Argumentative Essay Rubric
Choose the topic you care about and write a 5 page argumentative essay about it.
1. Take your stand on one of the debatable social, economic, or moral issues.
2. Think of the three (four, five) reasons/main points/ arguments that back up your stand.
3. Freewrite/ brainstorm/ cluster on the chosen topic and come up with a preliminary argument.
4. Start research, using reliable sources only (.gov, .edu only).
5. Read your sources and highlight/ circle/ box/ save facts, examples, testimonies you may use in your paper. Remember: it is an argumentative essay, so it must have a solid support. Do not use general phrases because they are not convincing. Instead, use a lot of statistics, examples, and expert opinions.
6. Add you own voice to the paper. Conduct interviews on the topic of your choice. Interview at least 50 (fifty) people of all ages: classmates, family members, relatives, friends. Reflect your findings in the paper.
7. Make sure to include the opposing point of view in your paper and concede its strength, so your readers see you as a fair person. Then try to refute a counterpart, finding logical errors of the opposing side and proving that your opinion is valid.
8. The paper should have five (5) entire pages plus Works Cited page (total 6 pages) and at least five (5) quality sources.