Sentence Outline for Argument Essays

Transcription

1 Sentence Outline for Argument Essays James Yaunick 1 Write out each section with complete sentences using a subject and a verb. You may write directly in this document and save it. I. Introduction (Review the WRP sections on writing the introduction, body, and conclusion in Ch. 12). Address each of the points in the introduction. A. Background (what information do you need to provide to your reader in order for the reader to understand your argument? Your introduction will likely be more than one paragraph and may even be more than one page). Hydraulic fracturing has become a heated issue in the United States. It has become an argument between environmental and economic sustainability. The process of the new high volume hydrofracking uses millions of gallons of a water, chemical, and sand mixture that is pumped into the ground. The process allows for the drillers to extract natural gasses and oil out of shale rock by holding open fissures made in the rock during the drilling process. The chemicals are similar to those used in a home setting which expands the bubbles of gas that come out of the well to allow them to float faster to the top. This process brings up the following environmental questions: Is there a large enough water supply in the desired drilling areas to sustain the community of the area and the drilling process? What will this do to the ground water? How will the drilling process contribute to global warming? Will the economic return be worth the environmental risk? B. What is already well known about your topic? My topic has been debated for the last decade so the argument has been well known. The water issue has been one of the main focuses of the topic along with the global warming issue. C. What does the current literature say about your topic? According to current literature fracking could prove to be a wonderful economy booster for the United States and with the lower emission that stem from using natural gas in power plants we could also maintain lower carbon emissions worldwide. The is a flip side to every coin however, and fracking also poses a threat to the drinking water supply around the drilling site. It would be devastating in a ranching community where not only the lives of the people but the businesses they run rely upon the ground water that could get contaminated should something go wrong with the fracking process. D. Are there any assumptions about your topic that you could challenge in the introduction? The main assumption is that fracking could bring on an economic boom by providing a number of jobs and give the U.S. energy independence. The countering assumption put in extreme perspective is that fracking is unsightly and will poison the waters so to speak. The funny part is that no matter what the argument is the facts are the same with more

2 James Yaunick 2 emphasis on the facts that will help their cause. The other big assumption out there is that whichever side wins the battle will rule energy and climate legislations for years to come. I would like to counter this by suggest that both sides work together to control the board much like the oil companies of Chevron and Shell did in Pittsburg-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development coalition. E. Are there important key terms you need to define in the introduction? 1. Hydraulic fracturing 2. Sustainability II. Thesis statement (state this fully in a complete sentence). Your thesis will show your claim and your reasons. Review the use of an enthymeme as a thesis. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for both sides of this debate but it will take discipline and cooperation to reach it because the path is steep and narrow leaving no room for horseplay along the way. A. Write two to four key words from your thesis statement that you will use to develop your major points. 1. Both sides of the debate (Facts that illustrate where each side is coming from and the similarities) 2. discipline (Regulations that will be imposed if allowed) 3. cooperation (my suggestion with examples from the Pittsburg-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development) 4. III. Thesis Development (Body) The body of your paper should: defend your thesis provide analysis of the issues present well-reasoned statements at the beginning of each paragraph supply evidence of support with proper documentation Organization: State how you will organize your essay: chronologically, in order of importance, comparing and contrasting, developing a causal analysis, defining terms,

3 James Yaunick 3 explaining a process, and/or asking and answering questions. Using a combination of these organizations is acceptable. See Ch. 12b for more information. I plan to organize my paper by: The first part thing that I will address is the facts about fracking from both perspectives and the similarities that arise between the arguments. Then I will move into the regulations that will have to be placed on fracking if it is allowed and the new technologies that it would require. My last step would be to point out how disadvantageous it is for the sides to pull so profoundly against each other. Be sure that you include statistics in your paper and use the information you learned this semester to analyze the statistics. Show how you will do this: A. First major point 1. Hydraulic fracturing as an economic support for our country. Those driving for the use of this new method of fracking focus on how it could generate 3 million barrels [of oil] a day by 2020, offsetting one-third of the current oil imports (Elgelder 274). b. state how this point relates to your thesis This is the profracking argument. B. Second Major Point (state in a sentence that is parallel in structure to the first major 1. There are also many negative possibilities with the fracking process.

4 James Yaunick 4 A big factor in the new high volume fracking process that has the attention of skeptics is the fact that the fracking of a conventional well uses at most 1-2% of the volume of the water used to extract shale gas (Elgelder 272). The reason that this is an issue is because many of the fracking additives are toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic (Elgelder 272) so improper disposal or ruptures in the pipeline could cause contamination of drinking water. The other negative aspect of this process is that methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is vented or leaked to the atmosphere from the well head, pipelines and storage facilities (Elgelder 272). Methane venting and leakage can be decreased by upgrading old pipelines and storage systems, and by applying better technology for capturing gas in the 2-week flowback period after fracking. b. state how this point relates to your thesis This is the other side of the argument. C. Third Major Point (state in a sentence that is parallel in structure to the first major 1. The process has had quite a bit of success already and the industry will grow but in order to keep the process safe for all those involved there will need to be stringent regulations. But current economic incentives are not sufficient to drive such improvements; stringent regulation will be required (Elgelder 272). b. connect this point to your thesis This goes with my second point of discipline. D. Fourth Major Point (state in a sentence that is parallel in structure to the first major 1. It is interesting how the forces on both sides of the argument have the same information about fracking but until very recently they would not work together and even so that is only a few. The truth is that the sides need to work together so that no one side prevails and creates a legislative monopoly in the future.

5 James Yaunick 5 The fight is so toxic in part because fracking has become a symbol for the even bigger debate over climate change. Both sides see a historic crossroads, like an energy version of D-day or Waterloo, in which the winner will determine energy and climate policy for decades to come ( Fracking Coalition ). b. connect this point to your thesis This falls under my category of cooperation in my Thesis statement. II. Conclusion A. Review your ideas and tie them together with your thesis Hydraulic fracturing is very debated but it is the focus of the individuals looking at it that makes it that way. If both sides could put each other s view into perspective they could better adapt the process and regulations to meet everyone s needs. I know that this will happen naturally but not without some head butting between the oil companies and the environmentalists. I both sides should control the energy policy together. It won t be easy, but we live in a country where it is not the little things that we are so well-known for as it is the impossible that we make possible. B. What ideas to you want your reader to remember after reading your paper? I want my readers to understand the pros and cons to hydrofracking and feel the need to unite both warring parties so that we as a nation may benefit from the spoils of the process while not living in fear of ground water contamination.