A Simple Way to Get Students Writing Nuanced Argumentative Essays

             In this English Journal article, Elizabeth Brockman (Central Michigan University) says that secondary-school writing prompts often train students to write one-sided essays. For example:

-   Was Congress right to enact Title IX?

-   Are teens addicted to their digital devices?

-   Is the American Dream still possible?

“Students are typically rewarded for taking a firm yes-or-no stand,” says Brockman, “… and then supporting it with credible evidence, along with a respectful nod to the opposing view.” One middle-school teacher told students, “No fence-sitting!”

            Brockman believes this approach does students a disservice because it teaches them to think in slanted, all-or-nothing terms, reinforcing negative societal norms. She quotes writing expert Joseph Harris: “We live in a culture prone to naming winners and losers, rights and wrongs. You’re in or out, hot or not, on the bus or off it.” Being trained in this mindset, says Brockman, is not the best preparation for living in a complex, diverse, conflict-ridden world.

The solution, she believes, is steering students toward writing argumentative essays that are convincing and defensible but also nuanced. This can be done by adding just three words – To what extent… – to writing prompts:

-   To what extent was Congress right to enact Title IX?

-   To what extent are teens addicted to their digital devices?

-   To what extent is the American Dream still possible?

“This small, but robust, editorial change,” says Brockman, citing several classroom examples, “has the potential to change the outcome of students’ writing. Why? Because the phrase is an articulation that the topic at hand is not only debatable and defensible but also complex and multifaceted and, therefore, worthy of nuance. In so doing, ELA teachers have the power to guide all students – no matter their ability and confidence level – to take intellectual risks and to participate in more fully informed civil discourse.”

 

“Reframing Writing Prompts to Foster Nuanced Arguments: To What Extent?” by Elizabeth Brockman in English Journal, July 2020 (Vol. 109, #6, pp. 37-44); Brockman can be reached at brock1em@cmich.edu.

(Please Note: The summary above is reprinted with permission from issue #851 of 

The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.)