Argumentative Writing
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This inquiry guide aims to help students & teachers through the inquiry process of Argumentative writing. Through this process, you should have help with:
1. Locating, evaluating, and using information.
2. Learning how to learn through self-direction around your own questions.
3. Gaining new knowledge of the curriculum through interpretation, synthesis and evaluation of facts and ideas.
4. Reading, writing, viewing, speaking and presenting as well as interacting and working cooperative with others.
Purpose:
Argumentative writing is an important skill in all areas of education. It is essential to success not only as students but also as citizens and employees/workers. As anchor standard number 1 in the common core standards, it is key that both students and adults alike have a grasp on argumentative writing and the finding of valid, reliable evidence to support a given stance on issues that are both current and sometimes considered "hot topics." This inquiry guide was written for 8th grade language arts with the common core standard of Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1). However, as important of a skill as argumentative writing is, this guide could easily be adapted and used in grades 6 and 7 or HS and above.
Note: Sources and search tips available in this guide are arranged according to the inquiry stages from Kuhlthau et al.'s (2012) text, Guided Inquiry Framework. Many of the inquiry log activities are adapted from Barbara Stripling’s Model of Inquiry and the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum (pp. 194-200, 8th grade).