Tuesdays with Morrie is full of claims about how to live, and that makes it good raw material for argumentative writing. Students can agree, disagree, or qualify Morrie's positions. Either way, they must support their stance with reasoning and evidence.

The trap is that many students agree by default. Morrie is warm and the setting is sad, so pushing back feels rude. Teachers need to make it clear that disagreement is allowed and that a thoughtful counterargument is a sign of respect.

A workable prompt asks students to evaluate a specific claim, such as whether a culture that values money above all else harms its people. Broad topics like life lessons lead to vague essays. Specific claims lead to specific evidence.

Before drafting, have students list the best argument against their own position. Doing so improves the counterclaim, which is usually the weakest part of student argument. It also helps them see their own position more clearly.

Claims worth arguing about

Choose claims that thoughtful readers could split on. Claims with a clear right answer make for dull essays. The following work well because they touch real tensions.

• Morrie's advice to detach from emotions is realistic for teenagers.
• Modern American culture rewards the wrong things, as Morrie suggests.
• Forgiving yourself is more important than forgiving others.
• Mitch's success as a sportswriter shows that ambition and meaningful relationships can coexist.
• A book like this gives readers an accurate picture of what dying is like.

Scoring claims and counterclaims

An argument rubric should include a row for the claim, one for reasoning, one for evidence, and one for the counterclaim. The counterclaim row should ask whether the student states the opposing view fairly and responds to it. Students often set up a weak opposing view that is easy to knock down.

GraideMind, for example, can apply a row like this across a class and flag essays where the counterclaim is missing or thin. That gives you a fast sense of where the class is struggling before you read closely. You then provide the nuanced feedback on reasoning that requires a teacher's judgment.

Distinguishing reasoning from opinion

Students frequently use phrases like "I think" or "in my opinion" as if they were reasons. Show them how to replace such phrases with a because. A claim followed by a reason, then evidence, is the backbone of a good argument.

Practice the move orally first. Ask a student to state a claim, and let the class ask why until the reasoning is clear. Writing it down becomes far easier after that.

Grading disagreement fairly

Grade the quality of the argument, not the position. Tell students at the start that you will score an essay that disagrees with you as readily as one that agrees. Then do it.

Sharing an anonymous strong essay that disagrees with the book helps make the point. It shows students that a good argument can go either way. It also shows that you value the thinking behind it.