By Michelle George

As a middle school English teacher, one of my greatest challenges is to help lead my students from narrative writing into argument writing. What I am realizing as I peruse the “real writing” and communication so prevalent today is that narrative is a vehicle for strong argument writing. Good writing is good writing, no matter what the mode, and using the familiar mode of narrative is an effective way to bridge young writers’ purpose from entertainment to persuasion.

Not long ago I found myself in the same boat as millions of other Americans, parked in front of a huge TV with a bunch of friends, overeating and watching the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is that anomaly of TV viewing when spectators not only watch all of the commercials, but actually look forward to them. I am no different.

I was especially intrigued by the “Dove Real Strength” piece, where a series of dad vignettes ends with the slogan, “Care Makes a Man Stronger.” I was impressed as I watched many of the burly guys amongst us reach out and hug or nuzzle their children before heading to the kitchen for another snack. Of course, the audience is expected to deduce that using Dove soap shows that a man cares and, therefore, Dove makes a man strong, but that’s a logical leap for another day. What struck me with this commercial, and nearly all of the ads that aired that day, was that all of these multimillion-dollar ad campaigns used narrative to persuade.

My approach is always to scaffold new writing tasks before I ever have students put pen to paper. I begin by having students analyze several pieces that utilize the targeted writing style in a variety of forms. I usually set up a comparison chart that identifies specific elements. For argument writing, we would look at elements identified from the standards, including claim, fact vs. opinion, sources, target audience, opposing claims, and style. I would then select five or six pieces to analyze using deep-reading strategies.

The first piece I would analyze in front of the class, modeling my strategy and illustrating what I am looking for and how to identify each characteristic as I fill out the chart. With the second piece, I proceed more collaboratively, asking the students to offer analysis that we collect on the chart. For the third and perhaps fourth sample, I usually have students work in teams of two, collaborating and checking each other for understanding. By the final piece or two, students are ready to analyze independently.

One persuasive selection I like to use is Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk, “How Schools Kill Creativity.”  Kids love it because it seems borderline seditious to question the educational system, and I love it because Robinson exemplifies the use of narrative to effectively persuade. (I also happen to agree with him.)

After connecting with his audience using shared experiences, Robinson tells a quick story of a little girl who, when asked, explains that she is drawing a picture of God. The teacher informs her that no one knows what God looks like, to which the little girl replies, “They will in a minute.” Through humor and storytelling, Robinson has the audience hooked; he has connected with pathos, and now he just has to provide the evidence. He does just that, but he masterfully interlaces his facts, his evidence, with story. I believe he does that intentionally as he explains the diversity of intelligences because he knows we may forget the name of that bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum, but we’ll remember how his wife can juggle cooking with five other activities while he has to shut the door so he can concentrate on the task of frying an egg. Narrative is an excellent vehicle for persuasion, and I’ve found it to be an accessible method of transitioning to argument mode for young writers.

After analyzing several models of persuasion that utilize narrative, I have my students begin collecting their own stories. First I have to establish my classroom as a safe space where all members are respectful of one another, and then the storytelling can commence.

My units are generally built around an essential question, so I use those questions to ground the stories. For example, my seventh graders often complete a unit about bullying based on the question, “When is it OK to make someone do something?” Every kid I’ve ever met has at least one personal story of being made to do something they didn’t want to do, or shouldn’t have done, and at least one story of when they were made to do something that served them well in the end. I give them the time to tell those stories out loud first. I usually start small, with kids talking to one or maybe two classmates. Together we generate criteria for what makes an engaging and persuasive story.

We also work hard to identify the essential elements of a story, because in argument writing, the story is an illustration or a hook, not the end goal. This is often the most difficult step. Most authors, and my students are indeed authors, cling to each detail in a story and mourn the eraser or pen that cuts any luscious detail. That’s where the earlier work with writing models helps us realize what is essential to effecting persuasion. The full story can be saved for another day. These snippets of stories personify the hard evidence of a persuasive claim and help build an effective argument.

I can’t think of a better way to end this blog than with a story I often tell my students when I’m teaching them about thesis statements. I share with them how, when I was in ninth grade, I was assigned a research paper. It represented 50 percent of my grade that quarter. I read and researched for weeks about Poland, and then collected my hundreds of note cards and began to write this fact-filled tome, all correctly annotated. I received a C- for my long-winded efforts simply because I had no thesis. My paper was a hodgepodge of details all about Poland with no concise point. Nearly every year I have older kids come back and thank me for helping them avoid the “All About Poland” trap.

Stories have power. Put them to work for you and your students as you embark on argument writing.

Michelle S. George is a language arts middle school teacher in Orofino, Idaho. She has a B.A. in English and secondary certification in English, reading, and journalism. Michelle has been teaching seventh and eighth grade for 20 years, and still loves going to school, as a teacher and a student. She has published a variety of lesson plans and written several award-winning grants.

The transition from Opinion to Argument Writing in middle school can be challenging for teachers and students. Developing an opinion into a clearly stated and supported claim requires a shift in thinking, planning, and writing. Download these six simple strategies for improving argument writing, along with complimentary tools and activities you can implement immediately in the classroom.

How do you teach argument writing? Share your tips, ideas, or general comments below.