Angelo L. Tomaso School

Third Marking Period Unit of Study:  Argument
The Research-Based Argument Essay

Bend II:  Building Powerful Arguments

During the current unit of study students will learn that when starting a research project, writers think about how to capture the information they need, setting up systems to collect their knowledge and research, thus setting themselves up to write a lot. They will also learn that writers bring all that they know about reading critically into writing critically. Students will discover that writers often plan for and rehearse the entirety of a draft, and then choose a tricky place to focus on as they work. They will learn that argument writers strengthen their claims by including evidence supporting the opposing viewpoint and then offering a rebuttal. Students will further learn that argument writers evaluate evidence to ensure that their own arguments are solid. They will discover that writers think carefully about their audience and then tailor their arguments to particularly appeal to that audience, and they will conduct an inquiry into how this might be done. Students will be guided to present their arguments in panels, noting that argument writers aim to share their arguments in real-life situations in order to sway audience opinion and enact positive change. Finally, they will learn that writers use argument skills in a variety of ways, in a variety of contexts.