Attention Grabber

Strategies for Argument Essay

 1. The Outside Connection
 2. The Global Statement
 3. Using a Quote
 4. An Anecdote
 5. Straw Man
What about using a Question?
 DON’T DO THIS - EVER!
 Usually the question is not answered
 Could be a trap for using 2nd person
 Ex: Have you ever wondered what it
would be like to be lonely?
 Also, do not use a command:
Imagine, being the only one left on
earth.
 Also avoid Sweeping Generalizations
as openings: Throughout history,
people have been oppressed.
Strategy #1:
The Outside Connection
 Starts with broad statement about a
theme/idea/analogy that relates to your
thesis
 Give example from literature, author’s
life, or other history or scientific source
that relates to this theme.
 Don’t connect to pop culture or
anything that seems out of character
 Transition into your thesis clearly to
avoid confusing the reader.
The Outside Connection
Example:
A locust swarm only truly begins when just
Broad Theme one gets hungry. A single specimen will release a
pheromone that spreads like fire throughout every
locust in a radius of miles and thus the nightmarish,
omnivorous swarm begins, devouring everything in
sight. The same can be said of human beings; people
mimic each other, taking cues from others actions,
Transition justifying their own crimes with the sins of others. Culture
is, in the end, a set of rules, and a game won by those
Those who understand the
who know how to play.
social rules of a group will fit in the best because
Thesis conformity invariably leads to acceptance and
humans are naturally sound animals who will
develop systems to regulate each other’s behavior.
Strategy #2:
Global Statement
 Start with a broad statement and
then narrow toward your thesis.
 Similar setup to Outside Connection.
 Very versatile – works in a variety of
situations.
 Don’t be too broad or
vague/Sweeping Generalizations
Global Statement
Example:
Every society has a set of rules
Broad in which it governs itself by.
To belong, one often has to look, act, or talk a
Narrowing particular way. In order to take part in societal
norms and customs, therefore, one must
proverbially “adapt or die.” Many great works of
More literature have explored this need to conform to
Narrowing society in order to belong. However, as works like
Jane Eyre, Hamlet and Beowulf show, while
unspoken rules may facilitate acceptance into
Thesis society and increase one’s chances of belonging,
nobody can ever completely “fit in.”
Strategy #3:
Using a Quote

 Always include a lead-in (TLQ) into

the quote as well as cite the speaker.
 Avoid quoting the passage(s) that
the essay will be about – quote a
famous speaker or another novel.
Using a Quote Example (from a Q2
essay): The winsome Transcendentalist, Emerson once
Lead bemused, “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
into Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet
Quote Letter seems to meet both criteria. In a Puritan age,
when worshipping idols could be punishable by death,
the very minister who preaches the same convictions is
Transition
idolized himself by the community. At the end of the
novel, Hawthorne illustrates both the irony of
Dimmesdale’s fandom and the hypocrisy in the society
of which he is apart. This irony is revealed through
Thesis juxtaposition and particular choices of diction.
Strategy #4:
Anecdote
 A brief story that relates to your
thesis, no more than a few
sentences.
 No second person
Using an Anecdote
Example:
In American culture and society
today, people are categorized in
different groups based on their social
status or ethnic background.
Anecdote
In a high school setting, for example, students
befriend other students based on their
similarities, whether they are nerds or athletes.
These students are attracted to each other as a
result of some invisible, unspoken force.
One, therefore, only truly belongs to a group once
Thesis he or she understand the unspoken rules that exists
within that group.
Anecdote/Broad opening statement
Example:
In the end, it will not be the basketball player or the
wrestler that allows America to maintain its position of
technological and scholarly achievement in the world, but,
as Fridman tells us, the “nerd”. Indeed, the great society
which allows for the tremendous fame of athletes and other
pop-culture icons to be perpetuated is built upon the backs
of nerds. The term “geek” in itself is derogatory as we
now equate a drive and determination to learn with “an
outcast street-performer.” As Fridman articulates, “enough
is enough.” Fridman develops his argument for the return
of the geek and the end of American anti-intellectual
sentiment through classical appeals and comparisons.
 Strategy #5:
Straw Man

Begin with an idea

that is the opposite of
your true position.

Then prove it wrong.

 Be sure to clearly transition from

the false idea to your true position!
Using Straw Man
Example:
People hear a great deal about divorce’s
False disastrous impact on children. They are
bombarded with advice on how to make
divorce as painless as possible for their
offspring, and numerous heartbreaking stories
about the confused, grieving children of
False divorced parents abound. Little attention has
To been paid, however, to a different effect that
True divorce may have on young people, for
children of divorced parents may become
skilled manipulators, playing off one parent
against the other, worsening an already painful
situation……
What other type of AP essay might this work well for????
PROMPT: In 2001 The American Scholar published an excerpt
from a talk given by English author Margaret Drabble. In her
talk, Drabble claimed that “Our desire to conform is greater
than our respect for objective facts.” Using appropriate
evidence from your reading, observation, and/or experience,
write a carefully reasoned essay defending, challenging, or
qualifying Drabble’s assertion about conformity.
Thesis: Like Margaret Drabble in her 2001 talk published in
The American Scholar believes, people will often disregard the
truth or common sense as a way to conform to society so they
will not be shamed as an outcast and will also appear more
“likeable” by their peers.
 Humans are social creatures that
have a desire to fit in and belong to a
group. Because of this, people will often
change their behaviors or appearances
to fit in with certain groups that they
want to belong to. However, like
Margaret Drabble in her 2001 talk
published in The American Scholar
believes, people will often disregard the
truth or common sense as a way to
conform to society so they will not be