1. Argumentative Essay
Answer the following questions in your notebook in the society section. Title the page “Argumentative Essay” and write in complete sentences.

2. 1. What topic did you choose?
Love and Marriage
Role of Women
Role of the Mechanicals

3. 2. Write 2 paragraphs about what the text says about your topic
2. Write 2 paragraphs about what the text says about your topic. For example, if I chose love and marriage I would write about all the examples of love in the text—if they work out, if it’s true love, how Shakespeare ended the love story, etc. If I chose women in society, I would brainstorm all the women, how they act, how they are treated, etc.

4. Now find your claim and reasons.
3. Review your brainstorm freewrite. What does it say about your topic? Highlight important information that you can include in your essay. What is your claim (your position on the topic that you will prove in your essay)?
4. What are your reasons (the examples that prove your claim true)?
5. What is your thesis statement? Combine the claim and reasons in 1 clear and concise sentence.

5. Answer these questions about your thesis statement – Complete sentences
6. Did I state what I will be arguing?
7. Did I state the reasons for my argument?
8. Does it clearly tell the reader what the essay will be about?

6. Now you need evidence!
9. You need evidence to prove your reasons are true—this means you need to find quotations from the text (
Write at least 3 separate quotations that will support your reasons—these will become your body paragraphs.
Write an explanation of each quotation.
Use this formatting for all three examples:
A. Reason
B. Quotation that shows textual evidence
C. Explanation of the reason

7. Now you can start typing! Writing an Introduction
Introductions work like funnels. They start out broad and narrow to the thesis statement.
Hook—grab readers attention
Introduce the text and author (1 sentence)
Give a brief summary of the text (1-2 sentences)
Introduce the topic
Provide thesis statement

8. Look at this example
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written between 1590 and 1596, has been read and performed for hundreds of years. A young couple flees home to get married against a father’s will; Fairy royalty have marriage issues, and a group of blue collar workers practice a play to perform at the Duke’s wedding. The blue collar workers are represented very differently than the other groups (royals, lovers, fairies) in the text. Shakespeare has a negative bias against blue collar workers as demonstrated in AMSND; the workers (or mechanicals) misspeak and don’t speak in verse like the rest of the characters, and Bottom is turned into a donkey.

9. Your introduction is due at the end of the block. Show Ms
Your introduction is due at the end of the block! Show Ms. Hanson when you are done.