In Chapter 3 of Critical Thinking you read a few pages on argumentative essay. You are going to write an argumentative essay on one of the following five topics. Either defend or reject the thesis of one of them.
As the authors state on page 87, “an agumentative essay generally has four components:
A statement of the issue
A statement of one’s position on the issue
Arguments that support one’s position.
Rebuttals of arguments that support contrary positions.
In your essay you must include all FOUR of these items. You should read carefully what the authors have to say about argumentative essays on pages 87 and following.
Your essay should be clearly written and well-organized. You should edit for clarity, punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Take a strong position (either yes or no, agree or disagree). Imagine that you are on a debate team and you must defend your position. This is not a research paper, but you should consult at least TWO sources on the internet or elsewhere to learn a little about the issue.
Your essay should be a minimum of 1300 words. Try to keep it within the range of 1300=1500 words.
Give your essay an INTERESTING TITLE! Do not title it “Essay 1.”
Choose ONE of the following topics to write about.
1. The Death Penalty Should be Abolished.
2. We should have planted the American flag on the moon. (E.B. White argued that we shouldn’t have done so).
3. There is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
4. God exists (by God is meant the eternal, infinite God of Christianity, Islam, or Judaism)
5. No one should be able to drink alcohol below the age of 21.