The week before last, we focused on grammatical structures. This week we are going to start adding vocabulary to the mix. You are going to systematize and organize, perhaps even extend the vocabulary you've acquired up to this point/thus far. We are going to achieve that first by systematizing and organizing argumentative essay topics under their umbrella or overarching topics. You have to realize that your Matura argumentative essay topics are NOT at all random. They belong to some of the general areas of human knowledge and experience. Coincidentally 😉, these areas are also covered by your Insight course books (e.g. Unit 2 – covers the topics of education and remote vs urban living, Unit 8 – covers nutrition, etc.). The topic that you might be assigned will definitely NOT be overly political or controversial (so NO abortions, euthanasia, hard drugs, religious education in schools, prostitution). All the topics that did and will appear can be organized under one (or MORE) of the following fields. Of course, these fields, more often than not, overlap (*preklapaju se).
1. Some topics demand that you focus on providing (mostly) positive arguments like the one from last year: Some people prefer watching films in the cinema. Others prefer watching them at home. The same structure would apply to a more banal (but indisputably cuter) topic: Some people prefer cats. Other people prefer dogs. You would be in the wrong to provide arguments in support of cats in one paragraph and against cats in the other paragraph. You are supposed to provide arguments why people love dogs in one paragraph and why people love cats in the other. Of course, one of your arguments in support of dogs might be that people prefer dogs because they are more (overtly) affectionate than cats. 2. Some topics are quite restrictive in the way they are phrased. For instance, ‘Some people say that it is important to explore space. Others say it is a waste of time and money.’ You have the two argument against space travel already provided: a) a waste of time; b) a waste of money. They just need to be paraphrased (e.g. our time and money/ resources could be better invested somewhere else) and further elaborated. It would be wrong of you to say that exploring space is not important because we are not physically equipped for living in space. 3. Another way how your argumentative essay prompt could be expressed/phrased is: Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country. It would be wrong of you to argue (in the paragraph in which you are supposed to refute* negirat* this thesis) that education is not important at all for the development of a country. You could develop two arguments about other factors that also greatly contribute to a country’s development (e.g. economy and politics) and that without them, education wouldn’t be possible. What I’m trying to say is: read the essay PROMPT (what you mistakenly call the title of the essay) carefully. See what kind of arguments you have to develop depending on the restrictions put into the phrasing of the thesis/prompt itself. Stop calling this essay a pros/cons essay and start calling it an argumentative essay. For this week and a good portion of the next one (deadline 24 April), you’ll have to create and develop vocabulary mind maps. !!!! Guidelines
The list of argumentative essay topics/prompts can be found via:
For word lists/mind maps, I recommend, (in addition to using the collocations dictionary) among other things:
You can also go to quizlet and search for appropriate vocabulary lists that have already been assembled. However, these vocabulary lists seem a bit dry and out of context. You can use an online mind map creator or draw it by hand, whatever's easier for you. People swear by www.canva.com/graphs/mind-maps/ but if you're not tech-savvy I wouldn't recommend it. !!! GOAL: The idea is to familiarize yourself with different expressions and vocabulary items needed to have a relatively coherent discussion on any given topic. In addition, the dream is for you to become self-sufficient users of available online resources. The internet is a treasure trove of language. This short project will account for 1/3 of the grade that you’ll be given at the end of our online journey. ![]()
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