General Argument Prompt

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General Argument Prompt
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• This type of prompt, more than the Rhetorical
  analysis or Synthesis prompts, more closely
  resembles the type of writing you will undertake
  in a college composition course.
• You will employ rhetorical strategies as well as
  stylistic devices to persuade your audience that
  your argument is reasoned, responsible, and
  persuasive.

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agree/Disagree/Qualify

• AKA- Defend/Challenge/To describe the
  characteristics of the qualities of something
  (touch upon the relevance of both sides of the
  claim/argument- there are aspects I agree with
  and some of it I disagree with)
• Try to use Qualify, if at all possible
• Answer based off of evidence developed from
  observation, experience and/or reading
• When answering, take the road less traveled.
  Come up with examples that are more unusual,
  something other students might not think of at
  first.

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Step One

• Define the assertion/claim being made
• State the meaning of the assertion in your own
  words
• Be aware of any prejudicial attitudes,
  sentiments, or stereotypes you may have. (Touch
  upon ALL possible Multiple Perspectives you can)
• 3 examples in each paragraph is the best 
• A misinterpretation or omission in the beginning
  will doom you to failure. 

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Will I Be Penalized for Taking an Unpopular,
Unexpected, Irreverent, or Bizarre Position on
the Given Issue?

• As long as you are addressing the prompt and
  appropriately supporting your position, there is
  no danger of your losing points on your essay,
  because you've decided to take a different
  approach. Your essay is graded for process and
  mastery and manipulation of language, not for how
  close you come to the viewpoint of your reader.

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Step Two Gather evidence to explore the validity
of the assertion

• Evidence used to support the "Agree/Disagree/Quali
  fy Question" should
• be specific and accuratenamed and factually
  correct 
• avoid using movies and other more informal
  aspects of society as evidence (pop culture) 
• reflect a well-educated, widely-read, mature
  individual's thoughtful reaction
• be unified, specific, accurate, adequate,
  relevant, and representative- Do not use an
  INFORMAL VOICE
• avoid evidence that everybody will cite  (To
  avoid this, reject first thoughts and keep
  digging until you find things that are not so
  easy to grasp at first.)

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Once I've Chosen My Position on the Given Issue,
How Do I Go About Supporting It?

• Remember that you've been taught how to write an
  argument throughout your school years, and you've
  even studied it in detail in your AP Comp course
  this year. Here is a brief overview of the kinds
  of support/evidence you could include to bolster
  your argument
• facts/statistics
• details
• quotations
• dialogue
• needed definitions
• recognition of the opposition
• examples
• anecdotes
• contrast and comparison
• cause and effect
• appeal to authority

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Step Three- Organize your essay response

• 1.  Begin by writing a meaningful opening
  sentence or two which makes a personal
  observation about the focus of the question that
  reveals your thinking.   Do not write flowery,
  general beginnings.  Get right to the point.  Use
  the first sentence or two to begin to define the
  meaning of the assertion. Allude to something
  here that will be finished in the conclusion. 
  End with the thesis you wrote while
  brainstorming. (Note Weak openings are forgiven
  if the paper ends strongly.  If running out of
  time, skip part of the body to make your
  conclusion.)
• 2. Qualify- use an although thesis (Example
  Although grass is green, it can also be other
  colors. Then your first para. will be about
  green grass, next para. about the other colors,
  3rd paragraph rebuttal and concession, then
  conclusion.) Watch out for contradicting
  yourself.
• 3.  Agree or disagree with an assertion naturally
  by explaining your stance.  Avoid saying things
  like I feel this statement is correct.  Instead
  state your belief  "Change can be big or small,
  personal or public, but if a person is not
  confident enough or is worried about what others
  think, changes will never happen."

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• If the question requires an agree or disagree
  stance, be sure to demonstrate an understanding
  of argumentation by acknowledging both sides of
  the argument.  This is usually done by writing a
  con-pro paragraph immediately after the
  introduction and the remainder of the essay
  becomes  different paragraphs which confirm or
  amplify your agreement or disagreement with the
  assertion.
• If the question requires a defend, challenge, or
  qualify stance on a political or philosophical
  assertion, be sure to address all the issues
  raised by the claim/assertion.  Your evidence
  would be specifically named examples that support
  the claim you make in your topic sentence.  If
  you can find examples in two unrelated areas or
  more (from your personal experience,
  observations, and reading) that make the same
  conclusion, your claim will be more valid. Each
  paragraph then would end with an interpretation
  of the similar conclusion that can be reached
  after examining differing types of evidence.

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Does It Matter What Tone I Take in My
Argumentative Essay?

• The College Board and the AP Comp readers are
  open to a wide range of approaches. You can
  choose to be informal and personal, formal and
  objective, or even humorous and irreverent, and
  anything in between. Just be certain that your
  choice is appropriate for your purpose.
• Avoid I believe statements (They also
  come in the form of I think or I feel as
  well.)

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Use the Toulmin or Rogerian models

• When answering the prompt, try to incorporate one
  of these models of argumentation
• Remember Rogerian to explain the argument,
  Toulmin to win

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How Should I Plan to Spend My Time Writing the
Argumentative Essay?

• Learning to budget your time is a skill that can
  be most helpful in writing the successful essay.
  The following is a sample timeline for you to
  consider
• 13 minutes reading and working the prompt
• 3 minutes deciding on a position
• 1012 minutes planning the support of your
  position
• 20 minutes writing the essay
• 3 minutes proofreading

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Outline How to Qualify your answer

• Intro
• Hook- State the issue/position of the speaker
  (refer to the prompt, use the same punctuation
  for titles)
• Thesis- Although, (part you agree with), (part
  you disagree with). vice versa
• Body 1Topic sentence Part you agree with
• -Concrete detail sentence 1 Personal example
  (For Example)
• -Commentary
• -Concrete detail sentence 2 APUSH example (In
  addition)
• -Commentary
• -Concrete detail sentence 3 Literary example
  (Furthermore)
• -Commentary
• -Concluding sentence sums up the paragraph
• Body 2Topic sentence Part you disagree with
  (THIS SHOULD BE THE SIDE YOU FEEL STRONGEST
  ABOUT)
• -Concrete detail sentence 1 Personal example
• -Commentary
• -Concrete detail sentence 2 Your choice of
  perspective example
• -Commentary
• -Concrete detail sentence 3 Your choice of
  perspective example
• -Commentary
• -Concluding sentence sums up the paragraph

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Lets play Agree/Disagree

• Get out your handout on Multiple perspectives
• Educators should encourage the current popularity
  of email, texting, instant messaging among
  teenagers because this trend is sure to improve
  their students' reading and writing skills.
• If you support the military, then you will join
  the military
• Passing the AIMS test should NOT be a requirement
  in order to graduate high school.

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Look at example papers

• Susan Sontag prompt On Photography