HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY OF ARGUMENTATION EFFECTIVELY

 HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY OF ARGUMENTATION EFFECTIVELY

STRUCTURE of ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Introduction: topic/ thesis statement

-restate the topic in the question

-thesis statement of the essay: agree/ disagree

Body: discuss pros and cons of thesis statement

Par 1: supporting ideas

-benefits/advantages of 1^st main point in thesis statement

Par 2: supporting ideas

-benefits/advantages of 2^nd main point in thesis statement

Par 3: counterargument

-present an opposing opinion, and then refute it

Conclusion

-summarize the thesis statement

-confirm your agree/ disagree

-suggestion/ advice/ feeling/ prediction

 

SOME SAMPLES OF STUDENTS‘ WRITING

10 topics

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

1. It is better to be a member of a group than to be the leader of a group.

2. Playing a game is fun only when you win.

3. Watching television is bad for children.

4. A person's childhood years (the time from birth to twelve years of age) are the most important years of a person's life.

5. Advertising can tell you a lot about a country.

6. Boys and girls should attend separate schools.

7. Grades (marks) encourage students to learn

8. Face-to-face communication is better than other types of communication, such as letters, email, or telephone calls.

9. A person should never make an important decision alone.

10. Parents are the best teachers.

STUDENTS’S SAMPLES

Name: Pham Thi Hong Van + Nguyen Thi Phuong
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
Class: 06TAGD
Topic: Playing a game is fun only when you win.

      Playing games is one of the most effective ways to eliminate stress, tension and to learn many things. However, I know some people who like to play only when they win. Personally, I agree with those people who play games in order not to win but to have fun. I will give some reasons mentioned bellow to clarity my view.
    First of all, I would say that life is like a game. You have to accept anything the way it comes: to enjoy winning and to learn from your mistakes that made you lose the game. Having an optimistic view of life will always help you enjoy your live. It is the same with playing games. If you enjoy playing games and if you play for fun then you will know how to react in both circumstances and you will always enjoy playing.
      Second of all, people who play for fun they enjoy to be winners, but they enjoy the playing itself. They do not get disappointed if they lose. They look at the fun part, learn from mistakes and go on trying to do better next time.
      Last but not at least, if you are trying to relax while you are playing. It is a better chance to win than when you are stressed out trying to win the game. People who play just for rewards of being a winner are often obsessed with the winning part, they forget to relax and enjoy the game and they make mistakes very easily.
      To sum up, I would say that games should be part of any body’s life as a way to relax and have fun.

·         Your introduction and conclusion should be in harmony with each other!

 

SAMPLE QUESTION

      Some people enjoy changes, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives to stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits.

Which one do you agree with? Explain why.

 

SAMPLE

      Some people like to live in the same house, have the same job, and get the same habits all their lives. However, others aspire to changes and new experience. Personally, / From my point of view, for the several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I support the second approach/ perspective.

       Basically, changes in one's life bring many benefits. One tries new things, gains new knowledge and experience. I think it is great because without changes life becomes boring. I always try to make changes in my life. Moreover, when I feel that my life is boring, I do not feel well about it. I feel like I spent those days for nothing. I did not do anything exiting, I learnt nothing interesting and I just wasted my time.
        Moreover, people need changes. We need obstacles to overcome and reach our goals. I believe that changes make us stronger, more persistent, more self-confident, and more patient. Also, I feel that all people who succeeded in life like changes and new experience because it is impossible to be the best at some fields without perfecting the present knowledge and gain new experience. People catch every opportunity to learn more and change their life for the best.
        From the other side,/ On the other hand, people who like their lives to stay the same are very permanent. They have the same job all their life, the same habits, the same week-ends and even the same years in years out. I think it is boring. What will they tell their children about their lives? What kind of contribution will they make for the society? I think such people are just afraid of changes.
     In conclusion, / All in all, I think curiosity and aspiration to the new experience are two of the main reasons of human evolution. People always want to break limits and gain more knowledge and experience. So, people who enjoy changes are the engines of human development.

 

Name: Le Thuy Lieu + Ho Kim Cuong.

E-mail:  [email protected] + [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD.

 

          9. A person should never make an important decision alone.

           Sometimes, there are several important things that change our life and make us to decide what to do, where to go and so on. The choice which it can affect different ways in our life. In this case, I also suppose that we had better find helps from the other people rather than alone and considering carefully before deciding anything.

           First of all, it is the most effective way to solve the problem. We can get valuable experiences and useful advice from parents, friends or teachers who have been once in our same situations. For example, studying abroad can bring students stress and trouble, for they have to face such as financial condition and new culture. In this case, students should discuss with their parents and get supports from their teachers, friends who can give necessary advice.

            Furthermore, we are too young to make any important decision because we do not experience a lot of things in our lives. There are many things we do not know and never attempt. In addition, making an important decision alone can bring many negative aspects. For instance, a person can reveal selfness, impatient and the consequences of that decision can affect many people in the future. Hence, we should discuss with everyone who can share knowledge and experiences a look at the problem from different sides and aspects.

              On the other hand, when we make an important decision alone, we can keep control us. That is an evidence to prove we are old enough to decide our future. Maybe, when we refer to anyone’s idea we can mind them. I think that they probably help us, but that it makes them uncomfortable.

               To sum up, in my view, we should listen to people advice to make good decision. Besides, it also is important skill good for us in the future.

 

Name: Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thức & Lê Thị Lệ Thủy

Email: nguyenpeut@gmail.com; [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD

Question 9/ A person should never make an important decision alone.

           Some people claim that one should never make an important decision alone, while others believe that it is not true. From point my of view, it is always beneficial to consult other people such as family, relatives friends or colleagues before making decision. My view is based on the following reasons.

          First, from personal point of view, if one makes important personal decision herself without consulting with other people, especially with her parents, it may bring a lot of  disadvantages to her life later on, for instance, if one student studying in a high school, for some reason he needs to find  a part-time job to have some extra money and he get  it, with his extra money  he can buy things he likes such as mobile phone which his friends who still studying cannot do. One day, he may come up with an idea to drop out from school as he might feel comfortable with that small amount of money, happy with his job. At that time if he just decided himself without discussing with his parents about his idea to get their advice, it would be a big regret for him later on as after years he might still  be a worker with low income while his friends as engineers or doctors have more prospective careers.

        Secondly, from the reality of the world point of view, a true leader is always the one who seeks for proper advice before making any important decisions .This is because he knows that his decision does not only affect himself but to other people around. For example, the leader of the country instead of following policies to foster their own country's desires, they follow nuclear programs and always put other countries in fearing of a nuclear war. The consequence are the country's economy is surrounded; their people have to live in poverty, every year so many people have died of famine .It is all because of the proprietary in making decision of the leader.

       In conclusion, my opinion is that we each have to make our own important decision our self -alone after all; no one can help us do to do that. Therefore, learning to listen to others' advice and always seek for good ones before making any important decision is a crucial skill which is not only good for oneself but other people around.

 

Name: Lê Thị Hồng Nhung + Nguyễn Thị Đan Duyên J

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD

Argumentative Essays

3. Watching television is bad for children.

            Watching television plays very important role in our life, and it is also main source of entertainment. Many families often encourage children to watch television after pressure of study. On the other hand, some family think that children watching television is bad. From my point of view, for the several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I support the first perspective.

           Generally, watching television is a great way to entertain. Children today are subjected to a lot more stress when compared to children some time ago. Television brings entertainment almost as a sense of comfortable which is essential for a child. They could spend more time with family by watching the television together. After that, students could watch interesting programs on television like dramas, comedy and many more with their family. By watching news or dramas in television, they could get moral value because they can imitate everything good from program, and have a lot of useful experience for their life.

            Another benefit is that it can provide a good source of information. For example, these types of programs provide children a lot of information about various culture, countries, people and places around the world. It tells children about big world around them; some children cannot understand if there is just only learning about theory, so children can understand it easily.

             However, with the advent of the modern technique, television has been posing a serious threat to children. Children learn very quickly from television whether it is good or bad. There are some reasons why television is bad for children such as violence, sexual images, addiction and so on. If we do not stop in time, the child will develop in a negative direction.

             In conclusion, watching television is not bad for children. I totally agree with this as it may develop their intellectual capacities. However, parents should control what their children are watching and also do not allow them to watch television more than two hours per day because of watching television for a long time may pose several negative effects for their health status.

 

Name: Nguyễn Thị Tuyết and Nguyễn Thị Thương J

Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

Class: 06ta3c

Group: 8

 

Topic 10: Parents are the best teachers?

 

     Do you know what the word “teacher” means? , teacher is the one whose job is to teach in a school. In my point of view, a teacher can be anyone who gave you knowledge, experience and good advice. Therefore, if you wonder who is our best teacher, I will have no hesitation to say those are our parents who taught us the first lessons and many things in our life in the best way.

     First of all, parents are the best teacher who taught us the first lessons when we were children. What are the first lessons? Those are the lesson how to crawl, how to stand, how to speak or how to walk which are the most important lessons in our whole life. Therefore, you have to agree that , with their love and care, no one in the world can be the best teacher as our parents. When you were only a child, who were so happy to burst into tear when you spoke the first word “papa” or “mama” , they are your parents. So, you have to agree that , with their love and care, no one in the world can be the best teacher for all the first lessons as our parents.

     Furthermore, our parents are also the best teacher to teach us many things in our life with the most efficient way. At school or university, we were given many knowledge in many subjects, such as maths, literature, geology or even ethics lessons which taught you what you should do and what you mustn’t do.

      However, all of these were only what you heard in theories. Therefore, a child will be easy to learn about the respect the old if you see his parents always express their admiration to his grandparent or even an old people in the street. Also, a moral lesson can’t teach him about kindness better than his own parents who always helped others when they were in trouble. On the other hand, parents become the teachers who we can learn about many things in life with the best reality, their actions become the model for all of us to follow.

       In general, the teachers in school or university give us knowledge in many fields. On the other hand, the best teacher that we have are our parents who taught us from the first lesson when we are children to many things in our life with all their love and care. 

 

Members : Le Hoang Dung, Bach Thi Kim Linh

(bachkimlinh@gmail.com)  J

Topic 10: Parents are the best teacher.

     Teachers are always esteemed by those who value knowledge. Generally, people often assume that teachers are the ones whose jobs are to teach in a school or college. However, in my personal thought, a teacher can be anyone who gives you knowledge, experience, and good advice. Therefore, parents who taught us the first lessons and many things in our life in the best way can be considered our best teachers. In other words, i agree on the topic idea.

      Foremost, parents are the best teachers for teaching us the first lessons when we were children. Those are the lessons of how to crawl, how to stand, how to speak and how to walk which are the most important in our whole lives. When we were kids, the ones who were always by our sides, talked to us with all the sweetest words, and the ones who were so happy to burst into tears when we spoke the first word " papa " or "mama" are our parents. Day by day , our parents were our leaders and our instructors for our first steps into the outside world.

       Secondly, children can learn from their parents how to live. In my case, my parents are the definitely best teacher because my parents are respected by me. My mother is a housewife and she always does housework without any complaint. Also she is good at English and teaches me sometimes, which is really helpful. I am always dreaming of marrying someone like my mother and having a baby with her.
        On the other hand, some people think that parents are not the best coach because some of causes show that parents can be negative impact for children, and some of parents also teach children how to commit a crime. Well, i think they are just some bad people, and bad people are everywhere. They really don't deserve the words " parents ". Real parents won't do that to their children. Therefore, real parents are always the best teachers to their kids.
        In conclusion, the best teachers for children are their parents, who have taught them from the first lesson to many things in life with all their love and caring. Parents are always beside their children at any time, in any case and most importantly, nobody can understand the children better than the parents do.

 

Name: Vũ Ngọc Thiên, Dương Thị Tú Trâm J

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD

 

GRADES ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO LEARN.

Task

     A lot of teachers grade their students in schools because they think it can help motivate their students’ learning. This system has been conducted for a long time. I agree with this idea because students can know comprehension, and grades stimulate students’ consciousness for studying. Also, with grades, teachers are able to teach students with moderate ways and this way helps students learn.

   First of all, students can know how they understand subjects by grades. Today, a lot of students take tests and exams in schools. Although they may dislike exams, exams, in fact, provide them with good information. For example, when they take mathematics exams, they get grades. The grades show their weak points in the subject that they should improve. With knowing grades, they can find parts that they understand very well and they do not understand.

   Secondly, grades motivate students to study more. Because grades are basically numerical, students can compare their grades with other students. By comparing each other’s grades, students know whether they are superior to their friends or not. Some students are stimulated by it and have an intense rivalry with their friends. Therefore, they will make more endeavor in order to surpass other students.

   Thirdly, grade system has a merit for both teachers and students. Teachers can know the degree that their students understand in subjects by checking their grades. Therefore, teachers can devise teaching ways that match each student’s levels. On the other hand, because students also learn subjects with effective ways adapted to themselves, it is easier for them to learn something.

   In conclusion, grades have various good points. Students can know whether they understand subjects or not. Also, knowing grades motivate them. Moreover, students can learn with ways that match their level. If students and teachers make use of grades better, grade system is one of the most effective sytems in schools.

 

Name: Vũ Ngọc Thiên - Mail: [email protected]

             Dương Thị Tú Trâm - Mail: [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD - Vien Dong college.

 

Topic 7: Grade(marks) encourage students to learn.

Task:

           Nowadays, learning is very important for us, and grades are also important, too. However, there are different factors that encourage students to learn. Some people say that grades are good motivation in pushing students to try harder. On the other hand, others say that grades are not useful to encourage students to learn. I support the first group of people because that will cause some benefits. There are 3 advantages of encouraging students learn by grades.

         First of all, competitions make people to get improved. In general, people enjoy sports and they also like to compete their scores, for instance, in baseball or football. Studying is the same as doing sports. If students get a higher grade than a friend, they would be happy and study more. Also, the students who got lower score might feel sad, but more eagerly study to get higher the next time. 

       Secondly, students always need to know their position. If they do not have any result after a semester, they have no idea they worked well or even understood. They need to know the grade to understand how they achieved in the subject.

     Finally, it is necessary to grade students to get into the school or college. It might be controversial, but I think grades or grade point average is fare for all students so that admission offices can take into consideration the grades as one of the applications. Obviously, most students want to go to better school or college for their carrier and simply study hard to get high grades.

    In conclusion, some people might have different opinions; however, I strongly agree with the statement. Grades encourage students to learn because competition makes them to get improved, and it is important to know the position in their classroom. Moreover, grades are efficient system to get into the school or college. I think grades will never disappear in education.

 

Name: LÊ THỊ LAN ANH-NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG DUNG. J

 Email: [email protected]  -[email protected]

 Class: tienganhgiangday 06ta2c.

  Topic 6: Boys and girls should attend separate schools .

      Nowadays, there is a debate as to whether boys and girls should attend to separate schools or not. Some people think they should be integrate and others believe that they should attend separate schools. In my opinion, for the several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I support the first opinion.

     Firstly, it is very important in today’s time that girls and boys should have vast knowledge in every field. Education not only serve student to keep them informed about the academic and bookish knowledge but also the purpose the four walls. Co-education will help them in sharing each other’s idea and information and to increase the knowledge in their database.

     Secondly, they learn to become friends with each other which not only help them in their school and routine life but also in their life after school. They learn to communicate with opposite sex which helps in increasing their communicational skill which is important in almost every job today. Co-education better prepare student to deal with all kinds of people.

   On the other hand, it is not good to have boys and girls in the same schools when they go for physical education. Boys and girls just cannot do the same type of exercise or play the same game together because of their physical differences. So, we need to have two teachers in a class, one for boys and one for girls. Our headmaster has come up with the ingenious solution of having two classes doing physical education at the same time so that the boys and girls from each class combine together under one teacher each

     In conclusion, I do not agree with the idea boys and girls attend separate schools. Since according to the above reasons, co-education schools benefit all students: helping each other, behaving more politely and be more sociable.

  Name:

1.     Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hằng - [email protected]

2.     Phạm Thị Lan - [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD

Group 3:

Title 3: Some people think that watching television is very bad for children.

Answer

        Some people think that watching television is very bad for children. However, others do not think so, they suppose that it will be harmful for children when they watch it. Personally, for the several the reason, which I will explain bellow, I support the second approach.

         The first disadvantage is that after studying at their school, children often attend to television programs instead of doing their homework. I think that parents need right method to recommend them. At this age, children do not think and aware of themselves, so families should care them more. In some television programs, there is a lot of bad information which is not good for children. It is really terrible thing if children watch it.

           Furthermore, children like this program, but their parents prevent them of watching, which is difficult to do this. Children attend to watch television, so they do not care their study, which affect their academic level. In noisy life, their parents only work to earn money and do not have enough time to care them. Spending too much time watching television can make them lazy in learning.

              On the other hand, it is thought that watching television has several benefits for children such as develop brain, sharp or alert, know a lot of information and explore new things and so on. However, with me, but not all, watching television obviously need to be considered. Not only watching television is harmful for children but it also affects their mental through senses of cause mentioned above. I suppose that we should limit children in watching television.

                In conclusion, as I mentioned, watching television is not good for children. I certainly do not agree that children should watch television because it does not have any benefits for them.                               

 

Name: Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Oanh J

Email: [email protected]

Class: 06TAGD

 

Topic 8: Face to face communication is better than other type of communication, such as letters, email, or telephone calls.

      Communication is one of the most important parts in human life. Some people like face to face communication with someone else. However, also many people like other type of communication, such as letters, email, or telephone calls. Personally, for the several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I support the first perspective.

     Basically, face to face communication brings many clear benefits. A good thing about direct communication is that people are easily to understand together. Since speaker can convey all things which they want to express to others by many different ways. For instance, almost all people use verbal in communication because it is very easy, simple and automatic. Sometimes, audiences cannot clearly understand what a speaker says, beside verbal communication, people can express their idea by using non-verbal communication, such as gesture, posture, eyes contact and facial expression.

      Furthermore, it helps people have close relationship. When direct communication facing each other can also create a friendly atmosphere in which people can relax and express their true feelings. In addition, face-to-face communication is the most helpful way to express ourselves. People can sense that you really want to communicate with them.

   On the other hand, face-to-face communicate sometime also has disadvantages. One of the most important disadvantage of direct communication is that you cannot use in long distances but other types of communication such as email, telephone can make you convey messages to far places. Moreover, when you directly communicate with someone, you have not enough time to think and present your opinion clearly and precisely. In face-to-face communication, you have to spend a lot of time and energy to speak but other types of communication, you can submit anything conveniently by an email. Nowadays, people are always busy with everything, so they have no time to set an appointment or talk directly to each other. The best solution for this is to communicate by letters, emails or telephone calls. We could write letters or emails in leisure time and send them out immediately or call someone and talk for a few minutes.

   In summary, face-to-face communication is a very important way for people. It is the best way to express feelings, reduce stress. In my opinion, this way of communication is better than any others type. It will eliminate many misunderstandings and bring only benefits to both sides.