ThelntroductoryParagraph
ThesisStatement..
Cbapter 9 I ArgumentativeEssays 147Theintroductoryparagraphofthemodelcontainsanexplanationoftheissue,which
is a necessarypartofanargumentativeessay.However,youmayalsobeginanargu-
mentativeessaywitha moreengagingintroduction-withsurprisingstatistics,for
example,orwitha dramaticstory.Forinstance,thewriterofthemodelessaycould
haveopenedwitha dramatizationoftypicalboys'andgirls'behaviorina mixed
middleschoolclass.
Ifyouwriteanattention-gettingintroduction,youmayneedtoexplaintheissue
ina secondintroductoryparagraphandwriteyourthesisstatementat theendofthis
(thesecond)paragraph.Inaneighth-gradeEnglishclassatKentMiddleSchool,thestudentsare
discussingTheDiaryofAnneFrank,writtenbya 13-year-oldJewishgirlwhile
shehidwithherfamilyinanAmsterdamatticformorethantwoyearsduringthe
Holocaust.ThegirlsintheclassidentifyeasilywithAnneandfreelysharetheir
feelingsaboutthebook.Theboys,bycontrast,snickerlorsnooze^2 "::':::'anything
toavoidrevealinganytenderfeelings.Inthenextclass,math,thedynamicis
reversed:Thegirlssitquietly,whiletheboysshoutoutanswersandraceeach
othertotheblackboardtosolvealgebraequations.Thesescenesaretypical
inmostmiddleschoolclassesintheUnitedStates.
Themiddleschoolyears(grades7 and8)areknown...Thethesisstatementinanargumentativeessaystatesclearlywhichsideyouarefor:
Curfewlawsareunfairandshouldbeabolished.Inmyopinion,stemcellresearchshouldreceivethefullsupportofourgovernment.Athesisstatementoftenmentionstheopposingpointofview. Noticethatthe
writer'sopinionisexpressedinthemain(independent)clause,andtheopposing
pointofviewis normallyputintoa subordinatestructUre.
SUBORDINATESTRUCTURE
Despitetheclaimsthatcurfewlawsarenecessarytocontroljuvenilegangs,
MAIN(INDEPENDENT)CLAUSE
curlewlawsareclearlyunconstitutional.
SUBORDINATESTRUCTURE
Althoughtherearecertainlyreasonstobecautiouswithstemcellresearch
MAIN(INDEPENDENT)CLAUSE
oranynewtechnology,I believethatitspotentialbenefitsfaroutweighits
dangers.lsnicker:laughquietlyina waythatis notnice
2snooze:sleep