1. English I Honors—February 12, 2015
Bell work: If you were writing an argumentative essay about the dangers of smoking, what might be a call to action (a final challenge to the reader to take action) that you could include in your essay?
Homework:
Study Island homework (textual evidence) due tomorrow at midnight.

2. Embedded Assessment 2
Your assignment is to write an essay of argumentation about the value of a college education. Your essay must be organized as an argument in which you assert a precise claim, support it with reasons and evidence, and acknowledge and refute counterclaims fairly.

3. Why College Isn’t for Everyone/ Actually, College is Very Much Worth It
As you reread the essays, mark the text for the following:
claim (write this in the chart on p. 81)
support/evidence (write this in the chart on p. 81)
counterclaims/evidence for counterclaims (write this in the chart on p. 81)
conclusion/call to action (a final challenge to the reader to take action)
Answer the Key Ideas and Details questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Answer the following on your paper:
Who is/are the audience for these essays? Use text support.
Answer questions 4-7 on p. 82
Note: In the second essay, the counterclaims are presented first.
You will turn in the chart on p. 81, your answered questions on p. 82, and the paper with the Key Ideas and Details questions and the audience question into me before you leave. Staple everything together.
If you finish early, you are to get another sheet of paper and put a line through the center. Label one side “pro-college” and one side “anti-college”. You are to go through previous texts and find evidence for both sides of the argument. You need to put the information in quotes, and you need to write where the information came from.

4. EA2: Writing an Argumentative Essay
Use a formal writing style, smoothly integrate credible source material into the text (with accurate citations).
Include a well-developed introduction and background, a clear explanation of the issue, a claim, and a thesis statement.
Demonstrate correct spelling and excellent command of standard English conventions.
Present body paragraphs that strongly support the central claim with relevant details.
EA2: Writing an Argumentative Essay
Follow a clear structure with a logical progression of ideas. Showcase central points and use effective transitions.
Summarize counterclaims and clearly refute them with relevant reasoning and evidence.
Conclude by summarizing the main points and provide logical suggestions for change.
p. 84 Scoring Guide

5. Why College Isn’t for Everyone Conclusions/Call to Action
Central Claim
“But for many, attending college is unequivocally not the right decision on purely economic grounds.”
Support/Evidence
“Those who graduated from college were better students in high school.”
“40 percent of those attending four-year colleges full-time fail to graduate, even within six years.”
“Earnings vary considerably between different schools and majors.”
“The number of new college graduates far exceeds the growth in the number of technical, managerial, and professional jobs.”
Counterclaims
Does this mean no one should go to college? Of course not.
Support
“College is more than training for a career.”; “High school students with certain attributes are far less likely to drop out of school, and are likely to equal or excel the average statistics.”; “I would say graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality school should go on to a 4-year degree program.”
Conclusions/Call to Action
Those in the bottom quarter should not go to college (opt for alternatives).

6. Actually, College is Very Much Worth It Conclusions/Call to Action
Central Claim
“And despite all of this, the data make clear that getting a college education is a good idea—college graduates earn more and are more likely to have a good job in the first place.”
Support/Evidence
“Median weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree were $712, compared to $1038 for a college graduate.”
“Unemployment rate was 9.2 percent for those with only some college and more than 10% for those with just a high school diploma.”
“Most effective social mobility strategy we have.”
“Children from low-income families gain more by going to college.”
“Education gives you choices.”
Counterclaims
“Lately its become fashionable to question whether it’s really ‘worth it’ to go to college.” Americans would be better off skipping college.
Support
“widespread dissatisfaction with higher education”; “Only 40% of Americans felt that colleges provided ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ value for the money.”; “Poor quality. . .and out-of-control costs are two of the biggest problems.”; “There are plenty of rewarding and important jobs and careers that do not require college.”
Conclusions/Call to Action
There are a lot of benefits for going to college as long as you don’t pile of mountains of debt that constrain your career options or go to a school that doesn’t require much to get a diploma.