The BEST Way to Break Down the Argument Prompt!

Summary

In this engaging video, Tim Freitas, the host of 'Garden of English', addresses the challenges of writing an argumentative essay under the pressure of an AP exam. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the prompt thoroughly by identifying positions, perspectives, and assumptions within it. Freitas introduces a systematic approach to breaking down the argument prompt, starting with a 'springboard step' that helps to build thoughts around the essay's subject. He then guides viewers through marking their agreement or disagreement with the identified elements and finding the command element in the prompt to generate a 'conquer question'. This question, starting with 'what' or 'to what extent', will shape the thesis and guide the essay. Freitas encourages practice with multiple AP prompts to internalize these steps and prepare for the exam efficiently.

Takeaways

• 📚 Start by identifying the positions, perspectives, and assumptions within the argument prompt. This forms the foundation for your essay.
• 🔍 A position is the argument being made, while a perspective is the relationship of the person arguing to the subject.
• 🤔 Consider the assumptions by looking for implications within the prompt that suggest something is true without explicitly stating it.
• 📝 Use an organizer to mark and record the positions and perspectives, and if chosen, the assumptions.
• ✅ Mark your agreement or disagreement with the positions and assumptions with plus or minus signs to guide your argument.
• 🔑 Find the command element in the prompt, which usually starts with the word 'argue', and use it to generate a question for your thesis.
• 🧐 Create a 'conquer question' beginning with 'what' or 'to what extent' to clarify your stance on the prompt's command.
• 📈 Reflect on your initial reaction to the conquer question, noting your gut position even if it's not fully reasoned yet.
• ⏱️ Practice these steps with multiple prompts to internalize the process and complete it efficiently within the exam time limit.
• 📈 Develop a sophisticated thesis statement that clearly answers the conquer question, setting you up for a strong essay.
• 📉 Remember that neglecting the assumptions is not fatal to your essay; focus on positions and perspectives for a solid foundation.
• 📚 The AMSC/AP Language Composition book provides accessible prompts and is a valuable resource for practice.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to guide viewers on how to approach and write an argumentative essay, specifically for AP English Language exams, by breaking down the argument prompt.

Who is the intended audience for this video?

The intended audience for this video is AP English Language students, particularly those in Ms. Hudic's class at Holy Cross High School and Ms. Gazette's class at Mount Saint Mary's.

What is the 'springboard step' in the context of the video?

The 'springboard step' is the first step in analyzing an argument prompt, where one identifies the positions, perspectives, and assumptions within the prompt to build a foundation for their argument.

What is the difference between a 'position' and a 'perspective' as explained in the video?

A 'position' is what is actually being argued, while a 'perspective' is the relationship of the person arguing to the subject they are arguing about. For example, both a teacher and a parent might share the same position on a student's success, but their perspectives as an educator and a guardian, respectively, would differ.

Why is identifying assumptions in the prompt important?

Identifying assumptions is important because it allows for a more nuanced and critical understanding of the prompt, which can help generate deeper insights and a stronger argument in the essay.

What is the purpose of marking positions and perspectives in the organizer?

Marking positions and perspectives in the organizer helps to organize thoughts and develop different ways to engage with the prompt, making it easier to construct a well-structured argumentative essay.

How does the command element of the prompt help in writing the essay?

The command element, which starts with the word 'argue', guides the writer on what they need to address in their essay. It helps in generating a question that the thesis must answer, which simplifies the process of thesis generation and ensures the essay addresses the prompt's requirements.

What should one do after identifying the command element of the prompt?

After identifying the command element, one should generate a question or questions that their thesis will need to answer. This is done by creating a 'conquer question' that starts with 'what' or 'to what extent' to clarify the position on the topic.

Why is it recommended to use 'to what extent' when formulating the conquer question?

Using 'to what extent' in the conquer question encourages a more nuanced exploration of the topic, allowing for a deeper analysis and a clearer delineation of the writer's position in the thesis.

What is the final step in the planning process before writing the essay?

The final step in the planning process is to jot down the initial reaction to the conquer question generated in step four, which helps in formulating the thesis and setting the writer's position on the topic.

How can students practice the steps outlined in the video?

Students can practice the steps by working with multiple AP exam prompts, both to internalize the process and to refine their ability to turn planning thoughts into sophisticated thesis statements and essays.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Argumentative Essay Writing

Tim Freitas, the host, warmly welcomes viewers to the 'Garden of English' and acknowledges the AP students from Ms. Hudic's class at Holy Cross High School and Ms. Gazette's students at Mount Saint Mary's. He commends the dedication of their teachers and expresses enthusiasm for their success in the upcoming AP exams. The focus of the video is on tackling argumentative essays, which can be deceptively tricky. Tim reassures viewers that he will guide them through the process, emphasizing the importance of understanding the argument prompt thoroughly. He introduces the concept of the 'springboard step,' which involves identifying positions, perspectives, and assumptions within the prompt. This step is crucial for building a structured response. Tim uses an argument prompt from the AMSC AP Language Composition book to illustrate the process, highlighting the need to differentiate between positions and perspectives and to recognize the implications or assumptions within the prompt. He stresses that while identifying assumptions is beneficial, focusing on positions and perspectives is essential.

05:02

📋 Organizing Thoughts for Effective Argumentation

The video continues with step two, which involves creating a chart to organize the positions, perspectives, and assumptions identified from the prompt. Tim instructs viewers to note their agreement or disagreement with each element using plus and minus signs, which helps in formulating a complex argument. He then moves to step three, identifying the command element in the prompt, which begins with the word 'argue' and extends to the end of the sentence. This command is pivotal for generating a question that the thesis must answer. Step four involves transforming the command into a 'conquer question' starting with 'what' or 'to what extent,' which aids in creating a clear and focused thesis. Tim demonstrates how answering this question directly in the thesis ensures a strong setup for the essay. He concludes the explanation of the steps with a reminder to practice them to internalize the process and to master the creation of sophisticated thesis statements and essays. He also encourages viewers to engage with the video's description for additional resources, including a link to an ultimate review packet for AP English Language and a guide on writing rhetorical analysis essays.

10:03

🔗 Further Resources and Next Steps

The final paragraph serves as a transition, indicating that there is more to the discussion which will be covered in a subsequent video. Tim encourages viewers to continue learning about how to convert their planning thoughts into advanced thesis statements and essays by joining him in the next part of the video series. This paragraph acts as a teaser for the upcoming content and an invitation for viewers to continue their learning journey.

Keywords

💡Argument Essay

An argument essay is a type of academic writing where the writer takes a position on a given topic and provides evidence and reasoning to support their viewpoint. In the video, Tim Freitas discusses strategies for writing an argument essay, particularly for AP (Advanced Placement) exams, emphasizing the importance of understanding the prompt and structuring the essay effectively.

💡Springboard Step

The springboard step, as mentioned in the video, is the initial phase of approaching an argument essay prompt. It involves identifying the positions, perspectives, and assumptions within the prompt. This step serves as a foundation for building the writer's thoughts and arguments, acting as a 'springboard' to launch into the essay.

💡Position

A position in the context of an argument essay is a specific stance or viewpoint that is being argued. The video script discusses how to identify the positions within an essay prompt, which is crucial for understanding what the essay requires the writer to argue about. For example, the script mentions two positions regarding the use of warning labels for potentially troubling content.

💡Perspective

Perspective refers to the viewpoint or the stance of the person presenting the argument. In the video, Tim differentiates between a position and a perspective, noting that while they may share the same position, the reasons behind their concern (perspective) can differ, such as that of an educator versus a guardian.

💡Assumptions

Assumptions are the implied truths or suggestions within a prompt that are not explicitly stated. The video instructs viewers to search for and identify these within the essay prompt. For instance, the script implies that media contains offensive content and that warning labels could impact an individual's tolerance, which are assumptions the writer might consider while forming their argument.

💡AMSCo AP Language Composition Book

The AMSCo AP Language Composition Book is a resource mentioned in the video that contains sample essays and prompts for students preparing for the AP English Language and Composition exam. The book is noted to have contributions from 'amazing authors' and is used as a source for the argument prompt discussed in the video.

💡Command Element

The command element in an essay prompt is the directive that tells the writer what they are required to do in their essay. In the context of the video, the command element always starts with the word 'argue' and is used to generate a question that the thesis must answer. This helps to guide the writer in formulating their argument.

💡Conquer Question

The conquer question is a question formulated by the writer based on the command element of the essay prompt. It is designed to guide the development of the thesis and the overall essay. The video emphasizes starting this question with 'what' or 'to what extent' to ensure it addresses the prompt's requirements effectively.

💡Thesis Generation

Thesis generation is the process of creating a clear and concise statement that presents the writer's position on the topic. In the video, Tim Freitas outlines how to use the conquer question to generate a thesis that directly answers the prompt and sets up the writer for a structured and focused argument essay.

💡AP Exam

The AP Exam, or Advanced Placement Exam, is a standardized test for high school students in the United States. The video is aimed at helping students prepare for the AP English Language and Composition exam, specifically for the argument essay portion, which is known to be challenging and time-constrained.

💡Organizer

An organizer, in the context of the video, is a tool or chart used to structure and plan the essay before writing. It helps students to identify positions, perspectives, assumptions, and to formulate their own position and conquer question. The video suggests using an organizer to keep track of these elements for effective essay planning.

Highlights

Introduction to the Garden of English by Tim Freitas, addressing AP students and acknowledging their dedicated teachers.

Emphasis on the deceptive nature of the argument essay, which may seem easy but can be tricky.

The importance of breaking down the argument prompt effectively to manage time and pressure during the AP exam.

Differentiation between a 'position' and a 'perspective' in the context of an argument.

Explanation of 'assumptions' in a prompt and their role in critical thinking.

The significance of identifying positions, perspectives, and assumptions as a springboard for building thoughts and engaging with the prompt.

Use of an argument prompt from the AMSC/AP Language Composition book to demonstrate the process.

Guidance on marking positions and perspectives in an organizer for structured essay planning.

The concept of searching for implied truths within the prompt to uncover assumptions.

Advice on the non-negotiable nature of identifying positions and perspectives in the prompt.

Illustration of how to fill in an organizer with positions, perspectives, and marked agreement or disagreement.

Instruction on identifying the command element of the argument prompt to guide thesis generation.

Technique of turning the command element into a question to simplify thesis creation.

Recommendation to practice the outlined steps to internalize the process for efficient essay writing.

Mention of additional resources, including a link to an ultimate review packet for AP English Language.

Encouragement to join further videos to learn how to convert planning thoughts into sophisticated thesis statements and essays.

Transcripts

first things first folks welcome to the

garden of english i'm tim freitas i want

to give a huge shout out to the ap

students in ms hudic's class at holy

cross high school and ms gazette's

students at mount saint mary's i've been

chatting with your teachers as of late

and you are super fortunate to have such

dedicated folks guiding your classroom i

look forward to hearing of your success

after the exam in may all right let's

get into what we're taking care of today

it's time for argument and this essay

can be quite deceitful it may seem nice

and easy but let me tell you sometimes

it's tricky

but i've got you covered you just gotta

stand by me now this particular essay

test can be especially sticky if you've

already written two other essays and

only have a little less than an hour to

write the final essay on your ap exam

talk about anxiety and pressure

or agony and pain

whether or not you save your argument

until the end write it first or sandwich

it between the other essays i'm going to

reveal the secrets of how to break down

the argument prompt so that no matter

how much pressure you feel you'll be

able to own this essay so let's get to

it for this video i'm going to rely on

an argument prompt taken from the amsco

ap lingan composition book did you know

i heard that book has some pretty

amazing authors

all right all fun and kidding aside this

prompt is extremely accessible and

you'll see it on the screen right about

now

all right so you've read the prompt but

you haven't actually read the prompt so

let's look at what you need to do

starting with well step one this step is

called the springboard step because it's

going to give you a springboard to build

your thoughts about what you need to

write about

when you get a prompt while you read it

you first need to search for the

positions perspectives and assumptions

that are contained within it this may

sound super simple and oftentimes it can

be but there is a little bit of nuance i

want to explain so that you can do this

like a champ on test day to do this

right you need to know the difference

between a position and a perspective a

position is what is actually being

argued a perspective is the relationship

of the person arguing to the subject

that he or she is arguing about for

example i can want to help prepare one

of my students to grow up and be

incredibly successful and so can that

child's parents or guardians so we share

the same position but why i care about

that student's success is different than

the guardian's reason for curing because

i'm coming from the perspective of an

educator and the guardian is coming from

the perspective of well exactly that

when you look for assumptions in the

prompt you need to consider what's

implied by different parts of the prompt

and then just record those implications

if you're going to neglect one of these

three elements in your initial search

ignore the assumptions part though you

might not need to do the assumption part

i'm still going to show you what finding

these assumptions looks like because if

you can do it it'll help you think more

critically about the prompt but remember

you'll make it out alive if you don't

find that last element

i'm alive yeah

the positions and perspectives though

now those parts are non-negotiable you

gotta make sure you pinpoint those when

you read through the prompt the first

time the reason why you want to find as

much of what i just mentioned as

possible is because this step will be

the springboard for your thoughts it'll

also help you develop different ways to

engage with the prompt besides just

sitting there wishing you didn't have

one more essay to write so let's

actually try step one out with this

particular prompt if i go back to it i

want to recognize that there are two

positions clearly articulated within the

text these would be warning labels allow

individuals not to encounter troubling

material and this is an appropriate

action and the other position is that

tolerating offense is an integral part

of a society that is free in regard to

the perspectives for these positions

you'll notice that the first position is

attributed to general advocates and the

second position is attributed to a

lecturer at the yale child study center

now is one position more important than

the other because of whose perspective

it comes from not necessarily but there

may be one you gravitate toward more and

you just want to consider this you

should also know that sometimes prompts

only offer just one position in

perspective that's okay too if you'd

like an example of a prompt like this

check out the 2018 publicly released ap

lane question 3 about exploring the

unknown anyway once you find these

positions and perspectives all you need

to do is just mark them in the organizer

that's linked in the description down

below this video i'll show you what it

actually looks like in just a few

moments before i do though i want to

draw your attention towards searching

for the assumptions in the prompt as

well all i'm asking you to do is mine

the prompt for areas that imply

something is true without necessarily

articulating that position in the case

of this prompt it implies that the media

is filled with offensive and troubling

content troubling content is

consistently definable and applying

warning labels may negatively affect an

individual's ability to tolerate a

defense if you were to go check out that

2018 prompt i mentioned a little while

ago you'll notice that one of the

assumptions in that prompt would be that

there is actually value in exploring the

unknown all you're doing to find these

assumptions is searching for snippets of

language that suggests something is true

without making the absolute truth claim

about it seriously complex reading skill

here so that's why you need to practice

it a bit and if you really struggle with

it like i said no big deal don't do the

assumptions part the point of this

particular part of searching for

assumptions will only just allow you to

generate more nuanced thoughts about the

topic but you could totally do just that

when finding the positions and the

perspectives that are mentioned so now

once you consider the positions and the

perspectives and the assumptions if you

so choose you're going to want to put

them in the chart and this is what it

will look like

on test day you can just make quick

notes about these things on the white

space underneath your argument prompt

but if you're just trying this out you

should really have a nice organizer to

fill in and of course you guessed it you

can find that blank organizer in the

description right below you know what

else you can find right below this video

things like this the like button and the

subscribe button and the super thanks

button and the channel membership button

and if you even look further in the

description for what else is there

you'll find a link to my ultimate review

packet this is a complete study guide

for ap english language that walks you

through everything you need to know

about the course so you can get an a in

your class and a five on your exam it

provides you with tons of multiple

choice practice practice tests student

samples and scoring commentary you can

sign up to access it for free and get

all of unit one without even paying a

penny but let's get back to the

organizer that we're talking about in

this video if you search in the

description and you look at that

organizer after you fill in step one

you're gonna notice there's a step two

so let's take that step step two super

easy once you identify the positions

perspectives and assumptions i need you

to look at them and just mark whether or

not you agree with what's presented

there if you agree with a particular

position put a plus sign next to it if

you disagree with a particular position

just toss a minus sign next to it you

could do the same with the assumptions

if you chose to mark those and if you

partly agree or disagree just put a

little plus and minus sign next to it

based on my thoughts here's what step

two would look like if i were to fill in

the organizer

i'm not asking you to think of examples

or anything yet i'm just looking for you

to think about what you do and don't

agree with because doing this will help

generate the complexity of your argument

when you begin to produce your thesis

and your paper after you mark your

initial thoughts it's time to search for

the command element of your prompt this

will be step three in the argument

prompt finding the command will always

start with the word argue and then

you're gonna wanna go to the end of the

sentence just underline this language on

test day but for the sake of our

organizer i want you to copy from the

word argue to the end of the sentence

into the box it's gonna look like this

you may remember that i made a video

about how to break down the rhetorical

analysis prompt to really help you

prepare to write the essay when i did i

told you to find the command and then

use it to generate a question that will

allow you to conquer writing that

rhetorical analysis essay well the same

is true for the argument prompt we're

going to use this command to generate a

question or questions that we will have

to answer in our thesis in order to

actually ap which of course stands for

answer the prompt in this case what

you're going to do is you're going to

look at the language in the command and

you're going to ask a question about

what you need to clarify when you

actually respond to the prompt with your

thesis generating this conquer question

is step four when you make this question

you absolutely must start it with either

the word what or the phrase to what

extent and i encourage you to use the

latter so you'll notice that if i were

looking at the command of this prompt i

would need to clearly answer either of

the following questions what is my

position on the use of warning labels or

warning messages to signal potentially

troubling content or to what extent

should warning labels be used to signal

potentially troubling content they are

essentially the same question but one

does bring us to a little bit more

nuance and that's the second one and

notice if i were to answer either of

those questions it would delineate my

position clearly about the use of

warning labels turning the command

element of the prompt into a question

makes thesis generation significantly

easier because you can know if you are

not clearly answering this question in

your sentence and if you're not you're

not setting yourself up for success but

if you do answer that question clearly

you know you've nailed it filling in

this step on my organizer would look

like this

once we've generated a question or

questions that our thesis will have to

answer we're going to finish the job by

quickly jotting down our initial

reaction to the question we generated in

step four no need for extreme nuance

here but you need to have a position

about what the prompt is asking you so

think about all that you've covered in

the prior steps to make the claim that

you're about to for right now go with

your gut even if it's emotionally

charged and it might be unreasonable we

could change things up later you're

going to want to record your position in

the table and it would look something

like this

good you've broken down the prompt

you've gotten your feet wet with the

topic but now just because your initial

reaction is the final step of your

planning don't think you're home free

first you need to practice what i went

over here today so that you can

internalize these steps and complete

them in under five minutes on test day

so go practice with a bunch of ap exam

prompts you can access them online

you'll also need to learn how to turn

all of your planning thoughts into

sophisticated thesis statements and

essays and that's why you're gonna need

to join me in this video right over here

where you can learn how to do exactly

that