Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing

Students will apply critical thinking skills to reading and writing.

12.3.W.6 Students will blend multiple modes of writing to produce effective argumentative essays.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will continue to incorporate other types of writing in their arguments to increase the effectiveness of their argument.

• Teachers will review the different modes of writing.
• Teachers will model how to incorporate different modes of writing into an argument.
• Teachers will provide opportunities for students to write arguments that can be enhanced by the use of multiple modes of writing.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on their use of other modes within their argument.

Supporting Resource

Teacher Insights

• Purdue OWL (webpage)
• Writing Modes: The Four Purposes of Writing (webpage)
• Methods of Developing Paragraphs (PDF)

• This standard is broadening the view of other writing modes by emphasizing how narrative writing and informative writing could be influential in an argument.

• Narrative writing is writing that tells a story. This writing is experiential, personal, and/or biographical.

• Just as an anecdote can be used to exemplify a reason for a claim, a narrative not only exemplifies a reason, but may engage the reader more fully with appeals to ethos and/or pathos while presenting a new perspective (a new point of view or opinion) on an issue instead of just exemplifying one point.

• Example: A student may write about his/her own immigration experience, a narrative, in order to bring to light the difficult process of applying for citizenship.

• Informative writing is nonfiction writing that contains facts and information.

• This writing mode can support evidence that appeals to ethos and/or logos.

• Example: In an argument about immigration policy, students may compare and contrast (informative mode) policies from different countries to support their opinion on a policy that the U.S. should adopt.

Activity

• Modified Why-Lighting:

• Find a text that incorporates all modes (example) and have students highlight each of the three modes of writing in a different color and then explain in the margins why they chose that mode.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.