General Feedback on Argumentative Essays

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

General & your Feedback on Argumentative Essays

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, 

• you will be able to distinguish between a well-structured argument and exaggerated claims.  
• you will understand the importance of including and refuting counterarguments in an argumentative essay.  
• you will be able to apply guidelines for effective paragraph writing within an essay.

What do you consider the most important part of an argumentative essay?

Definition and Purpose

Argumentative Essay: 

A type of writing that presents 

• a central argument or claim 

and 

• uses evidence and reasoning to persuade the reader.

Organization of an Argumentative Essay

Introduction with thesis and narrative hook; 

Body paragraphs for pros, cons, counterargument, and refutation; 

Conclusion restating thesis and summarizing argument.

Guidelines for Effective Paragraph Writing

• Deal with one topic per paragraph; 
• Use varied sentence lengths; 
• Create attention-grabbing opening sentences.

The Importance of Balance and Refutation

Balancing arguments; 

Including and refuting counterarguments.

Refutation = the act of saying or proving that a person, statement, opinion, etc. is wrong or false.

Definitions

Thesis Statement: A sentence that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay. 

Counterargument: An opposing viewpoint to the writer's thesis, presented within the essay. 

Refutation: The act of proving an argument or statement to be wrong or false. 

Narrative Hook: A technique in the introduction of an essay that grabs the reader's attention.

What is the purpose of a narrative hook?

1. To conclude the essay effectively
2. To provide a summary of the main points
3. To grab the reader's attention in the introduction
4. To present the opposing argument

What is the definition of refutation?

1. The act of proving an argument to be wrong
2. A technique to grab the reader's attention
3. The act of presenting a strong argument
4. The act of supporting an argument

What is the purpose of a thesis statement?

1. Summarizes the main point or claim of an essay
2. Introduces the topic of the essay
3. Concludes the essay
4. Provides background information

What should the first sentence of each paragraph in an argumentative essay do?

1. Introduce a new topic, present a counter argument, make the reader stop reading
2. Express the main point and invite the reader to continue

What is the purpose of the conclusion in an argumentative essay?

1. To summarize the main points and restate the thesis
2. To introduce new information, to present an opposing viewpoint, to support the counter argument

Why is it important to have well-organized paragraphs in an argumentative essay?

1. To make the essay longer, to confuse the readers, to show bias towards one viewpoint
2. To effectively present and explain different aspects of the topic

What is the purpose of including a counter argument in an argumentative essay?

1. To acknowledge opposing viewpoints and refute them
2. To confuse the readers with conflicting information, to make the essay longer and repetitive, to show bias towards one viewpoint

How is an argumentative essay organized?

1. Introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, counter argument, conclusion
2. Introduction, conclusion, supporting paragraphs, opinion statement

Give feedback on some essays

Five groups, discuss five parts of five essays.

Group 1: title

Group 2: Introduction

Group 3, 4, 5: Body paragraphs

Check your own essay for applicability.

What do you learn from these? How can you improve your work?

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.