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Argumentative Writing Unit

For the next three weeks, students will be focusing on the following skills:

  • Writing a strong claim.
  • Citing Evidence from Credible Sources
  • Introducing MLA citation

Language Arts students will be examining this prompt:  Should teenagers be allowed to make medical decisions regardless of what their parents or doctors might say?

Students will be using the following sources:

  • My Sister’s Keeper  film  (2009)
  • Chicago Tribune 2015 Editorial, “Saving a teen from cancer… and her own impulses.”
  • Medical Journal “What Rights Do Minors Have to Refuse Medical Treatment”
  • The Guardian 2016 article “Should children be able to give consent for medical treatment?”
  • Medical School Blog The Ethical Dilemma of Forced Chemotherapy on a Teen”
  • Academic Medical Journal: Children should be more involved in healthcare decisions that affect them.”
  • Kids Health Entry: Giving Teens a Voice in Health Care Decisions
  • New York Times article “When a Child Refuses Chemotherapy”

In preparation for this unit, students will be working on finding strong evidence (Standard 10.1),  writing a strong claim (Standard 10.2), and supporting their claim and evidence with solid reasoning.

TIMELINE* FOR Argumentative Writing Unit: 

  • Brainstorming (in-class) Thursday, November 8th
  • Outline due Monday, November 13th
  • Rough Draft (in-class) Tuesday, November 14th – Thursday, November 16th
  • Rough Draft DUE Monday, November 19th
  • Peer-Edits & Revisions Monday, November 19th and Tuesday, November 20th

Students’ argumentative essays are due November 29th – uploaded via Google Classroom.

*Of course, due dates are subject to change based on students’ progress with each step of the writing process.

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