Argumentative Essay: Home

 My Side

A Claim is stating your position on a topic.

1) A claim must make sense from the available evidence. It's logical

2) A claim is not an opinion or fact.

3) If you can support a claim in a few sentences then it is not a good claim

4) The claim should be interesting to a wide audience.

5) A claim is specific not so general that it will take a book to support it.                  

Other Side

A Counterclaim is the other side of the argument.

1) Recognize the counterclaim by stating it in your paper.

2) Point out the flaws in the counter claim that will help you to support your claim.

So What?

A Warrant explains how the evidence supports your claim.

1) A warrant answers the question: What makes the claim true?

2) A warrant is the link or bridge between the claim and the evidence.

3) A warrant fits the evidence and does not make assumptions unrelated to the evidence.

4) A warrant proves that the counterclaim is wrong.

To find ideas for topics the following websites are recommended:

www.procon.org

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/research-topics-for-high-school-students.html

Claim 1: The positive educational experience from homework allows students to be responsible for their work.

Evidence 1: Because of homework, kids must know when homework is due and this allows for them to plan and organize for themselves.

Warrant 1: Just learning from homework isn't the only benefit; the responsibility and organization is, too. Student are required to write down dates and to keep organized and do the homework and bring it to school on the correct date. In the future, people are required to know when work is due. For example, an artist is given a deadline for his piece; he must keep organized in  order to bring it in. Because of homework, students grow to be more responsible and efficient which will help them succeed in today's workforce.

Prove it!

Evidence is data & expert opinion that supports your claim.

1) Data is facts and statistics related to your claim.

2) Expert Opinion comes from learned people in the field of your topic.

3) Personal experience can be difficult to use but can be powerful. If the experience is too specific to the individual do not use it.

4) All sources of evidence must be cited for your claim to be taken seriously.

Worksheet document above is so you can print out the worksheet below.

Name  ___________________________

Title ______________________

Use this to help with building your Argumentative Essay.

Claim/Thesis Statement

________________________________________________

_____________________________________

Warrant #1  _______________________________________________

     Evidence _______________________________________________

     Evidence _______________________________________________

Warrant #2  _______________________________________________

     Evidence _______________________________________________

     Evidence _______________________________________________

Warrant #3 ________________________________________________

    Evidence ________________________________________________

    Evidence ________________________________________________

Counterclaim _______________________________________________