When The Da Vinci Code came out in 2003, it set off arguments in bookstores, churches, and newspaper columns. Some readers enjoyed it as a thriller, while others objected strongly to how it treated religious history. That history of disagreement makes it a useful teaching text for argument writing.

The goal is not to have students decide whether the novel is right about history. Historians have already addressed that. The goal is to practice building and defending a claim about a work of fiction that people have strong feelings about.

Handled carefully, the unit teaches skills that transfer well beyond this one book. Students practice separating claims from feelings, weighing evidence, and answering objections without heat.

The sections below suggest how to set ground rules, choose questions, and grade the essays fairly.

Set Ground Rules Before You Start

Some students will have personal or family connections to the religious themes in the book. Make clear from day one that the assignment is about analyzing arguments and evidence, not about anyone's beliefs. Focus the work on the text and the public conversation around it.

• Ask students to argue about the book's choices, not about each other's faith
• Require every claim to point to the text or to a credible outside source
• Have students state the opposing view fairly before answering it
• Grade the quality of reasoning, never the position taken
• Offer an alternate prompt for any student who prefers a different topic

Pick Questions That Sit Inside the Text

Good prompts ask about the novel's methods. Does the author play fair when blending fact and fiction? Does the book's opening claim about accuracy change how readers should treat the story? These questions let students argue with evidence from the book itself.

Avoid prompts that ask students to rule on the truth of a religion. Those pull the class in the wrong direction and are nearly impossible to grade objectively.

Teach the Counterargument

The counterargument is where student essays often fall apart. They either ignore the other side or set up a weak version to knock down. Model a strong counterargument in class and show what a fair concession looks like.

A useful exercise is to have students write the best possible case against their own thesis in one paragraph. It is uncomfortable at first, but it improves the final essay immediately.

Grading Argument Essays Fairly

Fairness is the main concern in a topic like this. A clear rubric focused on claim, evidence, reasoning, and treatment of opposing views protects both you and your students. It makes it easy to explain that a lower score reflects a gap in reasoning, not disagreement with an opinion.

Using a rubric-based tool like GraideMind can add another layer of consistency, since it scores each essay on the same criteria regardless of the position taken. You review the feedback and make the final call, but the starting point stays neutral.