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 (your teacher) to agree with your opinion. The best argumentative papers combine strong research and commentary from the author.

You will have several topics to choose from that are listed below. You will receive research from your teacher to use as your sources for the paper. These are the ONLY sources that you may use. You will receive articles that are in favor of the cause and articles that are against the cause. You will also receive an outline to help you with this paper. It is required that you use this outline. Each body paragraph must include two pieces of cited information with at least one of those being a direct quote. 10 points will be taken off for any missing quotes or citations (6 required), and 25 points will be taken off for any missing paragraphs (3 required).You MUST also include a Works Cited page. Any paper turned in without a Works Cited page will receive a maximum grade of a 50. Also, your paper is NOT considered turned in until both a hard copy and a digital copy are turned in. Daily late points (15 points per day) will accumulate until both steps are done.

Important Dates

• January 13th, 18th/19th, 20th, 27th, February 3rd & 10th – In class work days.

• January 20th – Outline due by the end of class.

• January 30th – Typed rough draft due with attached check list.

• February 1st/2nd – Afterschool essay tutoring in Blue 2 Computer Lab!

• February 3rd – Peer edit day.

• February 13th – Typed final draft due in class and upload due to by 7:25 am.

Topics

Prompt 1

Does violence in video games promote violence/aggression in children?

Prompt 2

Is it worth sacrificing personal privacy in order to maintain social safety?

Prompt 3

Would raising the minimum wage help decrease poverty levels or inadvertently increase unemployment?

Prompt 4

Does popular media have a negative influence on body image?

Prompt 5

Should society support paternity leave, or would paternity leave be detrimental to the work force?



• All students need a turnitin account.

• You need to ensure you sign up for the correct class.

• See your teacher for class ID and password.

| |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 | | | | |

|Quotes |*Paper includes 6 required|*Paper includes 5 quotes |*Paper includes 4 quotes |*Paper includes 3 quotes |*Paper includes 2 or fewer |

| |quotes |*Quotes sufficiently |*Quotes adequately support|*Quotes loosely support |quotes |

| |*Quotes impressively |support ideas |ideas |ideas |*Quotes do not support ideas|

| |support ideas | | | |presented |

|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 - Counterargument

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

B. Transition into evidence

C. Research for opposing viewpoint

D. Commentary minimizing impact of evidence from opposing viewpoint

E. Counterargument (refute the opposing viewpoint)

F. Research for counterargument

G. Commentary on research

H. Closing (summarize how you have proven the 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

Essay Checklist

Directions: For both your rough draft and your final draft, you will need to check to ensure you have each of the items in the table.

| |Rough Draft |Final Draft |

| | | |

|1. A clear thesis statement that must include a concession. | | |

| | | |

|2. NO “I” statements. There should not be any statements made in the first person. | | |

| | | |

|3. One counter-argument paragraph. | | |

| | | |

|4. Two paragraphs that support your argument. |----------- ---------- |---------- ---------- |

| |_______ _______ |_______ ________ |

|5. Two pieces of evidence per body paragraph. This means you need a total of six. |_______ _______ |_______ ________ |

| |_______ _______ |_______ ________ |

| |_________ |_________ |

|6. A minimum of one direct quote per paragraph. |_________ |_________ |

| |_________ |_________ |

| | | |

|7. No “long” quotes. This means no quote longer than three lines. | | |

| |____ ____ ____ ____ |____ ____ ____ ___ |

|8. Use the “2 to 1” ratio. You should have two pieces of commentary for each piece of |____ ____ ____ ____ |____ ____ ____ ___ |

|evidence. |____ ____ ____ ____ |____ ____ ____ ___ |

| |_______ _______ |_______ _______ |

|9. Internal citation for each piece of evidence. |_______ _______ |_______ _______ |

| |_______ _______ |_______ _______ |

| | | |

|10. A separate works cited page in proper MLA format. | | |

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Argument Paper Rubric

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