Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The beginning first needs to grab the reader's attention. Then it introduces the topic and provides background leading up to your opinion statement. To get started with your beginning paragraph, you can experiment with different lead-writing strategies.

1. Present a startling statistic.

   According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 10 Americans had a mood disorder last year, and 21 percent will experience one during their lifetimes.

2. Open with an engaging quotation.

   “I try not to worry about the future—so I take each day just one anxiety attack at a time.” 
   ― Tom Wilson, American Cartoonist

3. Create an interesting scenario.

   Imagine that your life had a movie soundtrack. Now imagine that it was the nerve-racking soundtrack to a suspenseful movie. That's what anxiety and depression feel like.

4. Focus on causes.

   Adrenaline is great for fight-or-flight situations, when you need to energize muscles and put nerves on high alert. Adrenaline is less great when there's no threat, but you feel jittery and paranoid anyway, all the time.

Prewriting to Think About Problems

Problems are everywhere in life. You can start to think about problems by considering any aspect of life, from food to families to fun, and think about the problems that can come up in those areas. Start by consulting the Basics of Life List. This list contains all of the essentials of life—general subject areas. Pick one or two subjects that interest you. Then list problems that relate to that subject. You can click on any of these subject areas to find more resources related to it.

One student selected the subject "Personality" to write about and created a cluster to explore pain points with personality. Afterward, the student chose to write about his own struggles with anxiety, depression, and seasonal affective disorder, and the solutions he has found to help him manage his mood states.

Revising to Avoid Logical Fallacies

From the first Greek philosophers to today, thinkers have been on the lookout for specific flaws in reasoning—logical fallacies. These errors crop up constantly in advertising, political debates, and lunchroom discussions. You should learn to recognize the following forms of fuzzy logic in the thinking of others and eliminate them from your own thinking.

Logical Fallacies

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The beginning first needs to grab the reader's attention. Then it introduces the topic and provides background leading up to your position statement. To get started with your beginning paragraph, you can experiment with different lead-writing strategies.

1. Ask a provocative question.

   What if Waterford had more dining options, including exotic foods from Africa, the South Pacific, and the Middle East?

2. Provide a fascinating quotation.

   “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” 
   ― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

3. Provide a surprising fact.

   Food trucks have evolved from ice cream and hot dogs to Kobe steaks and calamari.

4. Directly address the issue.

   Most people would agree that special interest lobbies meant to restrict competition result in unfair laws—except when the topic is "food trucks."

Writing the Middle Paragraphs

Prewriting to Consider Controversies

In the warm-up to this unit, you thought about three different types of controversial positions: opinions, proposals, and hypotheses. You thought about controversies you encountered among friends, family, and teachers. In search of a topic for your argument essay, you should also consider controversies farther afield.

One student thought about the following controversial positions that he encountered at school, read about in local and national newspapers, and discovered on Google News.

Controversies

Write down one controversial position that interests you:

I'm interested in the food-truck controversy. People at school are talking about it, and the local paper had a long article about a city council meeting where the topic blew up.

What reasons do people give to support this position?

Young people want food trucks for new, affordable food options. Restaurants don't want them because of competition and parking.

Do you agree or disagree with this position? What reasons do you have?

I don't know my position yet. I like the idea of more options for eating and attracting more people to our city, but I also see the point of restaurant owners who have a big investment here. I'll have to do further research to make up my mind.

Warm-Up for Argument Writing

Not all arguments are created equal. Some involve people screaming at each other and throwing chairs. Others involve people rationally and logically analyzing an issue in order to come to an effective conclusion. When you write an argument essay, you need to do the latter, not the former. Tantrums only convince readers that you are a child. A logical argument that recognizes all sides but presents and supports a specific position can convince readers about an important issue.