Exploros | Writing Argumentative Text

Writing Argumentative Text

Students compose an argumentative text. First they choose a relatable and debatable topic and identify whether they are for or against it. Next, they research the topic and determine relevant, reliable, and logical reasons and evidence to support their claim. Finally, they draft, revise, and edit the argumentative essay.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

Overview

In this experience, students compose an argumentative text. First they choose a relatable and debatable topic and identify whether they are for or against it. Next, they research the topic and determine relevant, reliable, and logical reasons and evidence to support their claim. Finally, they draft, revise, and edit the argumentative essay.

Objectives

Plan and write an argumentative essay, moving through the writing process.
Formulate a claim and support it with sound and logical evidence and reasoning.
Apply argumentative characteristics and organizational structure to an argumentative text.
Revise and edit argumentative text.

Duration

One week. You may want students to draft or research information outside of classroom time.

There is a big difference between stating an opinion and writing an argument. Often opinions are based on emotions and not on facts. An argument, however, is based on facts and research. Sometimes when people argue a claim, the facts and evidence lead them to support a side that they initially disagreed with. In this experience, you will develop an argumentative essay in which you take a stance on a debatable topic and try to convince your audience to agree with you.

Objectives

Plan and write an argumentative essay, moving through the writing process.
Formulate a claim and support it with sound and logical evidence and reasoning.
Apply argumentative characteristics and organizational structure to an argumentative text.
Revise and edit argumentative text.

As students vote in each poll, you can discuss their preferences. The purpose of this activity is for students to see that opinions are often based on feelings. When writing an argumentative essay, however, they need to step back and analyze the issue by weighing evidence.

As you answered each of the questions above, you based your response on your intuition and opinion. Your feelings guided your answer. In this experience, you will evaluate the difference between an opinion based on feelings and one based on facts. When writing an argumentative essay, you want to make sure your claim is based on facts and evidence.