Many young people and even some adults think that the word “argue” means to fight. But arguing in a thoughtful, considerate, and open-minded manner is the way that progress is made. People disagree. That’s human nature. How they resolve their disagreement is the key to lasting friendships and advancement of our society. The Jane Schaffer Writing Program® trains teachers how to teach the art of writing argumentative responses and essays to students.
From the opinion paper to an Aristotelian classical argument, JSWP begins the process of developing argumentative writing skills by providing strategies to elementary teachers to help them teach their students how to write the opinion essay. By middle school, JSWP guides teachers how to include an effective debatable thesis statement and what is meant by a “concession,” a “counterargument,” and a “refutation.” By high school, JSWP additionally guides teachers to help their students identify rhetorical devices in other writers’ arguments and effectively integrate rhetorical devices into their own writing. As students progress to advanced academic high school courses, JSWP provides training in Aristotelian classical rhetoric, the Rogerian model, and the Toulmin model, which are all regarded as approaches to argumentation.
Arguing well is a skill that all students need – not only to do well in school but also to do well in life. The Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program teaches students how to argue well and for the good of society.
Many states have incorporated argumentation into their summative writing assessments. JSWP provides specific training on writing argumentative responses and essays for high-stakes testing, including but not limited to ACT, AP, SBAC, and STAAR.
Students must not only learn to write effective arguments, but also learn to analyze others’ arguments while participating in various advanced academic courses. JSWP provides specific training on the rhetorical devices and the process needed for analyzing arguments.
After thirty-five years of reviewing writing samples for ever-evolving high-stakes tests, including state and national tests, Advanced Placement® exams, and the International Baccalaureate Program, Dr. Louis and the Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program provide teachers and students with insight and skill regarding writing the argumentative response and essay to achieve higher scores.
JSWP helps teachers learn how to design the most effective argumentative writing prompts, and students learn the important skill of decoding these writing prompts so that the students know the specifics of a writing assignment before the writing begins. There are no more blank stares or confusion about the purpose of the writing assignment.
JSWP helps students to understand how to evaluate and use the best evidence to support their claims when writing an argumentative response or essay.
Providing insightful, thoughtful, and erudite analysis can be one of the most difficult challenges for educators to teach and one of the most frustrating and ambiguous ideas and skills for students to understand and learn. JSWP provides a method of asking questions and unpacking thoughts so that those thoughts transfer from the students’ minds onto their papers or computer screens.
