Page 22 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade6_Flipbook

8. Once you have brainstormed reasons, go through the list and determine which reasons are the most relevant and logical in support of your position for your audience. What evidence can you cite that supports your reasoning (e.g., if pets create responsibility, what evidence is there for this claim)?
9. You have identified your claims and possible opposing points of view, as well as the evidence you will provide to support your opinions. Next, the class must decide the order in which to present these points. Working with your teacher, generate a class-constructed topic outline of the overall organizational plan for your argumentative writing.
Drafting the Essay
10. Working with your teacher and classmates, draft the introduction to your argumentative essay. Be sure to include the following elements:
• Lead, or hook (the attention grabber)
• Context (the situation that establishes the topic and its importance)
• Thesis (the position of the class on the topic), using a complex sentence as in the model above.
To check your understanding: Look at the first paragraph of the sample text, and identify the hook, context, and thesis. Then, as a class, draft the introduction to your class-constructed essay. Copy your draft below.
11. You have learned how to organize ideas in body paragraphs using
• A topic sentence that includes a reason for supporting your thesis
• Evidence, which includes facts, stories, etc., to support your reasoning
• Transitions, which are words or phrases that make the relationship between
ideas obvious for the reader
• Commentary, which includes an explanation of the significance of the
evidence or its connection to the topic sentence.
With your class, use these elements to draft the body paragraphs for your class essay.
12. Working with your teacher, draft the conclusion to your argument. In this last paragraph, be sure to provide a call to action (encouragement to the audience to take action based on your claim), and highlight the urgency or importance of the issue you are presenting. The conclusion should follow from and support your argument without introducing ideas that have not already been addressed.
Writing Workshop 2 • Argumentative Writing 7
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