3rd grade argumentative essay

Persuasive Writing in Third Grade

The art of persuasion. It seems that many kids do their very best to persuade their parents, friends and, yes, even teachers to see their point of view. Kids are excellent at trying to persuade others to do their bidding. Even my toddler seems to be honing her skills, always trying to find ways to convince me to leave Paw Patrol on for “just one more episode.” But learning the art of persuasive writing can be tricky. So here are some tips that I’ve learned for teaching persuasive writing in Third Grade. 

Text: Teaching persuasive writing in third grade. Image: School supplies are displayed on a table.

How Do You Teach Persuasive Writing to Third Graders?

You might be asking yourself: How exactly should I be teaching persuasive writing to Third Graders? Well, over my years of teaching, I’ve found that keeping it as relevant as possible is key. Don’t force kids to create persuasive writing about things they aren’t actually passionate about. Very few kids want to do a persuasive writing piece on if dates or prunes are better for you…..OK, OK….. I hope that no teacher would ever make their students write about that topic, but the point still stands. Give them topics they can get passionate about.

There are so many topics that students could write persuasive arguments about. Here are some ideas:

Which makes a better pet: 

Dogs vs. Cats

Snakes vs. Hamsters

Sharks vs. Alligators

Should kids be allowed to: 

Be principal for the day

Own a cell phone, tablet, laptop...really, any type of technology

Bring a cell phone to school

Bring a pet to school

Drive at a younger age

Play video games all day

Which is Better:

Soccer or Baseball

Bowling or Mini Golf

iPhones or Androids

Summer or Winter

Winter break or Summer break

Chapter Books or Picture books

Reasons for:

Longer recess

No homework on the weekends

No homework ever

More snack options in the cafeteria

Getting a new pet

Going to Disneyland on a vacation

Going to Hawaii on a vacation

Going to Mexico on a vacation (can you tell that I really want to go on vacation?)

Use a Mentor Text to Teach Persuasive Writing

So, now that you have some ideas, it’s time to teach your students what the word “persuade” means. I like to write this word on an anchor chart and then read a mentor text that is a piece of persuasive writing. I’m a big fan of using mentor texts during writing lessons.

When teaching persuasive writing, I love the story “I Wanna Iguana” by Karen Kaufman Orloff and David Catrow. This story is a series of letters between a mother and son. In his letters, the son is trying to convince his mom to let him get a pet iguana. In her letters, she is making counter arguments against his reasons for getting an iguana. Some arguments are good and some aren’t as good. In the end, Alex’s reasons prevail and he gets his iguana. While this is my favorite mentor text to use when teaching persuasive writing, there are plenty of other great mentor texts out there.

Here are a few great mentor texts for persuasive writing:

Can I Be Your Dog? By Troy Cummings 

Rufus Goes to School by Kim Griswell

The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan

Escargot by Dashka Slater

Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch 

Discuss Ways to Persuade an Audience

Persuasive Writing: A type of writing that tires to convince a reader to agree with you. How can we persuade readers? What do we want?

After reading the story of your choice, talk about the techniques that the authors use to persuade an audience. Make sure to pull out specific examples of the language used in the story so students can replicate the language in their own writing. Then have students brainstorm other ways to persuade a person or audience. They might come up with ideas like offering a gift or incentive, using humor, appealing to a person’s emotions, scaring the audience into doing something, or using logic.

Show Examples and Non-Examples of Persuasive Writing

Next, we need to show examples and non-examples of persuasive writing. An argument isn’t always a good argument (as seen in the book I Wanna Iguana). Students need to see that some techniques to persuade aren’t effective.

We should also talk with students about when they might have seen examples of good persuasion and poor persuasion in their lives. Social media, magazine ads, billboards, radio ads, and commercials all use the art of persuasion. Drawing students’ attention to this will be helpful when they try to write their own persuasive essay.

Reread your mentor text and pause after each argument made in the story. Ask students if they think the argument was a convincing argument or not. Record the convincing and unconvincing arguments on an anchor chart so students can visually see all the arguments. This will help students more easily determine the difference between good and bad arguments.

Write our Own Persuasive Essays

As you can see, there are a lot of steps before students actually start writing. In order to set students up for success in creating their own persuasive essay, they need to understand what makes a good argument. Before they start writing, they need to do some planning. And before the students can do the planning, you need to model what this would look like. 

Students begin planning their persuasive essay s. In this example a student is planning to persuade their guardian to buy them a cellphone.

Draw up a sample planning page on the whiteboard or on an anchor chart and walk students through the planning process. First, start with recognizing the audience. For instance, trying to convince parents t o take you to Disneyland, or trying to convince your brother to start a paper route with you, or trying to convince your teacher to stop giving homework. Then have students plan their arguments.

After planning out the writing, students can write their rough copies. Give students time to edit their work. Finally, they can complete the good copies.

If you want to save yourself some time, I’ve created all these resources for you in my Persuasive Writing mini-unit package. There are detailed lesson plans broken down into five parts, differentiated planning pages, writing pages, a checklist to help with their editing, and evaluation pages for their writing. There is even a digital template included for distance learning or Google Classroom

Spend less time planning!

Looking for a FAST way to plan out a persuasive writing unit? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: a lesson plans, anchor chart samples, planning pages, rough and good copy student sheets, and assessment! Just print… that’s it.

Share the Persuasive Writing - Ideally, with a Real Audience

After the good copies are finished, I love giving my students a chance to share their writing with an audience. If they wrote letters, they could read the letters to the appropriate people. They could post their essays on a bulletin board for people to read. They could read their persuasive writing to their peers. I think sharing and celebrating the finished product is important!

The art of persuasion is important. Teaching persuasive writing can be time-consuming, but it’s so worth it in the end. 

Text: Authentic Ways to Teach Persuasive Writing in Third Grade Image: Text is displayed over school supplies

Elementary Assessments

51 Great Persuasive Writing Prompts for 3rd Grade

To help third graders improve upon their convincing skills, try these engaging persuasive writing prompts for 3rd grade students.

Not only do these prompts improve writing skills, but they also empower students to express their beliefs, take a stance, and think critically.

That’s why these third grade persuasive writing prompts make a great addition to your collection of writing activities.

So include in your instruction this week a handful of these persuasive writing prompts for 3rd graders.

Related: persuasive writing graphic organizers

Persuasive Writing Prompts for 3rd Grade

1. Should the class have a classroom pet? Why or why not?

2. Convince your parents to allow you to stay up late one night during the school week.

3. Do you think every lesson should incorporate a brain break? Why or why not?

4. Should virtual learning be an option from now on? Explain.

5. Convince someone why your favorite holiday is the absolute best.

6. Should families grow and raise their own food?

7. Are there really any good reasons to give homework every day?

8. What are your thoughts about having no school on Fridays?

9. Should third graders be allowed to use cell phones during school time? Why or why not?

10. Persuade your sibling to play a board game with you.

11. Children should be able to go to bed at whatever time they want.

12. Persuade your mom/dad to let you open a gift one day before your birthday.

13. What do you think about not assigning homework to students with good grades? Is doing so unfair to those with poorer grades?

14. Persuade your teacher to give class rewards every week.

15. Convince the teacher to participate in an activity with the class during recess.

16. Persuade your parents to buy you a new backpack.

17. Should the school week be shortened to four days?

18. Responding to writing prompts for 3rd graders is helpful.

19. Should smoking be illegal?

20. Convince your parents to give you an allowance for doing chores around the house.

21. Should third graders be required to learn a second language? If so, which one? If not, why not?

22. What are the pros and cons of responding to persuasive writing prompts for 3rd grade?

23. Persuade your teacher to read your favorite read-aloud book during reader’s workshop.

24. Do you think the number of hours that children watch television should be limited? Why or why not?

25. What are the pros and cons of wearing school uniforms?

26. Convince your parents to take you to a particular place.

27. Write a letter convincing your parents why you should have a new bike.

28. Pizza is better than spaghetti.

29. Make a respectful argument suggesting a change of a school rule.

30. For state testing, should third graders be required to complete a writing portion? Why or why not?

31. What is your opinion about pets in restaurants?

32. Should all students be required to learn to type? Why or why not?

33. Cooking classes should be taught in school.

34. A stretching break should be included in every lesson over 30 minutes.

35. Convince the teacher to dismiss class a few minutes earlier.

36. Teacher assistant is the best classroom helper job.

37. Animals deserve respect just as much as humans.

38. Third graders should volunteer in the local community.

39. Action figures are better than barbie dolls.

40. Hamsters make better pets than turtles. Do you agree? Why or why not?

41. Which is best…a slice of pizza or chicken nuggets?

42. Cafeteria food should be free for all students.

43. Mermaids really do exist.

44. Students should be allowed to sit in the hallway while working.

45. Everyone should have a hobby.

46. Birthday parties should be allowed at school but only during lunchtime.

47. Study skills should be taught to all students.

48. Students should drink more water than fruit juice.

49. Borrowing books is better than buying books.

50. Vanilla ice cream tastes better than strawberry.

51. Third graders should be able to sit wherever they want during a school assembly.

Final Thoughts: Persuasive Writing Prompts for 3rd Grade

Now you have an assortment of third grade persuasive writing prompts and topics to use during writer’s workshop.

Related: mentor texts that teach persuasive writing

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Praxis Core Writing

Course: praxis core writing   >   unit 1, argumentative essay | quick guide.

• Source-based essay | Quick guide
• Revision in context | Quick guide
• Within-sentence punctuation | Quick guide
• Subordination and coordination | Quick guide
• Independent and dependent Clauses | Video lesson
• Parallel structure | Quick guide
• Modifier placement | Quick guide
• Shifts in verb tense | Quick guide
• Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
• Pronoun agreement | Quick guide
• Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
• Noun agreement | Quick guide
• Frequently confused words | Quick guide
• Conventional expressions | Quick guide
• Logical comparison | Quick guide
• Concision | Quick guide
• Adjective/adverb confusion | Quick guide
• Negation | Quick guide
• Capitalization | Quick guide
• Apostrophe use | Quick guide
• Research skills | Quick guide

Argumentative essay (30 minutes)

• states or clearly implies the writer’s position or thesis
• organizes and develops ideas logically, making insightful connections between them
• clearly explains key ideas, supporting them with well-chosen reasons, examples, or details
• displays effective sentence variety
• clearly displays facility in the use of language
• is generally free from errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics
• organizes and develops ideas clearly, making connections between them
• explains key ideas, supporting them with relevant reasons, examples, or details
• displays some sentence variety
• displays facility in the use of language
• states or implies the writer’s position or thesis
• shows control in the organization and development of ideas
• explains some key ideas, supporting them with adequate reasons, examples, or details
• displays adequate use of language
• shows control of grammar, usage, and mechanics, but may display errors
• limited in stating or implying a position or thesis
• limited control in the organization and development of ideas
• inadequate reasons, examples, or details to explain key ideas
• an accumulation of errors in the use of language
• an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics
• no clear position or thesis
• weak organization or very little development
• few or no relevant reasons, examples, or details
• frequent serious errors in the use of language
• frequent serious errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics
• contains serious and persistent writing errors or
• is incoherent or
• is undeveloped or
• is off-topic

How should I build a thesis?

• (Choice A)   Kids should find role models that are worthier than celebrities because celebrities may be famous for reasons that aren't admirable. A Kids should find role models that are worthier than celebrities because celebrities may be famous for reasons that aren't admirable.
• (Choice B)   Because they profit from the admiration of youths, celebrities have a moral responsibility for the reactions their behaviors provoke in fans. B Because they profit from the admiration of youths, celebrities have a moral responsibility for the reactions their behaviors provoke in fans.
• (Choice C)   Celebrities may have more imitators than most people, but they hold no more responsibility over the example they set than the average person. C Celebrities may have more imitators than most people, but they hold no more responsibility over the example they set than the average person.
• (Choice D)   Notoriety is not always a choice, and some celebrities may not want to be role models. D Notoriety is not always a choice, and some celebrities may not want to be role models.
• (Choice E)   Parents have a moral responsibility to serve as immediate role models for their children. E Parents have a moral responsibility to serve as immediate role models for their children.

How should I support my thesis?

• (Choice A)   As basketball star Charles Barkley stated in a famous advertising campaign for Nike, he was paid to dominate on the basketball court, not to raise your kids. A As basketball star Charles Barkley stated in a famous advertising campaign for Nike, he was paid to dominate on the basketball court, not to raise your kids.
• (Choice B)   Many celebrities do consider themselves responsible for setting a good example and create non-profit organizations through which they can benefit youths. B Many celebrities do consider themselves responsible for setting a good example and create non-profit organizations through which they can benefit youths.
• (Choice C)   Many celebrities, like Kylie Jenner with her billion-dollar cosmetics company, profit directly from being imitated by fans who purchase sponsored products. C Many celebrities, like Kylie Jenner with her billion-dollar cosmetics company, profit directly from being imitated by fans who purchase sponsored products.
• (Choice D)   My ten-year-old nephew may love Drake's music, but his behaviors are more similar to those of the adults he interacts with on a daily basis, like his parents and teachers. D My ten-year-old nephew may love Drake's music, but his behaviors are more similar to those of the adults he interacts with on a daily basis, like his parents and teachers.
• (Choice E)   It's very common for young people to wear fashions similar to those of their favorite celebrities. E It's very common for young people to wear fashions similar to those of their favorite celebrities.

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Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Persuasive writing is an important skill that can seem intimidating to elementary students. This lesson encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have. A classroom game introduces students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments. Students then choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities and analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques.

Featured Resources

From theory to practice.

• Students can discover for themselves how much they already know about constructing persuasive arguments by participating in an exercise that is not intimidating.  
• Progressing from spoken to written arguments will help students become better readers of persuasive texts.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Materials and Technology

• Computers with Internet access  
• PowerPoint  
• LCD projector (optional)  
• Chart paper or chalkboard  
• Sticky notes  
• Persuasive Strategy Presentation
• Persuasion Is All Around You  
• Persuasive Strategy Definitions  
• Check the Strategies  
• Check the Strategy  
• Observations and Notes  
• Persuasive Writing Assessment

Preparation

Student objectives.

Students will

• Work in cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class  
• Gain knowledge of the different strategies that are used in effective persuasive writing  
• Use a graphic organizer to help them begin organizing their ideas into written form  
• Apply what they have learned to write a persuasive piece that expresses their stance and reasoning in a clear, logical sequence  
• Develop oral presentation skills by presenting their persuasive writing pieces to the class  
• Analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques

Session 1: The Game of Persuasion

Home/School Connection: Distribute Persuasion Is All Around You . Students are to find an example of a persuasive piece from the newspaper, television, radio, magazine, or billboards around town and be ready to report back to class during Session 2. Provide a selection of magazines or newspapers with advertisements for students who may not have materials at home. For English-language learners (ELLs), it may be helpful to show examples of advertisements and articles in newspapers and magazines.

Session 2: Analysis of an Argument

Home/School Connection: Ask students to revisit their persuasive piece from Persuasion Is All Around You . This time they will use Check the Strategies to look for the persuasive strategies that the creator of the piece incorporated. Check for understanding with your ELLs and any special needs students. It may be helpful for them to talk through their persuasive piece with you or a peer before taking it home for homework. Arrange a time for any student who may not have the opportunity to complete assignments outside of school to work with you, a volunteer, or another adult at school on the assignment.

Session 3: Persuasive Writing

Session 4: presenting the persuasive writing.

• Endangered Species: Persuasive Writing offers a way to integrate science with persuasive writing. Have students pretend that they are reporters and have to convince people to think the way they do. Have them pick issues related to endangered species, use the Persuasion Map as a prewriting exercise, and write essays trying to convince others of their points of view. In addition, the lesson “Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues” can be adapted for your students as part of this exercise.  
• Have students write persuasive arguments for a special class event, such as an educational field trip or an in-class educational movie. Reward the class by arranging for the class event suggested in one of the essays.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Compare your Observations and Notes from Session 4 and Session 1 to see if students understand the persuasive strategies, use any new persuasive strategies, seem to be overusing a strategy, or need more practice refining the use of a strategy. Offer them guidance and practice as needed.  
• Collect both homework assignments and the Check the Strategy sheets and assess how well students understand the different elements of persuasive writing and how they are applied.  
• Collect students’ Persuasion Maps and use them and your discussions during conferences to see how well students understand how to use the persuasive strategies and are able to plan their essays. You want to look also at how well they are able to make changes from the map to their finished essays.  
• Use the Persuasive Writing Assessment to evaluate the essays students wrote during Session 3.
• Calendar Activities
• Strategy Guides
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

• Print this resource

Explore Resources by Grade

• Kindergarten K

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 strong argumentative essay examples, analyzed.

General Education

Need to defend your opinion on an issue? Argumentative essays are one of the most popular types of essays you’ll write in school. They combine persuasive arguments with fact-based research, and, when done well, can be powerful tools for making someone agree with your point of view. If you’re struggling to write an argumentative essay or just want to learn more about them, seeing examples can be a big help.

After giving an overview of this type of essay, we provide three argumentative essay examples. After each essay, we explain in-depth how the essay was structured, what worked, and where the essay could be improved. We end with tips for making your own argumentative essay as strong as possible.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is an essay that uses evidence and facts to support the claim it’s making. Its purpose is to persuade the reader to agree with the argument being made.

A good argumentative essay will use facts and evidence to support the argument, rather than just the author’s thoughts and opinions. For example, say you wanted to write an argumentative essay stating that Charleston, SC is a great destination for families. You couldn’t just say that it’s a great place because you took your family there and enjoyed it. For it to be an argumentative essay, you need to have facts and data to support your argument, such as the number of child-friendly attractions in Charleston, special deals you can get with kids, and surveys of people who visited Charleston as a family and enjoyed it. The first argument is based entirely on feelings, whereas the second is based on evidence that can be proven.

The standard five paragraph format is common, but not required, for argumentative essays. These essays typically follow one of two formats: the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model.

• The Toulmin model is the most common. It begins with an introduction, follows with a thesis/claim, and gives data and evidence to support that claim. This style of essay also includes rebuttals of counterarguments.
• The Rogerian model analyzes two sides of an argument and reaches a conclusion after weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each.

3 Good Argumentative Essay Examples + Analysis

Below are three examples of argumentative essays, written by yours truly in my school days, as well as analysis of what each did well and where it could be improved.

Argumentative Essay Example 1

Proponents of this idea state that it will save local cities and towns money because libraries are expensive to maintain. They also believe it will encourage more people to read because they won’t have to travel to a library to get a book; they can simply click on what they want to read and read it from wherever they are. They could also access more materials because libraries won’t have to buy physical copies of books; they can simply rent out as many digital copies as they need.

However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets. First, digital books and resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print resources. A study done on tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets, retain 20% less information, and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the same information in print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause numerous health problems, including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye strain, at much higher instances than reading print does. People who use tablets and mobile devices excessively also have a higher incidence of more serious health issues such as fibromyalgia, shoulder and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and muscle strain. I know that whenever I read from my e-reader for too long, my eyes begin to feel tired and my neck hurts. We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people, more reasons to look at screens.

Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service libraries offer is book lending. Libraries have a multitude of benefits, and many are only available if the library has a physical location. Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to converse with their neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering patron questions, and keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, after a local library instituted community events such as play times for toddlers and parents, job fairs for teenagers, and meeting spaces for senior citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their community. Similarly, a Pew survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major impact on their community. People see libraries as a way to connect with others and get their questions answered, benefits tablets can’t offer nearly as well or as easily.

While replacing libraries with tablets may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite the myriad issues surrounding them. It would also end access to many of the benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In many areas, libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be replaced by a simple object.

The author begins by giving an overview of the counter-argument, then the thesis appears as the first sentence in the third paragraph. The essay then spends the rest of the paper dismantling the counter argument and showing why readers should believe the other side.

What this essay does well:

• Although it’s a bit unusual to have the thesis appear fairly far into the essay, it works because, once the thesis is stated, the rest of the essay focuses on supporting it since the counter-argument has already been discussed earlier in the paper.
• This essay includes numerous facts and cites studies to support its case. By having specific data to rely on, the author’s argument is stronger and readers will be more inclined to agree with it.
• For every argument the other side makes, the author makes sure to refute it and follow up with why her opinion is the stronger one. In order to make a strong argument, it’s important to dismantle the other side, which this essay does this by making the author's view appear stronger.
• This is a shorter paper, and if it needed to be expanded to meet length requirements, it could include more examples and go more into depth with them, such as by explaining specific cases where people benefited from local libraries.
• Additionally, while the paper uses lots of data, the author also mentions their own experience with using tablets. This should be removed since argumentative essays focus on facts and data to support an argument, not the author’s own opinion or experiences. Replacing that with more data on health issues associated with screen time would strengthen the essay.
• Some of the points made aren't completely accurate , particularly the one about digital books being cheaper. It actually often costs a library more money to rent out numerous digital copies of a book compared to buying a single physical copy. Make sure in your own essay you thoroughly research each of the points and rebuttals you make, otherwise you'll look like you don't know the issue that well.

Argumentative Essay Example 2

There are multiple drugs available to treat malaria, and many of them work well and save lives, but malaria eradication programs that focus too much on them and not enough on prevention haven’t seen long-term success in Sub-Saharan Africa. A major program to combat malaria was WHO’s Global Malaria Eradication Programme. Started in 1955, it had a goal of eliminating malaria in Africa within the next ten years. Based upon previously successful programs in Brazil and the United States, the program focused mainly on vector control. This included widely distributing chloroquine and spraying large amounts of DDT. More than one billion dollars was spent trying to abolish malaria. However, the program suffered from many problems and in 1969, WHO was forced to admit that the program had not succeeded in eradicating malaria. The number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa who contracted malaria as well as the number of malaria deaths had actually increased over 10% during the time the program was active.

One of the major reasons for the failure of the project was that it set uniform strategies and policies. By failing to consider variations between governments, geography, and infrastructure, the program was not nearly as successful as it could have been. Sub-Saharan Africa has neither the money nor the infrastructure to support such an elaborate program, and it couldn’t be run the way it was meant to. Most African countries don't have the resources to send all their people to doctors and get shots, nor can they afford to clear wetlands or other malaria prone areas. The continent’s spending per person for eradicating malaria was just a quarter of what Brazil spent. Sub-Saharan Africa simply can’t rely on a plan that requires more money, infrastructure, and expertise than they have to spare.

Additionally, the widespread use of chloroquine has created drug resistant parasites which are now plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa. Because chloroquine was used widely but inconsistently, mosquitoes developed resistance, and chloroquine is now nearly completely ineffective in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 95% of mosquitoes resistant to it. As a result, newer, more expensive drugs need to be used to prevent and treat malaria, which further drives up the cost of malaria treatment for a region that can ill afford it.

Instead of developing plans to treat malaria after the infection has incurred, programs should focus on preventing infection from occurring in the first place. Not only is this plan cheaper and more effective, reducing the number of people who contract malaria also reduces loss of work/school days which can further bring down the productivity of the region.

One of the cheapest and most effective ways of preventing malaria is to implement insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs).  These nets provide a protective barrier around the person or people using them. While untreated bed nets are still helpful, those treated with insecticides are much more useful because they stop mosquitoes from biting people through the nets, and they help reduce mosquito populations in a community, thus helping people who don’t even own bed nets.  Bed nets are also very effective because most mosquito bites occur while the person is sleeping, so bed nets would be able to drastically reduce the number of transmissions during the night. In fact, transmission of malaria can be reduced by as much as 90% in areas where the use of ITNs is widespread. Because money is so scarce in Sub-Saharan Africa, the low cost is a great benefit and a major reason why the program is so successful. Bed nets cost roughly 2 USD to make, last several years, and can protect two adults. Studies have shown that, for every 100-1000 more nets are being used, one less child dies of malaria. With an estimated 300 million people in Africa not being protected by mosquito nets, there’s the potential to save three million lives by spending just a few dollars per person.

Reducing the number of people who contract malaria would also reduce poverty levels in Africa significantly, thus improving other aspects of society like education levels and the economy. Vector control is more effective than treatment strategies because it means fewer people are getting sick. When fewer people get sick, the working population is stronger as a whole because people are not put out of work from malaria, nor are they caring for sick relatives. Malaria-afflicted families can typically only harvest 40% of the crops that healthy families can harvest. Additionally, a family with members who have malaria spends roughly a quarter of its income treatment, not including the loss of work they also must deal with due to the illness. It’s estimated that malaria costs Africa 12 billion USD in lost income every year. A strong working population creates a stronger economy, which Sub-Saharan Africa is in desperate need of.  

This essay begins with an introduction, which ends with the thesis (that malaria eradication plans in Sub-Saharan Africa should focus on prevention rather than treatment). The first part of the essay lays out why the counter argument (treatment rather than prevention) is not as effective, and the second part of the essay focuses on why prevention of malaria is the better path to take.

• The thesis appears early, is stated clearly, and is supported throughout the rest of the essay. This makes the argument clear for readers to understand and follow throughout the essay.
• There’s lots of solid research in this essay, including specific programs that were conducted and how successful they were, as well as specific data mentioned throughout. This evidence helps strengthen the author’s argument.
• The author makes a case for using expanding bed net use over waiting until malaria occurs and beginning treatment, but not much of a plan is given for how the bed nets would be distributed or how to ensure they’re being used properly. By going more into detail of what she believes should be done, the author would be making a stronger argument.
• The introduction of the essay does a good job of laying out the seriousness of the problem, but the conclusion is short and abrupt. Expanding it into its own paragraph would give the author a final way to convince readers of her side of the argument.

Argumentative Essay Example 3

There are many ways payments could work. They could be in the form of a free-market approach, where athletes are able to earn whatever the market is willing to pay them, it could be a set amount of money per athlete, or student athletes could earn income from endorsements, autographs, and control of their likeness, similar to the way top Olympians earn money.

Proponents of the idea believe that, because college athletes are the ones who are training, participating in games, and bringing in audiences, they should receive some sort of compensation for their work. If there were no college athletes, the NCAA wouldn’t exist, college coaches wouldn’t receive there (sometimes very high) salaries, and brands like Nike couldn’t profit from college sports. In fact, the NCAA brings in roughly $1 billion in revenue a year, but college athletes don’t receive any of that money in the form of a paycheck. Additionally, people who believe college athletes should be paid state that paying college athletes will actually encourage them to remain in college longer and not turn pro as quickly, either by giving them a way to begin earning money in college or requiring them to sign a contract stating they’ll stay at the university for a certain number of years while making an agreed-upon salary.  

Supporters of this idea point to Zion Williamson, the Duke basketball superstar, who, during his freshman year, sustained a serious knee injury. Many argued that, even if he enjoyed playing for Duke, it wasn’t worth risking another injury and ending his professional career before it even began for a program that wasn’t paying him. Williamson seems to have agreed with them and declared his eligibility for the NCAA draft later that year. If he was being paid, he may have stayed at Duke longer. In fact, roughly a third of student athletes surveyed stated that receiving a salary while in college would make them “strongly consider” remaining collegiate athletes longer before turning pro.

Paying athletes could also stop the recruitment scandals that have plagued the NCAA. In 2018, the NCAA stripped the University of Louisville's men's basketball team of its 2013 national championship title because it was discovered coaches were using sex workers to entice recruits to join the team. There have been dozens of other recruitment scandals where college athletes and recruits have been bribed with anything from having their grades changed, to getting free cars, to being straight out bribed. By paying college athletes and putting their salaries out in the open, the NCAA could end the illegal and underhanded ways some schools and coaches try to entice athletes to join.

People who argue against the idea of paying college athletes believe the practice could be disastrous for college sports. By paying athletes, they argue, they’d turn college sports into a bidding war, where only the richest schools could afford top athletes, and the majority of schools would be shut out from developing a talented team (though some argue this already happens because the best players often go to the most established college sports programs, who typically pay their coaches millions of dollars per year). It could also ruin the tight camaraderie of many college teams if players become jealous that certain teammates are making more money than they are.

They also argue that paying college athletes actually means only a small fraction would make significant money. Out of the 350 Division I athletic departments, fewer than a dozen earn any money. Nearly all the money the NCAA makes comes from men’s football and basketball, so paying college athletes would make a small group of men--who likely will be signed to pro teams and begin making millions immediately out of college--rich at the expense of other players.

Those against paying college athletes also believe that the athletes are receiving enough benefits already. The top athletes already receive scholarships that are worth tens of thousands per year, they receive free food/housing/textbooks, have access to top medical care if they are injured, receive top coaching, get travel perks and free gear, and can use their time in college as a way to capture the attention of professional recruiters. No other college students receive anywhere near as much from their schools.

People on this side also point out that, while the NCAA brings in a massive amount of money each year, it is still a non-profit organization. How? Because over 95% of those profits are redistributed to its members’ institutions in the form of scholarships, grants, conferences, support for Division II and Division III teams, and educational programs. Taking away a significant part of that revenue would hurt smaller programs that rely on that money to keep running.

While both sides have good points, it’s clear that the negatives of paying college athletes far outweigh the positives. College athletes spend a significant amount of time and energy playing for their school, but they are compensated for it by the scholarships and perks they receive. Adding a salary to that would result in a college athletic system where only a small handful of athletes (those likely to become millionaires in the professional leagues) are paid by a handful of schools who enter bidding wars to recruit them, while the majority of student athletics and college athletic programs suffer or even shut down for lack of money. Continuing to offer the current level of benefits to student athletes makes it possible for as many people to benefit from and enjoy college sports as possible.

This argumentative essay follows the Rogerian model. It discusses each side, first laying out multiple reasons people believe student athletes should be paid, then discussing reasons why the athletes shouldn’t be paid. It ends by stating that college athletes shouldn’t be paid by arguing that paying them would destroy college athletics programs and cause them to have many of the issues professional sports leagues have.

• Both sides of the argument are well developed, with multiple reasons why people agree with each side. It allows readers to get a full view of the argument and its nuances.
• Certain statements on both sides are directly rebuffed in order to show where the strengths and weaknesses of each side lie and give a more complete and sophisticated look at the argument.
• Using the Rogerian model can be tricky because oftentimes you don’t explicitly state your argument until the end of the paper. Here, the thesis doesn’t appear until the first sentence of the final paragraph. That doesn’t give readers a lot of time to be convinced that your argument is the right one, compared to a paper where the thesis is stated in the beginning and then supported throughout the paper. This paper could be strengthened if the final paragraph was expanded to more fully explain why the author supports the view, or if the paper had made it clearer that paying athletes was the weaker argument throughout.

3 Tips for Writing a Good Argumentative Essay

Now that you’ve seen examples of what good argumentative essay samples look like, follow these three tips when crafting your own essay.

#1: Make Your Thesis Crystal Clear

The thesis is the key to your argumentative essay; if it isn’t clear or readers can’t find it easily, your entire essay will be weak as a result. Always make sure that your thesis statement is easy to find. The typical spot for it is the final sentence of the introduction paragraph, but if it doesn’t fit in that spot for your essay, try to at least put it as the first or last sentence of a different paragraph so it stands out more.

Also make sure that your thesis makes clear what side of the argument you’re on. After you’ve written it, it’s a great idea to show your thesis to a couple different people--classmates are great for this. Just by reading your thesis they should be able to understand what point you’ll be trying to make with the rest of your essay.

#2: Show Why the Other Side Is Weak

When writing your essay, you may be tempted to ignore the other side of the argument and just focus on your side, but don’t do this. The best argumentative essays really tear apart the other side to show why readers shouldn’t believe it. Before you begin writing your essay, research what the other side believes, and what their strongest points are. Then, in your essay, be sure to mention each of these and use evidence to explain why they’re incorrect/weak arguments. That’ll make your essay much more effective than if you only focused on your side of the argument.

#3: Use Evidence to Support Your Side

Remember, an essay can’t be an argumentative essay if it doesn’t support its argument with evidence. For every point you make, make sure you have facts to back it up. Some examples are previous studies done on the topic, surveys of large groups of people, data points, etc. There should be lots of numbers in your argumentative essay that support your side of the argument. This will make your essay much stronger compared to only relying on your own opinions to support your argument.

Summary: Argumentative Essay Sample

Argumentative essays are persuasive essays that use facts and evidence to support their side of the argument. Most argumentative essays follow either the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model. By reading good argumentative essay examples, you can learn how to develop your essay and provide enough support to make readers agree with your opinion. When writing your essay, remember to always make your thesis clear, show where the other side is weak, and back up your opinion with data and evidence.

What's Next?

Do you need to write an argumentative essay as well? Check out our guide on the best argumentative essay topics for ideas!

You'll probably also need to write research papers for school. We've got you covered with 113 potential topics for research papers.

Your college admissions essay may end up being one of the most important essays you write. Follow our step-by-step guide on writing a personal statement to have an essay that'll impress colleges.

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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How to Introduce Argumentative Text to 3rd Graders

I love using videos to grab my students’ attention. I don’t usually use anything too long, a quick video that’s only a couple of minutes long usually does the trick.

Here’s a short free video for introducing argumentative text to third and fourth graders. (See the transcript at the bottom of the post.)

Teach the Academic Vocabulary of Argumentative Text in Meaningful Ways

Anchor charts and interactive notebooks help kids digest and organize new information. These tools give the students a strong reference with the big ideas clearly laid out.

Make sure to include the author’s purpose in writing an argumentative text as well as its structure and characteristics. You can create a large anchor chart for the wall on chart paper or create interactive mini anchor charts in their reading notebooks .

I like to do both. That way we have a large reference up at all times and the students a personal reference at their fingertips.

What do I do after introducing argumentative text?

Check out this blog post for steps and tips to help you plan an engaging and effective argumentative text unit.

Transcript of the Argumentative Text Video Above:

Hey there. Today we’re going to be talking about argumentative text.

So, what is argumentative text? 

Argumentative text is when the author writes to present an argument. Wait, argument? Does that mean that they’re fighting?

No, no. The author is not yelling on the page. An argument in argumentative text is just a claim that the author is making.

When an author writes an argumentative text they’re writing to persuade or convince the reader that their claim is correct. The author wants to persuade or convince the reader to do something think or believe something or change their mind.

Say an author wants to have a class pet. They might write an argumentative text to their teacher trying to convince her that it is a good idea.

The teacher is the author’s intended audience. That means this is who the author wants to convince.

The author then needs to make a claim. This is what the author wants the reader to believe or agree with.

Then they need to come up with some evidence. This is facts and examples that support the author’s claim.

In order for the argument to be convincing, the author needs to support his or her claim with lots of evidence. If the author uses enough good supporting evidence, they might just convince the reader to believe and agree with their claim.

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More About Argumentative Text:

What Is An Argumentative Text? How to Teach It in 3rd Grade

Free Argumentative Text Passage for 3rd Grade

How to Teach Argumentative Text to 3rd Graders

Argumentative vs Persuasive Text: What’s the Difference?

Reading Comprehension Strategies That Will Help 3rd Graders Understand Argumentative Text

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STAAR Prep: A K-5 Argumentative/Opinion Writing Strategy

As we all know here in Texas, every grade level will have an “extended constructed response” on the STAAR test this school year. This response will either be informational or argumentative and will be an “essay.” Let’s take a look at exemplars and rubrics before we dive into an argumentative/opinion writing strategy for the elementary grades.

STAAR Test Example Responses

Here are some exemplars for grades 3 and 5 (for both short and extended constructed responses) provided by TEA (Texas Education Agency). These prompts and exemplars come from the field test, and this document walks you through the scoring. I go over more information about the constructed responses, STAAR test tools, and provide a few resources in Reading Language Arts STAAR Test Resources .

STAAR Argumentative Writing Rubrics

• RLA Grades 3-5 Argumentative/Opinion Writing Rubric   (10/18/22)
• RLA Grades 3-5 Argumentative/Opinion Writing Rubric-Spanish   (10/18/22)
• RLA Grades 3-5 Informational Writing Rubric   (10/18/22)
• RLA Grades 3-5 Informational Writing Rubric-Spanish   (10/18/22)

What’s the Difference Between Short and Extended Constructive Responses?

Here are exemplars from the stand-alone field test. The 5th grade prompts and responses are for the same passage, “Steam and Sail”. The responses on the left are short constructed responses (SCR), and the one on the right is an extended constructive response (ECR). The grade 3 response is within the writing domain, not the reading domain. There are no exemplars for grades 3 and 4 to reference for ECR in the scoring guide.

How to Teach Argumentative/Opinion Writing

So, of course, there are lots of ways to teach opinion writing to elementary students. But I’m a huge fan of the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) , and I’m also a huge fan of discussion and verbal practice before beginning the writing process. That said, I’m going to walk through using GRR with some resources for teaching opinion/argumentative writing at the elementary level. This strategy is adaptable and meant to be built on over time, so the example given isn’t necessarily 5th grade, score point 5 level, but it can get students there with practice and some adapting!

Review: Fact vs. Opinion

Whether you’re teaching first grade or fifth grade, it’s always good to start with a review of the difference between fact and opinion. Here are a few resources for this.

• Florida Center for Reading Research Fact or Opinion Game
• Factile Fact vs. Opinion Game
• Teaching with a Mountain View: Four Activities to Teach Fact vs. Opinion in Upper Elementary

Talk Before You Write!

This is what I like to call, the “Speak Cycle.” Students may need to practice one or more of these steps, or the whole cycle, multiple times before moving on to writing. Speaking before writing helps students learn to organize their thoughts, look for text evidence, and also familiarizes them with proper sentence structures for opinion writing before they actually start writing. You might think, “Ok, maybe for lower elementary.” Sure, but even older students benefit from verbal practice before writing! It’s a form of rehearsal and planning.

1. Whole Group: Read the text. Discuss opinions as a class. Highlight the evidence.

Before broaching the topic of supporting evidence for an opinion, read the text and discuss opinions. Then ask students for supporting evidence. It’s much easier to talk about supporting evidence than it is to start writing about it from the get go! Here is an example text that works well for third and fourth grade from Education.com . I recommend starting with short texts and then, as stamina improves, introducing longer texts over time.

“Today, we’re going to read a text together about ___________. We’re going to discuss our opinions on ___________ based on what we read, and I’m going to highlight facts from the text to help support our opinion.” [Read the text] [Read the question] “So, what are our opinions?” [Student one offers an opinion.] “Thanks for sharing your opinion! What information in this text led you to think that?” [Highlight what the student references in the text. Repeat this with other examples.] “Ok! So, from our reading today, we formed the opinion ______. And we formed that opinion because [read off highlights of the text].”

In this practice, you are showing the students how to identify and highlight supporting evidence in the text, but this is first a verbal exercise. Start with easier texts and move to more difficult texts as students become more autonomous.

You can create your own questions, but here are a few resources that offer texts with questions for opinion writing.

• Education.com
• Ereadingworksheets.com
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

2. Small Group: Read the text. Discuss opinions with a small group. Highlight the evidence together.

This works best if you group students on similar reading levels. Give each student in the group the same short text that’s on their reading level. Read it together, discuss an opinion, and have students highlight the supporting facts with your guidance. Then, have students verbalize their opinions and reference the highlighted text evidence. Students should speak using the same sentence structures you want them to use when writing. Having these up as a visual is great for practice! This is all to get students ready to write.

• “I think…”
• “In my opinion,…”
• “I believe that…”
• “This is my opinion because…”
• “According to the text,…”
• “First, the author states…”
• “Second, I read that…”

3. Independently: Students read the text, highlight evidence, and discuss their opinion and supporting evidence with a partner or group.

Have students read a short text, think about their opinion, and highlight facts to support their opinion on their own. Students can discuss an explanation of their opinion and text evidence with a partner, or they can explain it in a small group setting. Students should still be speaking using the same sentence structures you would like them to write with.

It’s Time to Write!

Now that students are familiar with reading, forming an opinion, highlighting evidence to support their opinion, and using sentence structures verbally, it’s time to start writing. But it’s not quite time for them to write independently. First, we will model good writing for them, following a similar process to the speaking cycle.

1. Whole Group: Read the text. Highlight the evidence. Model the writing for the class.

So this step is similar to step one of the speak cycle, but instead of just discussing, you are going to be modeling the writing. Here’s one formula I like to use called, “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!,” and I’ve included an example using the video game article from the beginning of this post.

The Bread: The Introduction (2-3 sentences)

• Write one sentence to state your opinion.
• Write a second sentence introducing two main facts from the text that support your opinion.

“In my opinion, video games are harmful to kids. Video games can be unhealthy. They can also be too violent.” (Just an example! This is not necessarily reflective of my actual opinion on video games.)

The Peanut Butter : Paragraph 2 (2-3 sentences)

• Write a few sentences to support the first fact.

“According to the text, video games can be unhealthy if children play them for too long and don’t move around or exercise. This can make kids overweight and have health issue.”

The Jelly : Paragraph 3 (2-3 sentences)

• Write a few sentences to support the second fact.

“Sometimes, violence can make kids fight, and this can be harmful to friendships. Violence isn’t good for kids’ brains and can lead them to become bullies.”

The Bread: The Conclusion (2-3 sentences)

• Say your opinion – again.
• Say why your opinion is true – again.

“I believe that video games can be harmful to kids. Sitting for too long in front of the game can cause health problems and violence can lead to aggressive behavior. It’s better for kids to be active and be more positive and less violent.”

2. Partnered Writing: Students read the text together, highlight the evidence, and write with a partner.

It’s similar to the whole group exercise, except that students are practicing writing more independently with a writing partner/buddy. In this step, you can offer students graphic organizers or an outline template to help them remember all the elements of their argumentative writing. They can work together to write one essay or they can each write an essay and then review each other’s writing.

3. Independently: Read the text. Highlight the evidence. Write the essay.

At this stage, students are practicing writing on their own. They may or may not need supports like sentence starters, graphic organizers , checklists , and visuals to reference in the room. But the goal is for students to be able to produce writing that expresses their opinion in response to a text and provide text evidence to support that opinion.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

It takes a lot of time and a lot of repetitive practice. As Miguel Guhlin references in his article, Writing Strategies: Insights from a Twitter Chat , discussing, teaching sentence structures/vocabulary, and showing examples isn’t enough. Deliberate, repetitive practice, and time, are key to teaching writing.

Do you have other ideas, strategies, or resources that have worked well for you and your K-5 students when it comes to argumentative/opinion writing? Please share them with us in the chat! We’d love to hear what’s worked in your classroom.

Additional STAAR and TEKS Articles You May Find Useful

Reading Language Arts STAAR Test Resources

The K-5 ELAR TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets

The K-5 Math TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets

A Practical Strategy for Teaching Editing Skills

A Powerful and Easy Strategy for Teaching Text Evidence

Emily has been in education since 2008. Prior to joining TCEA in 2021, she worked as a preK-8 grade principal for four years. Additionally, she taught middle school music, preschool, prekindergarten, and second grade in a trilingual school setting. Before that, she was a K-8 technology integrator and taught second through fifth grade enrichment classes and kindergarten, fifth, and sixth grade technology classes. She has a master’s degree in teaching, specializing in elementary education, and her Certificate of School Management and Leadership (CSML) from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Outside of work, she enjoys seeing movies, attending concerts, going camping and hiking, and spending time with her two cats.

Writing Strategies: Insights from a Twitter Chat

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Loved the succinct info!

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101 Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids and Teens

Use your words to sway the reader.

Persuasive writing is one of those skills that can help students succeed in real life.  Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative , but they rely less on facts and more on emotion to sway the reader. It’s important to know your audience so you can anticipate any counterarguments they might make and try to overcome them. Try reading some mentor texts to show kids great examples of opinion writing. Then use these persuasive essay topics for practice.

School and Education Persuasive Essay Topics

Life and ethics persuasive essay topics, science and technology persuasive essay topics, sports and entertainment persuasive essay topics, just for fun persuasive essay topics.

• Do you think homework should be required, optional, or not given at all?

• Students should/should not be able to use their phones during the school day.
• Should schools have dress codes?
• If I could change one school rule, it would be …
• Is year-round school a good idea?
• Should we stop giving final exams?
• Is it better to be good at academics or good at sports?

• Which is better, private schools or public schools?
• Should every student have to participate in athletics?
• Do you think schools should ban junk food from their cafeterias?
• Should students be required to volunteer in their communities?
• What is the most important school subject?
• Are letter grades helpful, or should we replace them with something else?

• Is it ever OK to cheat on homework or a test?
• Should students get to grade their teachers?
• Do you think college should be free for anyone who wants to attend?
• Should schools be allowed to ban some books from their libraries?
• Which is better, book smarts or street smarts?

• Should all students have to learn a foreign language?
• Are single-gender schools better or worse for students?
• Is it OK to eat animals?
• What animal makes the best pet?
• Visit an animal shelter, choose an animal that needs a home, and write an essay persuading someone to adopt that animal.
• If you find money on the ground, should you try to find the person who lost it, or is it yours to keep?

• Who faces more peer pressure, girls or boys?
• Should all Americans be required to vote?
• Is it better to be kind or truthful?
• Which is better, giving or receiving?
• Is it OK to keep animals in zoos?
• Should we change the minimum driving age in the United States?

• Which is more important, happiness or success?
• Is democracy the best form of government?
• Is social media helpful or harmful?
• Should parents be punished for their children’s mistakes or crimes?
• Should kids have set bedtimes or just go to bed when they’re sleepy?
• Do you think the government should find a way to provide free health care for everyone?

• Is it better to save your allowance or spend it?
• Should we ban plastic bags and bottles?
• Which is better, living in the city or in the country?
• If I could make a new law, it would be …
• Is Pluto a planet?
• Should human cloning be legal?
• Should vaccines be mandatory?
• Is it right for countries to still maintain nuclear weapon arsenals?

• Should testing on animals be made illegal?
• Will expanded use of artificial intelligence be good for humanity?
• Should all people have free Internet access in their homes?
• Is there intelligent life on other planets?
• Does technology create more jobs than it eliminates?
• Should parents use their children’s cell phones to track where they are?
• Should scientists try to develop a way for people to live forever?

• What’s the best type of smartphone: Android or iPhone?
• Which is better, Macs or PCs?
• Do people rely too much on technology in the modern world?
• Should cryptocurrencies replace cash?
• Should there be a minimum age requirement to own a smartphone?
• Is it important to keep spending money on space exploration, or should we use the money for other things?

• Should kids under 13 be allowed to use social media sites?
• Should we ban cigarette smoking and vaping entirely?
• Is it better to be an animal that lives in the water or on land?
• Should kids be allowed to watch TV on school nights?
• Which is better, paper books or e-books?
• Is the current movie rating system (G, PG, PG-13, etc.) effective?
• Are video games better than board games?
• Should we allow little kids to play competitive sports?

• Which is better, reading books or watching TV?
• Does playing violent video games make people more violent in real life?
• Are graphic novels just as valuable as traditional fictional books?
• Should everyone play on the same sports teams, regardless of gender?
• Choose a book that’s been made into a movie. Which was better, the movie or the book?

• Who is the world’s best athlete, present or past?
• Are professional athletes/musicians/actors overpaid?
• Which is better, fiction or nonfiction?
• The best music genre is …
• What is one book that everyone should read?
• What new sport should be added to the Olympics?

• What’s the best video game system?
• Does playing video games make you smarter?
• Does reality TV actually depict real life?
• Should all neighborhoods have free parks and playgrounds?
• What’s the best holiday?
• The very best food of all time is …
• Which is better, artificial Christmas trees or real ones?

• What’s the best season of the year?
• Should you put ketchup on a hot dog?
• Is a taco a sandwich?
• Does fruit count as dessert?
• Should people have to go to school or work on their birthday?
• Are clowns scary or funny?
• Which is more dangerous, werewolves or vampires?

• The best pizza topping is …
• What would be the best superpower to have?
• Should everyone make their bed every day?
• Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
• Should you put pineapple on a pizza?
• Should you eat macaroni and cheese with a spoon or a fork?

• Describe the world’s best ice cream sundae.
• Is Monday the worst day of the week?
• Would you rather travel back in time or forward in time?
• Is it better to be too hot or too cold?
• Are there aliens living among us here on Earth?

What are your favorite persuasive essay topics for students? Come exchange ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out the big list of essay topics for high school (120+ ideas) ..

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STAAR ECR Argumentative Essay Practice or Assessment - A Big Dinner

• Easel Activity

Description

Give your students more ECR practice using this simple argumentative text and STAAR-like ECR essay prompt to make ECR essay writing practice easy. The reading selection is short to help students focus on writing.

You can project the slide on your smartboard or assign it to students for independent practice or a quick ECR Assessment.

Great for ECR essay writing practice in whole class instruction, small group instruction, or for intervention!

* While ECR essays answers will and should vary , I have also included a completed sample essay frame to give teachers an idea of what an ECR answer with The Importance of Eating a Balanced Dinner may look like OR as a resource for teachers to use when modeling writing an ECR essay.

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Extinction — Dinosaurs Persuasive Paper

Dinosaurs Persuasive Paper

• Categories: Dinosaur Extinction

About this sample

Words: 611 |

Published: Jun 6, 2024

Words: 611 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

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In recent years, the concept of mass extinction events has garnered increasing attention from scientists and the public alike. Elizabeth Kolbert's groundbreaking book, "The Sixth Extinction," delves into the current state of our [...]

An example of the Grande Coupure was the extinction of all European primates at the Coupure: the recent discovery (Kohler and Moya-Sola 1999) of a mouse-sized early Oligocene omomyid, reflecting the better survival chances of [...]

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