Writing argumentative essays (part I)

An argumentative essay is an essay in which you are going to write about a statement or "premise" with which your readers may or may not agree.
When you are writing this kind of essay your aim is to make those readers agree with your statement or premise. To persuade them to take your side, you need to support your ideas with pertinent examples and logical cases in point.

Example:

Premise: Students shouldn't wear a uniform.
Supporting statement 1: Parents will have to pay for the uniforms.
Supporting statement 2: Students feel they are not free.

Let's practice!
Think about two supporting statements to the following premises.

Premise: Killing animals for their fur or skin must be banned.
Supporting statement 1:
Supporting statement 2:
Premise: Children should be allowed to use cell phones.
Supporting statement 1:
Supporting statement 2:
Premise: Celebrities' private lives should remain private.
Supporting statement 1:
Supporting statement 2:

Possible answers

Premise: Killing animals for their fur or skin must be banned.
Supporting statement 1: It is immoral. We don't have the right to kill animals.
Supporting statement 2: We can use fibers to make synthetic products.
Premise: Children should be allowed to use cell phones.
Supporting statement 1: They can use them in case of emergencies.
Supporting statement 2: Parents know about where their kids are.
Premise: Celebrities' private lives should remain private.
Supporting statement 1: They are human beings. They need to live in peace.
Supporting statement 2: Opening their lives to the public can be disastrous.

Now, that we have our ideas jotted down we need to organize them in a paragraph by using connectives like: Firstly (used to say we are going to mention our first supporting idea/statement), moreover, furthermore, besides, in addition (to add other supporting statements) and finally (to tell the reader that it is going to be our last supporting statement).

Example:
Students shouldn't wear a uniform. Firstly, parents have to pay for uniforms.
In addition, students feel they are not free.

It is often more attention-grabbing to add specific details and illustrate our supporting statements with examples. Let us study the following example:

Students shouldn't wear a uniform. Firstly, parents have to pay for uniforms. Indeed, school uniforms can be very expensive. In addition, students feel they are not free. In fact, they feel they are not treated like free individuals who can decide about personal matters like what they choose to wear.

Let's practice!
Part One:
The following statements have one supporting statement. Add one or two other supporting statements and use connectives:

Premise: Mass media is doing nothing to help teenagers give up smoking.
Supporting statement 1: they are showing celebrities who are smoking in a positive way.
Supporting statement 2:
Premise: Vehicles using gasoline should be replaced with ecological vehicles.
Supporting statement 1: Petroleum fuels create harmful emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides that pollute the environment.
Supporting statement 2:

Possible answers:

Premise: Mass media is doing nothing to help teenagers give up smoking.
Supporting statement 1: they are showing celebrities who are smoking in a positive way.
Supporting statement 2: they don't put on view strong messages that show the dangers of smoking.
Premise: Vehicles using gasoline should be replaced with ecological vehicles.
Supporting statement 1: Petroleum fuels create harmful emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides that pollute the environment.
Supporting statement 2: Home refueling of electric and natural gas cars can save time and be rather cost effective.
Mass media is doing nothing to help teenagers give up smoking. Firstly, they are showing celebrities who are smoking in a positive way. Moreover, they don't put on view strong messages that show the dangers of smoking.
Vehicles using gasoline should be replaced with ecological vehicles. Firstly, Petroleum fuels create harmful emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides that pollute the environment. Moreover, Home refueling of electric and natural gas cars can save time and be rather cost effective.

Part Two: Now think of some examples you can add to further illustrate or explain the following supporting statements using "indeed" and "in fact".

Premise: Cell phone use should be banned while driving an automobile
Supporting statement 1: while using the cell phone, drivers tend to concentrate less on what is happening on the road.
Supporting statement 2: if they hear bad news on the phone, drivers may get panicked.

Possible answers:

Premise: Cell phone use should be banned while driving an automobile
Supporting statement 1: while using the cell phone, drivers tend to concentrate less on what is happening on the road. Indeed, many studies have proven that talking on a cell phone while driving results in the same accident rate as if you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.'
Supporting statement 2: if they hear bad news on the phone, drivers may get panicked.In fact, even after the conversation is over, drivers may still think about it and may forget about traffic signs or safety rules.

Part Three: Now write the whole paragraph using connectives (Firstly, moreover, besides, etc…):
Possible answers:

Cell phone use should be banned while driving an automobile. Firstly, while using the cell phone, drivers tend to concentrate less on what is happening on the road. Indeed, many studies have proven that talking on a cell phone while driving results in the same accident rate as if you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Besides, if they hear bad news on the phone, drivers may get panicked. In fact, even after the conversation is over, drivers may still think about it and may forget about traffic signs or safety rules.

It is high time for us to add a concluding statement. We use it to indicate that we are making a final statement which usually sums up all the supporting statements in a general way. We can use: In conclusion, in summary, thus, to sum up, etc…

In conclusion, banning the use of phones in automobiles can lead drivers to concentrate more on the road and it can eventually prevent them from getting distracted by phone conversations.

References: Writing Argumentative Essays: http://www.ltn.lv/~markir/essaywriting/frntpage.htm
Italki : http://www.italki.com
http://www.forandagainst.com

Essential questions: technique put to the test

Today, I tried using "Essential Questions" with my classes and put this technique to the test.

The lesson was a reading activity. The text is about the queen of soul, Sade. It talks about her life and why she avoids publicity and prefers keeping a kind of privacy. I started by asking the question: Do you want to be a celebrity? Why? What is the price we pay for being one?

First, we talked about the brighter side of the story: my students said that celebrities have all the commodities and the privileges we may dream of, like being famous, being rich, being able to travel to many countries, being able to have fairy-like weddings, etc,.. I wrote down the answers on the board under the heading: Good side.Then, I asked: Can you think of any bad points? Are all celebrities happy? My students hesitated for a moment. So, I showed two pictures: one is a recent photo of Britney Spears shaving her hair, the other one is for Michael Jackson hiding his face from journalists and photographers after the trials in the American courts.

So, my students started talking about pop stars going to rehab because they have psychological problems or because they are addicted to drugs or alcohol. They also mentioned the fact that some were harassed by lunatic fans. We talked also about paparazzi and how they made Maradona loose control and almost kill one of them. I wrote these and others on the board under the heading: Bad side. Later, my students sat in groups of four and started writing about being a celebrity. They only jotted down a few more ideas and I asked them to keep them for future reference when we will write about this topic.

When we moved to the reading activity, my students were equipped with a valid background and a good range of vocabulary that they would come across in the text. It was clear that the debate we had made my students appreciate the text and they enjoyed the reading activity as a whole.

I think essential questions are great because they can involve students and provide them with a real context and a reason for learning the language as these questions led them to broaden their knowledge and awareness of current issues. However, I think it is not the only way to make students adhere more positively to the learning process.

Coming posts will talk about other compelling techniques that can be as interesting as essential questions.

Technorati Tags: teaching technique,reading,speaking,involve students,motivation,essential questions

Essential questions

Question: How to make students engage in learning? How to make a unit/lesson look more relevant and more meaningful?

Answer: One of the problems faced by teachers is when the topic taught seems irrelevant or devoid of a meaningful context. The students seem indifferent because the content, at first sight, looks rather severed from their needs and backgrounds. This is often the case in our schools because teachers become more concerned with covering the whole curriculum rather than mediating a learner-oriented content.

Becoming a better teacher: eight innovations that work by Giselle O. Martin-Kniep addresses this and other problems as well in a comprehensive and thorough manner.

To make sure that students identify with the subjects that are taught and engage in the curriculum, teachers can use what Giselle calls "essential questions". These questions "allow teachers to tackle the curriculum while helping them treat it as something to be discovered and negotiated." They can help generating debates and raise the level of discourse in the classroom and can also serve as a good way to relate previously taught topics to the currently taught one.

Giselle argues that these questions have the following criteria in common:

• They are universal
• They are never fully answerable
• The more we grow mature, the more we discover we still have more to learn about the answers
• They lead to the realization that knowledge is an ongoing process and one that makes life worth living

Here are some examples by the author about what essential questions look like:

• Are we really free?
• What is the meaning of life?
• Do we have control over our destiny?
• If we are so alike, how do we explain our differences?
• Can there be good without evil?
• Are all cultures equally valuable?
• Can you win and lose at the same time?
• When is cheating not bad?
• Is education essential for success in life?

How can we use these questions? It depends on the topic or unit that is going to be taught. For a lesson talking about the merits of the Internet, one may start by asking the question: Is technology a foe or a friend? The question: are humans inhumane? Can provide a framework for a lesson about "crime", etc..

Side note: Do you have any comments? Please add them here.