Lesson Building an Argument and

2 Defending a Stand on an Issue

You have learned that a position paper presents an arguable opinion about an issue. Your goal as a
writer is to convince the audience that your opinion or stand or claim is valid and worth listening to. It is
important to support your argument or reason with evidence to ensure the validity of your claims. The
best way to defend your stand is to provide ____which includes the following:
 Factual Knowledge – information that is verifiable and agreed upon by
almost everyone
 Statistical Inferences – interpretation and examples of an accumulation of
facts
 Informed Opinion – opinion developed through research and/or expertise of
claims
 Personal Testimony – personal experience related by a knowledgeable party
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WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Learning Objectives:

In this lesson, you will be able to:

1. present reasonable arguments to express a stand on an issue
2. defend a stand on an issue by providing pieces of factual evidence

WHAT I KNOW

Activity 1.TRUE or FALSE

Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is wrong.

Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. It is a good practice to consider all possible views on the issue at hand.
2. Any opinions can be used to support an argument.
3. Factual knowledge is when information is verifiable and agreed upon by almost
everyone.
4. Informed Opinion is an opinion developed through research and/or expertise of
claims.
5. The following are tips in building your argument in an issue: establishing the claim,
identifying supporting reasons, and compiling evidence.
6. If you use direct quotes, put them in special quotation marks and identify authors.
7. Citing sources properly is essential to avoid plagiarism in your writing
8. Without evidence to support them, any statements you make in writing have little or
no value.
9. Paraphrase a source incorrectly.
10. Directly copy and paste phrasing from a source without quotation marks or
citations.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

 WHAT’S NEW

Activity 2. AGREE or DISAGREE

Directions:From the given issue below state whether you agree or disagree in
it. Give at least three reasons. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
“Wearing of face shield in riding public utility vehicles during this pandemic.”

WHAT IS IT
\

How to build your argument

 Establishing your claim

It’s your view on a specific topic that you will defend in your stand and you
need to base it on what your evidence can prove.
 Identifying supporting reasons
Most position essays provide a few supporting reasons for claims, but a longer
one may require more reasons to be strong. They come from your evidence. You
should choose only the statements that you can prove, but search for supporting
reasons in different places to make your argument stronger.
 Compiling your evidence
Identify the evidence that you will use to support your stance and mark them in
any convenient way. You can write citations on cards or use other tools. Choose
the best organizing method that works for you to compile your evidence. Do not
forget to cite all sources:
If you use direct quotes, put them in special quotation marks and identify
authors;
If you summarize or paraphrase something, give credit to the authors.
Avoid going overboard when including evidence. Most of the ideas should be
yours.

Using Evidence: Citing Sources

Citing sources properly is essential to avoid plagiarism in your writing. Not
citing sources properly could imply that the ideas, information, and phrasing you are
using your own, when they actually originated with another author. Plagiarism does
not just mean copy and pasting another author’s words. Plagiarism can occur when
authors:
 Do not include enough citations for paraphrased information,
 Paraphrase a source incorrectly,
 Do not use quotation marks, or
 Directly copy and paste phrasing from a source without quotation marks or
citations

What to Consider
Citation issues can appear when writers use too much information from a
source, rather than including their own ideas and commentary on sources'
information. Here are some factors to consider when citing sources:
1. Did I provide adequate commentary on the cited material?
2. Remember that the cited material should illustrate rather than a substitute for
your point. Make sure your paper is more than a collection of ideas from your
sources; it should provide an original interpretation of that material.
3. Did I begin and end my paragraphs in my own voice?
 The opening sentence of each paragraph should be your topic sentence, and
the final sentence in the paragraph should conclude your point and lead into
the next. Without these aspects, you leave your reader without a sense of the
paragraph's main purpose. Additionally, the reader may not understand your
reasons for including that material.
4. Have I used the cited material to support my specific thesis?
All material that you cite should contribute to your main argument (also called
a thesis or purpose statement). When reading the literature, keep that
argument in mind, noting ideas or research that speaks specifically to the
issues in your particular study.
5. Have I relied too heavily on one source?
Most research papers should include a variety of sources from the last 3-5
years. You may find one particularly useful study, but try to balance your
references to that study with research from other authors. Otherwise, your
paper becomes a book report on that one source and lacks richness of
theoretical perspective.
6. Have I included too many direct quotations?

Direct quotations are best avoided whenever possible. While direct quotations
can be useful for illustrating a rhetorical choice of your author, in most other cases
paraphrasing the material is more appropriate. Using your own words by
paraphrasing will better demonstrate your understanding and will allow you to
emphasize the ways in which the ideas contribute to your paper's main argument.
Observations About Evidence
“Without evidence to support them, any statements you make in writing have a
little or no value; they’re simply opinions, and 10 people may have 10 different
opinions, none of which is more valid than the others unless there is clear and potent
evidence to support it.” Neil Murray, “Writing Essays in English Language and
Linguistics,” 2012.
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WHAT’S MORE
WHAT YOU WILL DO

Activity 3
Directions: Give your stand on the given issue by presenting the pieces of
factual evidence of the topic. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper. Be
guided by the attached rubrics below.

“Topic: Reopening of the Tourist Spots in Bohol

Your output will be graded following the rubric below. Do not forget to cite your
evidence/reference. You may shorten your electronic source using tinyurl.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

Directions: Complete the sentences below. Write your answers on a separate

sheet of paper.

1. In building an argument I need to ____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
2. To defend my stand on an issue I must _______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
 WHAT I CAN DO

Activity 4.
Directions: Write your stand on the scenario given. Your output is rated using
the rubrics attached below.
The student council is petitioning to prepare an arts festival in your school, but
the administration is reluctant to agree to the plan because it involves taking two days
off the students’ normal classes. As one of the organizers, you are tasked to write a
position paper which states your stand for the establishment of the activity to the
administration.

ASSESSMENT

Directions: The table below lists the current prevalent issues that we are
facing today. State your claim or stand on each issue. Then, defend your stand by
citing supporting evidence the best way you can.

Issue Your Claim/Stand Supporting Evidence

Has COVID-19 pandemic changed
the world for its best or for its
worst?
Is online learning effective or not?

Do you think our government’s

economy can sustain our country’s
needs during this uncertain times
of pandemic?
 Attachment 1 – Rubrics for Activities 3 and 4

CRITERIA (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

Organization All of the Ideas are Ideas are Ideas are Almost all of
and ideas are presented in presented in presented in the ideas are
Structure of presented in an organized an organized an organized not presented
the Stand an organized manner with manner with manner with in an
manner minimal 0r a few or 3-5 several or organized
following a at least 1-3 details that more than 5 manner with
consistent details that are details that almost all
structure of are inconsistent are details that
the stand. inconsistent with the inconsistent are
with the structure of with the inconsistent
structure of the stand. structure of with the
the stand. the stand. structure of
the stand.
Position of All of the Majority of At least half Only less than Almost all of
the Main arguments the of the half of the the
Arguments are arguments arguments arguments are arguments
consistent are are consistent are
with the consistent consistent with the inconsistent
position of with the with the position of the with the
the writer on position of position of writer on the position of
the issue the writer on the writer on issue the writer on
presented. the issue the issue presented. the issue
presented. presented. presented.
Persuasive All of the Majority of At least half Only less than Almost all of
Content ideas, the ideas, of the ideas, a half of the the ideas,
details, and details, and details, and ideas, details, details, and
arguments arguments arguments and arguments do
present a present a present a arguments not present a
strong stand strong stand strong stand present a strong stand
that that that strong stand which cannot
persuades persuades persuades that persuade
readers to be readers to be readers to be persuades readers to be
favorable to favorable to favorable to readers to be favorable to
it. it. it. favorable to it. it.
Grammar No There are at There are 6- There are 11- Majority of
and Style grammatical least one (1) 10 15 the text are
errors found but not grammatical grammatical erroneous,
in the text more than errors found errors found n and the
while the five (5) n the text the text while writer’s style
style is fitted grammatical and the the writer’s is not fitted
with the errors found writer’s style style generally to his/her
purpose of in the text somehow confuses the purpose.
the writer. while the does not readers
style fits directly ft regarding
with the with his/her his/her
purpose of purpose. purpose.
the writer
though
minor
details
distract
readers.

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