Argument Essay Requirements

Essay Writing Prompt: The Civil Rights leaders of the past and present greatly impact our lives. Write an argument essay explaining how your Civil Rights leader impacted society and showed perseverance in his or her life.

Introduction Paragraph A good introductory paragraph begins with an attention grabber/hook and ends with a clear thesis statement (claim).

Attention Grabber/Hook Ideas Try getting the readers attention with one of these: The personal anecdote/story Ask three thought provoking, universal questions (NOT the question/questions posed in the essay prompt) Quotation, song lyric, or short poem Unusual, bizarre, or interesting fact or statistic

Thesis Statement A thesis statement helps to guide your writing. In an argument essay, the thesis is your claim. Claim: an opinion statement presented as a fact; it’s what you will be arguing Thesis statement: (subject + claim = thesis statement)

Sample Thesis Statement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the greatest peaceful Civil Rights leader who persevered in his fight to gain equal rights for all.

Body Paragraph(s): Background Describe the education/early events that lead to their influence. You must use at least one quote and correctly cite it. Describe later life events that lead to their influence and how. You must use at least one quote and correctly cite it.

Body Paragraph(s): Argument Describe how the civil rights leader influenced civil rights and how they impacted society (AKA their legacy). You must use at least one quote and correctly cite it. In this paragraph, you must argue that your leader persevered. You must also include counterarguments that describe how Anti-Civil Rights opponents acted or what they believed.

Argument Planner: Example Reasons For: Reasons Against: Arguments to support my viewpoint Arguments to oppose my viewpoint WHO – WHAT- WHEN- WHERE- WHY OPPOSITION-OBSTACLES MLK, speech, 1963, Lincoln Memorial His safety was in danger He was trying to inspire a nation He was battling unfair laws He was trying to inform a nation He was battling racist views He wanted equal rights

Counterargument Starters: Some people believed… Many people argued… Opponents of the Civil Rights movement believed… Anti-Civil Rights supporters… Adversaries of equal rights…

Conclusion A good conclusion paragraph ends by restating the thesis statement (claim). Just like your introduction started with getting the reader’s attention with a hook, your conclusion must end similarly. End with a bang. Use the same introduction techniques to end your essay. Anecdote/story, questions, quotations, facts… Leave the reader with something to think about.