.

PI-ANINGAN ARGUMtrNTATIYE ESSAY

It is usbfulto preparean outlinefirst beforewriting anargumentative

essay-Tbeoutline

includes
thepointsthatwill helpyou to writea complete
argumentative
essay.

I INTRODUCTION

A. Arousethe reader'sinterest,introducethesubjectandhighlightits

imponance

B. Stateyour standon the subject

(
i]I CONCLUSION

i\. Restateyour positionon the issue

B. Present wamingwhalntight
anemotionalappealfor yourposition,perhaps

happenifyour positionis notaccepted

EXA]!IPLI.]ARGUIVIENTATIVEESSAY

A goodway to helpyou leamhow to write an argumentative

essayis to studyan

exflmple.

Activify I :

Reutl und study lhefollowing argumentativeessay.Ilork with a ptylner lo uns'werlhe

:
qucslions before and after the essay. These questions will help you underslsntl lhe

cotllant ancllhe organizationof the essay.

In this essay.the \driter arguesfor the use of school uniforms. Do the argumentsconvince

you c'f the rvriter's point of view?

l. l)id you weara uniform when you went to school?

2. Sornepeoplebelieve that children are too materialisticthesedays. Iror exam.ple,

they may be too interestedin wearing brand-nameclothesand shoes.What is J-otlr

opinion?

The SchoolUniform Question

is a fundamental value in the United States.All Americans

h-rdividualism

bclieve in the right to expresstheir own opinion without fear of punishment.This

value.hcwever,is comingrurderfire in an unlikely place-thepublic schoolclassroorn.

'I'he
issueis schooluniforms.Shouldpublic schoolstudentsbe allowedto make

individualdecisionsabout clothing.or shouldall studentsbe requiredto wear a

r.rnitbrur'? uniformsarethe betterchoicefor threereasons.

Scl-rool
 2 First.wearingschooluniformwouldhelpmakestudents'livessimpler.They

'wouldno longerhaveto decidewhal to'weareverymorning.sometimes

tryingoutlit

alier outfit in an effort to choose-Uniformswould not only savetime but also would

elinr'natethe stressoflenassociated
with this chore.

3 Second,schoolunilbrmsinlluencestudentsto act responsiblyin groupsand as

individ'-rals.
Uniformsgive studentsthe message
that schoolis a specialplacefor

leaming.In addition,uniformscreatea feelingof unityamongstudents.

For example,

wlren studentsdo somethingas a group.suchas attendmeetingsin therauditoriumor

eat lunch in the cafbteria,the fact they all wearthe sameuniform would createa sense

of conrmunity,Evenmore important,statistics
showthe positiveelfectsthat school

tunitbnrrs
haveon violenceandtruancy.According'to
a.recentsurveyin l{illsboiough

County.Florida.incidentsof schoolviolencedropped.by
50 percent.attcndance
and

Iest scoresirnproved.and studentsuspensions

declinedapproximately30 percentafter

sclioolunitbrmswereintroduced.

4 l"iuzrlly,schooluniformswould help makeall studentsfeel equal.People's

IA
standardsof living differ greatly.and somepeopleare well-off while othersare not.

Peoplesclmetimes
forgetthat schoolis a placeto get an education,not ro promotea

"f'alhion show.",lmplementingmanclatory
schoolunifomis would make all the

studentslook the sameregardless

of'thtir financialstatus.Schoolunilbrrnswould

promolc pride and helpto raisethe self'-esteem

of studentswho caunolaffbrclto wear

stvlishclothin{r.

Opponents
of mandatory
uniionnssaythatstudents
who wearschoolunitbmrs
 -annotexpress
theirindividuality.
Thispoint hassomemeriton the surface.
Flowever.

as statedpreviously,school is a place to leam, not to flaunt wealth and tiishion.

Societymust decideif individual expressionthroughclothing is more valuablethan

improvededucationalperformancelIt is importantk) rememberthat schooluniforms

wouldbe rvornonly duringschocilhours.Studentscanexprcssindividualityin the *ay

theydressoutsideof theclassroom.

6 In conclusion,
thereare many well-documented:
benefitsto implenrenting

, mandatoryschooluniformsfor students.Studiesshowthatstudentslearnbetterantl act

ntoreresponsiblvr.lhenthey wearuniforms.Publicschoolsshouldrequireuniformsin

orderto benefitboth thestudentsandsocietyasa whole-

AdttptedJi,omGreal Essays
by Keith S. Folse,April Muchmore-Vokoun
andElcnu

l/estri Solonon, ! 999

fundamental:essential;
basic implementing:puttinginto effect

truancy: absencervithoutpermission flaunt: to showoff; to display

(, '

well-oft wealthy

3. 1'hetopic of this essayis schooluniforms.What is the hqokin tlie first paragraph'?

 4. Whatis thethesisstatement?

5. Topicsentence: 2,3, and4eachgivea reasonfor requiringschool

Paragraph

ofeachparagraph.What
uniforms.Thesereasonscanbefoundin thetopic sentence

arethe reasons?
^
i Paragraph
2:

Paragraph
3:

Paragraph
4:

6. 4, whatsupportinginformationdoeslhe writer
In paragraph
Supportingsentences:

giveto showthatuniformsrnakestudentsequal?

7. Whichparagraph (an argumentthatis contraryto, or the

presentsa counterargument

oppositeof, thewriter's opinion)?What is the counterargument?

 8. Tlrervrilergivesa refutation (showsthatit is w'rong).What
of thecounterargument

is thewriter'srefutation?

9. from theconcludingparagraphofthe "the SchoolUniform

Write the sentence

r : Question"thatrestatesthe thesis.
i

10. Rereadtbe concludingparagraph, abouttJrisissue?

Whatis thelvlrterlS.opinig.n

t)
(.,