Write an argument with a clear thesis, a distinguished counterclaim and a conclusion that follows

Learning goal: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Establish a clear thesis statement, introduce your claim while acknowledging and distinguishing it from alternate or opposing claims, organize reasons and evidence logically, support the claim with logical reasoning and accurate, credible sources, use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion, maintain a formal style, and provide a concluding section that follows from and supports the argument.

The scenario this unit uses. Ridgeview Middle School is invented, and so is everything about it. Its paved courtyard, 40 meters by 20 meters, was closed for two years because of a drainage problem that has now been repaired. Two proposals compete for it. Proposal A is an outdoor classroom: fixed benches for 32 students and a shade canopy. Proposal B is a garden: eight raised beds, soil and a frost-proof water line. The simulated sources are: a facilities memo (budget 18,000 dollars for one project; classroom estimate 16,500; garden estimate 9,800); a student council survey (212 of 480 students responded; 123 chose the classroom, 66 the garden, 23 had no preference); a teacher survey (14 of 22 teachers said they would teach in an outdoor classroom at least twice a month in fall and spring; 5 said they would use garden beds); a science department letter (three seventh-grade sections would use the beds for a spring plant-growth investigation; nobody is assigned to water them in summer); and a garden log from a neighboring invented school, Maple Hollow (year one, all six beds planted; year two, three of six beds unplanted after summer watering was left unassigned). None of this describes a real school. Either proposal can be argued well from it.

A thesis statement presents the argument. An argument supports a claim that a reasonable reader could dispute. The thesis is the sentence that states that claim; in this unit's argument it also previews the reasons, which is not required of every thesis but helps a reader follow the organization. "The courtyard is a good space" does not work as a thesis for this task: it is too vague to argue about and does not state the recommendation the committee asked for. "Ridgeview should build the outdoor classroom because it serves more classes, fits the budget and does not depend on summer watering nobody has been assigned" is a thesis: it takes a side and tells the reader how the argument will be organized. Put it where the reader can find it, normally at the end of the introduction.

Introduce the claim, and acknowledge and distinguish the opposing claim. A grade 8 argument does not pretend the other side does not exist. To acknowledge an opposing claim is to state it fairly, in words its supporters would accept: "Some teachers prefer the garden because it is cheaper and gives science classes living material to measure." To distinguish your claim from it is to show exactly where the two part ways: not on whether the garden has value, but on whether it can be maintained. A counterclaim you have stated weakly ("some people just like plants") is easy to knock down and convinces nobody. A counterclaim you have stated at its strongest, and then answered, is the most persuasive move in the essay.

Organize the reasons and evidence logically. Order is a decision. One sound plan: introduction with thesis; the opposing claim stated fairly; reason one with its evidence and your explanation; reason two; the strongest objection to the other side; conclusion. Another sound plan puts the counterclaim last, just before the conclusion. What is not sound is a paragraph that mixes three reasons without finishing any of them, or a paragraph that repeats the thesis in new words and calls that a reason.

Support the claim with logical reasoning and relevant evidence from accurate, credible sources. A reason is a general statement of why the claim holds ("more teachers would use the classroom"). Evidence is the specific, checkable information that backs the reason ("14 of 22 teachers said they would use it at least twice a month; 5 said they would use garden beds"). Reasoning is the sentence that connects them, and it is the part students skip: "Because a space that more teachers use serves more students, the classroom serves the school better." Evidence must be relevant: the courtyard's size is a fact, but since nothing in the sources suggests either project would not fit, it does not bear on which project to choose. Sources must be accurate and credible. The teacher survey counts real responses from the people who would use the space; the student survey is credible for what it measured but has a limit that a writer who understands the topic must state: only 212 of 480 students responded, and they chose to respond, so the 58 percent describes the responders, not the school. Demonstrating understanding of the topic means using the evidence with its limits, not hiding them.

Use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion. Cohesion is the property of a text whose parts visibly connect. Words and phrases such as however, even so, for that reason, in contrast and the stronger objection is clarify the relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons and evidence. Clauses do this work too: "Although the garden costs less, cost does not settle the question, because both projects fit the budget" holds a concession, a claim and a reason in one sentence, with the relationship among them made explicit. A connector cannot manufacture logic. "The garden is cheaper; therefore it will fail" is still a leap, and a reader will see it.

Establish and maintain a formal style. Formal style means precise nouns instead of vague ones (respondents, not people), no slang (kids, way better), no intensifiers that stand in for evidence (obviously, clearly, everyone knows) and a respectful tone toward the opposing side. It does not mean long words. "Three of six beds went unplanted" is formal and plain.

Provide a concluding section that follows from and supports the argument. The conclusion restates the position in light of what has been shown, may state a bounded implication and does not introduce a new proposal the essay never supported.

Original model argument — first draft (kept as it was written, for revision).

Ridgeview should get the outdoor classroom because it is the best choice. Everybody wants it. The survey proves that students want an outdoor classroom, since 58% picked it. Also teachers would use it a lot, which is good.

The garden is cheaper, but cheaper is not always better. Gardens die. Maple Hollow's garden died. So the garden is obviously going to fail here too.

An outdoor classroom would also be really nice on sunny days, and kids could eat lunch out there, and it would look way better than a paved square. Plus the shade canopy means it will not be too hot.

In conclusion, the outdoor classroom is clearly the winner, and the school should also think about painting a mural on the courtyard wall.

What is wrong with it. The thesis ("the best choice") gives no reasons. "Everybody wants it" is contradicted by the writer's own source: 212 of 480 responded, and 66 of them chose the garden. The opposing claim is dismissed, not acknowledged: the Maple Hollow log does not say the garden died; it says three of six beds went unplanted, and it names the cause, unassigned summer watering, which is exactly the point the writer could have used. The style is informal ("kids," "way better," "obviously"). The lunch and appearance paragraph has no source. The conclusion adds a mural the essay never argued for.

Original model argument — revised draft.

Ridgeview Middle School should use its reopened courtyard for an outdoor classroom rather than a garden, because the classroom serves more classes, fits the available budget and does not depend on summer labor the school has not assigned.

Some students and teachers prefer the garden, and their reasons deserve a fair statement. The garden costs 9,800 dollars against 16,500 for the classroom, and the science department's letter explains that three seventh-grade sections would use the beds for a spring plant-growth investigation. A garden would give those sections something no bench can: living material to measure.

However, the two projects would not be used equally. In the teacher survey, 14 of the 22 respondents said they would teach in an outdoor classroom at least twice a month in fall and spring, while 5 said they would use garden beds. The student council survey points the same way: of the 212 students who answered, 123, or 58 percent, preferred the classroom. That survey has a limit. Only 212 of 480 students responded, and respondents chose to take part, so the figure describes those who answered, not the whole school. Even with that limit, both sources favor the classroom.

The garden's lower cost also does not settle the question, because the courtyard budget is 18,000 dollars for one project and both proposals fit inside it. Cost would decide the choice if one proposal exceeded the money available; here neither does, so the garden's 6,700-dollar saving is a real advantage to weigh against what the classroom offers, not a decisive one.

The stronger objection to the garden is maintenance. The science department's letter notes that no one is assigned to water the beds in summer. The Maple Hollow log shows what follows: in its second year, three of its six beds went unplanted after summer watering was left unassigned. Ridgeview could recruit summer volunteers, but that plan does not yet exist, and a proposal should be judged on the plan it has.

Therefore the outdoor classroom is the better use of the courtyard this year. More teachers would use it, the students who responded prefer it, it fits the budget and it does not depend on the summer watering no one has been assigned. If the science department later secures a watering plan, the committee could consider adding beds, which would need their own cost and layout check. That possibility is a reason to build the classroom first, not a reason to wait.

Reading the revision. The thesis now previews three reasons, and the paragraphs follow that order. The counterclaim is stated at its strongest (cheaper, and useful to science) before it is distinguished from the claim (usable only if maintained). Every number comes from a named source, and the survey's limit is stated by the writer rather than discovered by the reader. However, also, the stronger objection and therefore mark how each paragraph relates to the last. The closing sentence about beds is not a new proposal; it follows from the maintenance reasoning, is stated as a possibility with its own check still to come, and supports the argument for building the classroom first.

Worked acknowledgment and distinction: Draft sentence: "Some people want a garden, but they are wrong." This neither acknowledges the claim (it gives no reason the other side holds) nor distinguishes it (it does not say where the disagreement lies). Revision: "Supporters of the garden point to its lower cost, 9,800 dollars against 16,500, and to the science department's plan to use the beds in spring. The disagreement is not about whether the garden has value; it is about whether the school can maintain it." The revision states the opposing reasons in their own terms and then locates the exact point of difference, which is what the rest of the essay must address.

Worked reason, evidence and reasoning: Reason: the classroom would be used by more teachers. Evidence: 14 of 22 teachers surveyed said they would use an outdoor classroom at least twice a month; 5 said they would use garden beds. Reasoning: 14 of 22 is about 64 percent of the respondents and 5 of 22 is about 23 percent, so nearly three times as many teachers expect to use the classroom, and a space that more teachers use reaches more classes. Notice that the reasoning sentence does the arithmetic (14 divided by 22 is 0.636; 5 divided by 22 is 0.227) and then says why the comparison matters. Without it, the reader has two numbers and no argument.

Worked cohesion repair: Draft: "The garden is cheaper. Both projects fit the budget. Cost is not the main issue." The sentences are true but disconnected. Revision: "Although the garden is cheaper, cost does not settle the question, because both proposals fit inside the 18,000-dollar budget." The clause beginning although concedes, the main clause states the point and the clause beginning because gives the reason, so the relationship among the three ideas is on the page.

Worked conclusion check: "Therefore the school should build the classroom and also repaint the gym" fails because the gym was never argued. "Therefore the classroom is the better use of the courtyard this year; if a watering plan later exists, beds could be considered" follows from the maintenance paragraph and supports the claim. A conclusion may draw out an implication of the reasoning; it may not add a position the essay did not earn.

Planning record: Choose the classroom, the garden or a defined combination (for example, a smaller classroom plus two beds; the memo prices only the two full proposals, so a combination must be argued as conditional on new estimates of its cost and capacity, and the essay must say so). Write your thesis in one sentence that previews at least two reasons. Then complete a four-column plan: reason, exact evidence with its source, the reasoning sentence that connects them, and the limit of that evidence. In a separate row, write the opposing claim at its strongest and the single point where your claim and it part ways. Exchange plans with a partner whose job is to name one piece of evidence you have used beyond what it can show.

Independent performance: Write a 450-word argument addressed to Ridgeview's courtyard committee. Success criteria: a thesis statement that presents the argument and previews the reasons; the opposing claim acknowledged fairly and distinguished from yours; at least two reasons, each with relevant evidence from a named simulated source and a reasoning sentence; the student survey, if used, reported with its 212-of-480 limit; words, phrases and clauses that make the relationships among claim, counterclaim, reasons and evidence explicit; formal style throughout (no slang, no intensifiers in place of evidence); a concluding section that follows from the argument and adds no new proposal. Submit the first draft, the revised draft and three sentences naming what changed and why.