Persuasive Essay Outline
Last, First Names____________________________________Period____ Date Assigned_________
Directions: Read each of the following prompts. Circle the prompt you will respond to in
a five paragraph argumentative essay. Your essay must include evidence from the text
which supports your argument. This essay will be graded using the Smarter Balanced Rubric.
1. ARGUMENTATIVE: In The Giver, Jonas was not assigned a job; he was selected. He was selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. The characteristics for a Receiver of Memory are intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and the capacity to see beyond. When compared to the other job assignments, Jonas realizes that he has lost many pleasures due to his selection as the Receiver of Memory. Decide whether Jonas’s assignment as the next Receiver of Memory is an honor or a punishment. Support your ideas with evidence from the text to show how the selection affects Jonas.
2. ARGUMENTATIVE: In Lois Lowry’s, The Giver, Jonas’s community does not have choice and free will. However, Jonas as the next Receiver begins to receive memories, which allows him to learn about different changes and choices in life. Jonas believes that the community should experience these memories. In Chapter 22, it states, “Once he had yearned for choice. Then, when he had had a choice, he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave.” As Jonas leaves the community, he discovers many things. Decide if Jonas made the right choice in leaving the community. Did his leaving produce more positive or more negative results? Support your response with evidence from the text.
3. ARGUMENTATIVE: In several texts/films we have referred to in this unit, the authors have tried to portray a utopian society. After having read and learned about a utopian society within The Giver, do you believe Utopia is possible? Which is a better place to live, the utopian community presented in this work of literature or in the world we live in today? Explain your reasons by using textual evidence from the text(s) used in the unit.
4. ARGUMENTATIVE: One of the more controversial topics that Lowry touches upon in The Giver is euthanasia, or the practice of ending someone’s life to ease their suffering. Jonas’s community practices euthanasia on very old citizens as well as upon unhealthy newchildren. Jonas’s horror at this practice motivates him to take drastic measures to reform the society, and yet many people in our own society consider euthanasia to be a compassionate practice and one that should be available to all citizens. Discuss the attitude toward euthanasia as expressed in The Giver. Does the novel condemn, promote, or conditionally accept the practice?
5. ARGUMENTATIVE: It is difficult for us to imagine a world without color, personal freedoms, and love, but in The Giver, the society relinquishes these things in order to make room for total peace and safety. Consider the pleasures and experiences that our own society discourages in order to preserve the public good (certain recreational drugs, for example.) In the context of the lessons Jonas learns in the giver, explain why we should or should not sacrifice an orderly community in order to allow individuals more spiritually or sensually satisfying experiences. Where do you think the line between public safety and personal freedom should be drawn?
The Giver – Argumentative Essay Due Dates (if finished before, “ok” to submit)
Monday, May 19, 2014 – Outline
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 – Rough Draft
Monday, May 26,2014 – Memorial Day – No School
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 – Final Draft (typed) – with rubric
Argumentative Essay Outline for The Giver
I. Paragraph I - Introduction
A. Get the readers’ attention by using a “hook.” (Attention grabber sentence). Do not pose a question; it needs to be a statement.
B. State your argument/proposition as a thesis sentence. Present your POV by writing your statement which has to be proven based on the writing prompt. You are trying to convince your audience of something.
C. Give some background information using the *2 or more reasons (which will be backed by textual evidence) which you will use to prove your argument.
*2 or more (you must have a multi-paragraph essay, you need at least 2 reasons
to support your argument, the 3rd reason is optional, you will write an extra paragraph
if you provide 3 reasons = 3 paragraphs.
II. Paragraph II - First body paragraph
A. Topic sentence explaining your viewpoint and using reason #1 from the introduction. Then give more textual evidence with explanation as to how that evidence connects back to your argument.
B. Use appropriate transitions throughout paragraph
III. Paragraph III – Second body paragraph
A. Topic sentence explaining your viewpoint and using reason #2 from the introduction. Then give more textual evidence with explanation as to how that evidence connects back to your argument.
B. Use appropriate transitions throughout paragraph
IV. Paragraph IV – Third body paragraph
A. State your counterclaim – the opposing viewpoint of your claim (so reader will know you have considered another point of view). Your counterclaim needs to be a statement with textual support which opposes your argument.
B. Write your rebuttal – the claim to disprove your opponent (the counterclaim). This is the statement with evidence to disprove your opponent.
V. Paragraph V - Conclusion
A. Restate thesis/argument statement.
B. Summary of reasons.
C. Personal comment or a call to action.
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS: PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB, PURDUE UNIVERSITY
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
How can I effectively present my argument?
• Use an organizational structure that arranges the argument in a way that will make sense to the reader. The Toulmin Method of logic is a common and easy to use formula for organizing an argument.
• The basic format for the Toulmin Method is as follows.
• Claim: The overall thesis the writer will argue for.
• Data: Evidence gathered to support the claim.
• Warrant (also referred to as a bridge): Explanation of why or how the data supports the claim, the underlying assumption that connects your data to your claim.
• Backing (also referred to as the foundation): Additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant.
• Counterclaim: A claim that negates or disagrees with the thesis/claim.
• Rebuttal: Evidence that negates or disagrees with the counterclaim.
• Including a well-thought-out warrant or bridge is essential to writing a good argumentative essay or paper. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis your readers may not make a connection between the two or they may draw different conclusions.
• Don't avoid the opposing side of an argument. Instead, include the opposing side as a counterclaim. Find out what the other side is saying and respond to it within your own argument. This is important so that the audience is not swayed by weak, but unrefuted, arguments. Including counterclaims allows you to find common ground with more of your readers. It also makes you look more credible because you appear to be knowledgeable about the entirety of the debate rather than just being biased or uniformed. You may want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.
• In order to present a fair and convincing message, you may need to anticipate, research, and outline some of the common positions (arguments) that dispute your thesis. If the situation (purpose) calls for you to do this, you will present and then refute these other positions in the rebuttal section of your essay.
• It is important to consider other positions because in most cases, your primary audience will be fence-sitters. Fence-sitters are people who have not decided which side of the argument to support.
• People who are on your side of the argument will not need a lot of information to align with your position. People who are completely against your argument—perhaps for ethical or religious reasons—will probably never align with your position no matter how much information you provide. Therefore, the audience you should consider most important are those people who haven't decided which side of the argument they will support—the fence-sitters.
• In many cases, these fence-sitters have not decided which side to align with because they see value in both positions. Therefore, to not consider opposing positions to your own in a fair manner may alienate fence-sitters when they see that you are not addressing their concerns or discussion opposing positions at all.
Organizing your rebuttal section
• Following the TTEB method outlined in the Body Paragraph section, forecast all the information that will follow in the rebuttal section and then move point by point through the other positions addressing each one as you go. The outline below, adapted from Seyler's Understanding Argument, is an example of a rebuttal section from a thesis essay.
• When you rebut or refute an opposing position, use the following three-part organization:
• The opponent’s argument: Usually, you should not assume that your reader has read or remembered the argument you are refuting. Thus at the beginning of your paragraph, you need to state, accurately and fairly, the main points of the argument you will refute.
• Your position: Next, make clear the nature of your disagreement with the argument or position you are refuting. Your position might assert, for example, that a writer has not proved his assertion because he has provided evidence that is outdated, or that the argument is filled with fallacies.
• Your refutation: The specifics of your counterargument will depend upon the nature of your disagreement. If you challenge the writer’s evidence, then you must present the more recent evidence. If you challenge assumptions, then you must explain why they do not hold up. If your position is that the piece is filled with fallacies, then you must present and explain each fallacy.
Conclusions wrap up what you have been discussing in your paper. After moving from general to specific information in the introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion should begin pulling back into more general information that restates the main points of your argument. Conclusions may also call for action or overview future possible research. The following outline may help you conclude your paper:
In a general way,
• Restate your topic and why it is important,
• Restate your thesis/claim,
• Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position,
• Call for action or overview future research possibilities.
Remember that once you accomplish these tasks, unless otherwise directed by your instructor, you are finished. Done. Complete. Don't try to bring in new points or end with a whiz bang(!) conclusion or try to solve world hunger in the final sentence of your conclusion. Simplicity is best for a clear, convincing message.
The preacher's maxim is one of the most effective formulas to follow for argument papers:
1. Tell what you're going to tell them (introduction).
2. Tell them (body).
3. Tell them what you told them (conclusion).
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