ACT persuasive essay prompt - PowerPoint Presentation

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ACT persuasive essay prompt

Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school, our nation, and especially its leaders, have proposed many solutions to help stop mass shootings, including stricter anti-gun legislation. Will strict anti-gun laws help stop mass shootings? Or, should legislators focus on other societal issues to help prevent mass shootings? Use specific evidence from sources to support your claim.Slide3

Step One: Writing a Thesis

Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school, our nation, and especially its leaders, have proposed many solutions to help stop mass shootings, including stricter anti-gun legislation. Will

strict anti-gun laws help stop mass shootings

? Or, should legislators focus on other

societal issues to help prevent mass shootings

? Use specific evidence from sources to support your claim

.

Sample thesis statements:

If you want to support gun legislation

:

Legislators must institute strict anti-gun legislative measures in order to prevent mass shootings.

If you want better gun legislation, but it isn’t your top priority:

Legislators need to create stricter anti-gun laws, but they also need to remember ______________ and _______________.

If you do NOT favor anti-gun legislation:

Legislators are wasting their time with strict anti-gun legislation; instead, they should focus on improving _______________, ________________, and _________________.Slide4

Step Two: Writing supporting claims

Are the “how/why” of the thesis statement.

Stricter gun laws will stop mass shootings because without the guns, people will resort to methods that are easier for law enforcement officials to detect.

Gun laws that limit the production of assault rifles will keep weapons out of the hands of people who don’t need them.

Legislators need to focus on reforming mental health checks and counseling procedures so young boys can receive the help they need before they become killers.

Legislators first have to try to change our culture from one that applauds revenge killing in movies/video games by setting up stricter ratings guidelines.Slide5

Step three: Evidence for supporting claims

Legislators need to focus on reforming mental health checks and counseling procedures so young boys can receive the help they need before they become killers.

According to XXXXX, young boys who become killers have a “damaged world view” that stems from mistreatment, a lack of acceptance, or parental issues. These people never receive the help they need, so they develop a “war-zone mentality” in which everyone becomes a threat/enemy.Slide6

Step Four: Counter-claim

Main claim:

Legislators

are wasting their time with strict anti-gun legislation; instead, they should focus on improving _______________, ________________, and

_________________.

Counter-claim: A group of people in our society would say that instituting strict anti-gun legislation is the effective, or perhaps only way, to stop mass shootings. However, this reasoning is false, because ______________________________Slide7

Step Five: Introduction (ANT)

“Attention Grabber”:

Our nation will never completely be healed after witnessing 20 students be murdered by a teenage boy.

Necessary information:

School shootings such as the one at Sandy Hook elementary have become all too common in our culture. There are many reasons why they take place….

Thesis:

Legislators need to create stricter anti-gun laws, but they also need to remember ______________ and _______________.Slide8

Step Six: Conclusion

Re-word your thesis statement!

Re-state supporting claims.

Finish with a clincher: We can never be too sure when the next shooter will strike. We must act now to make sure there will be no next time.