Argument Research and Essay Unit With "Room for Debate"

Make writing argument essays relevant with this month-long unit! Students begin by reading, analyzing, and evaluating articles on real-world topics from “Room for Debate" in The New York Times. Then, using their reading as inspiration, students select a topic for research and use their research to write a formal argumentative essay. Throughout the unit, the teacher scaffolds instruction and provides practice paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, MLA formatting, and developing arguments. The teacher also guides students through the writing process as they outline, draft, revise, and write their final essays.

Example topics include whether doctors are over-prescribing ADHD medications, whether minors should be tried as adults for violent crimes, and whether parents should be arrested for providing alcohol to teens. There are 17 links to online topics, but the teacher could certainly modify topics by searching through selections on the website.

The zip file includes the following:

• Unit Overview and CCSS Standard
• Pacing Calendar
• Basic Parts of an Argument PowerPoint
• Project Overview (editable)
• “Room for Debate” Pre-Writing Handout (editable)
• Column Annotation and Analysis Handout
• Journal prompts
• Article Analysis worksheets
• Thesis and Outline PowerPoint
• Model Outline and Sample Paragraph
• Outline Graphic Organizer
• Peer Review Handout
• Proofreading Checklist
• Rubric

If you would prefer, you can purchase each part of the unit as individual files:

BasicPartsofanArgument

OutlineThinkAloud

Thesis and Outline Powerpoint

And here are additional resources for teaching argument:

Revision Task Cards for Argument Essays

Argument Bell Ringers

Writing Task Paired Passage: Speech and War Prayer

Meaningful and Memorable English Language Arts by © OCBeachTeacher

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