Types of Argument Writing

Claims of Cause and Effect	Claims of Definition or Fact	Claims About Values	Claims About Policies
One person or thing causes something else to occur Friar Laurence is responsible for  Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths.	How a thing is defined or if something is an established fact Romeo is more capable of falling in “like” than following in “love.”	How something is valued by society Romeo has little or no respect for family customs and traditions.	For or against a certain policy The Capulets have their daughter’s well-being in mind when they make arrangements for her to marry Paris.

from Argument Writing Across Content Areas 2011

December 20, 1812

Grimm's Fairy Tales were published on this date in 1812:

To learn more, see this link: http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/publication-grimm%E2%80%99s-fairy-tales

Just for fun and for us Harry Potter fans!

This GIF was labeled Yule Ball, which is not be confused with "You'll bawl."
Is this a reminder for you to study your commonly confused words?
Yes!

Spelling practice:  https://quizlet.com/102626513/learn 

For Us Star Wars Fans!

Do you agree or disagree with these?

A Little Holiday Baking

This is one of those confusing pairs of words you really should learn to spell correctly!
 I don't believe there are any synonyms for cinnamon!

Timely Information: Writing Holiday Greetings Correctly

http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/the-3-most-common-writing-mistakes-on-holiday-greetings/

Friday/Monday, December 18/January 4, 2015

December 18 -- Charity games:   A1 

• Leave your backpacks in your lockers.
• Use the restroom and get a drink if you need to.
• You need your dollar (or more) and a red slip to get into the games.
• Sit as close together as you can.
• No saving seats.
• You may attend only your grade's games.
• No cavetime today or tomorrow.
• Your donations are doubled, so be generous. 

Announcements and Reminders:                                                                 Our next spelling test will cover all of this term's words, adding board/bored. There will be no January Book of the Month. We will concentrate on writing in January.                                                        Don't forget to write Santa Letters!   You can practice your spelling with Spelling practice:  https://quizlet.com/102626513/learn  The overall spelling test will be on January 7/8. and    Study for the Argument Vocabulary Post Test. Quizlet for argument vocabulary: https://quizlet.com/_1mpfek (Notice that Quizlet provides you with several different ways to study for the test.) Important Note: When we take the argument vocabulary post test (in Term 2), you will be expected to know ALL of the terms and their definitions.  The overall argument vocabulary test will be on January 5/6.  You can pick up helpful handouts at the front of the room. If you'd like to print your own, here are the links.  Use the Download tab. Vocabulary for Argument Writing.docx Term 2 Spelling.docx If you didn't complete the Evidence Charts for The Outsiders, you can pick up the make-up work. Evidence Charts .docx Hints for Evidence from The Outsiders.docx

Suggestions for Christmas reading:

January 4, 2015

Targets for Today:

Today’s  Agenda: A1 will be going to the Charity Basketball Games.

If You Were Absent:

Wednesday/Thursday, December 16/17, 2015

Argument Writing:  •A type of writing that states a position on a topic and defends it

Hook: •A sentence or sentences that will engage your reader – get their attention

l         Claim/Thesis: •A sentence that states your position and includes your main reasons

           Introduction:  •The first paragraph of an essay

           Topic Sentence: •The sentence near the beginning of the paragraph that states the central idea of the paragraph

          Background Information: •The information the reader needs to understand a topic and why it is being discussed

           Body Paragraph:  •A paragraph that comes between the introduction and the conclusion

           Transitions:  Words or groups of words that connect ideas and show relationships

           Formal Style:  Writing that does not include contractions or the pronouns "you" or "I"

           Reasons:  Logical main points to support a claim

           Evidence:  Facts, examples, statistics, etc. that support a claim

           Explanation:  explains the evidence and shows how it supports your reasons/claim

           Counterclaim/Opposing Claim:  an opposing argument; something the other side would say 

           Rebuttal:  proving why a counterclaim (opposing claim) is wrong using reasons and evidence

           Conventions:  correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation

           Citation:  giving the source of the evidence 

           Conclusion:  sums up the main point of the whole essay 

You could study these terms using a Quizlet at https://quizlet.com/_1mpfek

Charity games:  

• Leave your backpacks in your lockers.
• Use the restroom and get a drink if you need to.
• You need your dollar (or more) and a red slip to get into the games.
• Sit as close together as you can.
• No saving seats.
• You may attend only your grade's games.
• No cavetime today or tomorrow.
• Your donations are doubled, so be generous. 

Announcements and Reminders:                                                                    Our next spelling test will cover all of this term's words, adding board/bored. There will be no January Book of the Month. We will concentrate on writing in January.                                                        Don't forget to write Santa Letters!   You can practice your spelling with Spelling practice:  https://quizlet.com/102626513/learn  The overall spelling test will be on January 7/8. and    Study for the Argument Vocabulary Post Test. Quizlet for argument vocabulary: https://quizlet.com/_1mpfek (Notice that Quizlet provides you with several different ways to study for the test.) Important Note: When we take the argument vocabulary post test (in Term 2), you will be expected to know ALL of the terms and their definitions.  The overall argument vocabulary test will be on January 5/6.  You can pick up helpful handouts at the front of the room. If you'd like to print your own, here are the links.  Use the Download tab. Vocabulary for Argument Writing.docx Term 2 Spelling.docx If you didn't complete the Evidence Charts for The Outsiders, you can pick up the make-up work. Evidence Charts .docx Hints for Evidence from The Outsiders.docx

Targets for Today: Reading: Literature Standard 10  By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Reading: Literature Standard 7  Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). Writing Standard 1  Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Today’s  Agenda: A1 --  Watch video from 42:34 to end. Add to your "Venn" diagram comparing the movie and book.  How does the director use these techniques in the movie?  camera angles and focus  music  color lighting  added scenes -- not found in the book  (Why does one of the Socs throw away a beer can as their group walks to meet the Greasers at the rumble?) If time, watch PowerPoint about  argument terms. Example Claim: Cats are better than dogs because they cost less, they take up less of your time, and they tend to do less damage. Next time: Charity Basketball Games B5 -- Charity Basketball Games B6 --   Finish the book Watch the video from 56:23 to end. B7 --  Finish the book if you haven't (Many did.) Watch the video from 41:40 to end.

If You Were Absent: See above.

Argument

Some of the Important Terms:

argument writing

a type of writing that states a position on a topic and defends it

formal style

writing that does not include contractions or the pronouns “You” or “I”

hook

a sentence that will engage your reader

introduction

the first paragraph of an essay

background information
the information the reader needs to understand a topic and why it is being discussed

claim (also called the thesis)
a sentence that states your position and includes your main reasons

body paragraph

a paragraph that comes between the introduction and the conclusion

transitions

words or groups of words that connect ideas and show relationships

topic sentence

the sentence (most often near the beginning of the paragraph) that states the central idea of the paragraph

reasons
logical main points to support a claim

evidence
facts, examples, statistics, etc. that support a claim

warrant
explains evidence and shows how it supports your reasons/claim

elaboration
explains evidence and shows how it supports your reasons/claim

counterclaim
the opposing argument


refutation/rebuttal 

proving why a counterclaim is wrong using reasons and evidence

conventions
correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation

citation

giving the source of the evidence

conclusion

sums up the main point of essay

and 

  Study for the Argument Vocabulary Post Test.

Quizlet for argument vocabulary: https://quizlet.com/_1mpfek

(Notice that Quizlet provides you with several different ways to study for the test.)
Important Note: When we take the argument vocabulary post test (in Term 2), you will be expected to know ALL of the terms and their definitions. 

Argument Writing Vocabulary.pptx

________________________

1.) What do you think? • CLAIM

2.) Why do you think that? • REASONS

3.) How do you know that’s true? • EVIDENCE

4.) Why do the reasons/evidence support the claim? • WARRANTS

5.) What about alternative views or contrary evidence? • COUNTERCLAIM 
6.) How will you answer the counterclaim?  •  REFUTATION/REBUTTAL 
also called ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/RESPONSE

For Reasons: and Difference between Reasons and Evidence

• Do your reasons explain why you think the audience should accept your claim?

• Do they represent judgments not shared by your audience (i.e. are you already

preaching to the converted? If so, where’s the argument?)

• Do your reasons rest on evidence? Remember, reasons exist in our heads, while what the

reasons are based on (evidence) is out there in the world.

For Warrants:

• Does is assert a logical connection between your reason/evidence and your claim?

• Does the warrant include both your reason and your evidence?

• Can it be assumed, or does it need stating?

• Remember, warrants can be thought of as if/then statements that name a general

circumstance and state a general inference based on that circumstance (like a

proverb); warrants tend to fail when they are rejected as untrue or they don’t apply to

the reason and/or claim.

• Think of a warrant as that thing at the end of your reasons/evidence that links those

things back to your claim –if it’s not obvious from the paragraph itself, a simple statement

asserting this is necessary.