UNIT 5

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

 

In our daily lives, we express opinions about everything from politics to the cost of gasoline. When we express an opinion, we usually give reasons for our point of view in an informal way. For example, we say, “I liked XYZ’s latest movie because . . .” or “I voted against XYZ because . . . .”

In college classes, students are often asked to express their opinions more formally. The U.S. system of education places a high value on students’ ability to think for themselves. Professors want students to express their own opinions and even disagree with them as long as students can support their own views. In this chapter, you will learn how to express an opinion and support it convincingly.

In an opinion essay, you

• state your opinion in the thesis statement.
• support your opinion with reasons.
• support your reasons with specific details.

As you read the model essay, notice its three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.

 

 

MODEL

Argumentative Essay

 

Introduction         Thesis Statement     Topic sentence 1               Body paragraph 1                   Topic sentence 2     Body paragraph 2       Topic sentence 3           Body paragraph               Conclusion

The Right to Die   A difficult problem that is facing society is the legalization of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of causing death painlessly in order to end suffering.  People who are in a coma1 because of injury to their brains and elderly people who are terminally ill are being kept alive by artificial means. They do not have a chance to recover, but laws in most states of the United States do not allow doctors to end their lives. Although many people feel that doctors must do everything possible to keep their patients alive, I believe that euthanasia should be legal for three reasons.   The first and most important reason to support euthanasia is that some patients who have no chance to recover do not wish to be kept alive on machines. These patients are kept alive by life-support machines such as respirators to help them breathe and feeding tubes to provide them with nutrition. A well-known example in the United States is the case of Terri Schiavo, a young woman who went into a coma in 1 990. Mrs. Schiavo was able to breathe on her own, but her brain was dead. For fifteen years, she was kept alive by a feeding tube. After eight years of seeking treatment for her condition, Michael Schiavo, her husband, asked the courts for permission to remove her feeding tube. He said that his wife had coma: unconscious state (cannot see, hear, or speak) told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially when there was no hope of recovery. Mrs. Schiavo’s parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, disagreed with Mr. Schiavo and fought to keep their daughter alive. After seven years of bitter court battles, Mr. Schiavo finally won. Doctors removed Mrs. Schiavo’s feeding tube, and she soon died, fifteen years after first falling into a coma. Clearly, when there is absolutely no hope of recovery, society should allow a person in Terri Schiavo’s condition to die if that is his or her wish.   A second reason to support euthanasia is that medical costs in the United States are very high. Keeping a person alive for years and years requires round-the-clock care in a hospital or nursing home. According to an administrator at a local hospital, daily hospital room charges average $5,000 there. Nursing home care is also expensive. A nursing home in our area charges $4,500 per month. These high costs can cause serious financial problems for a family.   The final reason to support legalizing euthanasia is that the family suffers. Hospital or nursing home staff gives terminally ill patients only minimal care. Thus, the family must spend time caring for the special needs of their loved one. For instance, a cousin of mine who had been in a motorcycle accident was kept on life-support machines for eight years. He needed someone to stay with him twenty-four hours a day. During those years, his parents took turns taking care of him. His father stayed with him during the day while his mother worked, and then his mother stayed with him at night while his father worked. Other family members tried to help out when they could, but his parents did most of the physical work and suffered most of the emotional stress. After he finally died, my aunt said, “Of course, I am sad, but since we all knew he would eventually die, it might have been better if it had happened right when he had the accident. These past eight years have been hard.”   To summarize, patients who are either terminally ill or who are in an irreversible2 coma often wish to die. Their care is a financial, physical, and emotional burden for their families. Therefore, families should have the right to ask doctors to turn off life-support machines or to remove feeding tubes.

Questions on the Model

1. In the introduction, which sentence expresses the writer’s opinion about the right to die? Double-underline it. How many body paragraphs can the reader expect?
2. How many body paragraphs are there? Underline the topic sentences, and circle the transition signals that introduce each paragraph.
3. Which body paragraph has a concluding sentence?
4. Does the concluding paragraph summarize the reasons, or does it repea the thesis statement?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Parts of Argumentative Essay

 

1. Introductory Paragraph

 

Remember that an introductory paragraph has two parts: (I) several general statements and (2) one thesis statement. The first part of the introductory paragraph of an opinion essay often begins by explaining an issue.

 

General statements

In some cities in the United States, teenage gangs create problems. The problems range from noisy but harmless drag races to fatal drive-by shootings. Some cities are trying to stop these activities by keeping young people indoors and off the streets at night. These cities have passed curfew laws that require people under the age of eighteen to be indoors between the hours of 1 0:00 or 11:00 P.M. and 6:00A.M.

The thesis statement then states the writer’s opinion on the issue. It often mentions the opposing view first.

 

Thesis statement

Police departments say that curfew laws to control teenage gangs are necessary, but I feel that such laws are unfair, unconstitutional, and counterproductive.

Notice that the opposing view is connected to the writer’s opinion with a contrast signal such as however, but, and although.

 

 

 

EXERCISE 1

THESIS STATEMENTS FOR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

• Turn back to the model essay “The Right to Die” on pages 51-52, and find the thesis statement. What contrast signal connects the opposing opinions?
• What contrast signal connects the opposing opinions in the above example about curfew laws?
• Work alone, with a classmate, or in a small group. Complete each thesis statement below by adding the opposite opinion. Notice that statements 3 and 6 require a separate sentence.

 

1. Although the law prohibits separate classes for boys and girls in public schools, I think boys and girls learn better in separate classes, especially in the middle grades.
2. Many people believe that women should not serve in the military, but _______________ _________________________________________________________________________
3. Society often ignores steroid use by well-known professional athletes because of the athletes’ popularity. However, ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4. Although professional athletes undoubtedly feel that they deserve their million-dollar salaries, I feel ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5. Some people are in favor of drug testing for high school athletes, but _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

6. Some people feel that the United States needs more laws to control the sale and ownership of guns. However, __________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Exercise 2

Choose one of the suggested topics and write an introductory paragraph for an opinion essay about it. Note: You may want to use one of these topics for your own essay at the end of this chapter.

Step 1 Discuss the topic with a classmate, a small group, or the entire class until

you understand the problem or issue. Discuss both sides of the issue.

Step 2 Decide whether you are for or against the issue.

Step 3 Then write an explanation of the issue as the first part of your introductory

paragraph.

Step 4 Write a thesis statement as the last sentence of your introductory paragraph. Be

sure to mention the opposing view.

 

Topic Suggestions

 

• any topic from Practice I
• school uniforms
• dress codes in schools
• arranged marriages
• antismoking laws
• laws against cell phone use while driving
• required homework /attendance in college or university classes
• grades in university classes
• antiterrorism regulations
• censorship of films, song lyrics, books, video games, or television programs
• genetically engineered food
• __ (a topic of your own choosing)

 

 

 

 

2. Body Paragraphs

 

In the body paragraphs, support your opinion with reasons. Each reason is a paragraph in the finished essay.

 

Thesis statement	Although many people feel that doctors must do everything possible to keep their patients alive, I believe that euthanasia should be legalized for three reasons.
Reason A Reason B Reason C	These patients have no chance of recovery. Medical costs are very high. The family suffers.

Exercise 3

Developing Reasons

Choose three thesis statements from Exercise 1 on page 53 Exercise 2 on page 54!

Write clown at least three reasons to support each one.

I . Thesis statement: _________________________________________________________

Reason A: ______________________________________________________________

Reason B: ______________________________________________________________

Reason C: ______________________________________________________________

2 . Thesis statement: ________________________________________________________

Reason A: ______________________________________________________________

Reason B: ______________________________________________________________

Reason C: ______________________________________________________________

3 . Thesis statement: ________________________________________________________

Reason A: ______________________________________________________________

Reason B: ______________________________________________________________

Reason C: ______________________________________________________________

 

 

3. The Concluding Paragraph

In the concluding paragraph, you may (1) restate your thesis in different words or (2) summarize your reasons. In your final comment, you may call for action, as in the following example. Your final comment should be powerful – one that your readers will remember.

 

To summarize, cloning humans is clearly dangerous and unethical. It is one thing to clone a mouse, sheep, or pig but quite another thing to duplicate a human being. Even though scientists claim that their only purpose is to help humanity, ethical people must demand an end to such experiments now.

 

 

Practice 4

Write a concluding paragraph for one of the items from Exercise 3 on page 53 on the space given below.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

1. Developing Supporting Details

 

1. Quotations

Quotations are often used in academic writing as supporting sentences. Notice how  quotations support the topic sentence in the following paragraphs.

 

Telecommuting is a popular new choice for many office workers. They feel it offers advantages to both employees and employers. My older sister, who has telecommuted for the past year, told me, “I am much more productive when I work at home because there are no interruptions. I also don’t have to spend two or three hours traveling to and from the office every day. I save myself time, and I save my company money by working at home.”

 

On the other hand, sometimes telecommuters feel isolated. “I feel out of touch with2 what is really happening in my company, and I miss the daily contact with my co-workers,” my sister added.

 

Note:

Telecommuting: working at home, usually by using a computer to produce work and to communicate.

 

 

Rules for Using and Punctuating Quotations

Rule	Example
1 . Use a “reporting phrase” such as she says, she said, he stated, he added, he continued, or they reported. The reporting phrase may come before, after, or in the middle of the quotation, and the verb may be in any appropriate tense. Separate a quotation from a reporting phrase with commas.   Another useful reporting phrase is according to followed by the name of the source. If you copy words exactly, use quotation marks.	“I like you,” he said. He said, “I like you.” “I like you,” he said, “but I don’t like your dog. He’s a pit bull.”         According to veterinarian Dr. James Brown, “Pit bulls are unpredictable and dangerous dogs.”
2. Begin each quoted sentence with a capital letter.  When a quoted sentence is separated into two parts, begin the second part with a small letter.	“Your dog is a pit bull,” he continued, “and I am afraid of him.”
3. Commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points go inside the second quotation mark of a pair.	She said, “Good-bye.” “Don’t call me again,” she continued. “Why not?” he asked. She answered, “I don’t go out with people who don’t like my dog!”
4. Give the quoted person’s title or occupation if he or she is not well known. The easiest way  to do this is to put the information in an appositive.	My older sister, financial manager for a large insurance company, claims, “I save myself time, and I save my company money by telecommuting.”   Classmate Jessica Wang said, “My children don’t realize that the violence they see on television is fiction. They think it is real.”

 

 

Exercise 5

Punctuating Quotations

Punctuate the following sentences containing quotations. Add quotation marks, commas, and capital Letters.

 

1. T. Berry Brazelton said, the average child today spends more time in front of a TV set than she does studying in school or talking with her parents.
2. as a result he added ,children often learn more about the world and about values from television than from their families.
3. a majority of child characters on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox programs tend to engage in antisocial behavior such as lying or physical aggression reported Damon Ho, president of Parents for Responsible Programming.
4. advice columnist Abigail van Buren wrote in a recent column the television set may provide some people with the only human voice they hear for days.
5. it provides news and entertainment for millions of people who cannot leave the comfort, privacy, and safety of their homes she continued.
6. not everyone can attend college in a traditional way says Greenhills College professor Caroline Gibbs so we televise courses that students can view on their TV sets at home.

 

2. Statistics

 

Like quotations, statistics are an excellent kind of supporting detail. Suppose you want to prove that talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. You could go online or to a library and find statistics about the number of traffic accidents that happen when people use cell phones while driving.

 

Use statistics in the same way you use quotations. Use a reporting phrase such as Statistics show that . . . or Statistical data prove that . . . or A survey of our class shows that . . . . Statistics prove that people find the use of cell phones annoying.

 

 

According to a survey of our class, 85 percent of the students had been bothered by a cell phone ringing or by a stranger talking on a cell phone in the past week. Eighteen (of forty) students had heard a cell phone ring in an inappropriate place such as a movie theater or a library study room. Five students reported that they had been forced to listen to private conversations while riding in elevators. Nine listed other violations of cell phone etiquette during the past week.

 

Exercise 6

Supporting Details

Turn back to the model essay “The Right to Die” on pages 51-52.

1. What kind of supporting details does the writer give in the first body paragraph: examples, statistics, and/or quotations?
2. What kind of supporting details does the writer give in the second body paragraph?
3. What kind of supporting details does the writer give in the third body paragraph?

 

Exercise 7

Practice using quotations and statistics.

• Everyone agrees that television has had a tremendous influence on society since it was developed in the J 940 Some influences have been positive, but others have been negative. With your entire class or in a small group, brainstorm the influences of television. Brainstorm both positive and negative influences. Think about how television has changed communication, education, and family Life. Make two lists.

 

Positive Influences _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

Negative Influences _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

• Read the following interviews about some positive and negative effects of television:

 

Does TV Improve the Quality of Life?   Interviews with New Yorkers   Harry Wang, grocery store manager: With proper programming, TV can be good. Educational channels are excellent. You can learn about foreign cultures, wild animals, and all sorts of things from the comfort of your living room. Children’s educational shows such as Sesame Street are good, too. My daughter learned her ABCs from watching Big Bird and his friends.   Jessica Wang, housewife: No! Television is destroying family life. Now families just sit like robots in front of the television set instead of talking or playing games together. Some families even eat dinner in front of the TV screen. There’s little communication between parents and their children or even between husband and wife except maybe an argument about whether to watch Monday Night Football or ER.   Angela Russell, nurse: TV is a great source of entertainment and companionship for old people. My eighty-six-year-old mother is in a wheelchair and has nothing to do all day. She loves watching the soap operas in the morning and the game shows in the afternoon. Without them, she would really be bored. I think these programs keep her mind active.   Jacques Camembert, recent immigrant: Television is helping me and my family learns English more quickly. When we first came to the United States, we could not understand anything. We stayed in our apartment and watched television all day. At first, we watched children’s shows, which were easier to understand. Now we can understand a lot more. We are learning the way Americans really talk, not “textbook” English.   George Russell, engineer: You bet! My kids have learned so much from watching educational programs such as the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic specials. My daughter became interested in science from watching the Science Channel, and my son wants to become a chef because of all the excellent cooking shows he watches.

 

 

• Choose two influences (positive or negative) that you and your classmates brainstormed in Part A and write a paragraph about each. Use at least one quotation from the interviews in each paragraph.

 

 

Exercise 8 Outlining

Complete the outline of the model essay “The Right to Die” on pages 51-52 with the supporting details. Notice that the supporting details are examples, statistics, or quotations.

 

Thesis statement           Example     Statistic Statistic     Example Quotation   Conclusion

Although many people feel that doctors must do everything possible to keep their patients alive, I believe that euthanasia should be legal for three reasons.   A      The first and most important reason to support euthanasia is that some patients who have no chance to recover do not wish to be kept alive on machines 1 . Terry Schiavo’s story   B      Medical costs are very high. 1. _________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________   C      The family suffers. 1. _________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________   To summarize, patients who are either terminally ill or who are in an irreversible coma often wish to die. Their care is a financial, physical, and emotional burden for their families. Therefore, families should have the right to ask doctors to turn off life-support machines or to remove feeding tubes.

Exercise 9 Summarizing an Essay

Write a one-paragraph summary of the model essay “The Right To Die” on pages 51-52.

 

Exercise 10 Writing Assignment

Choose one of the topics in Exercise 2 on page 54 and write an opinion essay. Follow the steps in the writing process.

 

Step 1 Prewriting

Take a survey and interview your classmates, friends, and/or family in order to gather statistics and quotations .

1. Think of questions that will give you useful quotations and statistics. For example, imagine that your topic is video games. You could ask questions such as these:

 

• Do you agree or disagree with this statement: “Video games are a bad influence on young people”?
• Why do you think video games are a bad/good influence on young people?
• How many hours do you/your children play video games each day?
• What games do you/your children play?
• Are there young children in your house?
• Are the young children allowed to play any video game or only certain ones?
• How many hours a day do your children spend on schoolwork? How many hours a day do they play outside?

 

1. Write your questions on a piece of paper. If possible, make one copy for each classmate.
2. Give each classmate a copy of your questions and ask him or her to complete it. If you wish and if your instructor permits, interview friends and family to get more information. Be sure to write down their answers.
3. Compile the answers to develop useful statistics for your paper.
4. Select one or two quotations that support each reason.
5. Save this information to use when you write your essay.

 

Step 2 Organize the ideas by making an outline.

Use an outline form similar to the following, changing it as necessary to fit your ideas.

 

Title: ___________________________________

 

Thesis Statement		…………………………………………………………………………………….
Reason A			…………………………………………………………………………
Supporting Details				…………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………
Reason B			………………………………………………………………………….
Supporting Details				……………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………….……………………………………………………………
Reason C			………………………………………………………………………….
Supporting Details				……………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………….……………………………………………………………
Conclusion		…………………………………………………………………………………….

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3 Write the rough draft. Write ROUGH DRAFT at the top of your paper.

 

Step 4 Polish the rough draft.

• Exchange papers with a classmate and ask him or her to check your rough draft. Then discuss the completed worksheet and decide what changes you should make. Write a second draft.
• Check your second draft for grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.

Step 5 Write a final copy.