Week 2 - Before School Argument Writing Workshop

Researching both sides of an argument is key to an unbiased essay. Today in week 2 of our 5^th grade before school argument writing workshop, participants worked to investigate both sides of their argument.  The goal of today’s lesson was to attempt to artfully and respectfully acknowledge the counterclaim while still defending the integrity of the original position.

In bringing authenticity to our work, we called upon the expertise of our Franklin Regional wrestling coach Eric Mausser. Student writers generated questions for Coach Mausser. During the interview, writers took careful notes that they then utilized in their arguments in the form of researched evidence quotes!

One participant crafted this in her writers notebook after the interview. According to Coach Eric Mausser, there are many sacrifices athletes have to make, “like time commitments, not as much time with their friends and family, and they have to eat junk food to get heavier.” Although that is all true, professional athletes do not need millions of dollars.

This young writer addressed the counterclaim, while still standing firm on her position. In the next two weeks writers will continue to plan their claim, structure their essay and utilize evidence by both paraphrasing and directly quoting from articles and interviews and analyzing information to synthesize in written judgment.

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