Argument Essay - Humble Independent School District



Argument Essay

In your argument paper you are going to choose a side of a debatable (provided) topic. You will then need to persuade the reader to agree with your opinion. The best argumentative papers combine strong research and commentary from the author.

You will have four topics to choose from that are listed below with explanations. You will receive four pieces of research from your teacher to use as your sources for the paper. These are the ONLY sources that you may use. You will receive two articles that are in favor of the cause, and two articles that are against the cause. You will also receive an outline to help you with this paper. Each body paragraph must include two pieces of cited information with one of those being a direct quote. You must also include a Works Cited Page.

You will have January 28th or 29th to work on the paper in class. The outline and TYPED rough draft will be due in class on Tuesday, February 3rd. Block day, February 4th or 5th will be a peer edit day. The final draft will be due the next Tuesday, February 10th. You must upload the paper by 7:25 Tuesday morning and bring a printed copy to class.

Topics

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Feminism has been dominant throughout much of our culture.  At a certain point, it seems that women could be perceived as overplaying men in the workforce.  However, some think that women are being slighted when it comes to education, jobs, and opportunities.

Assignment: Do women excel more than men in modern society? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading.  You must use at least three sources for support.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Genetically Engineered Crops can have an adverse effect on society.  Changes in the land, animals, and people can be contributed to the influence of companies in food products.  Even though there can be a dark side to advancements in the farm industry, the benefits can outweigh the negatives.

Assignment: Do genetically engineered crops cause concerns for those in today's society?  Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading.  You must use at least three sources for support.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Child labor laws have been in place in the United States for generations. Our nation has strict laws regarding age regulation, hours a young adult can work, and working conditions for all employees. Yet our citizens frequently purchase products from other countries that do not have these regulations in place.

Assignment: Do Western countries, such as the United States, have a responsibility to monitor the child labor conditions of their poorer neighbors to ensure atrocities like human trafficking do not occur, or should developing nations be left to make their own economic decisions in regards to workers’ rights? Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading.  You must use at least three sources for support.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

The world’s population continues to grow due to scientific advancements and natural tendencies to reproduce. Some people view this as a potential doomsday scenario where at some point the world’s population will become so large the planet will not be able to sustain the population. Others argue that overpopulation is not an issue because scientific advancement will continue to provide the needed resources to accommodate the growing population.

Assignment: Is overpopulation an issue that needs to be taken seriously, or is it just a handful of people trying to scare the world using another false doomsday scenario? Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading.  You must use at least three sources for support.

| |A |B |C |D |F |

|Organization |*Outstanding claim & |*Solid claim & concession |*Vague claim & concession |*Missing concession |*No claim |

| |concession |* Paragraphs are coherent |* Paragraphs are loose in |* Paragraphs lack |*Paragraphs are not |

| |*Paragraphs are |& cohesive; each paragraph|structure; ideas are not |development; specific |developed/focused; there is |

| |impressively coherent & |expresses a specific |always clear |purpose of paragraphs is |no obvious purpose |

| |cohesive; each paragraph |purpose |*Topic sentences loosely |often unclear |*No relationship between |

| |clearly expresses a |*Relevant topic sentences |relate back to thesis |*Relationships between |topic sentence and thesis |

| |specific purpose |that relate back to thesis| |topic sentence and thesis | |

| |*Relevant topic sentences | | |often unclear | |

| |that clearly relate back | | | | |

| |to thesis | | | | |

|Ideas & Content |*Outstanding development |* Solid development of |*Adequate development of |*Thin development of |*Lacks development of ideas,|

| |of ideas, analysis, & |ideas, analysis, & |ideas, analysis, & |ideas, analysis, & |analysis, & inefficient use |

| |efficient use of quotes |efficient use of quotes |efficient use of quotes |inefficient use of quotes |of quotes |

| |*Outstanding choice of |*Solid choice of quotes to|* Adequate choice of |*Weak choice of quotes to |*Quotes do not support claim|

| |quotes to support claim |support claim |quotes to support claim |support claim |*Commentary does not link |

| |*Outstanding use of |*Solid use of commentary |*Adequate use of |*Weak use of commentary to|quote to claim |

| |commentary to link quotes |to link quotes & claim |commentary to link quotes |link quotes & claim |*Content is vague and |

| |& claim |*Content is interesting |& claim |*Content is vague and |unoriginal |

| |*Content is engaging and |and original |*Content is appropriate |original | |

| |original | |and original | | |

|Style |*Sentences are mature, |*Sentences are well |*Sentences are adequate |*Sentences are awkward, |*Sentences are unclear/vague|

| |exact, and demonstrate |written and demonstrate |and demonstrate acceptable|overly simple, and word |and word choice is poor |

| |appropriate word choice |appropriate word choice |word choice |choice is flat |*No transitions between |

| |*Outstanding use of |*Solid use of transitions |*Adequate use of |*Weak use of transitions |ideas |

| |transitions to move |to move between ideas |transitions to move |to move between ideas |*Paper shows little or no |

| |between ideas |*Paper adheres to most |between ideas |*Paper shows inconsistent |regard for formal writing |

| |*Paper adheres to all |formal writing rules |*Paper shows general |awareness of formal |rules |

| |formal writing rules | |awareness of formal |writing rules | |

| | | |writing rules | | |

|Conventions |*No convention errors |*Few convention errors |*Moderate convention |*Numerous convention |*Excessive convention errors|

| |*Paper adheres to all |*Paper adheres to most |errors |errors |detract from paper’s |

| |formal writing rules |formal writing rules |*Paper shows general |*Paper shows inconsistent |readability |

| | | |awareness of formal |awareness of formal |*Paper shows little or no |

| | | |writing rules |writing rules |regard for formal writing |

| | | | | |rules |

|MLA Format |*0-1 MLA format & |*2-3 MLA format & |*4-5 MLA format & |*6-7 MLA format & |* 8 + MLA format & |

| |documentation errors |documentation errors |documentation errors |documentation errors |documentation errors |

*A paper turned in without a Works Cited page will receive a maximum of 50.

*10 points will be taken off for any missing quotes (6 required) and 25 points will be taken off for any missing paragraphs (3 required).

Argument Outline

I. Introduction

A. Introduce the topic without stating your view (General terms)

B. Continue introducing the topic using specifics (specific ideas of support, NOT EVIDENCE) (should

be at least 2 sentences)

C. Thesis: concession, claim and supports (Although________________, claim_____________ because

support 1 and support 2)

I. Body Paragraph 1 - Counter Argument

A. State Concession (Although statement in a complete sentence)

B. Counterargument (However, ___________________)

C. Research for counter argument

D. Commentary explaining how the evidence for the counterargument disproves the concession

E. Transition into your 2nd evidence of counterargument

F. Research 2 for counter argument

G. Commentary on research

H. Closing (summarize how you have proven concession wrong)

III. Body Paragraph 2

A. Topic Sentence (Support 1)

B. Transition into evidence

C. Evidence (research)

D. Commentary

E. Transition into evidence 2

F. Evidence 2 (research)

G. Commentary:

H. Closing/transition into next paragraph (summarize support 1 and link to support 2)

IV. Body Paragraph 3

A. Topic Sentence (Support 2)

B. Transition into evidence

C. Evidence (research)

D. Commentary

E. Transition into evidence

F. Evidence (research)

G. Commentary

H. Closing/transition into next paragraph (Summarize support 2)

V. Conclusion

A. Restate thesis (reword the thesis, should not be identical to thesis statement)

B. Summarize your counterargument and supports (should be at least 3 sentences long)

C. Parting thought

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Argument Paper Rubric

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