Logical Progression:

Using Evidence and Elaboration

The BODY of an argumentative paper:
Please note that the number of paragraphs is completely dependent on the content of your paper
and the time/length requirements.

Optional paragraph (might also be part of the introduction)

 Background — provide a foundation and any info on your topic that
might be necessary to further understand the claim.

Evidence / Elaboration paragraphs – as many as you need

 Topic sentence: Will a point you make get people to understand / support
your claim?

 Introduce and State Evidence: Use signal phrases and provide evidence
from the text to support your claim. What supporting evidence (reasons,
examples, facts, statistics, and/or quotations) can you include to
prove/support/explain your topic sentence?

 Elaborate on Evidence: You cannot just plug it in. You have to show how
the evidence proves the point you are trying to make in this paragraph.
Give more detail.

 Concluding Sentence: End your paragraph with a concluding sentence

that reasserts the claim and moves into your next point.

The Counterclaim paragraph:

Grade 8 standards require that you “distinguish” the claim from a counterclaim. As opposed
to grade 7, you now need to present why one is better.

 Name a counterclaim and explain your reason why the

counterclaim is faulty.

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 Checklist of Argumentative Writing:

____ What’s the most important thing I want to say about my subject?

____ Is my claim clearly defined (narrow) and arguable?

____ Where is the most important point located? Is this the best place for it?

____ How many reasons did I give for my claim?

____ How much support (elaboration--DRAPES) did I give for each reason?

____ Did I overlap or repeat any points?

____ Did I leave any points out or add some that aren’t relevant to the claim?

____ How many paragraphs did I use to talk about each point?

____ Why did I talk about them in this order?

____ Should the order be changed?

____ Can I substitute better examples, reasons, or details?

____ Did I mention the opposition (a counterclaim) and offer a rebuttal?

____ How does my paper end?

____ Did I prove the claim I made at the beginning of the paper?

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