ARGUMENT VOCABULARY
ARGUMENT/CENTRAL IDEA
= ARGUMENT WRITING THESIS
• An argument/central idea is where the author states what
he/she believes (position/attitude/opinion) about the topic.
• An argument/central idea is made up of the topic and the
author’s opinion.
• What is this author’s argument/central idea in this sentence?
• Requiring PE uniforms at NW would be a disaster.
FIND THE ARGUMENT
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Anxiety creases the brows of many students trying to
finish their homework on time. If they don’t finish on time
they won’t get any credit. Having a no late homework rule
is a very bad idea. Students’ grades will drop, their work will
be of lesser quality, and school won’t feel as welcoming.
Students won’t be able to do work worth a lot of merit.
FIND THE CENTRAL IDEA
•
I think late homework should be accepted. Imagine you
were a student sitting in your math class when your
teacher says, “Okay, get out your homework!” You rustle
around in your backpack for a while until you realize—oh
no! You left your homework at home perfectly done. The
teacher comes by your desk and you say, “I am sorry. I left
my homework at home. My mom just had a baby, so I was
taking care of her, and I just ran out the door without it.”
Your teacher smiles at you. “It’s okay. I understand. Just
bring it in tomorrow.” Isn’t that a better situation than “Oh,
too bad! You don’t get any credit for it”?
FIND THE ARGUMENT/CENTRAL IDEA
TOPIC + OPINION = ARGUMENT
• On a piece of paper with your elbow buddy • Write an argument/central idea for two of these topics:
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Teaching with Puppets
Being a vegetarian
Having a scheduled snack break at school
Driving age
School vacations
Remember: topic and opinion in 1 sentence
CLAIM
• Claim = support for the author’s argument/central idea, typically the focus
of a supporting paragraph
• Claims are often found in the topic sentence of a paragraph
CLAIMS - THE POWER OF THREES
• Three is a powerful number in our culture.
• Examples??
Having at least three claims for
your argument/central idea is an
important goal to strive for.
CLAIM • With your elbow buddy – on your same piece of paper
• Write three claims for one of the arguments you wrote:
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Teaching with Puppets
Being a vegetarian
Having a scheduled snack break at school
Driving age
School vacations
EVIDENCE
• If the claim is typically found in a topic sentence . . .
• the EVIDENCE is the proof, like statistics, quotes, examples
REASONING
• Reasoning = explanation of how the evidence proves the claim, which proves the
argument!
• Argument/Central Idea
• Each CLAIM proves why the argument is true
• Each EVIDENCE helps explain how the claim proves the argument
• REASONING shows how the evidence explains the claim and proves the argument
REASONING
• Reasoning = explanation of how the evidence proves the claim, which proves the
argument!
• Think of it this way:
• Argument/Central Idea (thesis)
• Each CLAIM proves why the argument is true (topic sentence)
• Each EVIDENCE helps explain how the claim proves the argument (text evidence)
• REASONING shows how the evidence explains the claim and proves the argument
(explanation)
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
CLAIM – EVIDENCE - REASONING
EVIDENCE & REASONING
• The best evidence and reasoning is:
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Logical
Sound
Valid
Credible