The foundation of a strong argument in an essay is a thoughtful and articulate thesis statement. Essentially, the thesis statement asserts what the paper will argue; it presents the position of the writer. Middle school teachers should have students practice writing thesis statements in order to teach them the importance of developing an argument in their essays. Student writers must place the thesis statement in the introduction, and each body paragraph in an essay must work to prove the thesis statement.
After creating a thesis statement, students must move to create a detailed outline in order to organize their ideas. Outlines are recommended for all writers as they provide a space to plan essays. For middle school students in particular, the outline should be mandatory because it forces students to structure their arguments. A detailed outline includes a thesis statement, topic sentences for each body paragraph, evidence and ideas to support each topic sentence, and some concluding points. From the detailed outline, students will move to develop paragraphs that reflect the points and evidence from their outlines that prove the thesis statement.
The first draft is often referred to as “rough” for a reason. Middle school students often make mistakes, are disorganized and leave holes in their arguments. A strong thesis statement and outline should guide students to create an organized draft that begins to develop an argument. After the first draft, students should work with a peer or teacher to edit the paper for grammatical and structural errors. The middle school student should return to the draft to revise the paper until the thesis statement is proven with good evidence, analysis and ideas. After all drafts are completed, a final proofreading should occur before publishing.
Modeling and sharing are great ways to reinforce argument text structure in a middle school writing classroom. During an assignment, teachers should work with their students to create a class thesis statement and outline for an essay topic. After an essay is completed, allow students to share their work in order to note the different ways in which their peers successfully developed an argument. In addition, if students are writing on the same topic, it will be beneficial for students to read about the different stances their peers took. These exercises will provide students with a strong foundation in structure and argument development.