Essays+-+Honors+English+2

Honors English 2 Argumentative Essay Due: 10/6/17

Objective:Write an essay in which you present a text-supported claim and a text-refuted counterclaim about an implied question that is derived from our class text.

Essential Question: How could you write a claim and a counterclaim about an inferred text question so that a reader could understand both?

Possible Essay Topics (pick ONE):
 * Should (and will) Mari repair her fractured relationship with her sister, Eri?
 * Should (and will) Takahashi pursue Mari, his music, or something else?
 * Should (and will) Shirakawa be punished for his crime(s)?
 * If you’d like to address your own topic, clear your question through Mr. F.

Text:After Dark, Haruki Murakami Novel Citation (from EasyBib): Murakami, Haruki, and Jay Rubin. After Dark. Toronto, Ontario, Anchor Canada, 2013.

Sample Claims:
 * Ideally, Mari should and will repair her imperfect relationship with her older sibling because…
 * In all likelihood, Takahashi should and will look to furthering his connection with Mari because…
 * If things work as they should, Shirakawa should and will suffer consequences for what he’s done because...

Sample Rebuttals:
 * However, some might argue that Mari has no need for repairing the relationship and won’t because...
 * On the other hand, a reader could believe that Takahashi shouldn’t and won’t strengthen his bond with Mari because…
 * Contrarily, a person could think that Shirakawa has no obligation to suffer the consequences and won’t because…

Thesis =Claim + Rebuttal The combination of the claim and the rebuttal serves as the complete thesis in an argumentative essay.

Format (you will complete this same outline for HW on page 3): 2. Evidence 1 3. Evidence 2 4. Counterclaim 5. Conclusion
 * 1) Intro
 * 2) Hook to grab the reader’s attention
 * 3) General information, short summary, or overall insights about the novel
 * 4) Thesis (Claim + Rebuttal)
 * 5) Accentuation of claim
 * 1) Main Idea (claim, re-statement of claim, or lead-in to quote)
 * 2) Evidence (quote, with a page number, from the text to support the claim)
 * 3) Analysis (explanation of how and why the quote supports the claim)
 * 4) Link/Summary/Last Thought (wrap-up or transition)
 * 1) Main Idea (claim, re-statement of claim, or lead-in to quote)
 * 2) Evidence (quote, with a page number, from the text to support the claim)
 * 3) Analysis (explanation of how and why the quote supports the claim)
 * 4) Link/Summary/Last Thought (wrap-up or transition)
 * 1) Main Idea (counterclaim)
 * 2) Evidence (quote, with a page number, from the text to refute the claim)
 * 3) Analysis (explanation of how and why the quote refutes the counterclaim)
 * 4) Link/Summary/Last Thought (wrap-up or transition)
 * 1) Thesis Restatement
 * 2) Summarize and Expand Argument (into all of human experience)
 * 3) So What? Why should anyone care about what you’ve discussed in your essay?

Product: This document, once downloaded, is your essay. It even already has your name on it. To turn it in (on 3/3), simply delete this instruction page, the example outline, and example essay on pages 4 & 5. Leave the HW Outline (page 2), your essay (starting on page 3), and the rubric (on the last page) for me to fill in. You don’t need a rough draft since your revision history can be checked for all progress. Then, simply press “TURN IN” on Google Classroom.

Grading:
 * Final Product (using Englewood High School Writing Rubric): 20 points / 2 = 10 points
 * Homework (Format Outline) = 2 points
 * In-class planning, drafting, revising, editing = 12 points
 * Total = 24 points

Example Argumentative Essay Outline on Life of Pi (DO NOT COPY)

Essay Topic: Which of Pi’s stories, the first or the second, should be believed in Life of Pi? Essay Thesis: The second of Pi’s stories is intended to be taken as the truth in Life of Pi because it accurately reflects what happened to Pi factually. Conversely, some might tend to believe that Pi’s second story is true because it is the more entertaining story.

3. Evidence 2 “ ‘No whip could have inflicted a more painful lash. I held my mother’s head in my hands.’ ” (p.310) 4. Counterclaim “...a story that will make you believe in God.” (p. x) c. belief is essential element in the first story d. belief requires faith, not fact 5. Conclusion Example Argumentative Essay (Life of Pi) What would it be like to be stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, delves into that very question. The novel’s protagonist, Pi Patel, finds himself trapped in close quarters with not just a ferocious tiger but a virtual menagerie of other animals on an unplanned trip from Asia to Central America. Along his way across an ocean, Pi also travels on a path towards enlightenment regarding belief and truth. These dual motifs are explored in equal measure with the two stories that Pi tells a pair of Japanese investigators in explaining his journey. The second of Pi’s stories is intended to be taken as the truth in Life of Pi because it accurately reflects what happened to Pi factually. Conversely, some might tend to believe that Pi’s first story is true because it is the more entertaining story. Even so, the evidence in the text bears out the fact that the second story is truly the one to be taken as reality. When Pi relates his second story in the novel, it is filled with elements that are believable and fact-based. Pi notes this himself when he narrates the parallel narratives to the Japanese investigators. Once they express displeasure at his first story because it doesn’t “‘reflect reality’” (p. 302), Pi notes, “‘I know what you want…you want dry, yeastless factuality’” (p.302). Lifeless, non-rising (or non-elevating) facts are what he’s decrying. At this point, he then tells the second story, which the readers should expect to be filled with just such “‘factuality.’” The story is fairly “‘dry’” in that it is not nearly as fanciful as the first story involving the animals. Although it is filled with frighteningly horrifying human situations, Pi tells it in a way that conveys his belief in the mundane, grounded nature of the truth. This ironically dull tone for a such an emotion-packed narrative is essential in understanding the necessity of two stories in the first place. Pi’s understandably emotional response to the events of second story precipitates his need to create the manufactured world of the first. The teen’s struggle to cope with the traumatic events of his journey is readily apparent. While on the lifeboat, Pi undergoes a terrifying and life-altering experience with his fellow passengers. Specifically, his mother--the only other family survivor of the shipwreck that brought him to the lifeboat in the first place--is viciously murdered before his eyes. Author Yann Martel skillfully expresses the pain of the situation by metaphorically evoking physical pain: “‘No whip could have inflicted a more painful lash. I held my mother’s head in my hands.’” (p.310) This trauma prompts him to craft the first story as coping way of retaining his sanity. Understandably moved by the conveyed psychological drama, the interviewers notice his outward signs of distress: “‘Oh look--he’s crying.’” (p.317). The tears reflect only part of what Pi is truly feeling, though. There is even more significance in the protagonist’s response to the interviewer’s preferred story. Some could believe the second story to be more true because it’s more entertaining. The Japanese interviewers certainly think so. They express this preference to Pi, to which he responds, “‘And so it goes with God’” (p.317). In other words, those who possess a strong belief in God must believe in that which can’t be proven. Like belief or suspension of disbelief when a reader or listener becomes involved in a good, entertaining story, belief in a higher power requires faith. This theme harkens back to the opening “Author’s Note” of the novel, in which Yann Martel indicates that the literary basis for Pi once told him, “‘I have a story that will make you believe in God’” (page x). Pi’s first story is this story in that it listening to it requires belief in the unproven or hard-to-believe. This belief or faith is the dogma basic to every organized religion, but it’s completely absent from Pi’s second version, a fact-based account grounded in base human behaviors. In essence, Pi’s first story is based in the realm of belief (God), while his second story is based in the realm of truth (Humans). By making the strong distinction with his narrative, Martel intends to differentiate the fanciful elements of life from the factual. The line of demarcation that the author draws between the two presented planes of understanding is intended to be significant. At the same time, he accentuates the inter-relationship and interplay between the two. In Pi’s life, the teen character needs a belief in both of the stories to survive. The second story is a sort of survivalist’s handbook whereas the first serves as a psychological self-treatment guide. Together, the stories not only save Pi’s life but provide him with a knowledge of how both faith and reality require some understanding of the unknown. Referenced text citation (via EasyBib): Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. New York, Harcourt, 2001.
 * 1) Intro
 * 2) stranded with Bengal tiger in Pacific
 * 3) Pi’s journey across an ocean and towards enlightenment
 * 4) Pi’s 2nd story is factual; Pi’s 1st story is entertaining
 * 5) belief in factuality borne out by text
 * 6) Evidence 1
 * 7) Pi’s trip with people is fact-based, believable
 * 8) “ ‘dry, yeastless factuality’ ” (p.302)
 * 9) mundane or grounded nature of the truth
 * 10) dullness of the truth essential to the existence of two stories
 * 1) Pi’s reaction to 2nd story creates need for fanciful 1st
 * 2) “ ‘Oh look--he’s crying.’ ” (p.317),
 * 1) moved by the terrible psychological trauma
 * 2) more significance in Pi’s response to preference
 * 1) 1st story could be true with belief
 * 2) “ ‘And so it goes with God.’ ” (p.317),
 * 1) 1st story based in belief; 2nd story based in truth
 * 2) Martel uses Pi’s stories to differentiate between factual and fanciful
 * 3) faith and reality require some understanding of the unknown

Writing Rubric Grade Sheet Name: Class: Date: an understanding of evaluation of author’s claim support Total: 20-18 = 4 (Advanced) 17-13 = 3 (Proficient) 12-8 = 2 (Partially Proficient) 7-5 = 1 (Unsatisfactory) (1-4 points for each category +1 for evidence of planning)
 * Criteria & Points || Advanced - 4 || Proficient - 3 || Partially Proficient - 2 || Unsatisfactory - 1 ||
 * Reading Comprehension
 * central idea
 * details
 * text evidence
 * interpretation ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Analysis
 * evidence
 * reasoning
 * stylistic elements
 * persuasive elements
 * writing features
 * relevant
 * sufficient ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Writing - Claim
 * central claim
 * counterclaim ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Writing - Development
 * introduction
 * progression of ideas
 * conclusion ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Writing - Style & Conventions
 * sentence variety
 * word choice
 * formal style
 * objective tone
 * conventions
 * lacking errors ||  ||   ||   ||   ||