Krystin Harrington

A3
Reflection: Argument Essay
This essay was exceptionally easy for me to write, given that we had just discussed the Cold War
in Virginia/U.S. History, giving me strong evidence to draw from. Additionally, I had recently debated
teaching evolution versus creationism in schools in my Oratory & Debate class. Accordingly, I find my
evidence used to be relevant, and I believe that these details ultimately strengthen the piece. I also had a
strong opinion on the topic, which made it easy for me to crank out a five paragraph essay in 40 minutes.
Given that the essays are under time constraints, readers are asked to look at them as a rough draft and not
a completed product. In the same spirit, it is not shocking that I had a few spelling and grammar errors in
my rough draft. However, I did not edit this essay as much as others, because I quite enjoyed its content.
My initial areas of struggle consisted of actually crafting the essay. Having not written many
argument essays prior to this, I was not entirely sure of how to effectively respond to the prompt. I also
struggled in deciding which pieces of evidence I had were the strongest. I considered using the college
application process as an example, as it would be relevant to readers, i.e. peers when editing who will
inevitably be applying to college within the next year. However, I decided on little league because the
idea of everyone getting a trophy is a hot button issue right now. I also thought it would be a fun example
to contrast my two other, more scholarly examples. I received a Strong 6/ Weak 7 from Mr. Stravino on
this essay, because I failed to refer back to the prompt given. So, my edits mainly consisted of grammar
checks and making sure to keep the argument central to Kohns claim.