Natalie Sicard

Expository Writing 110

Ms. Johnson

March 13, 2017

Argumentative Essay Self Assessment

1. What is one part of your argumentative essay you are particularly proud of? Copy and
paste it below and explain why.
Being worrisome of the vicious monsters under the bed as a child is a common fear
shared by all. However, as one gets older, these monsters always seem to disappear. But what if
they dont? Today, criminals are the new monsters and the United States is the new bed. The
only difference is these monsters wont go away with age. So what should be done?
I am particularly proud of being able to relate my title Fighting the Monsters Under Our
Bed to the reader. I was also proud that I was able to intertwine this idea into my introduction.

2. What were the areas you received feedback on that you worked really hard to fix in your
next drafts?
One area of feedback I worked hard to fix was about personal pronouns. I kept
excessively using personal pronouns when I didnt need too. In addition to this, I worked on
getting straight to the point in my topic sentences, instead of adding extra fluff before it. A
third and final area of feedback I strived to fix was about organizing my claims and counter
arguments into separate paragraphs instead of having them mashed all together in one.

3. What makes your argument logical and convincing?

I think the tone of my voice and word choice helped make my argument logical and
convincing. I made sure that I wrote in a way that wasnt sassy, rude or disrespectful to people
that agreed with the other side of my argument. I presented my ideas and information in a
convincing, yet respectful manner.

4. Do each of your counterclaims match up directly with your claims? Have you explained
why each of them are wrong?
Claim #1: Those on death row are put there for a reason-- what punishment should they
receive?
Counter #1: Why criminals should receive death penalty over jail time.
Claim #2: Death penalty promotes behavior it seeks to prevent.
Counter #2: Death penalty promotes less want to commit the crime (less criminal
activity)
Claim #3: An innocent person can be placed onto death row.
Counter #3: The system is accurate, very unlikely this will happen.
 My claims do indeed match up with my counters. However, if I had to pick the weakest
one out of the three I would select claim and counter #1. The order is a little funky with that one,
but it is still a strong argument.

5. What areas of writing argumentative essays do you still think you need to work on?
I think I still need to work to improve on giving a little more self-analysis for each
claim/counter argument. When writing argumentative pieces of writing, I shouldnt be afraid to
go more into depth about my arguments.

6. What advice would you give to others about writing argumentative essays?
The piece of advice I would give to others about writing argumentative essays is to stay
organized! Ensure that one has a plan on how to format the argument before starting the essay! It
is much easier to do it at the beginning than while revising. In addition to this make sure that
each claim and counter argument is strong enough to act on its own --- no weak arguments!