Argumentation+Resource

Time for a New National Anthem
(A Draft Argumentative Essay)  Francis Scott Key was a Washington lawyer who witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British in September 1814. The fort withstood the attack, and the sight of the American flag still waving "in dawn's early light" inspired Key to write the four verses of "The Star-Spangled Banner." He set the words to the tune of an 18th-century English drinking song. Over a century later, on March 3, 1931, an act of Congress designated "The Star-Spangled Banner" as our national anthem. Ever since then, people have been complaining about both the words and the music of the anthem. Some are bothered that the first stanza ends in a question. Others are troubled by all the depressing references to war, such as "Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution." A lot of people don't even know what the lyrics are about. On top of that, the song is very difficult to sing. The low notes are too low, and the high notes are too high. For all these reasons, people have recently been talking about replacing "The Star-Spangled Banner" with a new national anthem. Many songs have been considered, but the best choice is "America the Beautiful."  "America the Beautiful" would make an excellent national anthem. Already it is very popular in our ballparks, school assemblies, and official state functions. The music is simple, dignified, and easy to sing. The lyrics celebrate our heroes, our future, and our land. The song expresses pride in America, but it is not warlike. It is idealistic, like the American people themselves.  Certainly "America the Beautiful" is more popular than "The Star-Spangled Banner." "The Star-Spangled Banner" is hard even for professional singers to sing. It has a range of 12 notes, three more than "America the Beautiful." No matter what key it starts in, it ends up going too high or too low for most people. The lyrics are all about war, and they are very confusing in places. For example, I doubt if anyone knows what these lines mean: No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave. And does anybody really believe that red rockets and bursting bombs express the true spirit of America?  Other songs have been suggested as replacements for "The Star-Spangled Banner," but clearly "America the Beautiful" is the best choice. There is "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," but that is also all about war, and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" doesn't have any lyrics to accompany it. I suppose "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is nice enough, but the British have already used the tune for their national anthem. Some people would like to see a more modern song adopted, such as "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen. But can you imagine what it would be like to start a ballgame with the line, "You end up like a dog that's been beat too much"!

Evaluating the Draft
 * 1) The introductory paragraph of "Time for a New National Anthem' is rather long. Which details in the introduction do you think should be moved to a body paragraph or eliminated altogether?
 * 2) 
 * 3) Based on your reading of the rest of the draft, revise the introduction to "Time for a New National Anthem." Feel free to delete unnecessary details and add information that you think is important.
 * 4) 
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Are you satisfied that the author of "Time for a New National Anthem" has arranged the body paragraphs clearly and logically? Briefly explain your response.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
 * 7) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Provide an overall evaluation of this draft by responding to the following questions:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is the argument convincing?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Are the main points adequately supported?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Does the conclusion emphasize the writer's central idea?
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Compare this draft with the revised version, retitled <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__"Time for an Anthem the Country Can Sing."__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Identify some of the numerous changes that have been made in the revision, and consider in what particular ways the essay has been improved as a result.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 25.2667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Time for an Anthem the Country Can Sing
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Shelby Wilson <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The music was composed as a drinking song for an 18th-century London social club. The words were written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key to commemorate a battle. And on March 3, 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner" officially became the national anthem of the United States. Ever since then, people have been complaining that the tune is unsingable and the lyrics are offensive. In response to these complaints, a bill was recently filed in Congress to replace "The Star-Spangled Banner" with "America the Beautiful" as our national anthem. For a number of reasons, this bill deserves wide support. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> "The Star-Spangled Banner" can be as painful to listen to as it is difficult to sing. Even professional singers have difficulty with its 12-note span, rumbling at "Oh! say, can you see" and screeching at "the rockets' red glare." In a way, however, such rumbles and screeches are fitting, for the lyrics are bloody, confusing, and war-stained. Does anyone really believe that red rockets and bursting bombs express the true spirit of America? And all that talk of of "the foe's haughty host," 'the gloom of the grave," and "the war's desolation" is far from being rousing and inspirational. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Over the years, other songs have been recommended as replacements, but most of these are just as inappropriate as the present anthem. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," for instance, is also a war tune, and John Philip Sousa's stirring march "The Stars and Stripes Forever" has no lyrics at all. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is sweet and dignified, but the music belongs to the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen." And finally, among recent contenders, Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." has a terrific beat, but its lyrics are better suited to a requiem than to an anthem. Just imagine how disconcerting it would be to start a ball game with the line, "You end up like a dog that's been beat too much." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Clearly, "America the Beautiful" deserves to be our national anthem. For years now, it has been gaining popularity in school assemblies, at official state functions, and even in our ball parks. The music is simple, dignified, and--most important--easy to sing. The lyrics celebrate our history ("O beautiful for pilgrim feet . . ."), our land ("For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain"), our heroes ("Who more than self their country loved"), and our future ("That sees beyond the years"). It is proud but not warlike, idealistic without sounding silly. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Oh! say, it's time "The Star-Spangled Banner" was put to rest. Surely our flag will continue to wave "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave" without benefit of this windy tune. Let us have a national anthem that the whole country can sing. Let us sing, with pride, "America the Beautiful."


 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dieting makes people fat.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Romantic love is a poor basis for marriage.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All citizens should be required by law to vote.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All forms of government welfare should be abolished.
 * 7) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.
 * 8) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.
 * 9) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.
 * 10) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
 * 11) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People have become overly dependent on technology.
 * 12) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Censorship is sometimes justified.
 * 13) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Privacy is not the most important right.
 * 14) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense.
 * 15) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The lost art of letter-writing deserves to be revived.
 * 16) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Government and military personnel should have the right to strike.
 * 17) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most study-abroad programs should be renamed "party abroad": they are a waste of time and money
 * 18) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The continuing decline of CD sales along with the rapid growth of music downloads signals a new era of innovation in popular music.
 * 19) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">College students should have complete freedom to choose their own courses.
 * 20) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The solution to the impending crisis in Social Security is the immediate elimination of this anachronistic government program.
 * 21) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
 * 22) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce.
 * 23) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Financial incentives should be offered to high school students who perform well on standardized tests.
 * 24) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All students in high school and college should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language.
 * 25) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">College students in the U.S. should be offered financial incentives to graduate in three years rather than four.
 * 26) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">College athletes should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.
 * 27) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.
 * 28) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students should not be required to take physical education courses.
 * 29) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To conserve fuel and save lives, the 55 miles-per-hour national speed limit should be restored.
 * 30) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All citizens under the age of 21 should be required to pass a driving education course before receiving a license to drive.
 * 31) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Any student caught cheating on an examination should be automatically dismissed from college.
 * 32) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.
 * 33) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students should not be penalized for illegally downloading music, movies, or other protected content.
 * 34) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Government financial aid for students should be based solely on merit.
 * 35) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nontraditional students should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.
 * 36) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People who contribute to Social Security should have the right to choose how their money is invested.
 * 37) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Professional baseball players convicted of using performance-enhancing drugs should not be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
 * 38) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Any citizen who does not have a criminal record should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 25.2667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Exploring an Issue
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you have listed several possible topics, select one that appeals to you, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__freewrite__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> on this issue for ten or fifteen minutes. Put down some background information, your own views on the subject, and any opinions you have heard from others. You might then want to join a few other students in a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__brainstorming__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> session: invite ideas on both sides of each issue you consider, and list them in separate columns.



<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Focusing an argument begins with taking a clear stand on the issue. See if you can express your point of view in a one-sentence proposal, such as the following: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, as you gather more information and develop your argument, you're quite likely to reword your proposal or even change your position on the issue. For now, though, this simple proposal statement will guide you in planning your approach.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students should (or should not) be required to pay for a campus parking permit.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S. citizens should (or should not) be allowed to cast their ballots online in all local, state, and national elections.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cell phones should (or should not) be banned in all classrooms.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 25.2667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Planning an Argument
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Planning the argument means deciding on the three or four points that best support your proposal. You may find these points in the lists you have already drawn up, or you may combine certain points from these lists to form new ones. Compare the points below with the ones given earlier on the issue of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__required physical-education courses__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Proposal: Students should not be required to take physical-education courses. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Notice how the writer has drawn on both of his original lists, "pro" and "con," to develop this three-point plan. Likewise, you may support a proposal by arguing against an opposing view as well as by arguing for your own. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As you draw up your list of key arguments, start thinking ahead to the next step, in which you must support each of these observations with specific facts and examples. In other words, you must be prepared to prove your points. If you're not ready to do that, you should explore your topic further, perhaps in a follow-up brainstorming session, before researching your topic online or in the library. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Remember that feeling strongly about an issue does not automatically enable you to argue about it effectively. You need to be able to back up your points clearly and convincingly with up-to-date, accurate information.
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although physical fitness is important for everyone, it can be achieved better through extracurricular activities than in required physical-education courses.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Grades in physical-education courses may have a harmful effect on the GPAs of students who are academically strong but physically challenged.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For students who are not athletically inclined, physical-education courses can be humiliating and even dangerous.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nordquist, Richard. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 19.95px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Preparing An Argument Essay__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. 2012 About.com. November 7, 2012 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 19.95px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><http://grammar.about.com/od/arguingeffectively/a/both_sides.htm>.