Writing the Rebuttal Paragraph

Writing a Persuasive Argument Essay

Argument Essay - Candy Bar Battle

We are doing a version of this activity - Twix v. Snickers 

6 paragraph essay:

Introduction
Argument #1
Argument #2
Argument #2
Counter-argument & rebuttal
Conclusion

 

 

Battle Bars -- The Edible Argument

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Debate/DEB0201.html

Submitted by: Mark A. Schneberger
Email: markusschneberger@hotmail.com
School/University/Affiliation: Oklahoma City Community College

Date: November 20, 2001

Grade Level: 9, 10, 11, 12, Higher Education, Adult/Continuing Education

Subject(s):

• Language Arts/Debate
• Language Arts/Writing

Duration: 50 minutes

Description: This lesson can be used to teach the beginning stages of argument to high school or college level English composition classes. Students use their writing skills to describe how their group's Snickers are a better buy than another group's Kit Kats, while the other group describes how its Kit Kats are a better buy than Snickers. Students use examples of price, advertising appeal, ease of consumption, appearance, dangers, nutrition facts, feel, smell, and taste to support their topic.

Goals: Students will be able to develop a thesis statement and write paragraphs using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate ideas and information to an audience (for the purposes of persuasion and argumentation).

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to develop a thesis statement and two paragraphs which support that thesis statement.
2. Students will be able to write a paragraph identifying one opposing viewpoint and write another paragraph that attempts to challenge that viewpoint.

Materials:

• a 20-piece bag (approx.) of Snickers Fun Size candy bars
• a 20-piece bag (approx.) of Kit Kat Fun Size candy bars
• chalkboard or dry erase board and chalk/marker
• writing utensils and paper

[If your college disapproves of bringing in outside food items (those not sold at the often overpriced commissary), substitute homemade nut-filled cookies and chocolate chip cookies for the candy bars. If using cookies, modify the thesis statement to fit.]

Procedure:
Inform students that they are to begin a unit about argumentation. Find out how many students like to argue and how many do not. Tell them that they are going to argue about something very important today -- candy bars! Inform students that the class is going to be split down the middle, and students on one side will receive Kit Kats while students on the other side will receive Snickers. [ Author's Note: You may allow students to choose sides, but you must have (closely) equal representation on each side. Also, tell students not to eat the candy bars.]

Lay a candy bar on each student's desk, or pass the bags around and allow the students to choose their own. Tell the students that they need to imagine that there are only two brands of candy bars in the world -- the ones being discussed. Tell them that their candy bar is the best value, and it is their job to come up with as many "logical" reasons why their candy bars are the best value. Tell them not to consider that the other group is working on doing the same project for another brand. Rather, have them just focus on the question, "Why is my candy bar the best value?" Encourage them to work together to make a list of the top 10 points for why their candy bars are the best.

After they have come up with their lists, have each group elect a representative to write their 10 reasons on the board. The result will be a split board with Kit Kat best-buy points on one side and Snickers best-buy points on the other side. Next, have students vote on which of their side's three reasons best represent why their respective candy bars are the better value. Erase all the others. This will result in a split board with three strong points for each side. Then, tell the groups that they are to individually, or in teams of two or three, write a thesis statement which expresses the idea that their candy bar is the best value. Then they are to craft two short paragraphs of three or more sentences (the paragraphs must be linked with transitional expressions) for each point they've chosen for their side. While students are working, assist each group and view their progress. The result will be a thesis statement and two paragraphs which support it. Allow students to eat their candy bars if they choose at this time. (Sugar may help them write faster!)

After the paragraphing is complete, tell the students how important it is when arguing to be fair and to demonstrate that others may have differing opinions. Then, direct them to individually, or in teams of two or three, assume the position of the other side and identify what they consider to be that side's strongest point about why they have the best value bar. Kit Kat groups will write a paragraph supporting Snickers and vice versa. Encourage students to spend a few minutes in discussion with members of the opposing groups, so they can adequately explain and support their points. Kit Kat members will solicit information from Snickers members and vice versa. While they are working, assist each group and view their progress. The result will be one paragraph, linked to the first two, which demonstrates the opposing position. If students request an opposing side's candy bar, allow them to have one (if there are ones left) to eat.

Finally, explain to students that their job after identifying a strong differing opinion is to directly and convincingly challenge it. Using what they know about candy bars, nutrition, packaging, and logic, they must try to construct one short paragraph (including transitional element) to disprove the other side. Kit Kats will challenge Snickers' strongest point and vice versa. While students are working, assist each group and view their progress. The result will be one challenge paragraph linked to the previous three paragraphs. Encourage students to share their completed paragraphs.

Assessment: Collect students' paragraphs to assess completeness and students' ability to logically demonstrate argumentation in writing.

Special Comments: If you have further questions about this lesson plan, which uses food as a base for understanding, please do not hesitate to contact: Mark A. Schneberger, Adjunct Professor of English, Oklahoma City Community College.

Compare and Contrast Essay

 After finishing the novel, we watched "The Hunger Games"  movie in class, and then the students were assigned a 5-paragraph point-by-point compare/contrast essay showing 3 differences between the movie and book, giving their opinion about why they thought those 3 things were changed.

A comparison essay gives similarities between two things, or similarities and differences.
A contrast essay gives only differences.

A Venn diagram is the traditional starting point for comparing and contrasting two things.

There are two ways to approach a compare or contrast essay.  A point-by-point essay takes one point at a time, addressing it from both sides, before going to the next point.  The subject-by-subject method discusses all the points of one side (book)  in one paragraph, and then all the points of the other side (movie) in the next paragraph. If writing a compare AND contrast essay, all the comparisons (similarities) could be made first, followed by all the contrasts (differences).
This pdf document gives a simple template for both a point-by-point compare/ contrast essay and a subject-by-subject (or block method) essay.
https://www.sbcc.edu/clrc/files/wl/downloads/WritingaCompareContrastEssay.pdf

Some words to use in a compare/contrast essay:

• similarly
• likewise
• in addition to
• just as
• however
• in contrast to
• on the other hand
• unlike

250 Ways to Say "Went"

Commas

Conciseness

"The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones."

Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab):  Conciseness

Top 5 Tips to Cut the Clutter  from about Education

1. Reduce long clauses
2. Reduce phrases
3. Avoid empty openers
4. Don't overwork modifiers
5. Avoid redundancies

Writing Concise Sentences from jadaniels

Vivid Words

My students are using s Composition Notebook to create a glossary of interesting words.  At the beginning of each class I write a vivid, expressive word on the whiteboard, along with its definition.  Students must add an original sentence for the word, and may illustrate the page if desired.  Each word has its own page.

So far, the words we have added to the notebooks are tranquility, diaphanous, scintilla, scintillate, rhapsodic, and lithe. 

 These are some creative pages from my sample notebook:

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know

100 Words Every College Student Should Know


100 Most Beautiful Words in the English Language

Ailurophile	A cat-lover.
Assemblage	A gathering.
Becoming	Attractive.
Beleaguer	To exhaust with attacks.
Brood	To think alone.
Bucolic	In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow	A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant	Like a cat's eye.
Comely	Attractive.
Conflate	To blend together.
Cynosure	A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance	A brief love affair.
Demesne	Dominion, territory.
Demure	Shy and reserved.
Denouement	The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude	Disuse.
Desultory	Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous	Filmy.
Dissemble	Deceive.
Dulcet	Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience	Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent	Bubbly.
Efflorescence	Flowering, blooming.
Elision	Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir	A good potion.
Eloquence	Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation	Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient	A softener.
Ephemeral	Short-lived.
Epiphany	A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile	At one time, for a time.
Ethereal	Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent	Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative	Suggestive.
Fetching	Pretty.
Felicity	Pleasantness.
Forbearance	Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious	Fleeting.
Furtive	Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol	To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour	Beauty.
Gossamer	The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk
Halcyon	Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger	Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication	Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio	An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue	To infuse, instill.
Incipient	Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable	Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue	A naïve young woman.
Inglenook	A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance	Blithe nonchalance.
Inure	To become jaded.
Labyrinthine	Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe	A special kind of gift.
Lagoon	A small gulf or inlet.
Languor	Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude	Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure	Free time.
Lilt	To move musically or lively.
Lissome	Slender and graceful.
Lithe	Slender and flexible.
Love	Deep affection.
Mellifluous	Sweet sounding.
Moiety	One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen	A slip of the ear.
Murmurous	Murmuring.
Nemesis	An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing	The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia	A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent	Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest	A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea	A solution for all problems
Panoply	A complete set.
Pastiche	An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra	A half-shadow.
Petrichor	The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora	A large quantity.
Propinquity	An inclination.
Pyrrhic	Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential	Most essential.
Ratatouille	A spicy French stew.
Ravel	To knit or unknit.
Redolent	Fragrant.
Riparian	By the bank of a stream.
Ripple	A very small wave.
Scintilla	A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal	Eternal.
Seraglio	Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity	Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery	Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous	Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious	Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna	A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous	Whispering, hissing.
Talisman	A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation	Tinkling.
Umbrella	Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward	Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial	In trace amounts.
Wafture	Waving.
Wherewithal	The means.
Woebegone	Sorrowful, downcast.

"Sweeten" Your Writing With Sentence Variety

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CFUQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edmondschools.net%2FPortals%2F0%2Fdocs%2FHow%2520to%2520Use%2520Sentence%2520Variety%2520in%2520Writing%2520Gr.%25204%2C%25205.ppt&ei=hZAgVOngFM3lsATVuIGoCA&usg=AFQjCNFbrBYBHXZ8myxUV2cyjJchYOMfCw&sig2=uNb8Nu_DIMVxdUGIqxnsug

Paragraphs

Here is the Slideshare presentation we watched today on Paragraphs.

The Paragraph from Alliya Anderson