1. QUALIFYING AN ARGUMENT

2. What does it mean to “qualify” an argument? To “qualify” means that you will modify, limit, or restrict your agreement or disagreement by presenting exceptions to your position. What you are doing is narrowing the case in which (the claim/thesis) is true. To be clear, you are still taking a side, just putting certain parameters around it. Abortion should be illegal except in cases where the mother’s life is endangered. The death penalty should be abolished except in cases where the person is a danger to others’ safety and health. Unless smoking is only done when in the privacy of one’s own home, people shouldn't smoke because smoking can damage the smoker and the people around him.”

3. When constructing a thesis that qualifies your claim, you need to make sure that you clearly define the parameters of the argument. If you don’t clearly express what that restriction is, then you’re essentially just summarizing the subject matter of the prompt. Eminent domain is overall productive and a needed part of American society but can be destructive when private business profits take priority over private property.” Although eminent domain can sometimes be a cause for concern, it can be perfectly productive and beneficial when a utilitarian approach of supporting the most people is taken. Laws which protect citizens from themselves are justified as long as those laws do not infringe upon individual liberty. Anyone looking at the data would have to agree that lean production is a technique that is exportable across borders, but there might be important cultural factors that could limit its success in certain countries.

4. The following examples are poor attempts to “qualify” an argument. Eminent domain is both productive and destructive. The death penalty ultimately has positive benefits and negative ramifications. Abortion should be legal, except in cases when it shouldn’t. There are many sides to the argument about legalized opioids.

5. Qualifying an argument DOES NOT mean that you’re choosing both sides of the argument. It still means that you take one side of it, but essentially provide certain parameters or exceptions; it is a position that acknowledges exceptions or specific gray areas.

6. Also, simply adding a concession to your thesis does not necessarily mean that you’re “qualifying” an argument. Your thesis needs to suggest something more specific than adding “Although _______” to the beginning of your thesis.

7. INTRODUCTION Zero tolerance policies refer to school discipline practices that mandate predetermined consequences, typically severe, punitive and exclusionary (e.g., out of school suspension and expulsion), in response to specific types of student misbehavior—regardless of the context or rationale for the behavior. Some behaviors include fighting, drug use/possession, plagiarism, profanity, etc. Many school officials throughout the United States have adopted zero tolerance policies to address student discipline, resulting in an increase in out-of-school suspensions and expulsions.

8. YOUR ASSIGNMENT Choose a zero-tolerance policy - on any discipline issue of your choice - that you fundamentally agree with in principle but find difficult to justify at times. In other words, think of a disciplinary issue that you believe SHOULD have a zero- tolerance policy, but should be reconsidered in certain extenuating circumstances. Then, in an editorial to your school newspaper, develop a short essay (4 paragraphs) in which you qualify your claim. Your introduction should clearly express that you agree with the zero-tolerance policy with the exception of a clearly defined exception, i.e., abortions should be illegal ‘with the exception of’ when the birth endangers the health of the mother, etc. Your first two body paragraphs should support your claim that a zero-tolerance policy is warranted with this issue. Support your assertions with specific examples from your reading, observations, or experience. Your last body paragraph should discuss the circumstance(s) when this policy should not take effect. In other words, talk about the one exception to the rule and why.