Proceeding with the Opposing Voice
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 | “A” broad topic sentence, followed by a bit of discussion |
| narrowing down to “B” — what I call the Governing Idea, but which is really a “simple” thesis. For example (and I realize that this is most insipid!), “ Smoking should be banned from public spaces.” |
| However, should people wish to require the traditional three-part thesis, that is obviously fine and “B” can be treated as just sharpening the focus to prepare for “C.” |
View the Part II handout
What ‘s new in this part is the chance for the opposing view to be expressed.
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One paragraph is sufficient. |
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Students also have to write a “change of direction” sentence which returns the readers to the students’ own beliefs. |
View the Part III handout
| Students first copy in the opposing points of view from Part II. I rather irreverently call this the “rope,” because almost everyone has heard the expression about giving someone enough rope to hang himself. |
| Next, students copy their “change of direction” sentence to act as a topic sentence for the paragraph that firmly rebuts their opponent’s views. |
| Now, they “hang” him! In other words, the students must respond — specifically — to their opponent’s arguments. |
| Then the students need to look again at the points they made in Part I, and ensure there is no duplication between the rope and the original persuasive essay. If there is any overlap or duplication, the student must decide what to put where, perhaps even altering the original persuasive essay points. |
| I do encourage students to put the more feeble arguments in the rope/hanging section, as the reader will go from weaker to stronger evidence as he or she progresses through III, IV , V, and VI. Because the rope will have been left way back in II, the reader should easily be swayed by four consecutive paragraphs of the student’s own views. |
View the Part IV handout
This is just everything all stuck down in order on one lengthy outline and vňila!
It’s finished!