How Can Argument Lead to Action?

 Tuesday November 30, 2021

By: Jody Braun    
TWIG Contributor 

        This week's Tuesdays with TWIG discussion was encouragingly rich as a hearty group of educators gathered to discuss how argument can lead to action. It often seems this underlying purpose of why we teach students to write and engage in argument is forgotten or at least de-emphasized amongst all the other expectations and priorities of curriculum. However, with a little reflection, this group of teachers concluded having students apply argument to promote an action is a powerful way to get students invested in their thinking and writing. 

      The discussion started around the concept of action, specifically, how we define action within the realm of argument. It seems simple from a strictly literal perspective, however, thinking about the many possible outcomes for writing brings up many different ways of doing. A simple question with profound implications was brought to  the group's attention: Is the act of writing an argument an end in and of itself? Put another way: Do we always need to write an argument with the expectation that it will influence others to take a specific action? This led to an interesting line of conversation about what we hope students learn about engaging in the various forms of argument. The general consensus was that the action is relative to the situation. The purpose and audience greatly influence the approach to and the intended outcomes from engaging in specific arguments. Sometimes just having the ability to propose new thinking and having others consider it is the main intent. Other times, the hope is to induce tangible change. 

      The latter part of the conversation naturally moved to the specifics of making authentic writing opportunities for students to compose meaningful arguments for a variety of reasons in various contexts. Teachers reflected on how they have personally used arguments in efforts to persuade others to take a specific action. Personal letters, op-eds, and conversations with colleagues are common occurrences. Suggestions from these situations being applied to classroom assignments included student generated  PSAs, letters to school principals or school boards, or other community leaders. The idea of starting with the most personal levels with young students was also mentioned. Writing to one's parents or own teacher with specific requests could be a way to generate meaningful ideas and foster student engagement and ownership of learning. However argument is applied, making it real and important to individual students is foundational to creating the most powerful learning opportunities.