Write the Argument Essay

Goal: read an argument prompt, take a position you can defend, choose specific evidence that you bring yourself, explain how the evidence proves your claim, handle the other side, and write a whole argument essay on the clock.

Time: three sittings of about 30 to 35 minutes, one 15-minute return day, and one timed essay when you have about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Help: you can do this on your own or with family. You do not need a tutor. The Forms score your answers, the answer key explains every choice, and this module shows you how to score the Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication rows on your own essay.

How it works: start at the top and work down in order. When you reach a line that says Stop here, you are done for that day.

Get these ready:

• Your tracker. Use the same copy you used in Modules 1 to 6.
• The answer key for Module 7. Keep it closed until a step tells you to open it.
• Your Tool Card: Rhetorical Analysis (Student). You will use its POWre section and its scoring rows. CHAIN is built for analyzing a speaker, so this module gives you a four-step paragraph for arguing instead.
• Paper and a pencil, or your own copy of this doc.
• A timer.
• For Part 6: a blank doc to type your essay in.

Why it is built this way: Question 3 is the only essay with no passage. You already know what you think, but you have to bring the evidence yourself. Students most often lose points on this essay in two ways. Their examples are general, such as many people or studies show. Their explanations retell the example and do not say why it proves the point. This module has you choose a position you can prove, build a list of specific evidence, practice explaining it, and handle the other side, so each of the three scoring rows has a clear job.

If you get stuck

Do these in order:

1. Read the explanation in your Form results or the answer key.
2. Open the Argument tools table below and find the step you are stuck on.
3. Add the question to the My Mistakes tab, keep going, and try it again at your next sitting.
4. Still stuck? Post your question in the Community Stream in the Student Hub. Start your post with Q: so tutors and other students can answer it. Nobody scores essays in this kit, so ask about one specific step.

Doing this with your family

A family member does not need to know the answers. They can read your thesis out loud and ask, "Could a smart person argue the opposite?" They can read each piece of evidence and ask, "Could I look that up?" If the answer to the first is no, or to the second is no, the sentence needs work. They should not write your thesis or score your essay for you. The score is useful only when you do the scoring.

Your argument tools

These tools come from the FFW argument workbook and from the earlier modules. You will use each one in this module.

Try first (about 5 minutes)

Open the Try First Check. Answer all 5 questions before you read anything below. Mark how sure you are on each one. It is fine to miss some, because trying first helps you remember the answers later.

When you submit, choose View score and read why each answer is right or wrong. Write your score on the My Scores tab of your tracker.

Got 5 out of 5? Skip Part 1 and go to Part 2.

Part 1: Read the prompt (about 10 minutes)

Question 3 is the argument essay. You get a short statement about an issue, usually three or four sentences, and then one task. There is no passage and no sources. The evidence comes from what you already know.

What the three scoring rows ask for in an argument essay

The three rows are the same as in the other essays, but the words change because you are arguing, not analyzing. The words in the table are our own, written for practice. You can also read the official scoring rubrics from College Board, which cover all three free-response questions. This table follows the same pattern as the Module 1 table.

This score is practice feedback on one essay. It is not an official AP score, and it does not predict your exam score.

Pick apart the prompt: Do and What

The first step of POWre is to find what the prompt asks you to Do, and about What. In an argument prompt, mark three things before you think about your answer.

Here is the practice prompt for this module.

Prompt: Doctors, engineers, and scientists spend years studying their fields, yet experts have also been wrong, and sometimes the people who questioned them turned out to be right. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which ordinary people should trust experts.

Original practice prompt written for Future-Focused Writing in the AP argument essay format.

The qualifier is the part students skip. It tells you the answer is a degree. Here is what the most common qualifiers ask.

Your turn

Pick apart this prompt on paper. Write the task, the issue, and the qualifier, and then write what the qualifier asks you to choose.

Prompt: Many schools now require students to complete community service hours before they can graduate. Some people say that required service teaches responsibility. Others say that service loses its meaning when it is forced. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which schools should require community service.

When you are done, open the answer key, Part 1, to compare.

Part 2: Take a position you can defend (about 12 minutes)

A thesis in an argument essay does one job: it takes a position that answers the prompt. The Thesis row is worth 1 point, and it is pass or fail. A thesis that restates the prompt, describes the issue, or says it depends earns 0.

Pick the side you can prove

Do not pick the side you like. Pick the side you can prove. A strong opinion with no specific evidence loses points. Spend two minutes listing what you know for each side. The Evidence Bank can help you remember.

Here is the list for the practice prompt about experts. It shows the two sides and the specific examples for each.

I have strong specific examples on both sides, so I will argue that people should trust expert findings more than their own hunches, and I will use the other side's best example to show a limit.

The thesis formula

"Although [the other side's best point], [your position] because [your main reason]." Although brings in the other side. Your position answers the prompt. Because starts your line of reasoning.

Three checks for your thesis

1. The disagree test. Could a smart person argue the opposite? If not, add a limit such as mostly, only when, or as long as, or take the less common side.
2. It answers the prompt. It does not repeat the prompt's words and stop.
3. It has a because. It gives a reason, which starts your line of reasoning.

A thesis for an argument essay does not use the frame from Module 3 (speaker, accurate verb, purpose, by, moves). That frame is for analyzing a speaker. Here you are the one making the argument.

Your turn

Use the prompt from Part 1 (the one about community service). On paper, do these steps: (1) list what you know for each side, with a name, date, title, or number for each example; (2) choose the side you can prove; (3) write your thesis with the formula; (4) run the three checks. You may look up one real example. Then open the answer key, Part 2, to compare.

Replay Game 1 and try to beat your score.

Part 3: Choose specific evidence and build a line of reasoning (about 15 minutes)

Evidence you bring yourself

In an argument essay, you are the source. The Evidence and Commentary row asks for specific evidence. Specific evidence has a name, a date, a title, or a number. A reader could look it up, or picture it exactly. General evidence, such as many people or studies show, scores near the bottom of the row.

The Specificity Test: does your example have a name, a date, a title, or a number? Here are four pairs.

Use real examples. Do not invent a study or a statistic. On the exam you cannot look anything up, so you need a bank of examples you know well. A personal example counts if it is specific: a real moment, a date, and a number. Write personal examples in formal language.

Build your own Evidence Bank

On paper, write eight examples you know well. Choose at least one from each kind in the Evidence Bank in Part 2. For each one, write a name, a date, a title, or a number, and write two issues it could support. Keep the list. Add to it each week before the exam.

A line of reasoning, not a list

Your claims are the points your body paragraphs make. A line of reasoning means the claims connect to each other and build toward your thesis, so the argument is stronger than any one reason alone. The Shuffle Test: if you could swap your paragraphs without changing anything, you have a list. Here is the line of reasoning for the experts essay.

Two tips for the order of your claims. Start with the claim that is easiest for the reader to accept, then move to a harder one. Say how each claim connects to the one before it in one sentence before you write.

Some words show a connection, and some only list. Compare them.

Your turn

Use your thesis from Part 2 (the community service prompt). Write your three claims in order, with the other side as the third claim. For each claim after the first, write one sentence that says how it connects to the one before it. Then open the answer key, Part 3, to compare.

Part 4: Practice set, check, and fix (about 15 minutes)

Open the Practice Set and answer the questions there. The Form asks how sure you are on each one, scores your answers, and explains every choice.

If you prefer paper, answer below, mark each one 1 (guess), 2 (maybe), or 3 (sure), and check them in the answer key.

Question 1. The prompt says: Many people believe that leaders are born with their talents, while others believe leaders are made by experience. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which leaders are made, not born. Which words tell you that the answer can be a degree, not only yes or no?

A) the extent to which

B) Write an essay

C) Many people believe

D) born with their talents

Question 2. The prompt says: Write an essay that argues your position on whether a country should spend public money on space exploration. Which response answers the prompt with a position that has a condition?

A) Space exploration is a subject with many opinions.

B) A country should fund space exploration only when the work also gives people on Earth something they can use, because public money should answer needs that voters can see.

C) Space exploration costs a great deal of money.

D) Some people support space exploration, and some do not.

Question 3. Which thesis could a reasonable person argue against?

A) Technology is a part of modern life.

B) Technology changes how people connect.

C) Technology weakens friendships more than it strengthens them, because a message can stand in for a visit.

D) Technology can be good and it can be bad.

Question 4. A student feels strongly that schools should end homework. She cannot name one exact example for that side. She can name three exact examples, with names, dates, and numbers, for the opposite side. What should she do?

A) Argue the side she believes, because opinions matter most.

B) Write about both sides equally and take no position.

C) Invent examples that sound real for the side she prefers.

D) Argue the side she can prove, or take a limited position that her exact examples can support.

Question 5. A student argues that young people can change a community. Which sentence is the most specific evidence?

A) In May 1963, hundreds of schoolchildren marched in Birmingham, Alabama, and were arrested.

B) Young people throughout history have taken action.

C) Some students recently started a recycling program.

D) In many towns, teenagers volunteer.

Question 6. A student writes: After the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967, which killed three astronauts, NASA redesigned the spacecraft with a hatch that opened outward and with fire-resistant materials. The claim is that failure can force changes that comfort would have delayed. Which next sentence is the strongest commentary?

A) This shows that Apollo 1 was a tragedy.

B) The fire killed three astronauts, and NASA changed the spacecraft.

C) Because the fire made the old design impossible to defend, changes that might have waited became urgent, which shows that a failure can force fixes that comfort would have delayed.

D) Apollo 1 proves my point.

Question 7. A student's position is that schools should start later in the morning. Which plan for three body paragraphs shows a line of reasoning, not a list?

A) Paragraph 1: sleep. Paragraph 2: sports. Paragraph 3: lunch.

B) Paragraph 1: teenagers' body clocks shift later, so early starts leave them short of sleep. Paragraph 2: students who are short of sleep learn less, so the lost sleep has a cost. Paragraph 3: later starts disrupt buses and sports, but the cost in learning is larger.

C) Paragraph 1: my school. Paragraph 2: another school. Paragraph 3: a third school.

D) Paragraph 1: a reason. Paragraph 2: another reason. Paragraph 3: one more reason.

Question 8. A student argues that a community should preserve its old buildings. Which sentence best begins a paragraph that handles the other side?

A) Some people disagree, but they are wrong.

B) Another reason to preserve old buildings is that they are beautiful.

C) Many cities have old buildings.

D) Some argue that protecting every old building stops a community from growing. That has merit, because ...

Read the explanation for every choice, including the ones you got right. You can find them in your Form results and in the answer key.

Write your score on the My Scores tab. For each question you missed or rated 1 or 2, add a row to the My Mistakes tab.

The body paragraph: CECL

An argument body paragraph has four parts. In order, they are Claim, Evidence, Commentary, and Link.

In Module 4 you used CHAIN for rhetorical analysis. Evidence is CHAIN's H. Commentary covers CHAIN's A, I, and N. The Tool Card also lists CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), which matches the first three parts of CECL. CECL adds the Link, because an argument has to keep returning to its thesis.

Commentary starters: "This shows that..." "This matters because..." "In other words..." "The reason this works is..." "Without this..." "This explains why..." Use a starter only if what comes after it says why, and not just what.

Replay Game 2 and try to beat your score.

Part 5: Study a strong paragraph, the other side, and a weak paragraph (about 20 minutes)

The paragraphs below were written for this kit on the experts prompt. They are not College Board samples. Remember the thesis: Although experts have been wrong, people should trust expert findings more than their own hunches, because expert claims are tested and corrected in ways private opinions are not.

5A: A strong body paragraph

Each line is one sentence from a paragraph that argues that expert mistakes matter less than they seem to.

[1] Expert mistakes matter less than they seem to, because other experts find them and correct them.

[2] In 1946, a cigarette company began advertising that more doctors smoked its brand than any other.

[3] Eighteen years later, in January 1964, a committee of ten experts appointed by the U.S. Surgeon General, after reviewing more than 7,000 scientific articles, reported that smoking causes lung cancer in men.

[4] The advertisements show a trusted profession used to hide a danger, but the report shows what happened next: a larger group of experts, working in public, tested the claim against thousands of studies and reversed it.

[5] An advertised opinion can be mistaken or bought, while a finding that many experts have checked is much harder to bend, and that difference is why an ordinary person is safer trusting the checked finding than a hunch.

[6] The 1964 reversal supports the thesis: expert claims can fail, but expert checking is what repairs them.

On paper, label each sentence C (claim), E (evidence), Co (commentary), or L (link). Then pick two pieces of evidence and write the name, date, or number in each one. Then open the answer key, Part 5, to compare.

5B: A paragraph that handles the other side

This paragraph uses the concession move. Each line is one sentence.

[1] Some argue that experts should not be trusted, because the crowd of experts has sometimes rejected the one person who was right.

[2] That has merit. In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweis, a doctor at Vienna General Hospital, required handwashing with a chlorinated lime solution in his clinic, and deaths there fell from about 18 percent in April to about 2 percent two months later, yet many leading doctors rejected his explanation, and he lost his place in Vienna.

[3] However, the story does not show that ordinary people should trust their hunches over experts. Semmelweis had numbers, and it was other experts, such as Joseph Lister with his antiseptic methods in 1867, who later tested and extended the idea.

[4] The correction came from expertise and not from guessing, so the fair position is trust with questions, not trust without limit.

On paper, mark the words in the paragraph that match each step. Then answer this question: does the last sentence agree with the thesis, or does it give in? Open the answer key, Part 5, to compare.

5C: Fix a weak paragraph

This paragraph is on the same claim as 5A, written weakly on purpose.

Experts are important. Studies show that smoking used to be called safe, and then many doctors changed their minds. Many experts looked at the evidence and decided that smoking was bad. This shows that experts change their minds when there is evidence. That is a good thing. This is why people should trust experts.

1. On paper, find at least four problems, using the codes above.
2. Rewrite the paragraph in five to seven sentences. Use evidence that has a name, a date, or a number, and explain it. Look up one real example if you need one.
3. Open the answer key, Part 5. Check your problems and your rewrite. Your wording will differ. Check that your rewrite has a claim that makes a point, specific evidence, commentary that says why, and a link.

Exit Check (about 5 minutes)

Open the Exit Check. Answer all 5 questions without your notes. When you submit, choose View score and read why each answer is right or wrong. Write your score on the My Scores tab of your tracker. Add any question you missed to the My Mistakes tab.

4 or 5 right: you are ready for your return day. 3 or fewer right: replay Game 2 and reread Part 3 before your return day.

Set your return date. Pick a date one to two weeks from today. Write it on the Next Step tab of your tracker and on your calendar.

1. Replay the game that felt hardest.
2. Retake the Exit Check without your notes.
3. Write your score on the My Scores tab and compare it with your first try.

4 or 5 right: go to Part 6, and then to Module 8. 3 or fewer right: open the help for the questions you missed, then retake the Exit Check in a few days.

Do this when you have about 1 hour and 15 minutes. You will write one full argument essay in 45 minutes, which is 5 minutes to plan and 40 minutes to write, score it on all three rows, compare it with our model, and log it on your tracker. A low score is useful, because it tells you what to work on. There is no passage. The evidence comes from you. Do not open the answer key until step 8.

Before the clock: the introduction, the ending, and the Word Check

• Introduction, two sentences. Sentence 1 names the issue and why people argue about it, and keeps it specific. Sentence 2 is your thesis. Skip the hook, because the rubric has no point for one. If you finish early, add one. Here is an example for the experts prompt: People often treat experts as people to obey or people to doubt, but the record shows both mistakes and corrections. Although experts have been wrong, people should trust expert findings more than their own hunches, because expert claims are tested and corrected in ways private opinions are not.
• Ending, one or two sentences. Say what follows from your position. Do not repeat your thesis, and do not write "In conclusion." The best endings add one new idea. Here is an example: If expert claims are trustworthy because they are checked, then the most useful habit for an ordinary person is to ask who checked a claim and how. That question works for a news story about medicine and it works for an advertisement with a doctor in it.
• Word Check. Delete very, really, stuff, things, a lot, I think, I believe, and you. Check that every piece of evidence has a name, a date, a title, or a number, and that every paragraph has commentary that says why.
• Sophistication. In Module 6 you found a tension in a speaker's situation. In an argument essay there is no speaker, so the thinking is in the issue itself. Your Although clause names a tension, your third body paragraph handles the other side's best point and sets a limit on your position, and your ending says what follows. When the same tension shows up in all three places, the thinking runs through the essay.

Prompt

Every community has old buildings that people love and old buildings that stand in the way of new plans. Some people say that a community should protect its past, because what is lost cannot be replaced. Others say that a community that cannot change cannot grow. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which a community should preserve its past when it plans for its future.

Original practice prompt written for Future-Focused Writing in the AP argument essay format.

The clock

Steps

1. Open a blank doc. Put your phone away. Ask a family member to run the timer, or set it yourself. Keep the Tool Card and the Argument tools table where you can see them. Do not look anything up.
2. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Pick apart the prompt: write the task, the issue, and the qualifier. List the evidence you know for each side, with a name, a date, a title, or a number for each one. Choose the side you can prove. Write your thesis with the Although formula. Write your three claims in order, with the other side third, and one sentence for how each connects to the one before it. Do not start your essay yet.
3. Set a timer for 40 minutes. Type your essay. Write a two-sentence introduction. Use CECL in each body paragraph. Stop when the timer ends, even if you are not done.
4. Take a 5-minute break. Then read your essay once, from the top, as if someone else wrote it.
5. Run the Specificity Test and circle the name, date, title, or number in each piece of evidence. Run the Word Check. Mark where your tension or your answer to the other side appears: introduction, body, ending.
6. Score all three rows with the table below, before you open any other file. Write one reason for each row. Add the rows for your total. Find your lowest row.
7. If the Sophistication row is 0, rewrite only your third body paragraph and your ending so the tension and the other side appear. Do not add long words. This takes about 5 minutes.
8. Open the answer key, Part 6. Read our model essay and our middle-scoring sample. Change your scores if they show you scored too high or too low.
9. Write your final scores on the My Essays tab. Fill in these columns: Date, Module (7), Essay type (Argument), Prompt or passage (Preserving the past, Module 7), Minutes (45), Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, Sophistication, and Compared with a scored sample (yes if you also did the optional College Board comparison below). The tracker fills in the total and the lowest row.
10. In the One fix for next time column, write one fix for your lowest row. If the Evidence and Commentary row was your lowest, your fix can be: add a name, a date, or a number to each piece of evidence, and write one sentence that starts "This matters because" after each one.

This score is practice feedback on one essay. It is not an official AP score, and it does not predict your exam score. Our model is not a College Board sample.

Optional: compare with College Board's own samples

Use College Board's files on College Board's site only. Do not paste official questions, passages, or scoring guides into AI tools, because College Board does not allow its content to be used with them.

1. Open College Board's past exam questions page. Under any year, open Free-Response Questions, Set 1 or Set 2, and go to Question 3.
2. Write one more essay on that prompt on the clock, or plan one in 10 minutes, then score it with the table above.
3. On the same page, open the Scoring Guidelines and the Sample Responses for Question 3. Read one high-scoring and one middle-scoring sample. Change your scores if the samples show you scored too high or too low.

Want more practice? Write another essay on the clock in a week. Choose a College Board Question 3 that you have not written on before, and score it the same way.

Next step: open the Next Step tab of your tracker, then open the help for your top sticking point. Then go to Module 8.

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