Argumentative

Paragraph
• To express your position on a certain issue
• Being neutral is not expressing opinion
• Provide examples/data to support your argument
• Introduce a controversial issue and why it is important to discuss,
state your position here, too
• Explain your position by giving reasons, facts, and explanations
• Finish with restating the opinion but use more persuasive language
• Use quantity expressions, such as most, many, a few, some, or a lot
of to avoid overgeneralization
Vocabulary
• Positive changes
• foster, support, encourage, promote
• Negative changes
• hinder, discourage, prevent, forbid
• Relationships
• influence, alter, react (to)
• Results
• produce, result in, bring about, give impact to
Facts and Opinions
• Fact
• A truth that is scientifically proven or generally accepted
• Example: Vaccines prevent disease and creates herd immunity.
• Opinion
• One point of view among many
• Example: Schools must require vaccine certification for every new student.
Interpreting Fact
• Opinion
• The Internet takes too much time away from family life.
• Fact
• The average adult in the United States spends six hours per week on the
Internet.
• Interpretation
• Those six hours could be spent doing family activities, such as gardening,
helping children with homework, or playing games.
Interpreting Fact
• Opinion
• People spend too much money on food.
• Fact
• Americans eat meals outside the home an average of five times per week.
• Interpretation
• The money spent for eating out per person can feed three to four people if it
is used to cook at home.
An A+ for School Uniforms
School uniforms should be mandatory for all students for a number of
reasons. First of all, uniforms make everyone equal. In this way, the
“rich” kids are on the same level as the poor ones. In addition, getting
ready for school can be much faster and easier. Many kids waste time
choosing what to wear to school, and they and their parents are often
unhappy with their final choices. Most important, some studies show
that school uniforms make students perform better in school. Many
people might say that uniforms take away from personal freedom, I
believe the benefits are stronger than the drawbacks.
Cake and Study Performance
Cake increases study performance. Elementary school students have
increasing pressures to do well in school as expectations of what they
should learn and how much they should learn change. By increasing study
performance, can help students cope with these new demands. First, cake
has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children
who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than
children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). An increase in concentration
can allow student to cope with increased class demands, especially in more
difficult classes. Cake also has positive effect on reaction time. The
chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing
cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones,
2009). Increased reaction times allow students to answer faster and to
more readily understand explanations and examples. By providing a much
needed increase in study performance, cake should clearly be included on
the daily menu of elementary school cafeterias.
Exercise
• Write an argumentative paragraph with theme: “Is online
friendship/relationship is more effective?”
• Begin your paragraph by stating your position whether you agree or
not with the statement
• Present your reasons along with details
• Do not forget your conclusion