3.2.

4 Practice: Plan an Argumentative Essay Practice Guide

English 8 Sem 2 Name:
Date:

Plan and organize an argumentative essay. In the essay, take a stand on a national
controversy that you find through research. Come up with a claim and back it up with
supporting reasons. Back up your supporting reasons with evidence from credible
sources, which you should also find through research. Record the information you
find. Then identify a reasonable counterargument and plan your response to it.
Finally, outline your argumentative essay to show your progress.

If you see any words listed below, write definitions for them in the space provided.
Also, if you come across a word you don't know, write it in one of the empty spaces.
Try to figure out what the word means by looking at its context. Then use your
dictionary or the internet to look up the correct definition for the word.

Key Term Definition

the supporting part of a essay or paragraph

body paragraphs

the wrap-up/ clincher

conclusion paragraph

counterargument the "other" opinion or argument from another perspective

thesis + hook
introduction paragraph
If you noticed other unfamiliar terms in this activity, use the blank rows to list them
and their definitions.

1. Describe the controversy that your essay will be about. What does each side of
the controversy argue?

does cancel culture help or destruct

Does cancel culture help spread awareness and help other open their mind and fight of
racism and other controversial topics.
Does cancel culture destruct the spread of positive awareness, and the sharing and
bonding over culture as well as breaking down people and companies over controversal
topics.

2. Start your research. Come up with at least one research question whose answer
may help settle the controversy you chose for question 1, whether you agree with it
or not.
Use annotations or note cards to take notes. When you've found the sources you're
most likely to use in your essay, use the space below to write each research
question that your sources helped answer. Then copy or write down some
bibliographic information about each source so you can find it later: the title, author,
page number, URL (web address), date, and so on. Finally, write the information
from each source that might be useful in your essay.

Research question: does cancel culture spread fear in people?

Source
https://www.madeofmillions.com/arti
cles/c-is-for-
canceled#:~:text=The%20overarching
%20feature%20of%20this,social%20is
olation%20as%20a%
https://www.verywellmind.com/
Information
The overarching feature of this theme, Cancellation OCD (C-OCD), is
that people may fear that they will commit an impulsive inappropriate
action, post something on social media that will be (mis)construed as
inappropriate, and they will face social isolation as a result.
Cancel culture doesn't just affect the canceled
and the cancelers. It can also wreak havoc on
onlookers' mental health. After seeing so many
people being canceled, some bystanders are
plagued with fear. They become overwhelmed
with anxiety that people will turn on them if they
fully express themselves.

Research question: Does cancel culture help spread awareness?

Source Information

https://www.procon. Osita Nwanevu, MPP, Staff Writer at The New Republic, states, “The
org/headlines/is- critics of cancel culture are threatened not by a new and uniquely
cancel-culture-or- powerful kind of public criticism but by a new set of critics: young
callout-culture-good- progressives, including many minorities and women who, largely
for-society/ through social media, have obtained a seat at the table where
matters of justice and etiquette are debated and are banging it loudly
to make up for a lost time.”
Research question: Is cancel culture helping or destructing communities.

Source Information
Mob mentality. A modern social justice practice. An impediment to free
speech. A platform for marginalized voices. Call it what you will. Cancel
https://www.ucf.edu/pega
culture is a concept so hotly debated that it remains in limbo, much like
sus/is-cancel-culture-
many individuals’ attitudes toward it. The one common theme everyone
effective/
seems to agree on is that cancel culture involves taking a public stance
against an individual or institution for actions considered objectionable
or offensive. But is it an effective way to hold those in positions
accountable, or is it punishment without a chance for redemption?

https://www.newportacademy.com/re
sources/mental-health/teenage-
That's why there's a link between cancel culture and mental health: Being
cancel-
canceled can lead to teen anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicidal
culture/#:~:text=That's%20why%20th
thoughts and behavior.
ere's%20a%20link,and%20suicidal%20t
houghts%20and%20behavior.

3. Write your claim. Make sure that your claim (a) takes a clear stand, (b) gives an
opinion that can be supported with evidence, and (c) is narrow enough for an essay
of about five paragraphs. Keep in mind that your claim may continue to evolve as
you do research.

cancel culture is destroying the wellness

in both minds and more of children and
elders alike.

4. Come up with at least two supporting reasons and write them below. Your
supporting reasons should (a) support your claim directly, (b) be supportable with
evidence, and (c) be different enough from one another that the same evidence
cannot easily back up two or more reasons. As with the claim, you can change your
supporting reasons as you continue to do research.

Supporting reason 1
Supporting reason 2
there's a link between cancel culture and mental health: Being canceled
can lead to teen anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts
and behavior.
Cancel culture can ultimately damage because of the
lasting effects of being canceled.

5. Write down the evidence you will use to back up the supporting reasons from
question 4. Each supporting reason should be backed up by at least one piece of
evidence, although the more evidence you have, the better.

Each piece of evidence should be an example, a quote, a fact, or a statistic that you
found in the sources you researched. If you don't have evidence for every supporting
reason, keep doing research or make changes to your supporting reasons.

"As a result, being socially ostracized, at an age when peer connections

Supporting reason 1
are incredibly important, can be devastating. Many therapists report
treating teen clients who suffered from depression, anxiety, and
suicidality for months after being canceled by peers. Teens who
experience this may struggle for years to trust themselves, to trust
others, and to feel a sense of belonging in a peer group."

Being canceled can lead to teen anxiety, depression,

trauma, and suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Cancellations can lead to social ostracism, and, at
an age when peer connections are incredibly
important, this can be devastating.
Supporting reason 2

6. State the counterargument you will respond to in your essay. In the space below,
plan your response to it and show the evidence you will use to support your
response. You may need to do more research to answer this question in detail.

How is cancel culture spreading effective awareness of

controversial topics helpful?
 • how is it spreading awareness

• what are the positive effects of cancel

culture

• how is cancel culture helping topics like

racism

7. Fill in the blanks to complete an outline of your argumentative essay. Make sure
your claim, supporting reasons, and evidence are in the right places.

1. Introduction paragraph

a. Controversy: how is cancel culture harmful

b. Claim: cancel culture is destroying the wellness in both minds and more of children and
elders alike.
2. Body paragraph 1

a. Supporting reason: there's a link between cancel culture and mental health: Being canceled can
lead to teen anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts and behavior.

b. Evidence: therapists report treating teen clients who suffered from depression, anxiety, and
suicidality for months after being canceled by peers. 

3. Body paragraph 2

a. Supporting reason: Cancel culture can ultimately damage because of the lasting effects of
being canceled. 
 b. Evidence: Being canceled can lead to teen anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts and
behavior. Cancellations can lead to social ostracism, and, at an age when peer
connections are incredibly important, this can be devastating.

4. Body paragraph 3

a. Counterargument: How is cancel culture spreading effective

awareness of controversial topics helpful?

b. Response: Cancel culture allows marginalized people to seek accountability where the justice
system fails.

c. Evidence: Canceling’ presents itself as a tool that gives a voice to the voiceless. It is without a
doubt that Cancel Culture gives the marginalized an amplified voice and a way to
challenge damaging narratives promoted by the status quo. It is not a negative
development, but rather an extremely important one. It means racist, sexist, and
bigoted remarks aren’t as acceptable as they once were.

5. Conclusion paragraph

a. Review reasons and counterargument:

For many teens, cancellation is the worst punishment imaginable, because rejection by their peer group is their
biggest fear. That's why there's a link between cancel culture and mental health. But on the other hand, Cancel
culture gives a voice to disenfranchised or less powerful people.

b. Claim: Even though cancel culture gives a voice to many and does help prevent harm to an extent it
has gotten to the point of it being just harmful and effecting people in these ways to. By
cancel culture effecting the mental health on the young it produces mental illness and
lasting harm

Use this checklist to make sure your assignment is ready to be turned in.

COMPLETION

Did you plan an argumentative essay that takes a stand on a national

controversy?

Did you follow your teacher's instructions on how to submit your assignment?

Possible Self- Teacher

QUESTIONS – 10 points score evaluation score

Did you respond to each question in the

practice guide? Does each response answer 5 5
the question clearly?

Did you respond to each question in enough

detail that your teacher can check your 5 4
progress on the assignment?

Possible Self- Teacher

CONTENT – 30 points score evaluation score

Does your claim take a clear stand and have a

7
narrow focus? Can it be supported with 7
reasons and evidence?

Do your supporting reasons back up your

claim? Are they different from one another? 7 7
Can they be supported with evidence?

Is the evidence you gathered from sources

9 8
relevant and credible?

Did you respond to a counterargument that is

7
widely held, rational, and closely related to 7
the topic of your essay?

Possible Self- Teacher

ORGANIZATION – 5 points score evaluation score

Does your outline show a clear, complete

introduction, body, and conclusion, as well as 5 5
the information that will appear in each?

TOTAL SCORE: 45 43
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3.2.4 Practice: Plan an Argumentative Essay