TheArgumentativeEssay

English11AP
 WhatisArgument?
Thepresentationanddefenseorsupportof
aspecificthesis,assertion,orclaim.
Toconvincethereader,thewriterprovides
supportusingobjectivefacts,logical
evidence,or(sometimes)emotional
appeals.
Youcanfindargumentalmostanywhere,
fromcartoons,toletterstotheeditor,toa
presidentsspeech
 HowDoYouArgue?
1. Presenttheissue/situation/problem
2. Statetheassertion/claim/thesis
3. Supportyourclaim
4. Respondtopossibleopposingviews
5. Makeyourfinalcomment/summary
 TypesofArgument
Ethical appealtothereadersgoodwill
Emotional appealtofear,patriotism,etc.
Logical appealtoinductive/deductive
reasoning
Inductive generalizationfromsetofexamples
Deductive conclusionbasedongivenpremises
Deductionusesthesyllogism(formalargument
withtwopremisesandaconclusion)
 LogicalFallacies
MistakesinReasoning
Nonsequiturargument
Doesnotfollow
Beggingthequestion
Assumesapremisethatremainstobeproved
Circularreasoning
Restatesthepremise
Strawmanargument
Attributesfalsecharacteristicstoanopponent
 MoreLogicalFallacies
Adhominemargument
Attacksthepersonratherthantheissue
Hastygeneralization
Drawsaconclusionbasedonscantevidence
Overgeneralization
Stereotyping
Posthocargument
Citesanunrelatedearliereventasthecause
Either/orargument
Assumesthereareonlytwopossibilities
 EveryArgumentContains...
ARhetoricalContext
Speaker
Audience
Situation
Appeals
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
ArgumentsCanBeVisual!
TheArgumentativeEssay
 WhatDoINeedtoDo?
Understandthepositiontakeninthe
prompt
Takeaspecificstand argue,qualify,or
disagree withtheassertionintheprompt
Clearlyandlogicallysupportyourclaim
 TryIt!
Whatisthepositionof
theprompt?
Whatstandareyou
goingtotake?
Howwillyousupport
it?
 HowMightISupportMyPosition?
Facts
Details
Quotations
Dialogue
Definitions
Recognizingtheopposition
Examples
Anecdotes
ComparisonandContrast
CauseandEffect
Appealtoauthority
 HowDoIApproachtheEssay?
Deconstructtheprompt
Decideonaposition
Planthesupportofyourposition
Writetheessay
Proofread
 DeconstructthePrompt
Underlineorhighlighttheessential
elements.Tryit!
 DevelopanOpeningParagraph
Besureto:
Referspecificallytotheprompt
Clearlystateyourpositionontheissue

Letstryit!
SampleIntroductions
 DevelopingtheBody
Whatorganizational
strategywillyouuse?
Brainstorm
Inthiscase,perhaps:
Good
Evil
Responsibility
 ForExample
Good Evil Responsibility
 WhicharetheBest?
Good Evil Responsibility
SampleBodyParagraphs
SampleBodyParagraphs
SampleBodyParagraphs
 TheConclusionParagraph?

DontSweatIt!!!

Ifyouhaveafinalremarkofinterest,great!
Butthereisnoneedtowastetime
summarizingorrepeating
Usethelastsentenceofyourlastbody
paragraphasyourconcludingcomment
 WhatNow?
Chooseoneofthefollowingprompts,and
planandwriteyourownessay.