Reflection – Argumentative Essay & Debates

This unit, I learned about argumentative essay and debate. For argumentative essay, I learned about topic sentence, format, thesis statement, APA referencing, introduction and counter arguments. For topic sentence, we brainstormed the topics together. I chose public transportation issue because it’s a very common problem in Jakarta but it’s also infuriating. I think I have used the correct format, which was either pro-pro-cons or cons-cons-pro. I used pro-pro-cons format and I used it clearly so my essay was well structured. For the thesis statement, I put it in the last sentence of introduction. My thesis statement was clear and straight to the point because it consisted of the claim followed by two supporting reasons. I didn’t do the APA referencing well. Although I have followed the structure of the APA referencing, I didn’t put the source on a separate page. For the next assignments, I will do the APA referencing correctly by following the structure and putting the source on a different page. For the introduction, I put the background information of what the essay about by giving a brief explanation about the real condition in real life according to the topic chosen. For counter arguments, I disproved the cons side, not agreed with them.

           

            In the debate, I was in the affirmative side of “will globalization lead to a better future”. I was the third speaker in my group, with Kein being the first, Idham the second and Shania became the rebuttal of the group. Our arguments were supporting the positive side of globalization. My argument was about the positive impact of globalization on economy. I think I have stated my argument expressively but I need to work on the arguments. I could have done better if I included the statistics of economic growth in Indonesia and other facts for the argument. And also, I have to improve the collaboration in the group.