Developing Argument Writing through Evidence-Based Responses to Student-Generated Questions

Effectively writing text-based arguments is the first of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing. One of the more significant challenges that educators face when teaching argument, however, is ensuring that students adequately comprehend the text that forms the basis for the writing assignment. How can teachers ensure student comprehension at both the recall and inferential levels? In this article, the authors describe how using student-generated questions to a text forms a foundation for effective writing by: a) fostering increased engagement with the text, b) increasing inferential comprehension of the text, and c) providing authentic subject matter for students' arguments.