(* One Way to) Write an Effective _____________ Paragraph: Or, How to Win the Mock Trial

1. (*One Way to) Write an Effective _____________ Paragraph: Or, How to Win the Mock Trial

2. Arguments • We are practicing argumentative writing, which requires taking a _____, _____look at a text and then logically explaining your opinion to others.

3. Argument Essay Writing, Shmoop

4. GetReadytoColor Your World!(by underlining your writing) • RED is for the _____. • ORANGE is for _____ • GREEN is for _____. • BLUE is for _____. • PURPLE is for a _____.

5. Step 1: _____the Prompt • What are you being asked to do? • What is the topic? Identify the _____! • What _____will you need to apply? • What _____ strategy will help best? (Outline, Venn Diagram, Cluster Map, Etc.)

6. Step 2: Claim • The formula for an argumentative claim: topic + _____ = claim

7. A good argumentative claim is _________– it is NOT a fact that everyone accepts to be true. • It reuses keywords from the _____. • It can be the ___________(main idea of a single paragraph) • OR it can be the ___________ that controls the main idea of an essay (a multi-paragraph piece of writing).

8. Basic Claim Examples: • The “______” of a claim can be as short as three words: Spongebob is annoying. Spinach is delicious. Math is fascinating. Skeletons are creepy. He is guilty. Others? ____________

9. Are these good claims? • Apples are nutritious. Yes or No • Christmas is celebrated on December 25. Yes or No • Cheerleading is a sport. Yes or No

10. Next, Build on the Claim Formula:*“Fatten up” the skeleton with more ______to give more ______.

11. “Fattened Up” Claim Example: Juror 8 is _________. In Reginald Rose’s play Twelve Angry Men, Juror 8, a man who stands for his beliefs during jury deliberations, is a hero who is ___________and admirable.

12. Court ________ In a court of law, for example, the _________and the ________have opposing claims. Your Honor, my client is an innocent man, so the jury should find him “not guilty!” The defendant is, indeed, guilty of the crime and should be convicted and brought to justice!

13. -My client is innocent. (___________) Your Honor, my client is an innocent man, so the jury should find him “not guilty!” -The defendant is guilty. (___________) The defendant is, indeed, guilty of the crime and should be convicted and brought to justice!

14. Claim Practice: • Watch the first 90 seconds and last 90 seconds of the 1932 Disney short film “The Three Little Pigs”: • What claims can you make about the third pig?

16. Claim Example In the Disney short film “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very ________.

17. Step 3: EVIDENCE • This is the _____ that will convince the jury that they should side with you. • Evidence comes from the ______– it does NOT contain opinion. • It must directly support the wording of the claim (be on _______).

18. Evidence Should Be: • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________

19. “________ A” • In court, lawyers present evidence to prove their case. • For example: “The defendant’s fingerprint is on the murder weapon.”

20. Types of Evidence • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________ • ________

21. Evidence Practice: • What evidence from “The Three Little Pigs” proves that the third pig is wise?

22. Example of Evidence: For example, he ________ to build his house out of sturdy _______, stating, “I have no chance to sing and dance for work and play don’t mix.” His brothers, however, use easier methods such as tossing ________ and messily arranging ______in order to have more free time to entertain themselves.

23. Transitions • All effective writing needs transitions. • Transitions _______ideas and make them flow, showing their _______. (cause/effect, chronological, etc.) • Writing without transitions is _______ and sounds unsophisticated.

24. EvidenceTransitions: • For ________,… • For instance,… • As stated in the text,… • In ________,… • ________to the text,… • The character says, “… • An example of this is…

25. Step 4: REASONING Reasoning comes from your _____, NOT from the text. It includes: • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________

26. What?Vs. ____ What?!! • It does NOT simply list or _______what you have read. • It requires 20% ______ and 80% ______.

27. An effective argument contains at least ____ times more reasoning thanevidence. :

28. Evidence vs. Reasoning: Reasoning: Evidence:

29. Reasoning may take 2-4 sentences in order to _____ how the _____supports the ______. • It requires the use of ______, not simply restating the _______.

30. Reasoning Transitions: • This ______that… • This ______that… • This ______that… • This is important _______… • The reader can ________that… • ________,…

31. Reasoning Transitions (cont’d): • Because of this,… • ______,… • _______,… • This means that… • To ______,… • For this reason,…

32. Evaluate this girl’s argument:What claim is this little girl making?What is her evidence? Is it credible?Does her reasoning use sound, logical sense?

33. “Beat them to the ______” • Acknowledging a _________ (or counterargument) in your reasoningcan often undercut opposing viewpoints.

35. Lawyer _________ • In court, lawyers may ______the same piece of evidence in different ways to support their opposing claims. • This can be called “putting your own spin on it.” • “8 Defences For Disney Villains If They Were Represented By Lawyers.” http://www.tickld.com/x/disney-villains-defended-by-lawyers

36. Reasoning “The Fingerprint” Evidence Prosecution: “The presence of the defendant’s fingerprint on the murder weapon proves that he was the one who pulled the trigger; _______, you, the jury, should convict him of this crime.” Defense: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client’s fingerprint was indeed on the murder weapon but for a _______ reason – the real murderer asked the defendant to unjam his gun at the firing range the previous day, framing my client for the crime!”

37. Thinking Like a Lawyer, Texas A & M School of Law

38. Reasoning Practice: • _______why the fact that the third little pig built his house out of brickmakes him wise?

39. Example of Reasoning: It is _________ that the wolf is unable to blow down the brick house because it demonstrates the _____ that hard work pays off: building a brick house took more time and effort, but the ________ is his safety from an evildoer. This shows that the third pig is _________ than his brothers, whose homes were destroyed (and they themselves almost eaten) by the wolf as a direct result of making __________ decisions.

40. Step 5: ____________SENTENCE • A concluding sentence “wraps up” the paragraph by ___________the claim, explaining a theme or lesson, giving a _______________, etc. • Not all paragraphs need a concluding sentence, but they can add a ________, ________ tone to your writing.

41. Example Concluding Sentence: In the end,the third pig __________the “big, bad wolf” and saves his brothers, proving that he is, indeed, _______.

42. Now let’s put the pieces of “The Three Little Pigs”argumentative ________ together:

43. In the Disney short film “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. For example, he laborsto build his house out of sturdy brick, stating, “I have no chance to sing and dance for work and play don’t mix.” His brothers, however, use easier methods such as tossing straw and messily arranging sticks in order to have more free time to entertain themselves.It is important that the wolf is unable to blow down the brick house because it demonstrates the lesson that hard work pays off: building a brick house took more time and effort, but the reward is his safety from an evildoer. This shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, whose homes were destroyed (and they themselves almost eaten) by the wolf as a direct result of making foolish decisions. In the end,the third pig outsmarts the “big, bad wolf” and saves his brothers, proving that he is, indeed, wise.

44. Practice: What claims can you make about Bart Simpson?

45. As a cartoon character, Bart Simpson is a bad role model for children. According to the article “Well, Eat My Shorts: The Simpson at 25” (pressreader.com), “The name Bart was chosen because it is an anagram of ‘brat.’” This shows that the show’s creators intended for Bart to have disrespectful behavior. For example, one of the most alarming figures of Bart’s poor attitude is the outrageous number of times he has told adults, “Eat my shorts,” a phrase that means something similar to “kiss my butt.” This demonstrates his lack of respect for authority by not only disobeying them but also putting them down. It also suggests that Bart feels superior to those who raise and teach him, further emphasizing his failure to be a cooperative, disciplined child. Such displays of defiance are often copied by young impressionable viewers; therefore, parents should use discretion about allowing their children to watch The Simpsons.

46. OJ Simpson closing defense argument

47. Legally Blonde Cross-Examination

48. Law and Order Closing Arguments

49. Now Apply What You Have Learned to “People vs. Dixon”:

50. Claim: (Transition), Evidence: (Transition), Reasoning: (Transition), Concluding: