AP- Argument Essay

​Argument Essay

Structure of argument essay

What you need to make your argument strong!

Writing an argument

You want to make a logical case for your position

What you need....

• Background on the issue: why is this a subject people are arguing about?

• A clear claim: what side of the issue are you on?

• Solid reasons to support your claim

• Evidence - to back up your reasons

• Counter Claim and Rebuttal: what does the other side argue? What is your argument against that argument?

• Call to Action: What do you want people to do?

When you use evidence, you must give credit

CITE your evidence. Make it clear that you are using someone else's words or ideas.

Some ways to introduce evidence

• According to the article

• Support for this position is

• Evidence is presented in the article

Citing Evidence

You need to give credit

We will have a works cited section in our writing

Crockett, Zachary. “The Case for Allowing 16-Year-Olds to Vote.” Vox, Vox, 7 Nov. 2016, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/13347080/voting-age-election-16.

Then you need a rebuttal

An argument against the counter argument

Explain why your argument is stronger

Should:

• be the last sentence of your introduction

• respond to the question in a straightforward and clear statement

• take one side and not support both sides of the argument

Reminders about writing a thesis statement/claim

Should not:

• include the words "Yes" or "No"

• include the phrase "I think" or "I believe"

• include any reasons or evidence

Your thesis statement/claim:

Multiple Choice

A claim/thesis statement SHOULD

• mention both sides of the argument.

• include the words "I believe" and "yes/no."

• directly and clearly respond to the question

• include specific reasons and evidence.

Multiple Choice

Question: Should extinct species be brought back into existence?

Which is the best thesis statement that responds to the question?

• No, I think it's a bad idea to bring extinct species back into existence.

• In some ways, bringing extinct species back into existence would be a good idea, but there are drawbacks, too.

• Extinct species should not be brought back into existence because we won't know where to put them.

• Extinct species should not be brought back into existence.

Multiple Choice

What is a claim or thesis statement?

• Evidence from the text

• Your position (opinion) on the topic

• Your reasons to support your opinion

• A story about your life

Multiple Choice

Which of the following thesis statements is the best (according to the rules we taught you)?

Question: Should self-driving cars replace humans?

• Yes, I think self-driving cars are a good idea.

• Self-driving cars should replace human drivers.

• Self-driving cars should replace human drivers because they reduce the number of accidents, according to a study published in 2021 by Car and Driver.

• In some ways, it would be a good idea for self-driving cars to replace humans. In other ways, it would be a bad idea.

BUT there are some differences

• In an argument essay, you read multiple informational (nonfiction) texts and then must decide your opinion or position on the topic.

• You form a claim (thesis statement) that expresses your opinion on the topic.

• You include two body paragraphs that express two reasons in support of your opinion. You include textual evidence in your body paragraphs.

• You include an EXTRA paragraph called the counterclaim/refutation paragraph. In this paragraph, you acknowledge the opposing side/argument and then refute it or argue against it and reinforce your opinion again.

See example on the next slide!

Argument Essay Example

Context:Some students attend all boys or all girls schools, while other students attend coeducational school and are educated alongside the opposite gender.

Question: Should boys and girls attend school together?

Claim/thesis statement: Boys and girls should attend school together.

●Reason 1 (Body paragraph 1): The first reason why boys and girls should attend school together is because it is important to socialize with all genders.

●Reason 2 (Body paragraph 2): The second reason why boys and girls should attend school together is because in the real world, boys and girls are expected to collaborate and work together.

●Counterclaim/Refutation paragraph: shows opposing view and then argues against it

Drag and Drop

An argument essay has an introduction with a ​ ​

Placeholder

that tells the reader your position or opinion on the topic and what the essay will be about. It also has ​

Placeholder

that contain reasons to support your claim and ​

Placeholder

from the text to support the reasons you provide. You must also ​

Placeholder

your evidence by referring back to the lines you chose and explaining their significance. You need to also ​

Placeholder

your evidence back to your claim to reinforce your position.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

thesis statement or claim

body paragraphs

evidence

analyze

connect

The [initial/ main/ primary] reason why [part of your thesis statement/claim] is because [reason].

The initial reason why boys and girls should attend school together is because it is important to socialize with all genders.

​A topic sentence is the first sentence of your body paragraph, and it states a reason to support your claim/thesis statement

Writing Topic Sentences

​Claim: Boys and girls should attend school together.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a good topic sentence that would provide reasons to support this claim/thesis statement:

Extinct species should not be brought back into existence.

• The first reason is because they may harm existing habitats.

• A reason why extinct species should not be brought back into existence is because they may harm existing habitats.

• Extinct species may harm existing habitats.

• Have you seen Jurassic Park?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best topic sentence?

Claim: Self-driving cars should replace human drivers.

• Self-driving cars should replace human drivers for many reasons.

• Self-driving cars are safer than human drivers.

• The first reason is because self-driving cars are safer than human drivers.

• The initial reason why self-driving cars should replace human drivers is because self-driving cars are safer than human drivers.

Drag and Drop

An argument essay has an introduction with a ​ ​

Placeholder

that tells the reader your position or opinion on the topic and what the essay will be about. It also has ​

Placeholder

that contain reasons to support your claim and ​

Placeholder

from the text to support the reasons you provide. You must also ​

Placeholder

your evidence by referring back to the lines you chose and explaining their significance. You need to also ​

Placeholder

your evidence back to your claim to reinforce your position.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

thesis statement or claim

body paragraphs

evidence

analyze

connect

What is effective evidence?

• Statistics and facts (% and numbers- 50% of marriages end in divorce.)

• Research studies (In a study conducted by Harvard University...)

• Expert testimonies (According to Dr. Yomonov, head of the neuroscience department at...)

• Anecdotal evidence (A tornado once hit in southern Nebraska which caused catastrophic effects. Stores closed down for months and ...)

Each body paragraph contains a reason that supports your claim. In order to support your reasons, you need to include textual evidence (quotes/lines from the text).
Strong evidence includes:

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a good piece of evidence to support the reason below:

The first reason why extinct species should not be brought back into existence is because they may harm existing habitats.

• Extinction occurs when there are no longer living members of a species. " (line 9, text 1).

• "Resurrected organisms could become pests in new

  environments...or might even

  harbor dangerous retroviruses in their genomes." (lines 24-26, text 4).

• "Extinction occurs when there are no longer living members of a species." (lines 1-2, text 2).

• "It is a fantasy that real

  scientists—those wearing white lab coats—are using fancy machines with knobs and digital

  readouts to save the planet from humanity’s excesses." (lines 31-33, text 3).

What is the counterclaim (counterargument?

An argument essay has an extra body paragraph that includes the following:

-A counter argument (counterclaim)

-Refutation

A counter argument or
counterclaim is when you
acknowledge (talk about or
mention) the OTHER argument- the one you don’t agree with. You say,, “Some people think that …….. because ……”

A refutation is when you say why the counter argument or counterclaim is WRONG and you say why your opinion is the right one. Basically, a refutation argues against the counterclaim and reinforces your opinion

Example of a counterclaim and refutation

Claim/thesis statement: Boys and girls should attend school together.


Counterclaim and Refutation:

Some people might say boys and girls should not attend school together because they would be more focused on their studies if they went to a single gender school. For example, according to Dr. Rice, an educational specialist, "Many students don't get distracted by the need to impress the other gender. They are more focused on challenging themselves and academic achievement." (Lines 24-25; text 2). However, this is not a good reason to separate boys and girls in school because in the real world, both genders need to work together and overcome the desire to impress the other gender and get distracted. Perhaps part of students "challenging themselves" should be learning how to gain the confidence to not let the other gender interfere with their academic achievements.

Multiple Choice

Claim: Extinct species should not be brought back into existence.

Reason 1: The first reason why extinct species should not be brought back into existence is because they may harm existing habitats.

Reason 2: The second reason why extinct species should not be brought back into existence is because all the money and time will be devoted to molecular biology and not conservation.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS A GOOD COUNTERARGUMENT?

• Some people might say that extinct species should be brought back into existence because it is the right thing for us to do since humans are the ones who caused the animals' extinctions.

• Some people might say that extinct species should not be brought back into existence because it is a waste of time and money.

• A third reason why extinct species should not be brought back into existence is because it is the right thing for us to do since humans are the ones who caused the animals' extinctions.

Multiple Choice

Claim: Extinct species should not be brought back to life.

Counterclaim/Counterargument: Some people might say that extinct species should be brought back into existence because it is the right thing for us to do since humans are the ones who caused the animals' extinctions. For example, according to Angela Herring, author of “3Qs: The Ethics of Species ‘De-extinction’”, "Some have claimed that bringing back species that were caused to go extinct by human practices would, to some extent, help make up for the wrong of the extinction" (lines 24-26, text 1).

What is a good refutation for this counterclaim?

• However, this isn't a good reason and we should not bring extinct species back to life.

• However, some other people say that we can learn a lot from extinct species and perhaps learn why they went extinct in the first place. Therefore, we should bring extinct species back to life.

• However, we may do more harm than good by bringing back these species. We may introduce them into an environment that makes them go extinct again. Then we would feel really guilty. Therefore, we should not bring extinct species back.

Poll

What do you think is the strongest reason for not lowering the voting age to 16?

• The teenage brain is not fully developed.

• Teenagers are not independent; most live at home and don't have adult responsibilities.

• Teenagers have not learned enough about how government works to make good voting decisions.

• Teenagers would be too influenced by their friends, family or social media.

Multiple Choice

Why is it important to include a counter argument?

• To show that you have considered multiple views of the issue.

• To anticipate and respond to your reader's questions.

• To show that you have a good understanding of the issue.

• All of the above.

Multiple Choice

A call to action is letting your reader know what you think should be done. Which of these is an example of a call to action?

• Thank you for reading my essay.

• Write your representative today so we can lower the voting age!

• The voting age should not be lowered.

• Some people may disagree.

Match

Match the following

• The last sentence of the introduction that expresses your opinion or position on the issue/question.

• Sentences that acknowledge the opposing side by providing a reason with evidence

• Sentences that respond to and argue against the opposing side and reinforce why your opinion is the best one.

Claim or Thesis statement

Counterclaim or counter-argument

Refutation

• Claim or Thesis statement

• Counterclaim or counter-argument

• Refutation