An outline for argumentative writing

1. Argumentative Writing
Adapted from a presentation by Dr. Barry Laga, Professor of English,
Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO

2. Purpose of Argument
Correct a misguided or wrong claim
Encourage people to act or think differently
Argument: A reasoned series of
thoughts intended to support a claim.

3. Three Questions
What’s your claim?
What’s your warrant? (WHY do you think so?)
Where is your evidence? (SHOW me!)

4. Basic Outline
One Paragraph
Argue against another viewpoint
Claim
Clarify
Warrant Logic
Example
Provide
Evidence
Testimony/Data
Call to Action/Restate Opinion
Conclusion
End with a BANG!

5. Claim
Argue against another view
A younger, dumber version of yourself.
“I used to think that...”
A hypothetical person or group.
“Some students think that...”
A real person or group.
“Mrs. Doss believes ...”

6. Claim
Introduction
Introduce your topic as you argue against a view
you disagree with. Do both in the same sentence.
Some of my classmates think that … but I believe that…
Many people think that…. however, I would say that…
Mrs. Doss thinks that …, but if we think carefully we’ll see
that…
At first glance, we might think that… but if we look closer
we’ll see that…
I used to think that... but now I realize that...

7. Claim
Introduction
Basic Student Example…
My district thinks that physical
education should be dropped in order
to spend more time in writing class, but
I believe that P.E. is necessary for
good health.

8. Claim
Clarify
Use phrases like
In other words...
Put another way...
What I’m trying to say is that ...
That is, …

9. Claim
Basic Student Example…
My district thinks that physical
education should be dropped in
Claim order to spend more time in
writing class, but I believe that
P.E. is necessary for good
health. What I’m trying to say is
that eliminating P.E would hurt
Clarify
student learning because you
have to be healthy to learn.

10. Warrant
Use Logic
This makes sense because…
Running for an hour makes no sense at all. (Explain)
If…. then …
This is so logical. (How so? Explain.)
Changing our schedule is an illogical idea. (Explain)
It’s like... (Use an analogy)

11. Warrant
Use Logic
Basic Student Example…
It makes no sense to get rid of
P.E. because many kids need it
to release excess energy and
without P.E. they would be
disruptive in class.

12. Warrant
Use an Example
For example…
A good example of this is…
I remember when...
My friend is a good example of …
This reminds me of Susan B. Anthony who …

13. Warrant
Hypothetical Example
A “hypothetical” example is an imaginary
example. It’s an example you create. It
didn’t really happen.
What if…
Imagine…

14. Warrant
Real Example
A “real” example is an experience
that happened to you or to someone
you know. Real examples include
stories about people or events in the
past. They may be your friends,
people you have heard about in the
news, or people in history.

15. Warrant
Literary Example
Use examples from stories, poems,
novels, fables, etc. You could use Harry
Potter, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, or
the preacher in The Giver.

16. Warrant
Example
Basic Student Example
Imagine going to a school where there
were no P.E. classes, and you were
stuck in a desk all day. Children would
be bored out of their minds and would
long to just run, jump and play.

17. Provide Evidence
Testimony
Quote an authority to reinforce your idea:
Eye-Witness
Expert
Well-Respected Non-Expert
Proverbs

18. Provide Evidence
Data
Data has to do with numbers:
Statistics
Polls
Survey Results
Percentages

19. Provide Evidence
Data
Gather data through research:
Authoritative websites and on-line sources
Almanacs
Encyclopedias
Statistical-oriented studies
Your own surveys or fieldwork to create your own data

20. Provide Evidence: Writing Strategies
Lead Into the Quote
Use phrases like...
According to our principal, “...”
Many experts agree. X points out that, “...”
This is not an isolated example. Dr. X tells us “…”
In the words of Noble Prize winner Toni Morrison, “ ...”
Basketball star Michael Jordan reminds us that “...”

21. Provide Evidence: Writing Strategies
Lead Out Of the Quote
Use phrases like…
As Mr. Smith points out...
What is important to notice here is ...
What we should see in this quote is that ...
Dr. Smith makes sense, especially when she...
What is obvious here is that ...
In other words, Malcolm X is saying that ...

22. Provide Evidence
Testimony
Basic Student Example
Lead The National Association of Sport and
In Physical Education tells us, “physical
education is an integral part of the total
education of every child”. This quote
Lead
suggests that a good education goes Out
far beyond reading, writing and math.

23. Provide Evidence
Data
Basic Student Example
Lead
According to an article in the journal of
In “Active Living Research”, studies
involving 58,000 students between 1967
and 2006 show that kids who are more
physically active do better academically.
What is obvious here is that kids need Lead
P.E. to do well in other subjects. Out

24. Conclude
One sentence summary. Use a signpost to indicate that you
plan to conclude. Try something along the lines of ...
In sum, ...
In short, ...
As I’ve just said...

25. Conclusion Strategies
Call to Action
Present a “carrot” or a “stick.”
We have a choice to make. We can either do X and [this will
happen] or we can do Y [and this will happen]. I hope we will
choose wisely, etc. Answer... “So what?”
Testimony:
Well-respected non-expert
We should remember the words of Thomas Jefferson who said, “…”
Expert
Let’s not forget what Dr. Jones told us, “ ...”
Proverb
We should keep in mind the ancient proverb, “...”

26. Conclusion
Call to Action
Basic Student Example
In short, we have a choice to make. We can
get rid of P.E. and have unhappy students
who are not motivated to learn, or we can
keep P.E and have healthy students who are
fit in both body and mind. Let’s make the
right choice for our students and keep
Physical Education in school.

27. Blog Ready: Add Hypertext
Definitions, Linktribution
My district thinks that physical education should be dropped in order to spend
more time in writing class, but I believe that P.E. is necessary for good health. What
I’m trying to say is that eliminating P.E. would hurt student learning because you
have to be healthy to learn. It makes no sense to get rid of P.E. because many kids
need it to release excess energy and without P.E. they would be disruptive in class.
Imagine going to a school where there were no P.E. classes, and you were stuck in
a desk all day. Children would be bored out of their minds and would long to just
run, jump and play. The National Association of Sport and Physical Education tells
us, “physical education is an integral part of the total education of every child”. This
quote suggests that a good education goes far beyond reading, writing and math.
According to an article in the journal of “Active Living Research”, studies involving
58,000 students between 1967 and 2006 show that kids who are more physically
active do better academically. What is obvious here is that kids need P.E. to do
well in other subjects. In short, we have a choice to make. We can get rid of P.E.
and have unhappy students who are not motivated to learn, or we can keep P.E.
and have healthy students who are fit in both body and mind. Let’s make the right
choice for our students and keep Physical Education in school.

28. For Practice
Your state has decided to pass a law that
makes thirteen (13) the legal driving age.
Explain whether or not this law is a good
idea.
Your principal has decided that students at
EMS are overweight. Students must now
run or bike during the last hour of school.
Is this a good way to solve the problem?
Explain your answer.