IAE - Module Overview

Informative and Argumentative Essays

Introduction

In previous modules, you learned how to use rhetoric in order to persuade. Now, you will learn how to use rhetoric in your own writing in order to convince readers to agree with a certain point of view. Similarly, sometimes you will write essays only to inform or explain an idea or concept to readers instead of persuading. Informative writing is appropriate in several different disciplines: when historians highlight about an event occurring to a particular people group or society, when a scientist illuminates a particular disease or cure, or when an engineer pioneers a new method or process; all of these occasions use informative writing. In this module, we will review the research process including how to find and document reliable sources, how to choose and document evidence from the reliable sources to support ideas, and how to write developed paragraphs and essays with the documented evidence. You will also learn more strategies to craft both informative and persuasive pieces of writing to prepare for a variety of written communication in your future. Having the ability to communicate in an organized manner with ideas backed up by evidence will allow you to take logical, supported stances on a variety of topics and make your point clear and persuasive or thoroughly inform the reader about a certain topic.

Essential Questions

1. • Can I craft arguments that contain evidence to support my ideas when I analyze a topic or text?
   • Can I present information and evidence cited correctly, keeping in mind purpose, organization, and audience?
   • Can I use informative writing strategies to explain ideas and information clearly in a developed, analyzed, and organized way?
   • Can I research in both short and long time periods to find reliable and relevant evidence that support my claims when I answer a question to show understanding about a certain topic?

Key Terms

Argumentative (Persuasive) Essay: The goal of the persuasive essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer's point of view or recommendation.

Informative Essay: The goal of the informative essay is to educate the reader about a certain topic or define a topic, using facts, statistics, and examples.

Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other writing techniques.

Sentence Fragment: Groups of words that look like sentences, but aren't. To be a sentence, groups of words need to have at least one independent clause. An independent clause is any group of words that contain both a subject and a verb and can stand on its own.

Run-On Sentence: A sentence in which two or more independent clauses (complete sentences) are joined without an appropriate punctuation or conjunction.

Comma Splice: The incorrect use of a comma, rather than a semicolon, colon, or period, to join two independent clauses (complete sentences).

Semi-Colon: A punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.

Introduction Paragraph: The first paragraph in an essay that grabs the reader that should connect the writer's topic and ideas to a historical or current event to provide general perspective and context.

Thesis Statement: A short statement, usually one sentence appearing at the end of the introduction, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, etc., and is developed, supported, and explained in the text by means of examples and evidence.

Topic Sentence: One sentence revealing the specific topic of your paragraph— this is a broad sentence that allows for entry into subdivision of argument.

Development Sentence: Occurs after the Topic Sentence and provides a perspective on the topic that will allow for an understanding of the importance of the evidence that will follow—your opinion, thought, or idea regarding the topic.

Evidence: All words, ideas, facts or data used from another source (other than the brain) that backs up or supports the statements and opinions stated by the writer—must be cited properly.

Analysis Sentence: Explains why the evidence is important and how it connects to thesis. Do not simply restate or summarize the evidence.

Conclusion Sentence: Last sentence in the body paragraphs that carefully links the ideas that have been proven and provides the reader with some sort of critical evaluation of the overall importance of the argument.

Transition Sentence: Helps the reader see the connection between the pieces of evidence included in the paragraph. This usually can be captured as a comparison or a contrast (similarly...on the other hand...this is further supported by).

Conclusion Paragraph: Final paragraph in the essay. Do not summarize the ideas in the essay or the introduction. Provide a call to action. Give your readers something extra to think about—discuss why your points are important or what else needs to be researched.

Source Citation: The complete publication information for a source that a writer uses for evidence in an essay.

Parenthetical Documentation (In-Text Citation): The short version of the Source Citation (often the author's last name and page number) that appears in parenthesis at the end of the evidence and refers readers to the complete Source Citation in the Works Cited.

Works Cited: A list of sources that you have incorporated within your paper by using the ideas, information, and quotes of others.

Key Terms Review

Before starting an essay, you need to be familiar with the writing terminology and the rules of grammar and mechanics. Review the writing terms below:

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