Putting It All Together

Some Types of “Attention Grabbers”

• Analogy – a comparison that can relate your argument to something easier to understand

• Startling Statistic – shock your readers with a number that prompts them to read further

• Anecdote – a short, emotional story that can hook the reader in

• Series of Questions – be careful not to just put your argument in the form of a question…

• Hypothetical Situation – a made-up scenario that can be related to your argument

• Quotation – a thought-provoking quote (FROM OUTSIDE THE RESEARCH) can be tied into your argument. Be sure to give the quote context.

When young children begin playing with blocks, it doesn’t take long to realize that a round peg can’t fit into a square hole, and squares don’t fit where triangles should go. No matter how hard they force the issue, they will not find success. If this is so easy for children to understand, then why are those in charge of education trying to force every student to conform to the same standards on the same test? High-pressure testing like the PSSAs and Keystones are hurting schools and students, and new measures should be adopted to more-accurately assess progress.

Paragraph #1: For many years the No Child Left Behind Act and its various changes have tried to measure success by test scores.

Explain some of the background of this issue.

Paragraph #2: One drawback of the current system is a lack of modification for those students with special needs.

Discuss evidence that supports this idea.

Paragraph #3: Supporters of the current evaluation system point to a need to compete with other countries around the world.

Discuss evidence that “shoots holes” in the other side of the argument.

Paragraph #4: The chief reason to revise the way schools and students are measured is to celebrate and reward diversity and free thought.

Discuss evidence that supports this idea.

Poet William Butler Yeats once said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” If the current system is allowed to continue, many flames of inspiration will burn out in the name of filling everyone’s pail with the same information. Special needs students, artistic students, and hands-on students must become more respected when it comes to evaluating students and schools. It is time to stop forcing every block into the same hole and instead, celebrate diversity and empower students to become individuals.

Be sure to use in-text citation for any information you got from research.

Example from an online database article with an author:In 1997 there were 42 incidents of crashes without seatbelts, while just 32 occurred in 1999 (Smith).

Example from an online database article with no author:In 1997 there were 42 incidents of crashes without seatbelts, while just 32 occurred in 1999 (“Seatbelts Are Saving Lives”).

Example from a website with no author:In 1997 there were 42 incidents of crashes without seatbelts, while just 32 occurred in 1999 (CNN.com).

When giving evidence, be sure to show how the evidence is credible!

Example: James Anderson, the president of the American Automobile Association, argued that “cars of the future will be forced to rely on alternative fuel, so we should change now” (Smith 201).

Example: According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, teens are three times more likely to be killed in a car wreck than adults (Smith 201).