Writing An Argumentative Essay

The United States’ Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

Essay on the Atomic Bomb

This semester each of you is going to write an argumentative essay on the atomic bomb.

The prompt is:

In June and July of 1945 the US government and the President had to decide whether to use a new invention: the atomic bomb. Given what you have learned about the conflict between the US and Japan in World War II, should the US have dropped the bomb on Japan?

An Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay is one in which you make a claim and support your position with evidence.

Last semester you wrote an explanatory/informative essay about the Industrial Revolution, explaining the positive and negative impact of industrialization on Great Britain.

In this essay will make an argument. For example, the US should or should not have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

Argument vs. Explanation

Explanatory Essay

Writer uses a controlling idea to guide the essay.

Writer uses evidence from credible sources to inform the reader.

For example, you used sources to show how new inventions improved the lives of people in Britain in the 19th century.

Argumentative Essay

Writer takes an arguable position on a topic. This is called a claim.

For example, dogs are better than cats.

Or in this case, the US should or should not have dropped the atom bomb on Japan.

Writer uses evidence from credible sources to support the claim.

Argumentative vs. Persuasive Writing

Many of you have written persuasive essays. You’ve developed your opinion on a topic such as, should children in public schools be required to wear school uniforms?

Persuasive writing and argumentative writing share the common idea that the writer is stating an opinion.

However, in argumentative writing the claim must be supported by evidence, and this evidence must come from credible sources.

Credible Sources

An argumentative essay must include sources throughout the body of the paper.

As a writer you must use these sources as evidence and use in-text citation, as you did in your informative essay on the Industrial Revolution.

We’ve provided you with 22 credible sources, which include primary and secondary sources on the atomic bomb, along with tables and charts.

We’ve chosen sources that both support and oppose the use of the atomic bomb, so that you will have sources to support either claim.

Paraphrasing a SourceAs we learned in our previous essay, learning to paraphrase is a crucial skill when writing a paper with multiple sources.

A paraphrase is taking the words of another and putting them in your own words.

A good paraphrase makes the author’s meaning clear, without taking their words or sentences.

You should always give intellectual credit to the author you paraphrase. You may do this by starting a paraphrase with, According to the author _________...

The second way is using in-text citation at the end of a paraphrase.

Practicing Premises

You will be making a claim or an argument on whether the US should or should not have dropped the atom bomb on Japan.

A claim or argument begins with a premise. A premise is what forms the basis of a theory.

A premise is the basic statement upon whose truth an argument is based. It is a basic assertion.

For example, “When you called 911 on the guy in your backyard, it was on the premise that he was a thief and not the meter reader.”

Identify the premise

On the premise that ____________________, the student in Mr. Forrest’s class did his reading homework, even though he didn’t want to.

On the premise that __________________ , many young children in Japan ride the subways and walk at night without adult supervision.

Historical PremisesOn the premise that _____________________, Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact with Hitler.

On the premise that ___________________ , Winston Churchill opposed Britain entering into the Munich Pact with Hitler.

On the premise that ___________________, Harry Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Japanese cities rather than invading Japan with US forces during World War II.

On the premise that _____________________, some scientists working on the atomic bomb asked the President to explode the fist atomic bomb on an uninhabited island with Japanese observers watching the explosion.

The Premise Behind the Argument

Sometimes a premise is spelled out in an argument, other times it is inferred but not stated.

Read Document K and Document O from your sources on the atom bomb. Identify which premise goes with which source.

Also indicate whether the premise is stated or inferred by each author.

Prompt and Requirements

Prompt: Should the US have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan?

Length: minimum of three pages and maximum of four pages, not counting Works Cited page.

Minimum of five paragraphs including: introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion.

Use at least six of the sources provided. Include both in- text citations and a works cited page.

Format: 12 point font and double spaced.

Plagiarism: Papers must be your own work. Submit to turnitin.com for originality report.

Writing an Introduction

There are three parts to an argumentative essay introduction:

1. introduce the reader to the essay topic.

2. introduce the claim or arguable proposition.

3. the claim must point the reader towards the reasons that the write will develop in the body paragraphs.

Claim with Reasons

A claim is an arguable proposition, such as, dogs make better pets than cats.

A claim must include reasons, usually which follow because.

Dogs make better pets than cats because they are more loyal than cats, and they provide protection and exercise for their owners.

Reasons Become Body Paragraphs

The reasons in your claim become the main ideas in each body paragraph.

For example, the first body paragraph is organized around the topic sentence: Dogs are more loyal than cats.

The second body paragraph topic sentence might be: Dogs are good at protecting an owner’s home.

Now, you write a third topic sentence.

Gathering Evidence for Body Paragraphs

Find documents to use in each of your body paragraphs.

Put them in the source organizer.

Once you have gathered your evidence, write your body paragraphs paraphrasing or directly quoting each piece of evidence.

Be sure to use in-text citations for your evidence, and include each full source in your Works Cited page.

Cite Each Source Twice

The sources or evidence for your essay will appear twice in your paper.

First you will use in-text citation, each time you use a piece of evidence. Remember the rule of going to the left side of the source, and using parenthesis.

The full source citation will appear on your Works Cited page.

Making A Works Cited Page

The rules for making a works cited page appear in you’re the Logan Style Guide.

Works cited is a separate page.

Sources are put in alphabetical order, beginning with the first letter of the far left of the entry.

Double space Works Cited page.

Use hanging indent for source’s second and third lines.

Ideas for Improving Your Argumentative Writing.

1. Don’t write in first person in a formal argumentative essay. (e.g don’t use I or me)

2. Make sure that your body paragraphs are organized around your claim and reasons in the introduction.

3. Be sure to use evidence from the sources you are given. (In this case, you should have used at least six sources from the list I gave you.)

4. Make sure that your evidence supports the key idea in your paragraph. Don’t use evidence that doesn’t support your topic sentence.

Ideas for Improving Your Argumentative Writing

6. Introduce direct quotes with a lead-in. Don’t overuse direct quotes. A good rule of thumb is that a direct quote shouldn’t make up more than one quarter of your body paragraph.

7. Your works cited page is separate and sources should be listed in alphabetical order, starting from the left.

8. Check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation on turnitin. Fix your grammatical errors in google.docs and then resubmit it to turnitin.

9. Start your paper early and rewrite it several times. Waiting until the last minute means that you won’t have time to fix writing problems.