable claim.
- Anecdotal Evidence- evidence based on personal observation and experience, often in the form of a brief story. Can come from the writer, friends, family, and acquaintances.
- Factual Evidence- data, confirmed facts, and research performed by experts. Found by the writer performing research.
Transitions – words and phrases that show the reader the relationships between sentences and parts of sentences, including evidence and commentary, by creating idea bridges.
Topic Sentences – the first sentence of a paragraph, which provides a promise to the reader about what is to come. In an argument paragraph, the topic sentence must contain a debatable claim and should provide a sense of the evidence that is to come.
Subordinating Conjunctions – words and phrases such as because, even though, since, if, when, and while are helpful in crafting commentary and topic sentences because they point to the relationship between the claim and the evidence.
Paragraph Structure – the way the writer chooses to organize the sentences in a paragraph to best present the argument.
- Block Organization – provides all the evidence then follows with the commentary.
- Alternating Organization – moves back and forth between evidence and commentary.
Plastic Bags sample
Plastic Bags Argument Paragraph
[Topic Sentence] Plastic bags should be banned because they leach harmful chemicals into the ground. [Evidence #1 - Factual] The author of Scope magazine stated, “When the harmful chemicals in plastic leach into the ground or are ingested by land or sea animals, the chemicals become part of our food chain,” ( Magaziner 20). [Commentary #1] SO WHAT? Re-explain the evidence - WHAT do I need to make sure my reader understands about THIS evidence? WHY is this evidence IMPORTANT? HOW does it PROVE that MY claim is TRUE?
[Topic Sentence] Plastic bags should be banned because they leach harmful chemicals into the ground. [Evidence #1 - Factual] The author of Scope magazine stated, “When the harmful chemicals in plastic leach into the ground or are ingested by land or sea animals, the chemicals become part of our food chain,” ( Magaziner 20). [Commentary #1] SO WHAT? Re-explain the evidence - WHAT do I need to make sure my reader understands about THIS evidence? WHY is this evidence IMPORTANT? HOW does it PROVE that MY claim is TRUE?