A person only has to spend 5 minutes in the company of a middle schooler to find out they LOVE to argue. And if someone is going to encourage them to argue and even teach them how to be good at it, they will form a line at the door to get in.

How to Make Argument Writing Meaningful

When writing your essay, consider these tips to help craft the most rational and poignant argument for your readers. Avoid emotional language that can sound irrational. Know the difference between a logical conclusion and an emotional point of view. CMGT 410 – Week 2 Team Assignment Virtual Organization – Patton-Fuller Community Hospital PROJECT OBJECTIVES NEEDED: Quantify the measurable performance expectations of the plan in order to determine whether or not it meets the planned objectives. Performance should be defined in terms of product or process specification, total budget at the completion of the plan and the timeframe for.

As with all writer’s workshop units (which you can read more about HERE), if we can help students find topics they are passionate about, teaching the art of argumentative writing becomes relevant. If we impress upon them the need they have right now for learning how to “argue” effectively, they will understand that argumentative writing is the single most important writing genre they will learn.

I like to start by introducing a real-life example that the kids can relate to. The example below clearly shows how the boy prepares his argument based on his audience. It also illustrates the difference between argument and persuasion and how to use specific evidence and counterarguments to one’s advantage.

Choosing an Argumentative Essay Topic

Weeks before we start our argumentative writing unit, we begin a topics page in our writer’s notebooks. Using the books and articles we’ve read in class, as well as current events from social studies, the kids begin generating a running list of issues that interest them.

“Every issue that interests them” means we end up with ideas like “Should the Government Prepare for the Zombie Apocolypse?” but this is the time when anything goes. We can weed out the flakes later.

This year we wrote two argumentative essays. The first one was a warm-up essay that didn’t require the kids to do research because I supplied the necessary information. I also didn’t require as many supporting details in the body. I found interesting short articles from Scholastic and NewsELA and had the kids use those text sets for evidence.

Writing a modified essay before starting our writer’s workshop argumentative essay worked beautifully. Students developed a good grasp the essay’s structure before we did our “heavy-duty industrial strength” version.

After the smaller essay came the BIG KAHUNA, an argumentative writing workshop. This time I wanted the kids to choose one they feel strongly about. We started with quick-writes, which are always a huge hit with the 7th-grade crowd.

To do this, I slowly read them a list of controversial topics, like the ones from the list below. During quick-writes, the kids write fast and furiously, jotting down everything they can think of about the topic before I read the next topic. They write and write and write.

Sometimes I accidentally smoosh the topics too closely together and read them really fast. This gets the kids all worked up because they don’t have enough time and they hoot and holler about it.

Of course, I don’t do this too often. And it’s always by accident. I swear.

Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Book

Some teachers call this kind of writing “throwing up on the paper.” I don’t, because that gives me a bad visual, and we are dainty and cultured in my class. 😉 So I prefer the kinder, gentler term I call “spitting up” on the paper. 😉

The bottom line is that the kids write about different topics until their hands ache and their fingers are about ready to fall off right there into the aisle.

(I’m telling you, my kids LOVE quick-writes. Any time they can hoot and holler and spit up and there is at least a possibility that someone’s hand might fall off…they’re all in.)

Argument Writing is a Real-Life Skill

Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Interview

The result? The kids were proud that soon afterward, the laws in our state were improved. Maybe it wasn’t due to us. But just maybe it was. Which is pretty cool indeed.

Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Interview