Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Learning the fundamental principles of essay writing is becoming an ever more important skill for students. In 2005 the SAT gave its stamp to this initiative by adding an essay requirement to the popular college entrance exam. Each book in Greenhaven Press's Writing the Critical Essay: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide includes everything necessary to help students research, outline, draft, edit, and ultimately write successful essays across the curriculum.Using the patented Opposing Viewpoints format, this book focuses on writing a persuasive essay. Persuasion is a frequently used essay technique for writing informational, opinionated, and how-to essays. Readers will find useful information to write a successful persuasive essay, including thesis statements, introductions, and conclusions. In addition, readers will find information to compile a "source cited" list using MLA style.
Synopsis
Learning the fundamental principles of essay writing is becoming an ever more important skill for students. In 2005 the SAT gave its stamp to this initiative by adding an essay requirement to the popular college entrance exam. Each book in Greenhaven Press's Writing the Critical Essay: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide includes everything necessary to help students research, outline, draft, edit, and ultimately write successful essays across the curriculum.
Using the patented Opposing Viewpoints format, this book focuses on writing a persuasive essay. Persuasion is a frequently used essay technique for writing informational, opinionated, and how-to essays. Readers will find useful information to write a successful persuasive essay, including thesis statements, introductions, and conclusions. In addition, readers will find information to compile a "source cited" list using MLA style.
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-This title provides 15 well-balanced articles written by different authors. Like books in the "Opposing Viewpoints" series (Gale), it has a pro/con format. The text is broken up with color photographs, fact boxes, political cartoons, and questions to engage readers. Each piece ends with a section called "Evaluating the Author's Arguments." The essays are grouped under the questions: "Should Homosexuals Be Allowed to Marry?" "How Should Marriage Be Legislated?" and "Does Gay Marriage Threaten Society?" A short glossary, facts about gay marriage, a list of organizations (with several missing Web sites) and an annotated list for further reading are appended.-Betty S. Evans, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-This title provides 15 well-balanced articles written by different authors. Like books in the "Opposing Viewpoints" series (Gale), it has a pro/con format. The text is broken up with color photographs, fact boxes, political cartoons, and questions to engage readers. Each piece ends with a section called "Evaluating the Author's Arguments." The essays are grouped under the questions: "Should Homosexuals Be Allowed to Marry?" "How Should Marriage Be Legislated?" and "Does Gay Marriage Threaten Society?" A short glossary, facts about gay marriage, a list of organizations (with several missing Web sites) and an annotated list for further reading are appended.-Betty S. Evans, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up- This book outlines the skills needed to create a critical essay. By using a hot topic such as gay marriage, the editor keeps students interested enough to learn how to deconstruct and then write an opinion piece of their own. There are writing tips, organizations students can contact, and facts about gay marriage. However, the essays themselves are often poor examples of writing. Both sides of the issues often contradict their "facts" and "research," which might be confusing to students. Also, the illustrations that accompany the pieces are often located in odd places. For example, an entry about why gays and lesbians should not have children includes a photograph of a same-sex couple and their adopted sons looking very happy and content. The most useful part of this book is section two, which has model essays and writing exercises. In the first example, the editor highlights important components, such as the topic sentence and thesis, and then invites students to do the same with another passage. The greatest concern about this book is that it might be used as a reference source on gay marriage, which it is not meant to be.-Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada