Why Argumentative Writing?

The CCSS incorporates several fundamental shifts that highlight the need for teaching argumentative writing:

greater reliance on informational texts

emphasis on writing to texts and extracting evidence

an argumentative writing anchor standard

In addition, the next generation of assessments will likely move in the direction of argumentative writing:

responding to complex texts vs. de-contextualized prompts

marshalling arguments vs. writing narratives

Argumentative Writing Anchor Standard

CCR Anchor Standard for Writing Arguments:

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Decoding the Anchor Standard

CCR Anchor Standard #1 for Writing:

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Create a “reading” of the standard:

Decoding the Anchor Standard

CCR Anchor Standard #1 for Writing:

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

One “reading” of the standard:

Argumentative writing analyzes complex texts to support a thesis in an organized fashion using relevant evidence and sufficient reasoning.

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons.

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning.

Grade Level Standards

Grade-specific end-of-year expectations

Cumulative progression of skills and understandings

Skills and their application are the focus of instruction

Progression Chart for Standards

Grade-specific end-of-year expectations

Cumulative progression of skills and understandings

Skills and their application are the focus of instruction

Focusing on Grade 6 Grade-specific

end-of-year expectations

Cumulative progression of skills and understandings

Skills and their application are the focus of instruction

Unpack Standard W.6.1“write arguments”Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Standard W.6.1 Unpacked“write arguments”

“using credible sources”

“support claim(s)”

“organize the reasons and evidence… clarify the relationships among claim(s)

and reasons”

“relevant evidence”

“clear reasons”

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Grade 6 Argumentative Writing Rubric

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons.

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning.

Selecting the Text

Selecting the Textanalyzes complex text “using credible sources”

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Generating Evidence for Theses

“I have approached the teaching of argument from the examination of data as a first step… the process of working through an argument is the process of inquiry. At its beginning is the examination of data, not the invention of a thesis statement in a vacuum.”

- George Hillocks Jr.

(pg. xxii)

Employing Close Reading Asks text

dependent questions that require carefully analyzing the text for evidence

Offers questions that build upon each other to ensure students follow the line of argument

Requires students to demonstrate understanding via writing

Close Reading Exemplar Template

Text Dependent QuestionsLook at the role played by individual words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs

Ask how meaning can be altered by changing key words and why an author may have chosen one word over another

Examine how changes in the direction of an argument or explanation are achieved and possible reasons for the change

Analyze paragraphs on a sentence by sentence basis and sentences on a word by word basis

Consider what the text leaves uncertain

Question why authors choose to begin and end when they do

Note and assess patterns of writing

Evaluate each argument in persuasive text, each detail in informational text, and observe how these build to a whole

Close Reading Exemplar

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Generating Theses Using Burke’s Pentad

What was done?

When and where was it done?

Who did it?

How was it done?

Why was it done?

Juxtapose the why question against the others to create a thesis question:

Generating Theses Using Burke’s Pentad

What was done?

When and where was it done?

Who did it?

How was it done?

Why was it done?

Juxtapose the why question against the others to create a thesis question:

Why was Marian Anderson’s concert on the Mall in Washington an important event in the struggle for civil rights?

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Using the Exemplar to Inform Structure

Structuring the Essay

The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform in Constitution Hall because of her race.

Influential people helped relocate the concert to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Many people came to the concert despite the weather to show their support for racial equality.

“clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons”

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

The Problem with Evidence“In my experience and in my research, teenagers see no reason to question or substantiate claims in any context… test makers do not know what constitutes evidence any more than our youngsters do.

- George Hillocks Jr.,

pg.xx-xxi

Using Exemplar to Select “Relevant Evidence”

The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform in Constitution Hall because of her race

“one of the great voices of the time”

performed for many heads of state as well as the President

African-Americans were not allowed to perform there

“Black artists… [b]arred from Constitution Hall”

Selecting “Relevant Evidence”Influential people helped relocate the concert to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Many people came to the concert despite the weather to show their support for racial equality

Selecting “Relevant Evidence”Influential people helped relocate the concert to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

“DAR’s ban had caused an angry controversy and set the stage for a historic event”; intervention of influential politicians relocated the concert to the Mall; Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes introduced her; “open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial”; “the great marble monument”; “massive” “appropriate concert space”

Many people came to the concert despite the weather to show their support for racial equality

“the streets leading to the Mall in Washington, D.C., were jammed with thousands of people”; a “huge turnout”; “estimated 75,000 people”; “cold and threatening weather”; “chilly Easter Sunday”; “demonstrate their support for racial justice”; “struggle for civil rights”; “profound hush”

Identifying Instructional NeedsTeachers need guidance in

selecting rich materials ripe for analysis &

teaching students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and proving theses with reasons

Argumentative writing

analyzes complex texts

to support a thesis

in an organized fashion

using relevant evidence

and sufficient reasoning

Offering “Clear Reasons”

“one of the great voices of the time”

performed for many heads of state as well as the President

African-Americans were not allowed to perform there

“Black artists… [b]arred from Constitution Hall”

The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform in Constitution Hall because of her race

Offering “Clear Reasons”

Justification for Anderson being a noted singer

Why Anderson was not permitted to perform

“one of the great voices of the time”

performed for many heads of state as well as the President

African-Americans were not allowed to perform there

“Black artists… [b]arred from Constitution Hall”

The noted singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to perform in Constitution Hall because of her race

Offering “Clear Reasons”

“thousands of people”

“huge turnout”

“an estimated 75,000 people”

“cold and threatening weather”

“chilly Easter Sunday”

“demonstrate their support for racial justice”

“struggle for civil rights”

“profound hush”

Many people came to the concert despite the weather to show their support for racial equality

Using Exemplars to Meet Instructional Needs

Close reading exemplars of complex texts

teach students how to generate theses,

structure argumentative essays,

select pertinent evidence,

and prove theses with reasons

Bringing to ScaleCalifornia researchers in the early nineteen-eighties conducted a five-year study of teacher-skill development in eighty schools, and noticed something interesting. Workshops led teachers to use new skills in the classroom only ten per cent of the time. Even when a practice session with demonstrations and personal feedback was added, fewer than twenty per cent made the change. But when coaching was introduced—when a colleague watched them try the new skills in their own classroom and provided suggestions—adoption rates passed ninety per cent. A spate of small randomized trials confirmed the effect. Coached teachers were more effective, and their students did better on tests.

- Atul Gawande, “Personal Best”

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