Kelsi Long

Dr. Cook

English 3580

March 20, 2017

Argument writing annotations

Monahan, Mary Beth. "Writing Voiced Arguments About Science Topics." Journal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy 57.1 (2013): 31-40. International Literacy Association. Web.

19 Mar. 2017. KML

In this article Monahan writes of her experience with getting middle school science students

more engaged in argument writing. Since, at the time of publication, the Common Core

standards required that students begin writing more in all subjects, not just English,

Monahan knew it was time to step up to the plate in the science classroom. She did this

by first outlining that students need a voice. They do not have to choose between a

personal voice in their writing or a formal scholarly voice; they can (and should) have

both! Their personal voice should shine through and adapt to whatever scholarly field

they are writing for. She presented students with a scientific mystery in which two bottles

of the same volume and containing the same content matter weighed two different

weights. First, students brainstormed possible reasons for this; then they chose sides and

debated. This was their warmup for writing their argumentative paper on why they

thought the bottles weighed differently. I think that having a class debate to get students

involved and passionate about what they are about to write is an excellent introduction

and strategy for teaching argument writing. What are some healthy debates that English
 teachers could suggest for students that leads into writing an arugmentative paper?

Perhaps which alternate ending works best for a novel and why? I think that would be a

great one to start with in an English classroom, especially for books they have all read

together as a class.

Ramos, Kathleen. "Teaching Adolescent ELs to Write Academic-Style Persuasive Essays."

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 57.8 (2014): 655-65. International Literacy

Association. Web. 19 Mar. 2017. KML

Ramos uses this article to explain the importance of teaching English language-learning students

argumentative writing and how to go about doing so in a step-by-step approach that

avoids being overwhelming for the students. She employs the Reading to Learn approach

that helps diverse students develop an increased control over the academic language

resources needed to successfully read and write in school (Ramos). She suggests having

ELs first read together examples of argumentative writing so that they become familiar

with the style of that particular genre of writing. She then presents them with information

on what amnesty is for undocumented immigrants, along with several texts arguing either

for or against it. They work together to identify and learn key phrases, while also

brainstorming other potential argumentative essay topics, naming gay rights and global

warming as two examples. Step by step, they become more familiar with argument

writing and the vocabulary that surrounds their argument until they are ready to compose

an argumentative essay of their own. I think that the step-by-step approach is far more

beneficial for ELs than to just toss the assignment on them as a whole. Scaffolding here is

key. How might a similar approach to teaching argument writing be utilized with students

with learning disabilities? Each student and their disability is unique, so each situation
 would be different, but this model is a great place to start. This way, all students can learn

argument writing- regardless of learning abilities, background, or language.

Lapp, Diane, and Douglas Fisher. "Persuasion = Stating and Arguing Claims Well." Journal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy 55.7 (2012): 641-44. International Literacy Association.

Web. 19 Mar. 2017. KML

This article dives into one 9th grade teachers classroom as she teaches her students the art of

argument writing by utilizing the Greek ethos, logos, and pathos to introduce to them

how to recognize author credibility in argument writing, trustworthy data and statistics,

and elements of the argument that appeal to readers emotions. They then brainstorm and

come up with examples of persuasion that they are exposed to in their own everyday

lives, as well as examine texts together such as Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a

Dream speech. Eventually, students are allowed to create their own arguments that must

measure up to a checklist that the teacher provides of all necessary components to a

strong argument, such as strong evidence and illustrating language power (i.e.

answering rhetorical questions, debunking counter-claims). I would definitely utilize the

ethos, logos, and pathos idea as an introductory tool for teaching high school English

students argument writing because most students have at least heard of those by that age,

so they can draw upon and build upon their former knowledge to grow as persuasive

writers. I also enjoy the idea of providing examples of argument writing and having the

students identify the elements used in those well-known pieces that make it a strong

argument, such as the I Have a Dream speech. I would be curious to know, how can

this model be made more complex to teach to higher grades, such as 11th and 12th? Are
there any teachers out there who have tried it? What changes did they utilize to make the

material and student writing more advanced to meet the higher standards?