Argumentative Writing EOC

Some people say that with dedication, persistence, and time, people can accomplish any goal. Others say that people are limited in what they can accomplish and need to be realistic when setting goals. Take a position on this issue. Use specific reasons and examples to support your ideas.

What are the two sides to this argument?

• With dedication, persistence, and time, people can accomplish any goal.

• People are limited in what they can accomplish and need to be realistic when setting goals.

• Goals are pointless

• Don't spend time setting goals

The great artist Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in The great artist Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” Do you agree or disagree with Michelangelo’s statement? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with details and specific examples..”

What are the two sides to this argument?

• Do you agree that the greater danger is setting goals too low?

• Do you disagree that the greater danger is not setting goals too low?

• Setting goals too high is impossible

Imagine your school cafeteria plans to change to a new, healthier school lunch menu, which would eliminate some of the students’ favorite cafeteria foods. Take a position on this issue and write to convince your principal whether this change to the school menu is a good idea or a bad idea. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

Which of the following is "the big question?"

• Is school lunch gross?

• How should the principal change the school menu?

• Is this change to the school menu is a good idea or a bad idea?

• What should be on the school menu?

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Determine never to be idle . . . It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” Do we accomplish more if we are always doing something, or does inactivity also serve a purpose? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

What are the two argumentative points this prompt is asking you to choose from?

• Do we accomplish more if we are always doing something?

• Does inactivity also serve a purpose?

• What does “Determine never to be idle . . . It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing” mean?

"I agree that having a positive attitude is the key to success in life."

What is the counterclaim to the statement above?

• To be successful in life, one must always have a positive attitude.

• Having a positive attitude is not important to having successful life.

• If you are not positive in life, you will not succeed.

It has been said that first impressions are almost impossible to change. Based on your experiences, do you agree or disagree with this statement? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

Which of the following are reasons to support being on the "Agree" side of this argument?

• Your first impression will always be the first thing someone thinks when they see you.

• If someone doesn’t like you after their first impression they’re not going to try and get to know you better.

• Things aren’t always as they appear.

• You can only meet someone for the first time once, you can’t change your first encounter with someone.

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Do you agree or disagree with Emerson’s statement about individuality? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

What is the "big question" here?

• Do you agree that staying true to yourself, despite what the world is trying to make you, is the greatest accomplishment?

• Is it hard not to let the world change you?

• Do you agree that Ralph Waldo Emerson is the greatest writer about individuality?

• Can you stay true to yourself, despite living in a world that is constantly changing?

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” Based on your experiences, do you agree or disagree with Emerson’s statement? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

What would be a sufficient bridge for your introductory paragraph?

• There are many famous people who failed at the start of their hobbie.

• If you do not fail, you will not grow.

• Author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”

• I agree with Emerson's statement because you never know what you are capable of until you try, experiences shape us as people, and failure teaches us how to proceed.

Civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Do you agree or disagree with Gandhi’s statement about the importance of helping others as a way of discovering more about yourself? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

What is the "big question" here?

• Is Mahatma Gandhi the best civil rights leader?

• What is the best way to discover yourself?

• Do you agree or disagree that helping others is important to discover more about your self?

• Is helping others the key to happiness?

Where should your thesis statement appear in your introductory paragraph?

• Last sentence
• Somewhere in the middle
• First sentence
• It has its own paragraph