Persuasive Essay

Anna:

Although video games are a good thing and fun to play, they are holding kids back from attending school every day and getting good grades; it is the parents’ job to limit their children’s excessive use of video games.

According to a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Science in 2000, video games have a definite connection with high school students’ absences in school.

This shows that too many students are too busy playing video games and that they do not get enough sleep to go to school the next day. This can affect their grades.

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Thesis statement:

There is nothing inherently wrong with video games; with adult supervision, teens should be able to have access to video games.

Source or evidence:

According to the graphs compiled by the Entertainment Software Association, the average game player’s age is thirty and the average game buyer’s age is thirty seven.

Your words which show that your evidence supports your thesis statement:

These statistics show that most of the game players are not young kids, but rather mature adults. Most of the thirty seven year old game buyers are either buying these games for themselves or for their young children. This shows that most children are using these games under adult supervision.

In a letter from a concerned student, Nicco Josephs states the following:

In a response to an editorial, “Violent Video Games Cause Violence in Children”, a concerned reader writes,”

Counter claim:

Counter: against

If your thesis statement is that video games are dangerous, promote violence and should be severely restricted then your opponent’s counter claim would be that video games are used by hospitals to help young patients overcome their fear and pain.

BUT (your rebuttal):

The majority of gamers are not sick, frightened children.

Or (another rebuttal):

But the hospitals limit the amount of time and the type of video games played by their patients.

You have to set up your opponents’ argument and then knock it down!

For tonight:

Transfer your information onto the graphic organizer.

Then using your graphic organizer, write a five paragraph essay. Make sure you have a thesis statement; evidence to support your claim; a counter claim and a rebuttal to the counter claim.

First paragraph:

Grabber:

Can be an anecdote (short story) that proves your point

Thesis statement

2^nd Paragraph:

Mini-topic sentence (lets us know what the paragraph is going to be about)

One or two sentences (at least ) which develops the idea of the mini-topic sentence

Evidence from the booklet

Comment (use your own words: the ones YOU wrote in the right box on the graphic organizer) on how the evidence proves your point. (At least one sentence in your own words but preferably two or three sentences showing how the evidence proves your thesis.)

Then a closing sentence.

Counter claim paragraph:

You should write the counter claim and the rebuttal in the body paragraphs.

Counter claim paragraph:

State the counter claim.

Then write at least one to three sentences that strike down your opponent’s claim. This is called your rebuttal. You may even use evidence to support your rebuttal.

Then write a closing sentence for that paragraph.

Concluding paragraph:

Go over the points that were introduced in the beginning paragraph and developed in the body paragraph.

Arrive at your conclusion in this paragraph.