Teach ESL Students How to Write Arguments
This critical thinking lesson teaches students how to write thoughtful and well argued ideas that involve judgments. The focus is to help students understand the role and importance of warrants. Often, these short sentences create a logical connection between claims and evidence. Knowing how to create warrants and use them in a text is one strategy that can greatly improve the clarity and persuasiveness of student writing.
This ESL writing activity is based on work by George Hillocks Jr and his lesson plan in the book, Teaching Argument Writing.
The English Writing Lesson Plan
Step 1 (5 min)
Outline purpose of lesson: to develop an intelligent argument about what makes a good leader by creating criteria and gathering evidence.
Step 2 (10 min)
Look at the picture. It is an image by James Gillray of a prince (later to become King George 4th of the UK, 1820-1830). The name of the painting is A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion.
Voluptuary is a person whose main purpose in life is enjoying luxury and every kind of pleasure.
Ask these questions:
- What do you think about the man in the painting?
- The artist is trying to say something about the prince. What is that argument?
- Which parts of the painting give us that image?
Step 3 (15 min)
Point out that the prince in the picture later became the King of the UK.
- Ask the question: what makes a good leader of a country? It might be a king, a president or a prime minister.
Begin with a teacher-led class discussion. Teach the concept of criterion (a standard on which a judgment or decision may be based).
Make notes on the board of good criteria. Once students get the idea of developing clear criteria, move to pair work discussion. Ask each pair to develop a list of 5-7 criteria that can be used to decide if a person is a good leader.
Eventually, the class might come up with a list of criteria that looks something like this:
- act morally
- be effective
- look good
- be a role model
- manage money well
Step 4 (20 min)
The purpose of this step is to connect Parts 2 and 3 and make arguments about the prince in the picture. The objective is to get students to take the broad criteria and apply it in an analysis of one person (i.e. the prince)
The key point of the task is to make an argument by starting with a criterion, then establish a claim, provide evidence and create a warrant that connects the evidence and the claim. In other words, build a proper and convincing argument.
Here is an (modified) example from the Hillocks book:
- Question: What are some characteristics of a good leader?
- Criterion: A good leader should be a good money manager.
- Claim: The prince is not a good money manager.
- Evidence: There is a book called Debts of Honour, which is really a book with his gambling debts.
- Warrant: Anyone who has lots of gambling debt is probably not a good money manager. Everyone, including gamblers, knows that people lose money when they gamble.
Run through the example with the whole class. Then divide into small groups or pairs. Ask each small group to create similar arguments with the other criteria. If time is short, assign each group a different criterion. Ask early finishers to work on additional criteria.
Step 5 (10 min)
Review all criteria and arguments together with whole class. Make notes on board that connect criterion – claim – evidence – warrant.
Step 6 (30-50 min)
Students will now apply this knowledge in a writing assignment.
- Task: Think of a leader. Evaluate that person’s leadership based on the criteria developed in class. Write full arguments with 2-4 criteria, claims, evidence and warrants.
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