ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY:

MEANING AND EXAMPLES

Argumentative Essay
It is an effort made in writing to convince the reader that your reasons are good enough to make your stand on an issue acceptable. It entails stating in a clear and convincing manner that your views, opinion and reasoning are the best. For every argumentative essay, there is the premise and the conclusion. One’s premise must be strong and factual to make a convincing conclusive statement.
In argumentative essay, a writer argues over a proposition or view in order to win an imaginary opponent over. There is a difference between a debate and an argumentative essay. While the two involve arguments, debate is spoken while argumentative essay is essentially writen. There are two types of argumentative essay- open and close argumentation.
In an open argumentative essay, the writer presents a balanced argument on the issue under discussion without taking sides. This is an objective argument which involves an examination of the pros and cons of the proposition; it involves considering the advantages and weaknesses of a phenomenon. Most external examination bodies such as WASSCE does not test open argumentation but close argumentation.
In a close argumentative essay, the writer takes a clear side of a proposition and strives to win imaginary opponents to his/her side. It requires a sound control of language and marshaling of points through logical formations.
To have a clearer picture of argumentative essays see examples drawn from SSCE English Language examinations from different years below:

2018 WAEC QUESTION 4: You are the main speaker in a debate on the topic: Children of literate parents perform better in school than those of illiterate parents. Write your argument for or against the motion


CHILDREN OF LITERATE PARENTS PERFORM BETTER IN SCHOOL THAN THOSE OF ILLITERATE PARENTS
Good day the Moderator, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time-Keeper and my Co-debaters. I am Kentebe Laye, I am here to passionately support the motion that states that children of literate parents perform better in school than those of illiterate parents. You can’t give what you don’t have goes the popular saying and this has an effect on the motion. Literate parents understand and value the significance of education as they are product ofit and have seen its significance hence, they would undoubtedly encourage their children to attain the zenith of their education because they know education is light.
From the foregoing, children of literate parents would perform better in school than children of the illiterate parents because they wouli constantly monitor the progress of their children and know the requisite intervention they need to take, especially in situations when the child is not performing satisfactorily. This might not be the case for illiterate parents who might be stranded in coming up with the suitable mechanismn to assist their children academically.
Homework are correctly supervised by literate parents as these are subject matters, they are not strange to. However, illiterate parents are oblivious of these subject matters and stand high chances of being deceived and hoodwinked by their children.
Furthermore, literate parents can call at their children school anytime as they understand what the children are expected to be taught and if there is an issue, they can easily detect it. Also, they understand, from the assessment reports of their children,
their strengths and weaknesses and can profer necessary intervention to solve them to their expected or targeted levels or sub-levels. This cannot be so for illiterate parents bscause those concepts would be strange to them.
Literate parents can assist their children with projects, debates, quiz preparations, etc. They also know the right incentives to give to children to spur them in the part of excellence. My opponents might argue that literate parents might not have the time to assist their children with their academic needs. However, a literate parent that understand the value of education will know that while teachers are important in a child’s destiny, the home is the bedrock in shaping childrens’ destiny and in achieving the necessary acadernic milestone of a child.
More so, literate parents understand the importance of a child’s exposure to what they learnt in class. They are enthusiastic about their chidren going on trips, vacations, excursions, etc. which would further aid learning. However, illiterate parents might see this as meaningless adventures which is not worthy of attention or signiicance. Literate parets are empathetic towards theirr Children as they celebrate their successes and encourage their areas of shortcomings. This is so because they have passed through that stage before and they understand that it is not always rosy. This might not be the case of illiterate parents whose main preoccupation might be result-oriented and thus over-stretch their children above their limits and thus result in depression and low self-esteem.
Literate parents have high tendency to detect relationships that might destroy their children, and thus act timely to prevent such, illiterate parents might not know as they might not understand the language of communication of their children with their friends, especially those who are not literate in English Language.
Finally, literate parents know which device or gadget can affect their children concentration and thus would take proactive measures to either reduce it or eliminate it completely. This might not be the case for illiterate parents who are usually tossed around by their children, and feel that if they give their children all that they ask they may do well in their studies and this is not necessarily so.
I believe with these cogent facts I have been able to assert convincingly that children of literate parents perform better than children of illiterate parents.
Thanks for your time.

2016 WAEC QUESTION 4
A DEBATE TO SUPPORT EDUCATION AS THE BEST LEGACY


Good day, Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time-Keeper, co-debaters, and my esteemed audience. My name is Anele Julius, and I write in support of the motion which states that education is the best legacy a parent can give a child. The term “Education” implies a training or process of learning a lesson, skill, trade or profession by teaching, instruction or supervision. This is, however, formal. Education can also take informal forms through adapting to our environment and developing mentally, morally, socially, aesthetically and behaviourally.
Education is what everyone needs and should have, particularly, children who at their age are naive and inexperienced.
They need education to discover their potentials, enhance the quality of their life and living condition.A well-trained and educated child is an asset, not a liability. Education is empowerment because it breeds people who are useful and productive not just to themselves and their families but also to the entire society. The illiterate have nothing to offer. They are liabilities; they are solely dependent and they slow down the pace of societal progress.
Mr. Chairman, you will also agree with me that the importance placed on education – particularly at primary and secondary levels – in most of the advanced countries reflects their national budgets on the education sector. It is the education sector that researches and develops what the society at large lives on. Today, their commitment pay of. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of Nigeria. This is because we lack the sustained efforts to invest into our country’s education sector.
Audience, children are future leaders and education remains a sole platform for raising them. Parents must understand that the leadership problem we in Nigeria is partly traceable to lack of proper education, good moral and acceptable social behaviour, etc. all of which actually at first, began at home with the first teachers – parents.
Now, my opponent might want to question the importance of education in the face of the challenges our country faces being unable to provide employment to legions of educated youth out there. I stand to be corrected that it is lack of proper education that has dragged us into the quagmire of unemployment in the first place. We run a system of education that teaches students to get educated so as to seek good jobs, rather than to get education/empowerment that can lead them to self-employment and becoming employers of labour. And now we are reaping the consequence of a faulty education system.
In conclusion, as the saying goes “If education is expensive, try ignorance”, the consequence of not properly being educated is highly gruesome when compared to the resources we would have used to educate our children. It is the knowledge which education brings that set us free from perpetual slavery of ignorance.
Thank you for your audience.

2015 WAEC QUESTION 4: SCHOOLING IN RURAL AREA IS BETTER THAN SCHOOLING IN URBAN AREA.

Good day, Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time Keeper and my Co-debaters. My name is Ajanaku Temitope,
am here to oppose the motion which states that schooling in rural areas is better than schooling in urban areas. Before I proceed,
I would like to define the word ‘schoo!’ . A school is a formal education institution where people go to be educated because they believe it has what it takes to make them a better person. It is no doábt that only schools in urban areas have what it takes to make someone a better person because it has both human and, material resources at its disposal to furnish a child into perfec-
tion.
Teachers are the bedrock of every school, a school might have ail the facilities but without qualified teachers the facilities are of no importance. Teachers in urban areas either attended Universities or Colleges of Education to read Education or other
cognate fields which make them versed in what they teach. No qualified, experience teachers with Master’s Degree or above will resort to teach in rural areas which has made rural areas to be at a disadvantage and make urban areas more developed because they have influx of qualified and experienced teachers who will impart knowledge into urban school students. However, rural areas rely heavily on corpers as teachers and burden them with subjects which ideally are not their field of specialty, thus reducing effectiveness and efficiency.
Furthermore, in terms of facilities like laboratories, libraries etc. urban schools /areas have up-to-date books and laboratory equipment which makes learning interesting and transactional between teachers and students. On the contrary, few rural areas have libraries and laboratories and the few that has either have obsolete books or limited laboratory equipment that would be insufficient for the students. This is collaborated by National Youths Corps who complain bitterly when posted to rural areas because. they lack the required textbooks and equipment to teach their students and since majority of the corpers are inexperienced in teaching, they cannot improvised, thus not being able to impart in the students.
More so, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy goes the popular saying. Recreational facilities durıng short and one breaks to ease students’ tensions and an avenue to develop strong iterpersonal relationship skills abound in urban schools but absent in rural areas.
Clubs like press club, literary and debating societies, jet club etc. are functional in urban areas which make their students

holistic in all areas – harnessing speaking, reading, writing and listening skills. Clubs of this nature are absent in rural areas because they don’t have adequate teachers /instructors to supervise or run them.
The outcome of WASSCE, NECO, JSSCE results testifies that schooling in urban areas are better than rural areas because high failures are recorded more in rural areas with larger percentage of successes in urban areas. Furthermore, in terms of
communication confidence, writing skills etc students from the rural areas cannot compete with students from urban areas.
I believe wih these few points of mine, I have been able to convince you that schooling in urban areas is better than schooling in rural areas.

2014 WAEC
TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE


Good day the Chaimman, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time Keeper, Co-debaters, Ladies and Gentlemen.  I am here to oppose the motion which says that technology has made the world a better place.
Yes, infomation is now at our fingertip because of technołogy; easy and fast communicaticn is derived through technology.
However, technology has caused more harm than good to the society and the world at large.
The advent of Facebook, telegram, Twitter, Whatsapp, 2go and other social media have brought decadence in all ramifications. Immorality has
increased because social media have been a channel through which sexually provocative films, pictures, clips etc. are accessed, thus, corrupting of youths. While accessing the internet to do mearningful things, nude pictures might just pop up from nowhere staring on your screen. Without self control, one might derail into watching porn and feeding his mind with sexual practices.
The rate of sexual immorality has increased because of pornographic pictures, fiims etc that are on the internet.
Furthermore, cases of internet frauds, hacking into people’s personal data information, ‘yahoo-yahoo’ etc would have not be more prevalent if technology had not advanced.
Students are addicted to chatting with their phones even in classes when they are expected to be listening to their teachers.
Students’ attentions are captured by the internet as they only discuss latest release video, musical clips, football fixures, etc they have viewed on their phones, laptops, etc, rather than to face their studies. This brings disiractions.
More so, the advent of technology has made students lazy with their assignments. They just access the internet tor any ready-made materials and ‘copy and paste’ other people’s ideas without acknowledging them or rewriting those ideas in their own
words. Panel of Judges, technology has bred a generation of irresponsible and indisciplined youths who are always desirous of taking short cuts in all that they do.
Furthermore, the rate of kidnapping and sexual molestation have increased all in the name of blind dating, as so many ignorant ladies fall prey to deceitful and wicked men whose motive is to abuse young naive ładies.
Mr. Chairman and my impartial panel of Judges, technology is claimed to have brought easy life to people but I only wonder how true this statement is because phones which is primarily meant for communication is used by mischevious people to trick people off their money by sending them fraudulent messages of fake lotteries they have supposedly won.
In conclusion, technology has only brought pain disaster and problem to the world. Students` essays are filled with bad expressions and mechanical errors because they bring in their chatting language into formal academic essays.
I believe without any iota of doubt that I have been able to prove that technology has not made the world a better place.

2013 WAEC
AN ARGUMENT AGAINST THE MOTION EDUCATION IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS RICHES

Good day the Moderator, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time-Keeper, Co-debaters and my Fellow Students. I am here to oppose the motion which states that education is not as important as riches.
Education is the best legacy any parent can give to their children, goes the common saying. I wonder why riches were not used to replace education as the best legacy a parent can bequeath to their children. This is because no level of riches can quantify the significance of education as an educated mind has the capacity to make as many riches as he/she wants because the correct application of one’s education can bring about the level of wealth one desires.
Yes, my co-debater notes that the end results of every education is the acquisition of wealth. While she is right, it is an half-true statement because one of the end result of education is riches as there are other end results of education which are
fame, renewed mind, wide exposure, quality relationship, wisdom, etc. which riches cannot confer.
Yes, riches are important, but cannot be compared with education because rich being without the right knowledge of how to use the riches, which only education offers, would invest such riches into meaningless ventures thus yielding no dividend or
benefits.
Education gives the right exposure which no amount of riches can proffer. Someone with a university education must have made quality friends, develop promising relationships, have their skills, attend seminars, conferences, etc., from which
they would have garnered the required ability to maximize every opportunity that comes in their way. Education makes man to see the manifest opportunity and provides avenue on how to exploit such opportunities maximally for their benefits. Also, meaningful relationships derived from education makes a man know from whom to seek advice, and steps on how to confront life challenges.
A rich uneducated man is at the mercy of the educated who will toss him here and there since he or she lacks the needed skills and capabilities to make opportunities out of every situation. Rich uneducated being needs advice and professional counsel from the educated on where to channel their funds for maximál profits. It is not that the educated do not required counsels; but through their renewed, open-minded and pragmatic minds, they can sieve counsels, do background check to ascertain which advice should be taken and the one to be discarded. The rich uneducated man is more prone to fraudsters and tricksters
whose main aim is to loot him or her of their money.
An educated man can amass more riches than the richest uneducated man because education broadens the scope, perception and disposition of a man and makes a man to see beyond their physical and immediate circumstances.
In conclusion, countries which prioritise education above money have been more successful and developed than countries that emphasise riches above education. This invariably implies that a man who values riches above education will shift off success and holistic development himself.
With these few points of mine, I hope that I have been able to convince you that education is important than riches.
Thank you.

2012 WAEC: QUESTION 4
REASONS TO BAN VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES


Good day the Moderator, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time-keepèr, and my Co-debaters. I am writing to support the motion which states that violent video games should be banned. First and foremost, a wise man says that you can only feature in a future you picture, this saying shows the inmportance of what one sees as one becomes what one sees. A youth that is preoccupied with violent video games will turn into a violent being whose satisfaction will only be derived from the suffering and ill-treatrment of others.
Yes, video games are source of relaxationand pleasure but when it is violent it does something to the psychology of child who will want to act out what he or she sees. Video games go beyond a means of relaxation but have an indelible effect on the person that sees it. What then are the effects of continual exposure to violent video games? If addiction is the tem to describe the end result of common football games, what are we to call someone who is engrossed with violent video games? A person
who sees violent video games will be addicted to seeing people suffer, will take pleasure in the sight of blood, would find enjoyment when people are in pain or distress and such a person would turn into a sadist, a dictator who is satisfied in other
people’s suffering. They become schadenfreude.
Panel of Judges, world notorious criminals are known to be addicted to violent videos which they watch to keep up with their masochistic tendencies. When a young boy or girl is exposed to violent video game, such a lad is on the way to becoming
a criminal.
Why succumb to violent video games when there are exciting games which task a student intellectual and creative thinking. There is no analytical nor critical reasoning derived from viewing violent video games rather it hardens a mind and make it dangerous and have a knack for doing evil.
Violent video games teach no moral nor advocate any didactic lesson but only inspire a win – win / lose-lose mentality and turn their viewers into recalcitrant bully who are desirous of acting out the new violent styles of fighting. Parents must be cautious of what their children see because older children would want to put into practice the violent video games they have seen on their younger siblings which may endanger the lives of these younger siblings or harden it.
In conclusion, the eye is a sensitive part of the body which captures what is seen and it is sent to the brain for memory retention. People become what they are continuąlly exposed to so a child who is continually exposed to violent video games, will invariably be violent and be a source of danger to himself or herself, the family, the community and the entire society.
I believe I have been able to convince you that violent video game should be banned. Thank you.

Have you learnt something? Drop your questions, contributions or words of appreciation on the comment box.

Good luck candidates 😍😍😍😍

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