Building Arguments

Consider the Situation Introduce your subject. What is my topic? What is my purpose? Who is my audience? What action do I want my audience to take? Identify the specific focus (claim, thesis) of your writing. Before you can convince others, you must be clear in your own mind about your position. Grab your reader’s attention.

Construct a Claim Once you have clarified your point of view, you need to construct a claim. Your claim is your position statement, or the key point of your argument. Use the following formula: Position + Reason = Claim The new policy requiring students to pay to be in sports is wrong because it denies participation to some and hurst school spirit. It denies participation to some and hurts school spirit. The new policy Requiring students to pay to be in sports is wrong.

Introduction Paragraph Attention Grabbers Share some thought-provoking details about the subject. Ask your reader a challenging question. Begin with an informative quotation. Provide a dramatic, eye-opening statement. Open with some thoughtful dialogue or an engaging story. Identify the main points you plan to cover.

Ask your reader a challenging question. Snakes: Friends or Foes? Have you ever considered if snakes were your friends or enemies? Snakes to me are friends because they help us with medicine, clothing, and vermin. They are also friends because I have never had a bad experience with a snake. Have you had a bad experience, and what are they to you?

Ask your reader a challenging question. Snakes: Friends or Foes? Have you ever considered if snakes were your friends or enemies? Snakes to me are friends because they help us with medicine, clothing, and vermin. They are also friends because I have never had a bad experience with a snake. Have you had a bad experience, and what are they to you?

Snakes: Friends or Foes? Provide a dramatic, eye-opening statement. Identify the main points you plan to cover. Snakes: Friends or Foes? A flickering forked tongue, beady eyes, and venomous fangs. It’s no wonder why the world looks down on the dry, scaly body of the snake. The snake is not a friend, but a foe, because of the deaths they cause, the extremely dangerous poison hidden in their mouths, and they just all around scare people. Snakes are creepy, slithering creatures that are not at all safe and should be avoided.

Snakes: Friends or Foes? Provide a dramatic, eye-opening statement. Identify the main points you plan to cover. Snakes: Friends or Foes? A flickering forked tongue, beady eyes, and venomous fangs. It’s no wonder why the world looks down on the dry, scaly body of the snake. The snake is not a friend, but a foe, because of the deaths they cause, the extremely dangerous poison hidden in their mouths, and they just all around scare people. Snakes are creepy, slithering creatures that are not at all safe and should be avoided.

Snakes: Friends or Foes Share some thought-provoking details about the subject. Identify the main points you plan to cover. Snakes: Friends or Foes Whenever we see one on television, at the zoo, or in our garden with its unblinking, evil eyes staring, we want to run. It continues to stare at us and seems almost ready to strike. We don’t move a single muscle, for fear of the snake biting us. Let’s face the cold, hard, truth. Snakes are not our allies; they are our enemies. One trait that makes them all he more dangerous is their ability to blend in with their surroundings. Oh, did I mention there are over 2,000 species of snakes? That is a lot of variation in snakes. While I’m at it, I guess I better go for the final blow. Some snakes to have venom, and sometimes the venom is strong enough to kill humans. Snakes are not cuddly creatures.

Snakes: Friends or Foes Share some thought-provoking details about the subject. Identify the main points you plan to cover. Snakes: Friends or Foes Whenever we see one on television, at the zoo, or in our garden with its unblinking, evil eyes staring, we want to run. It continues to stare at us and seems almost ready to strike. We don’t move a single muscle, for fear of the snake biting us. Let’s face the cold, hard, truth. Snakes are not our allies; they are our enemies. One trait that makes them all he more dangerous is their ability to blend in with their surroundings. Oh, did I mention there are over 2,000 species of snakes? That is a lot of variation in snakes. While I’m at it, I guess I better go for the final blow. Some snakes to have venom, and sometimes the venom is strong enough to kill humans. Snakes are not cuddly creatures.

Ask your reader a challenging question. Snakes: Friends or Foes? Snakes, are they our friends, or are they our foes? Snakes have hurt people before, but they usually only strike when disturbed. People have pet snakes, and most snakes do not have venom that could hurt or kill humans. Snakes will protect their young; that is why they might strike. But aren’t humans very protective of their young also? Snakes are our friends, because they help us more than they hurt us.

Ask your reader a challenging question. Snakes: Friends or Foes? Snakes, are they our friends, or are they our foes? Snakes have hurt people before, but they usually only strike when disturbed. People have pet snakes, and most snakes do not have venom that could hurt or kill humans. Snakes will protect their young; that is why they might strike. But aren’t humans very protective of their young also? Snakes are our friends, because they help us more than they hurt us.

Useful Transition Words: First, Second, Third, One important reason… An equally important reason… Finally, A significant reason… Another significant reason… Of greatest significance… Next, Last,

The Body Usually three (3) paragraphs in length. Using transition words is important when writing the body of an argument. The body of the paper is where you identify details and evidence that support the claim you make in the introduction paragraph.

Counter Claim Addressing the Dark Side Consider the other point of view or objections to your position. To counter (disprove) an objection, you need to point out its flaw or weakness. The counter claim is usually addressed in a paragraph of its own.

Helpful “starts” for the counter claim paragraph. I admit that… It is true that… Of course… Even though… Perhaps… I agree that… Certainly… I accept… I realize that…

Snakes: Friends or Foes? Counter Claim Snakes: Friends or Foes? Even though there are poisonous and deadly snakes in the world, these are few in number. About 85 % of snakes are nonvenomous. The 15% of snakes that are venomous behave the same way the other snakes do. They have a “you don’t bug me, I won’t bug you” attitude. Sometimes, we don’t see them until we step on them. This shouldn’t happen. Snakes will generally give a warning noise if someone gets too close to them. Also, if they’re coiled, keep a good distance. Snakes really aren’t dangerous if left alone.

Conclusion Paragraph Draw together your best thoughts in a memorable way. Summarize the main points. Restate the focus or the primary message. Emphasize the special importance of one of the main points. Say something that will keep readers thinking about the subject.

Conclusion Transitions: All in all… In short… As you can see… To sum up… In summary… Clearly… In Closing… The logical conclusion is… In conclusion… To conclude…