160 ❯ STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High
How Should I Go About Writing My Argument?
We invite you to compose an argumentative essay based on the following prompt. We will
take you through the prewriting process.
In a recent USA Today op-ed piece, titled “Poor Suffer from Lack of Internet Access,”
Julianne Malveaux stated, “While the Internet has hardly caused the gap between the
[lower and higher rungs on the economic ladder], it is one of the many things that have
made the gap greater.”
—( Julianne Malveaux, USA Today, June 22, 2001)
In an effective, well-organized essay, defend, challenge, or qualify Ms. Malveaux’s
assertion.The Planning/Prewriting Process
What follows is an example of the prewriting process that addresses the given prompt.- Reread the prompt and highlight important terms, ideas, etc.
- Take a position. Defend “it is one of the many things that have made the gap greater.”
- My topic is: Internet is one cause of the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.
- My thesis statement is: I agree with Julianne Malveaux when she states that access to the
Internet has widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots. - I will develop my argument using:
— personal anecdote
— specific examples of the gap (at least three)
— statistics and facts that I can remember from the news, and other sources - The specifics I will use to support my assertion are:
(Make certain examples are introduced, discussed, and linked to my thesis.) - I will use the inductive technique to develop my argument.
- I will end my argument with the image of a single child with her nose against a window
peering into a room filled with children using computers. The child outside is not alone.
Behind her are many, many others, and they all look as if they are growing more and
more anxious and angry at being left outside.
This planning took about 10 to 12 minutes to develop. Based on this planning, writing
the essay is easy. As a class assignment or as personal practice, you would:
- Write your first draft
- Have the initial argument checklist completed by one of your peers
- Complete your second draft
- Complete the revision activity either by yourself or with a member of your peer reading
group
If you have practiced this process throughout the year or semester, when the AP English
Language exam rolls around, you will find this kind of writing second nature to you.
Rapid Review
- Argument can be ethical, emotional, or logical.
- Inductive reasoning forms generalizations.
- Deductive reasoning reaches conclusions based on given premises.
- A premise is a proven proposition or one that is taken for granted.