rev_Formal Argumentative Essay

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

V6 - term 1

• Formal Argumentative Essay writing - Test - Test Week - 100 min. + dictionary (both N-E; E-E)

• Article reading -> as exam practice; input for essay writing) - no test

• Word Formation (root word + noun/adjective/adverb/verb/prefix/suffix; use of English) Word Transformation (sentence rewriting) -> both types of exercises improve your fluency/writing skills - no test

• Start with Renaissance Literature in week 40 (test in term 2)

Task 1 - group work

Write an essay outline for:

Dogs make better pets than cats = thesis (final sentence of 1st paragraph)

Topic sentence/argument 1 = (first sentence of 2nd paragraph)

Topic sentence/argument 2 = (first sentence of 3rd paragraph)

Topic sentence/argument 3 = (first sentence of 4th paragraph)

Conclusion (repeating best argument or 3 arguments in brief, using synonyms)

Task 2 - group work (HW)

Write a catchy 150-word introduction, grabbing the reader's attention, ending in the thesis sentence:

Dogs make better pets than cats.

Task 3 - Reading/Debate/Essay

Read the articles on The Menendez brothers and their request for parole

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/23/erik-lyle-menendez-parole-hearings?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/erik-lyle-menendez-timeline?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Discuss in groups:

Their request for parole should be granted.

(Discuss/take notes of unfamiliar words beforehand: 

parole = earlier release from prison/before end of sentence)

Task 4 - Essay writing #1

Write a 450-500 word essay on the thesis

The Menendez brothers should be granted parole

OR

The Menendez brothers should be denied parole

Find more information on the Menendez brothers. Then write a 5 sentence structure first:

1 = introduction ending in thesis (= given/final sentence of intro)

2 = topic sentence/argument 1

3 = topic sentence/argument 2

4 = topic sentence/argument 3

5 = conclusion

 Write the complete essay and hand in (online/instructions to follow)

Formal Argumentative Essay

Why?

An argumentative essay is 

a formal essay that persuades the reader to agree with your thesis statement

Informative essay outline

I. Introduction

A. Hook

B. Background information (define key terms)

C. Thesis

II. Body Paragraph 1

A. Topic sentence

B. Evidence 1 (including citation)

C. Evidence 2 (including citation)

III. Body Paragraph 2

A. Topic sentence

B. Evidence 1 (including citation)

C. Evidence 2 (including citation)

IV. Body Paragraph 3 (see body paragraph 1 and 2 - repeat)

IV.Conclusion (restate the thesis statement and summarize the main ideas of the essay)

Example of thesis statement

Thesis: Halloween is a combination of pagan and religious traditions to acknowledge and commemorate the dead

Intro: 

Hook: Scary times are just around the corner. 

General info on Halloween celebrations and the date when it is celebrated. 

Narrow it down (In fact a very ancient tradition dating back to Celtic and Medieval times, but also to more recent history) and give thesis statement in the final sentence

Body (PEE)Example

Paragraph 2

P: The Celtic tribes (700 BC/BCE till 300 AD/CE) already celebrated Samhain on October 31st, a festival marking the difference between the light and the dark part of the year, a time when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. 

E: These Iron Age tribes believed that at this time of the year, the living could make contact with the deceased.

E: They gathered around bonfires to honor the harvest cycle and the cycles of death and birth, reflect on what was grown and harvested (either literally or metaphorically). This way people could also think about the people who had passed away that year.

Paragraph 3:

Point: During the Middle Ages, when Christianity was widely spread and the Catholic Church was strongly represented in Europe, religious people celebrated November 1st as All Saints Day to commemorate important figures in church.

Paragraph 4:

Point: In the later centuries, immigrants not only brought their own Halloween folk stories to America, but the American Civil War also had an influence on wanting the dead to come home. Explain: Jack O'Lantern + the casualties of the Civil War 

Writing the essay

• Brain storm first; Find INPUT; jot down arguments

• Use an essay lay-out: intro (1 paragraph) / body (3 paragraphs) / conclusion (1 paragraph)

• Use one argument per paragraph/start paragraphs 2, 3, 4 with the argument/point 

• Use formal language (no contractions such as don't, but: do not)
  

• Avoid  personal pronouns I/you (we)
  

• Use linking words (also, moreover, even though, nonetheless etc.) to logically connect paragraphs

• Use opinion adverbs (Unfortunately, Sadly, Drastically etc.) to persuade

• Use gerunds, participle phrases, noun phrases, better words to avoid "that" sentences

• Cut out the fluff and rewrite

Dos

• Use passive voice or "society"/"people" to avoid you/we
• Use gerunds (verb + ing as subject/object)
• Use participles (present participle = verb + ing or past participle = 3rd form,  instead of pronoun + verb)
• Write concisely - use fewer words by avoiding you/we/that, and by using better words

We buy a lot of goods, and then we create more packaging and we waste more.

Purchasing many goods leads to an increase in packaging and waste (Gerund + register)

Many goods are purchased, leading to an increase in packaging and waste (Passive voice + present participle)

Society purchases too many goods, resulting in a rise in packaging and waste. (Vocab + register)

Tips - Avoid/Don'ts

• Intro (I am writing this essay ...; not mentioning thesis in the final sentence of the intro; turning thesis into a question)
• !! Register - using I/you/we throughout the essay
  
• !!Range of vocabulary - using incorrect words; using basic grammatical structures; using superfluous/repetitive words
• Numerous spelling mistakes of simple words (too = ook; te)
• Fragment - incomplete sentence without a subject/verb; using a subclause only 

Now you try this

• Use passive voice or "society"/"people" to avoid you/we
• Use gerunds (verb + ing as subject/object)
• Use participles (present participle = verb + ing or past participle = 3rd form,  instead of pronoun + verb)
• Write concisely - use fewer words by avoiding you/we/that, and by using better words

In the three examples below, correct  spelling mistakes, use formal register, use the above to write more concisely:

You could do a lot on your own to safe the planet. Like recycling. ->

But you really have to know what you're doing. So look it up beforehand ->

In my opinion, I think people get stuff way to early. ->

Formal argumentative essay no. 1

Write a 400-500 word essay on either one of the following thesis statements:

The negative effects of global tourism. -> Thesis: Global tourism has negative effects

OR

The positive effects of global tourism -> Thesis: Global tourism has positive effects.

Possible arguments/points (one argument/point per paragraph in the body of your essay)local economies

the environment

international understanding

the survival of local economies depends on tourism

etc.

Formal argumentative essay no. 2

Write a 500-word essay on one of the following thesis statements:

a) Doctors should (not) honor parents' wishes for genetic modification of their unborn children

Read:  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1524970/; 

https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/internal-content/inheritable-genetic-modification-arguments-pro-and-con

b) Mexican university campuses should do more to protect students against drug recruiters

read: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/world/americas/mexico-fentanyl-chemistry-students.html#

c) Social media should (not) be controlled to protect adolescents 

read: https://apnews.com/article/australia-social-media-children-ban-safeguarding-harm-accounts-d0cde2603bdbc7167801da1d00ecd056

d) Gun control should become stricter in the USA OR The right to bear arms should not be infringed

https://honestproscons.com/pros-and-cons-of-gun-control/; Read up on the Second Amendment in the American Constitution

engxam.com

owl.purdue.edu

archive.nytimes.com

www.grammar-monster.com