Argumentative Essay Notes

Identify the subject and the argument within the prompt.
Example: "Develop an argument about whether the expanded powers of the national government benefits or hinders policymaking."
- Subject: Expanded powers of the national government.
- Argument: Whether that benefits or hinders policymaking.
Underline and mark the subject and argument to ensure understanding.

Brainstorm and write down potential pieces of specific evidence to address the prompt.
Consider the documents provided and how they might provide evidence for an argument.
Example:
- Articles of Confederation: Weakness of the central government hindered policymaking.
- Brutus No. 1: A large republic will keep people from knowing their representatives and vice versa.
- Federalist No. 10: Competition of factions.
Jot down additional evidence not on the list, such as: fiscal federalism, Federalist No. 70.
Having more evidence than needed is beneficial.

The thesis should be at the beginning or end of the essay.
Make an argument and be specific with your evidence.
Example: "The expanded powers of the national government benefit policymaking because of the strength of the Constitution, the increase of cooperative federalism, and the advantages of fiscal federalism."
A good argumentative thesis is crucial, as failing to earn this point limits the maximum score to one out of six.

0 Points: Evidence is wrong or too vague. (Avoid this by providing specific vocabulary terms.)
1 Point: Naming one piece of evidence relevant to the topic of the prompt.
- Example: Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was weak and the states were strong.
2 Points: Using one piece of evidence to support your thesis.
3 Points: Using at least two pieces of evidence to support your thesis, with at least one piece of evidence has to come from the documents they list in the prompt.

Demonstrate how or why your evidence supports your thesis.
Formula: Name it, explain it, and analyze it.
- Name the evidence.
- Explain or define the evidence.
- Analyze how that evidence supports your thesis.
Example: "The Articles of Confederation is a prime example of why a strong national government is better. With the articles, the government could do very little. It made the states more independent by allowing them to have their own currency and impose their own taxes. The Articles of Confederation made it harder to pass laws because each state has very different agendas and it required over a majority of them to agree. To amend it required a unanimous decision. This makes it nearly impossible to add a new amendment to change policy."

Acknowledge an opposing view and then show how your argument makes better sense of the evidence.
Example: "Some people may argue that the federal government is too large and that states are best suited to address the needs of their people without interference from the federal government. However, this is not true. The state governments are not equipped to handle all the problems they face without the federal government. The federal government can act with uniformity to affect all states to ensure that everyone is guaranteed the same protections as everyone else."