Argument Writing HL

“Speak Up or Stand By?,” pages 30-31

April 2018
READING AND WRITING MAGAZINE
POWER FOR TEENS

Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________

Write an Argument Essay

In an argument essay, you express an opinion and try to convince readers to agree with
you. Follow the steps below to write a strong argument essay.

STEP 1: DECIDE WHAT YOU THINK

Consider the debate question: Should you speak up when you see someone being teased?

Check the box next to the point of view you will support in your essay.
Yes! If you don’t speak up, it will keep happening.
No! It’s better to quietly support the person being teased.

STEP 2: WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE

The topic sentence tells readers what your essay will be about. It should clearly and strongly state the
opinion you expressed in Step 1.
Standing by and handling the situation quietly is the best way to
Your topic sentence:
support Jonah.

STEP 3: SUMMARIZE THE ISSUE

Tell readers a bit about the issue. Don’t focus on your point of view. Explain the issue as a whole.

Your summary of the issue:

The new kid at the school, the victim, Jonah, is getting bullied by the bully, Brandon.
Chris, Sophie, and the other students and classmates are bystanders. Chris and Sophie
have to make a decision, should they stand up for Jonah, or handle the situation quietly.
Brandon has to be stopped and Jonah is almost certainly stressed since he moved
schools. Jonah being bullied only makes his stress levels higher. But what is bullying?
Bullying is where someone is rude or mean to someone else in a repetitive fashion.
Bullying can be online, physical, or verbal. Bullies are usually "bigger" or "stronger" or
"more popular" than the victim. Being bullied makes the victim feel lonely, sad or
disliked. Bottom line: people don't like getting bullied.

Continued on next page →

©2018 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO THEIR STUDENTS.
 Argument Writing HL
“Speak Up or Stand By?,” pages 30-31
April 2018
READING AND WRITING MAGAZINE
POWER FOR TEENS

Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________

Write an Argument Essay (continued)

STEP 4: SUPPORT YOUR OPINION
Write three reasons or pieces of evidence that help make your point.

1. If they stood up for Jonah, they might be Brandon's next target.

2. If they stood up, they would draw more attention to the bullying.

3. Bullies feed off of attention

STEP 5: MENTION THE OTHER SIDE

Why might someone disagree with you on this issue? Write one reason someone might give to support
the other side of the argument. Then explain why you think that reason is weak or wrong.

Argument for the other side: Standing up for Jonah is a good choice and would stop
Brandon from bullying Jonah

BUT, you could be bullied next.

Reason that argument is weak or wrong:

STEP 6: WRITE A CONCLUSION

This is the last paragraph of your essay. Write a few sentences that remind readers of your main points.
Clearly, handling the situation quietly is the right idea. Be nice to the bully and give him a
friend. Bringing attention to bullying is a bad choice. Chris' idea is obviously the right
one. Besides, do you want to be Brandon's next target?

©2018 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO THEIR STUDENTS.