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.