Amanda Rachelle Warren
Assignments & Activities Archive
Activity Description
The argumentative essay is a relied upon element of the composition classroom. These essay assignments help students develop thoughtful, well-considered arguments on debatable topics. As many teachers know, those “debatable topics” tend towards predictable subject matter that is often too broad for an essay-length argument, is often too simple or binary in its structure, or is simply an “easy answer” to the question “what do I write about?” When students make poor topic choices, those choices result in familiar, dispassionate arguments, rather than arguments students are invested in and passionate about. Paul Roberts, in his 1958 essay from Understanding English entitled “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words,” suggests that when it comes to choosing essay topics, students often take the “usual” approach to their detriment. In the half-century since Roberts published his piece, students still seem to be struggling with topic selection. Students who choose common topics often do so for a variety of reasons: they believe the topic is broad and it will be easy to find sources, they believe the topic is the kind of thing that college students should write about and that instructors should want to read about, they may have already written on a similar topic at the high school level and are eager to reuse that material, etc. Argumentative essays about cheerleading as a sport, the harmful effects of smartphones, and gun control/rights have become expected topics, and although students may have personal connections to these topics, the arguments they produce are often dispassionate because they do not utilize their experience as a means of creating or supporting their argumentative stance. Michelle D. Trim and Megan Lynne Issac, in their essay “Reinventing Invention: Discovery and Investment in Writing” suggest that “the areas of invention that seem to challenge students the most” are related to the most basic aspects of invention in writing: brainstorming ideas and developing a workable topic (109). Trim and Issac suggest that first-year writing students in particular have little familiarity with topic generation and selection, and that offering students activities which help them practice invention is vitally important as way to help students identify “writing topics that both satisfy the writing situation and reflect [their] interest and investment” (110). This 30–50-minute brainstorming assignment and large group discussion asks students to consider their connections to interesting, nuanced arguments that affect them and/or the communities they are a part of. In asking students to reflect on their hobbies and interests, identify groups they belong to, and complain about the things that bother them, students can identify possible argumentative topics beyond the obvious. Post-brainstorm session, the lists students create are part of a large group discussion focused on translating topics into strong, interesting, argumentative theses. Requiring students to identify a personal/community connection to topics and positions as part of the idea generation/invention stage helps students establish personal interest in the arguments they make. Identifying a personal/community connection also helps students recognize the value of personal experience as evidence and means of establishing ethos, and to understand how to balance that experience with primary and secondary source material as support for an effective argument.