simple argumentative essay graphic organizer

Free Editable Essay Graphic Organizer Examples

Essays are complex and large write-ups that are not easy to intercept. That’s why it is better to use an essay graphic organizer to visualize your complex structured outline in a simple manner. In fact, there is nothing better than some free graphic organizer examples that save both your time and effort. So, let’s have an overview of this essay organizers and free example templates.

1. What is Essay Graphic Organizer

An essay graphic organizer enhances your research with visual elements. It helps the writer to correlate facts, observations, and notions. On top of that, it outlines the essay and provides an organized strategy for the writer.

A graphic organizer for writing helps the writers to tackle hard and long essay formats. A writer can use its visual aid to complete the write-up step by step. A graphic organizer for essays has different types based on primary functions.

• An Outline Based Essay Organizer

These types of essay organizers have at least 3 thesis. The whole story revolves around these. Moreover, the organizer includes specific supporting details and subtopic names that make the way crystal clear for writers. However, these organizers do not need much essay explanation. Most indications are worldly phrases that direct the attention toward thoughts and observations.

• A Contrasting Essay Organizer :

As the name indicates, it helps the writer to organize varying thoughts about topics and compare them. Moreover, it helps the writer to collect, conceive and portray the information ahead of time. The writer can use it for two collective primary topics or a single point from both topics. In both cases, the essay organizer will help them take visual notes and use them to their advantage while writing.

• Organizer For A Persuasive Essay :

The persuasive essay organizer helps the writer to persuade an audience toward a single topic. It includes three or more supporting details for the topic. Furthermore, the organizer includes written evidence for those details that help prove the point.

2. The Essay Graphic Organizer Examples

Using an essay graphic organizer for writing brings credibility and flexibility to your essays with extensive research. Essay writing is a tough job, especially if it has more than one subtopic.

Essays require tons of details. All that quality is up to no good if it is not organized and well structured. An essay organizer for writing helps you understand how the minor details contribute to overall concepts. With thorough research and long formats, essay writing may become dull. However, an organizer helps you to perfectly structure your thoughts with appealing visuals that make them engaging and far less challenging.

Basic 5-Paragraph Essay Graphic Organzier

5-Paragraph Essay

Expository Essay Graphic Organizer

Persuasive Essay Graphic Organizer

Essay Graphic Organzier

Narrative Essay Graphic Organizer

Example 1: 5 Paragraph Essay Graphic Organzier

The most common type of essay writing format is a 5-paragraph essay. Essay graphic organizer for writing helps organize all those 5 paragraphs and insert valuable information inside them. It includes the first paragraph section in which the writer inserts the topic sentence and at least three thesis statements. The upcoming three paragraphs briefly summarize those statements and provide at least three pieces of evidence for each thesis. Finally, the last paragraph repeats the main statement and includes an overall concluding statement. Moreover, every thesis detail includes a conclusion statement that conceives the entire concept.

Example 2: Printable 5 Paragraph Essay Graphic Organizer

It is also the type of essay organizer writers use to organize the outline of a 5-paragraph essay format. Its first paragraph is of introduction which includes with a thesis statement instead of a topic sentence. The statement inside the paragraph includes three supporting examples with itself. Moreover, the second paragraph has a topic sentence that the previous thesis supports. Plus, it has individual evidence details that prove the topic sentence true. The third paragraph includes a thesis statement that correlates with the previous and upcoming topic sentence. Finally, the last paragraph has the essay's main idea and a concluding statement that proves the point.

Example 3: Argumentative Essay Graphic Organizer

This template solemnly deals with the expository template of the essay. It focuses on the essay's three most basic parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion. Moreover, the writer evaluates the selected topic in it with examples and evidence and closes the argument clearly and concisely. The exemplary diagram includes 2 separate boxes in the introduction sections. One of them is for the hook that engages the audience, whereas the other depicts the essay's main idea. Inside the body section, the writer briefly lists three examples, each with individual supporting details. Finally, the conclusion includes two sections; one for reviewing and rewriting the central concept and the other to input the closing details of the essay.

Example 4: Persuasive Essay Graphic Organizer

This example diagram of the essay graphic organizer for writing helps to persuade a general or specific audience toward your point of view. The primary purpose is to enlist your opinion and evaluate it with the help of numerous supporting details. As for the organizer, it is for a 5 paragraph format. The first one has an engaging beginning, a summary of the issue, and your opinion. Furthermore, the next 3 provide different reasons that support your opinion. Moreover, the section also includes evidence in the form of examples and textual details that support every reason individually. The last paragraph is a conclusive one that restates the opinion, summarizes all three reasons again, and gives a CTA (call to action) at the end. However, you can ditch the CTA and add a simple closing statement that supports your opinion.

Example 5: Informational Essay Graphic Organizer

This type of organizer is for essays having more than one main idea. The organizer's interface has several colors that make it engaging and appealing. Due to the color, it is referred to as a Rainbow essay organizer. A big individual box includes the whole organized outline of the essay. The writer has to briefly write all three ideas in it and support their point of view. Moreover, the organizer includes an introduction and conclusion description. At last, there is a final draft section that concludes the whole essay and supports either all three or one suitable main idea.

Example 6: Narrative Essay Graphic Organizer

The expository essay is a genre that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea clearly and concisely. The below expository essay web diagram is created using EdrawMax Online and shows blank spaces for Thesis Statement, Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Details about all the examples, and argumentative points. Expository writing gives facts and information about a topic, and as the web diagram suggests, a good expository essay introduces the main idea and develops it with facts and supporting details.

3. How to Make an Essay Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers are the modern way of learning. With passing time, people are using them in every type of write-up. Therefore, it is better to understand its production process so that you can make one specifically for your essay. The online production software uses four simple steps to generate a graphic organizer for essays.

Step 1 - Head on to EdrawMax Online or download EdrawMax . Make an account and log in to it.

Step 2 - Once inside, you can start creating the graphic organizer on a blank edit sheet or readymade essay organizers, such as mindmaps and spider maps. However, this process is time-consuming. If you want an easy solution, head to the main menu on the left, look for Templates Community , and click on it.

Step 3 - Clicking on the Template Community option will take you to a social network of designers and a general audience like you that post templates daily for public use. You can search for your very own template and duplicate it onto your sheet using the button Duplicate.

Step 4 - Finally, start customizing it as you like. You can change the font, color, and components. Moreover, you can add new ones if you like. Once you are done and satisfied, export and share your template with others using the Button Publish present on the top right corner.

4. Online Graphic Organizer Maker

Traditional ways are gone when you had to work extensively for a simple diagram in lining software. Online graphic organizers like EdrawMax made graphic organizer designing much easier and less time-consuming. All thanks to its easy-to-use interface and basic yet helpful tool kits, designing a diagram is possible for every individual with basic knowledge.

Moreover, EdrawMax saves a lot of effort and time with the help of readymade templates. This online graphic organizer maker is suitable for any type of consumer to generate any variation of the graphic organizer. Its biggest pro is the Templates Community , with thousands of readymade templates for users. In this social biome, you can not only pick the one that suits you well but share your ideas with the community as well.

5. Key Takeaways

The visual aid of essay graphic organizers helps the writers to organize their researched facts and general thoughts according to references. Moreover, it gives a direction to the audience and the writer for the essay. As for its usage, the writers are helping themselves with it in their professional careers. Moreover, it proves exponentially efficient in the academic field for students. When it comes to essay writing, it helps in both of these by establishing a relevant and valid connection. Plus, communicating our thoughts with visual sketches and doodles is less boring and more engaging.

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How to Use Graphic Organizers to Write Better Essays

Lucid Content

Reading time: about 6 min

If you’re a student, there’s no way around the inevitable: You’re going to have to write essays. Lots of essays. In fact, the five-paragraph essay is so fundamental to the high school curriculum that it’s still used on the ACTs, and knowing how to recognize the organizational structure of essays will help you score higher on the SATs.

Even though it seems like a chore, knowing how to organize and write an essay can have a lasting effect on your life, from getting into a better college to scoring a better job to performing better in that job long after your high school days are over.

Here’s a secret: Using graphic organizers for writing essays can help you write better essays faster. (And don’t count yourself out if you’re an educator—you can offer these tools to help your students succeed.) We’ll show you exactly how to do it.

Why use graphic organizers

When ACT graders or teachers are looking your essay, they’re looking for very specific criteria; essentially, they’re looking at how well you’ve organized your thoughts. Many students don’t take the time to outline their essay structure before writing, and that always means a lower score on a test and a lower grade on the essay in class.

Using a writing template can feel like an unnecessary step in an already complicated process. If you need extra motivation to implement these organizers into your writing routine, consider all of their benefits. Graphic organizers can help you:

• Save time by showing you where each piece of the essay “lives.”
• Have more productive brainstorming sessions, either by yourself or with a group.
• Make connections between ideas and create a more cohesive argument.
• Pinpoint holes in your arguments and either adjust the thesis or find supporting statements.
• Keep track of your research.
• Organize your thoughts and come to interesting, more compelling conclusions.
• Stay in the right direction when you feel lost in a sea of words.
• Manage anxiety by converting the fear of a blank assignment into an action plan with a clear map.

With all those benefits, it’s hard to ignore how useful and vital graphic organizers are to writing. And once you’ve become adept at organizing your thoughts for something like a school essay, you’ll find that skill carries with you throughout your life, whether you’re trying to become a more intelligent debater to negotiate prices. It goes beyond just the essay to becoming a better thinker. And it starts with a simple template.

We’ll walk you through several use cases for graphic organizers and provide templates for you to download and fill in when you’re ready to write.

Brainstorming graphic organizers

Brainstorming is important, not only to come up with ideas for topics but to determine what information you need to include in the essay once you’ve determined your topic. Though many think of brainstorming as just freeflow thinking, brainstorming is most productive when you work within specific parameters.

That’s why essay brainstorming graphic organizers are useful, whether you’re using one to brainstorm on your own or you’re working with a group.

In Lucidchart, our mind map shapes and templates double as brainstorming graphic organizers. Start with an essay prompt as your central shape and then fill in the shapes that branch off your prompt with topic ideas. Alternatively, you can add your selected topic to the center and start brainstorming the different ideas you need to cover in your paper.

When the template is filled in, you’ll have a clear starting point for your essay or research paper.

Research paper graphic organizers

Nothing paralyzes students with fear quite like a research paper. These long-form papers require—as the name implies—quite a bit of research, and their purpose is to teach students how to look for valid sources to support their arguments.

But keeping track of all those sources and tying them into your argument can be tricky. That’s where a research paper graphic organizer can be a student’s greatest ally.

This template lays out the writing process itself. After you come up with a general topic, like “the disappearance of honey bees,” fill in the “Research Paper Topic” box.

Then, start looking for reputable sources (Wikipedia doesn’t count) and use the five sources boxes to hold the most relevant quotes and statistics you find. Using those quotes and statistics, you can then fill out a thesis statement that is supported by the research.

Then, you’ll be able to focus your paragraphs on a single topic each that supports the thesis statement and your overarching argument. After you’ve filled out the template, the backbone of the research paper is complete: All that’s left to do is fill in the spaces between sources and arguments.

5-paragraph essay graphic organizer

When it comes to writing the five-paragraph essay, writing diagrams are key. By using graphic organizers for writing, you’re no longer staring at a giant blank piece of paper with no idea how or where to begin. Your graphic organizer is your map.

Although using writing diagrams may seem time-consuming, the fact is that taking the time to fill a graphic organizer in before writing actually saves time. If there’s a problem with the argument, it will show up on the diagram, or if there’s not enough evidence to support your argument, you’ll know before you’ve wasted time writing the paper. And, as we said before, even if your writing is terrible, if your argument is sound, you’ll still score a decent grade.

Try this 5-paragraph essay template to get you started.

Don’t feel pressured to come up with a compelling title right away. Instead, it’s more important that you come up with a thesis statement that can be supported by three solid arguments. Fill in that thesis statement and your arguments. Then, for each argument, figure out three supporting details to support your case.

That’s it! You’ve got the most essential parts of your 5-paragraph essay completed.

Now, come up with an introduction that sets the stage for your argument and a conclusion that wraps up and restates your thesis and supporting arguments in a compelling way. Now you have a solid plan for your paper and can approach it with confidence.

If you’d like a more linear graphic that exactly follows the structure of the 5-paragraph, use the writing template below and follow the same process.

Visuals, such as graphic organizers for writing, can help you better understand concepts, think creatively, and collaborate with your classmates—and there are plenty of other templates where these came from.

Lucidchart offers hundreds of templates to help you through your studies, including timelines, Venn diagrams, word maps, and more. Sign up for Lucidchart and upgrade to an Educational account for free.

Resources for teachers

Providing graphic resources to students is essential; after all, many of your students will be visual learners, so while you may beautifully explain how the process works, there will be some who won’t understand until they see a template of the essay itself.

Lucidchart has many resources for teachers, from lesson plans to writing templates. While you’re teaching your students how to write essays or research papers, it’s useful to print out the templates and fill them out together (even using a completed template as a separate assignment with a separate grade) so that your students can get a feel for properly filling out graphic organizers before attempting it on their own.

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Check out how Annika, a recent English graduate of the University of Michigan, used mind mapping in Lucidchart to develop her honors thesis.

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Argumentative Essay Graphic Organizer Freebie

Argumentative writing may sound like a new concept or approach, but it is not.  This term basically means to argue one’s opinion while understanding that there is an opposing side. 

Brought to the forefront with the adoption of the new ELA Common Core Standards, middle and high school students alike need practice in developing argumentative writing.  This allows them to increase their comfort level in choosing a side on a controversial issue and developing their opinion using persuasive language and techniques.  From there, writers should be able to think about the arguments or counterclaims that the opposing side would make in response.  Not only should the author seek to provide these counterclaims, but to add support that dismisses the opposition’s argument.  

The argumentative graphic organizer is a strategic teaching tool that better equips students to develop this type of writing.  This graphic organizer is designed to anticipate the needs of the readers, as well as have the author utilize a variety of detail types to develop their opinion with more than just fluffy, eloquent language.  

To download this resource for free click here and to view over 100 of our resources click here

Kevin has worked in education for over two decades. He has a Masters degree in Educational Technologies and runs two companies providing educational content to schools, students and teachers.

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Exploring Argument Writing With Visual Tools

Teachers can have students use graphic organizers and timelines to clarify their thinking during the writing process.

As a teacher who loves to write and engage students with writing, I’ve experienced many challenges in attempting to bring composition into the classroom. While some students readily fill up blank pages with words inspired by their lives and stories they love, others are seemingly always in search of the best words.

More challenging still are those moments when I’ve led students through the steps necessary for expository and research-based argument writing. I’ve found that my students who are comfortable with the narrative mode are now thrust into compositing in a way that is unfamiliar ground.

This article explores some ways I’ve applied graphic organizers and visual planning strategies to the work of argument writing—which is perhaps the mode I consider the most challenging in the classroom.

Sifting Content

First among the challenges for argument is the way that debate and disagreement are often portrayed in popular culture—shouting matches and interruption rounds where it seems that the loudest voice wins out. In my classroom, the approach that I attempt to foster for argument is one of thoughtful intention and wisely applied rhetorical strategies.

As with much of the secondary curriculum I have worked with from middle-grades English to advanced composition, sorting information into categories (ethos/ethics, logos/logic, and emotion/pathos) is a helpful step once a topic is shared and resources are gathered.

But sorting through multiple paragraphs and pages in search of the “just right” evidence can be challenging and is a critical reading practice all on its own. To support these steps in criticality, I suggest that students create a simple three-column chart in which they can begin to sort the emotional, logical, and ethics-driven elements of their argument. Using a visual scaffold to support exploration of a complex reading is an essential step for me—and I used a similar strategy just this past week in my junior-level English class to sort out ideas and compare the writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

By sorting ideas in this way, students can physically see how balanced their argument actually is, and they can begin thinking about what they need to ramp up for the eventual presentation of the case. 

Gathering Further Ideas

Another challenge in composing arguments is not only sorting and interpreting information, but also applying it in a way that includes informative and persuasive techniques.

As students consider the ways to apply these skills, they can begin to think through additional sources that they can use to build their foundation for thinking about the issues they’re presenting and noting the sources that help them build the strongest case. This type of exploring and writing is especially important when practicing synthesizing ideas across multiple sources.

On the surface, this process sounds like reading and rereading multiple sources (and it is). However, I apply a visual scaffold to this process to help students think about how their resources are linked and support or contradict each other. I illustrate the claim, counterclaim, and rebuttal aspects of argument structure through a visual outline, but the work of fleshing out these sections of the discussion takes place best in a mind map structure.

A simple three-circle Venn diagram can help students begin placing ideas into the claim section, and they can explore how authors overlap ideas with one another through this graphic organizer format. Ideally, they reach a point where the strongest ideas are in the center “target” point of the argument structure. They can think about best placement of these strongest ideas as leading points or final rebuttals—depending on what they want to leave their audience with. This approach is also helpful for relieving some of the stress that can surround framing what might be a challenging and less comfortable form of writing.

The additional details they gather can then be sorted further into areas of the argument structure that make sense.

Establishing Timelines

Further adapting the outline style, I encourage students to think about the argument as a timeline wherein their audience is most likely to connect with information early and remember information late. Outlining is almost always a building block of what I ask students to engage with when composing. For debates and discussions in our class, writing a timeline is an effective process.

From this timeline (prompting discussion and exploration of evidence and argument), students can practice writing their own arguments and responses by modifying it and including aspects of evidence and ideas they want to share (in whatever particular order they'd like to present their research).

Crafting Closing Arguments

By approaching an argument step-by-step, as discussion and collaboration that improves through a process, I have the goal of making what might seem complicated and overwhelming much more attainable and inviting—even, dare I say, active and interesting.

I recognize that many of my students might not have had vast experiences with all of the modes of writing and composing, and I take into account that some will be more naturally inclined to some ways of writing and sharing than others. Some students eagerly take the lead in an oral debate process, while others more readily engage in the research roles and independent writing components of the work.

As with much of my work in literacy, I attempt to make an invisible process clear and visual—in this case, through graphic organizers. I am aware that teachers might find other graphic organizer options that work more effectively at particular aspects of the argument process. For example, the Venn diagram might not communicate in the ways that a teacher may want, and so a flow chart/mind map or T-chart might work as a better substitute.

I encourage teachers to modify any steps in order to better support their students and focus on the importance of critical thinking and composing for all students.

Persuasion Map

About this printout

Use this graphic organizer to develop a persuasive stance for an essay, speech, poster, or any type of assignment that incorporates persuasion.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try, related resources.

Examples of persuasion surround our lives, and the ability to persuade others is a powerful asset. We can persuade people to act in our favor, help them to see our point of view, and sway their opinion to that of our own. The power of persuasion is far reaching, and it is a technique that students will use throughout their lives. This tool helps students formulate ideas for a persuasive argument by helping them determine their goal or thesis, identify three reasons to support it (with three facts or examples to support each reason), and restate the thesis in a conclusion statement. Before your students use this tool independently, model its use for them. Choose a simple topic (such as, “Sixth Grade is the Best Grade” or “Why Our Lunch Period Should be Longer”). Then, fill in the Persuasion Map while discussing the process  aloud, displaying the tool so that all students can see it. Review students’ completed maps prior to having them continue with the persuasion assignment. This will provide you with an opportunity to check students’ understanding of persuasion and help those who need extra instruction.

• Have students analyze a persuasive piece (for example, an advertisement or editorial in a newspaper or magazine) by filling in the map and discussing the authors’ strategies of persuasion.
• Encourage older students to create propaganda-based assignments by having them incorporate deceptive language in some of the “reasons” or “examples” on their maps. (Propaganda is a form of persuasion that uses deceptive language to exaggerate, distort, or conceal information.) Upon completion, have students read their maps orally and/or display them for their peers. Have students identify the deceptive language in their peers’ maps to create a class list of the examples used. As an additional follow-up, students can view and read advertisements, newspaper editorials, and other text that contain propaganda to search for use of the examples on the class list and to add additional ones.
• Have students complete two maps based on the same goal but with two different targeted audiences in mind. Attention to audience is an essential element of effective persuasion. For example, students might create maps to market a particular children’s toy; one map could target children as the audience, and the other could focus on parents as the audience. After they have completed their maps, have students read them to the class without identifying the intended audience. Ask the rest of the class to determine the intended audience and identify the specific clues that prompted their deductions. Finally, as a class, compare and contrast the language and words used for each intended audience.
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives
• Strategy Guides

Through a classroom game and resource handouts, students learn about the techniques used in persuasive oral arguments and apply them to independent persuasive writing activities.

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

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Argumentative Writing - Basic, Intermediate & Advanced Outlines

All three can be used in the same class--with either you assigning different organizers to different students per their needs, or students choosing an outline for themselves. Use these as a checkpoint in writing, or as an assessment for student understanding of each argumentative element.

Basic Outline: Use this essay outline template for students who either do not need much support in writing a comprehensive argumentative essay and need only to jot down ideas, or students who should just focus on Claim-Reason-Evidence for this round as a scaffolded step. The claim should be an opinion or something that other people could reasonably disagree with. Reasons should each be different ideas that supports their claim, and evidence should be facts -- either found through research or commonly known.

Intermediate Outline: This outline is similar to the Basic outline, but pushes students to explain what their evidence proves or suggests (reasoning). It also pushes them one step further to preview their points in their claim. Use this outline for students who need to organize their thinking and improve flow in their argument, or for students to brainstorm and outline their essay. It can also be used for ELL students, as the sentence stems can be very helpful in constructing their sentences. This outline is also especially useful for students who are struggling to add reasoning to their writing.

Advanced Outline: This is an outline for more advanced students who could benefit from the push to add more evidence for each reason and more thoroughly explain how their evidence supports their claim. It also includes a paragraph for the counterargument, which you could have students teach themselves from this outline or include as part of your counterargument lesson.

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10 Free Graphic Organizer Templates for Any Subject

Different lessons require different types of content to help students learn. Here are 10 free graphic organizer templates to use for any subject.

Most students are returning to the classroom in Fall 2021, but everyone’s learning methods have had to change over the past two years. It’s important to adapt as an educator with new techniques , digital materials, and fresh content to keep students engaged .

For any subject, graphic organizers provide effective ways to introduce, teach, develop, and test new material. But different lessons require different types of content to help students learn best. I’m going to give you 10 free graphic organizer templates to use for any subject – just use the Make It button to customize, label, and download your graphic organizer.

• Venn Diagram
• Plot Pyramid
• Brainstorm Chart
• Concept Map
• 5-Paragraph Essay Outline
• 4 Square Writing Chart

1. Flowchart

The Flowchart is one of the most versatile and recognizable forms of graphic organizer out there, ideal for project planning and science experiments. A goes to B goes to C goes to D . With this version, you can copy and paste sections of the chart to make it as long or as short as you need, label each section with specific details, and add a title and other information for your assignment.

2. Timeline

The Timeline is similar to the flowchart , with events spaced out along a single path . In a Timeline, however, the intervals between the events is important to the graphic organizer as a whole. Using this template, you can drag events from one point of the Timeline to another, and add text labels for years and events.

3. Venn Diagram

One of the most widely-used graphic organizers, the Venn Diagram provides a simple way for students to compare and contrast 2 or more distinct ideas. With this template, you can copy and recolor the Venn Diagram circles to compare any number of items with each other.

4. Plot Pyramid

This graphic organizer is most commonly used in elementary and middle school English, language arts, and literature classes. It’s used to identify and map the various stages of a plot arc , from exposition to conclusion. Use this template to title the Plot Pyramid and add any other relevant information you need.

5. Brainstorm Chart

The Brainstorm Chart is a far more freeform type of graphic organizer than most others on this list, and can be arranged almost any way you like. All it requires is a central idea or “problem” to solve, along with an array of other ideas and concepts that are connected to it, and supporting details for these connected points. The freeform nature of the Brainstorm Chart allows students to think creatively and originally on any subject.

6. Concept Map

The Concept Map is similar in form to the Brainstorm Chart, but with slightly more limitations on how it’s used. It’s used to illustrate the relationships that exist between various related concepts , filling in different sections of the organizer to show how the different parts are connected. The Concept Map is perfect for introducing students to a new set of related vocabulary terms in any subject.

7. 5-Paragraph Essay Outline

While some of your students may not remember the 5-paragraph essay too fondly years later, it’s an important step in developing their persuasive writing . This classic 5-paragraph planner is perfect for helping students construct their arguments, counter-arguments, supporting data, and conclusions before they put pen to paper.

8. 4 Square Writing Chart

The 4 Square Writing Chart is similar to the 5-paragraph essay outline, it gives space for looser organizational styles and more creative types of writing structure . The central area contains the main idea or argument, and the surrounding squares are filled with supporting arguments, sections of a narrative essay, personal experiences, or several sides to the same story.

9. Story Map

The Story Map is used for a similar purpose to the Plot Pyramid, but with a broader approach to narrative plot arcs. In the Story Map, students not only recount the plot progression of a story, but detail the setting , characters , and central problems and outcomes . There are dozens of ways to organize your own Story Map, so I recommend you use this template to include whatever areas are most important for your students to identify and analyze.

10. KWL Chart

KWL Charts ask students to write on three different things before and after completing a lesson, activity, or reading: what they Know already about the topic, what they Want to learn from the lesson, and, afterward, what they Learned from the experience. It creates more of a big-picture exercise than most of the graphic organizers on this list, allowing students to identify what they gain from their lessons.

I hope these graphic organizer templates help you engage students effectively in every subject you teach. For more tips and tutorials on creating great digital content in 2021, check out the Kapwing YouTube channel or read through some related articles on education materials:

• 10 Back to School Frames for Fall 2021 • The 4 Best Ways to Learn Video Editing Online • How to Add Subtitles to a Lecture Video • How to Make a Frayer Model Online

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Argumentative Writing Unit | Argument Essay Graphic Organizers | PowerPoint

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Description.

Introduce argumentative writing to all levels of learners with this comprehensive unit! Everything you need to differentiate and scaffold instruction is included with this printable and digital argument writing lesson! Use this bundle of step-by-step materials to guide students through every paragraph and element of argument writing. Make it easy for all students to plan, draft, and revise their essays. A PowerPoint and Google Slides presentation is also included! 

Included With Your Purchase:

• Powerpoint & Google Slides Presentation: “How to Write an Argument Essay”
• Introductory Activity
• Transition Words
• Introduction
• Body Paragraphs 1 & 2
• Body Paragraph 3
• Citing Sources
• Essay Template
• Editing Checklist
• Essay Topics
• Student Example

Great for 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade!

CHECK OUT THE PREVIEW TO SEE A LOT MORE!

Teacher Tip:

• Use the worksheets to create your own argument writing workshops. Each workshop can focus on a different paragraph or element of argumentative writing. This will make the writing process easy to differentiate and/or scaffold for all levels of learners. 

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How to Teach Argument Writing Step-By-Step

No doubt, teaching argument writing to middle school students can be tricky. Even the word “argumentative” is off-putting, bringing to mind pointless bickering. But once I came up with argument writing lessons that were both fun and effective, I quickly saw the value in it. And so did my students.

You see, we teachers have an ace up our sleeve. It’s a known fact that from ages 11-14, kids love nothing more than to fire up a good ole battle royale with just about anybody within spitting distance.

Yup. So we’re going to use their powers of contradiction to OUR advantage by showing them how to use our argument writing lessons to power up their real-life persuasion skills. Your students will be knocking each other over in the hall to get to the room first!

I usually plan on taking about three weeks on the entire argument writing workshop. However, there are years when I’ve had to cut it down to two, and that works fine too.

Here are the step-by-step lessons I use to teach argument writing. It might be helpful to teachers who are new to teaching the argument, or to teachers who want to get back to the basics. If it seems formulaic, that’s because it is. In my experience, that’s the best way to get middle school students started.

Prior to Starting the Writer’s Workshop

A couple of weeks prior to starting your unit, assign some quick-write journal topics. I pick one current event topic a day, and I ask students to express their opinion about the topic.

Quick-writes get the kids thinking about what is going on in the world and makes choosing a topic easier later on.

Define Argumentative Writing

I’ll never forget the feeling of panic I had in 7th grade when my teacher told us to start writing an expository essay on snowstorms. How could I write an expository essay if I don’t even know what expository MEANS, I whined to my middle school self.

We can’t assume our students know or remember what argumentative writing is, even if we think they should know. So we have to tell them. Also, define claim and issue while you’re at it.

Establish Purpose

I always tell my students that learning to write an effective argument is key to learning critical thinking skills and is an important part of school AND real-life writing.

We start with a fictional scenario every kid in the history of kids can relate to.

ISSUE : a kid wants to stay up late to go to a party vs. AUDIENCE : the strict mom who likes to say no.

The “party” kid writes his mom a letter that starts with a thesis and a claim: I should be permitted to stay out late to attend the part for several reasons.

By going through this totally relatable scenario using a modified argumentative framework, I’m able to demonstrate the difference between persuasion and argument, the importance of data and factual evidence, and the value of a counterclaim and rebuttal.

Students love to debate whether or not strict mom should allow party kid to attend the party. More importantly, it’s a great way to introduce the art of the argument, because kids can see how they can use the skills to their personal advantage.

Persuasive Writing Differs From Argument Writing

At the middle school level, students need to understand persuasive and argument writing in a concrete way. Therefore, I keep it simple by explaining that both types of writing involve a claim. However, in persuasive writing, the supporting details are based on opinions, feelings, and emotions, while in argument writing the supporting details are based on researching factual evidence.

I give kids a few examples to see if they can tell the difference between argumentation and persuasion before we move on.

Argumentative Essay Terminology

In order to write a complete argumentative essay, students need to be familiar with some key terminology . Some teachers name the parts differently, so I try to give them more than one word if necessary:

• thesis statement
• bridge/warrant
• counterclaim/counterargument*
• turn-back/refutation

*If you follow Common Core Standards, the counterargument is not required for 6th-grade argument writing. All of the teachers in my school teach it anyway, and I’m thankful for that when the kids get to 7th grade.

Organizing the Argumentative Essay

I teach students how to write a step-by-step 5 paragraph argumentative essay consisting of the following:

• Introduction : Includes a lead/hook, background information about the topic, and a thesis statement that includes the claim.
• Body Paragraph #1 : Introduces the first reason that the claim is valid. Supports that reason with facts, examples, and/or data.
• Body Paragraph #2 : The second reason the claim is valid. Supporting evidence as above.
• Counterargument (Body Paragraph #3): Introduction of an opposing claim, then includes a turn-back to take the reader back to the original claim.
• Conclusion : Restates the thesis statement, summarizes the main idea, and contains a strong concluding statement that might be a call to action.

Mentor Texts

If we want students to write a certain way, we should provide high-quality mentor texts that are exact models of what we expect them to write.

I know a lot of teachers will use picture books or editorials that present arguments for this, and I can get behind that. But only if specific exemplary essays are also used, and this is why.

If I want to learn Italian cooking, I’m not going to just watch the Romanos enjoy a holiday feast on Everybody Loves Raymond . I need to slow it down and follow every little step my girl Lidia Bastianich makes.

The same goes for teaching argument writing. If we want students to write 5 paragraph essays, that’s what we should show them.

In fact, don’t just display those mentor texts like a museum piece. Dissect the heck out of those essays. Pull them apart like a Thanksgiving turkey. Disassemble the essay sentence by sentence and have the kids label the parts and reassemble them. This is how they will learn how to structure their own writing.

Also, encourage your detectives to evaluate the evidence. Ask students to make note of how the authors use anecdotes, statistics, and facts. Have them evaluate the evidence and whether or not the writer fully analyzes it and connects it to the claim.

This is absolutely the best way for kids to understand the purpose of each part of the essay.

Research Time

Most of my students are not very experienced with performing research when we do this unit, so I ease them into it. (Our “big” research unit comes later in the year with our feature article unit .)

I start them off by showing this short video on how to find reliable sources. We use data collection sheets and our school library’s database for research. There are also some awesome, kid-friendly research sites listed on the Ask a Tech Teacher Blog .

Step-By-Step Drafting

The bedrock of drafting is to start with a solid graphic organizer. I have to differentiate for my writers, and I’ve found they have the most success when I offer three types of graphic organizers.

1- Least Support: This is your standard graphic organizer. It labels each paragraph and has a dedicated section for each part of the paragraph.

2- Moderate Support: This one has labels and sections, but also includes sentence stems for each sentence in the paragraph.

3- Most Support: This one has labels and sections and also includes fill-in-the-blank sentence frames . It’s perfect for my emerging writers, and as I’ve mentioned previously, students do NOT need the frames for long and soon become competent and independent writers.

Writing the Introduction

The introduction has three parts and purposes.

First, it has a hook or lead. While it should be about the topic, it shouldn’t state the writer’s position on the topic. I encourage students to start with a quote by a famous person, an unusual detail, a statistic, or a fact.

Kids will often try to start with a question, but I discourage that unless their question also includes one of the other strategies. Otherwise, I end up with 100 essays that start with, “Do you like sharks?” Lol

Next, it’s time to introduce the issue. This is the background information that readers need in order to understand the controversy.

Last, students should state the claim in the thesis statement. I call it a promise to the reader that the essay will deliver by proving that the claim is valid.

Writing the Supporting Body Paragraphs

Each supporting body paragraph should start with a topic sentence that introduces the idea and states the reason why the claim is valid. The following sentences in the paragraph should support that reason with facts, examples, data, or expert opinions. The bridge is the sentence that connects that piece of evidence to the argument’s claim. The concluding sentence should restate the reason.

Writing the Counterclaim Paragraph

The counterclaim paragraph is a very important aspect of argument writing. It’s where we introduce an opposing argument and then confidently take the reader back to the original argument. I tell students that it’s necessary to “get in the head” of the person who might not agree with their claim, by predicting their objections.

It can be tough for kids to “flip the switch” on their own argument, so I like to practice this a bit. I give them several pairs of transitions that go together to form a counterclaim and rebuttal. I also switch up what I call this part so that they use the terminology interchangeably.

• It might seem that [ counterargument . ]However, [ turn-back .]
• Opponents may argue that [ counterargument .] Nevertheless, [ turn back .]
• A common argument against this position is [ counterargument .] Yet, [ turn-back .]

A great way for kids to practice this is to have them work with partners to write a few counterarguments together. I let them practice by giving them easy role-playing topics.

• Your cousins want to jump into a poison ivy grove for a TikTok challenge. Choose your position on this and write a counterargument and turn-back.
• Your friend wants to get a full-face tattoo of their boyfriend’s name. Choose your position on this and write a counterargument and turn-back.

This kind of practice makes the counterargument much more clear.

The concluding paragraph should remind the reader of what was argued in the essay and why it matters. It might also suggest solutions or further research that could be done on the topic. Or students can write a call to action that asks the reader to perform an action in regard to the information they’ve just learned.

My students write about local issues and then turn the essays into letters to our superintendent, school board, or state senators. It’s an amazing way to empower kids and to show them that their opinion matters. I’ve written about that here and I’ve included the sentence frames for the letters in my argumentative writing unit.

I hope this gives you a good overview of teaching argument writing. Please leave any questions below. Please also share your ideas, because we all need all the help we can give each other!

And one more thing. Don’t be surprised if parents start asking you to tone down the unit because it’s become harder to tell their kids why they can’t stay up late for parties. 🙂

Stay delicious!

Narrative Writing Workshop for Middle School ELA

Fiction & Nonfiction Reading -Teach, Practice, Test BUNDLE – Middle School ELA

RACES Writing Introduction to Paragraph Frames DIGITAL & EDITABLE

Digital Graphic Organizers: Argumentative Writing

Grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

About This Product

This product is designed to work with ANY argumentative writing piece. Designed for a secondary classroom – but NOT SUBJECT LIMITED. This is an excellent resource for all subject and content areas. Meet the unique needs of your students by giving them OPTIONS! Each students’ needs are different, and offering them different styles of organizers is a great way to get them to learn what works best for them! You can either PRINT or EDIT DIGITALLY using Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides. DIGITAL USAGE: All of the digital templates are in two files - vertical and horizontal organizers – you can either share the entire file with your students and let them edit directly in the document, or share a specific organizer by dragging and dropping the slide you want into a separate file, saving, and sharing out that unique file. Either way works great! Happy writing!

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Argumentative Essay Writing with Free Graphic Organizer and Checklist

Published: April 23, 2018

Contributor: Jeannette Tuionetoa

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

This free resource is designed to help learn about writing an argumentative or persuasive essay and comes with a graphic organizer and writing checklist. The graphic organizers with writing checklists help students organize a five paragraph essay, with reminders to introduce a thesis statement, provide facts and examples, and introduce a counterclaim. Remember, to teach your kids not to argue but to write a persuasive argument instead. 

Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!

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