Question

the purpose of argumentative writing is to argue. (duh) your main claim, or thesis, should therefore be debatable. support one point of view. it should also focus on the key - words of the question. introduce the perspectives that you will argue from cambridge international as level english general paper coursebook by jill pavich p 126. example prompt #1: the concern about banning bottled water should be an international one. what is your view? thesis: the sale of bottled water should be banned internationally because it has serious ethical and environmental consequences. this is a good example of an argumentative thesis. it uses a more forceful, aggressive tone by using strong word choice (\should be\) and takes a broad approach to establishing the focus of the essay. in other words, it doesnt list every point that will be discussed, but rather states the types of points, i.e. ethical and environmental concerns. example prompt #2: the purpose of foreign aid is more political than it is humanitarian. analyze this statement. thesis: if you send foreign aid to developing countries, those who receive it are more likely to suffer from inflation, fluctuations in currency, corruption, and civil disorder. so it is doing more harm than good and should therefore be stopped. from cambridge international as level english general paper coursebook by jill pavich p 127. lets look at the good points. the writer suggests that sending aid does not help struggling countries, so we know what side they will be arguing. that much is clear. the word choice is argumentative, so we know the approach. now the fun stuff: what is wrong with it? cbl4q3: whats wrong with the thesis statement above, the one that goes along with example prompt #2? there are many errors there. name as many as you can and write them in the space below.

Explanation:

1. The thesis drifts from the prompt. The prompt asks to analyze if foreign - aid is more political than humanitarian, while the thesis focuses on negative impacts of foreign aid like inflation, etc. without directly addressing the political - humanitarian aspect.
2. It lacks evidence. It makes broad claims about inflation, currency fluctuations, corruption, and civil disorder without providing any data or examples to support these assertions.
3. It is one - sided. It only presents the negative aspects of foreign aid and does not consider any potential positive or humanitarian aspects, which is not a balanced approach for an argumentative thesis.

Answer:

1. Drifts from the prompt.
2. Lacks evidence.
3. Is one - sided.