Argumentative essay
Introduction
An argumentative essay is a type of writing that requires you to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic. Argumentative essays are pieces of writing that aim to convince the reader of the writer’s own opinion.
In this unit, we read “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. This poem tells of a scholar who has recently lost his lover. In order to cope with these feelings of loss, he has taken to secluding himself in his study where he continues to read various books. While he is doing this he then hears a knocking on his door and window.
The scholar then discovers that it is a crow that lets itself in. Then begins a long conversation between the scholar and the bird to which the crow only answers, “Nevermore.” The narrator is then subsequently driven insane from the crow’s repeating of the word to every question he asks and over the grief caused by his loss.
Instructions
Respond to Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven,” by answering the following writing prompt in an argumentative essay
Prompt: For this essay, you will craft a 3-paragraph response that answers the following question: Is the Raven in Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven,” real or imaginary? Use evidence from the poem and your own thinking to support your answer. This essay should explore how the different elements of the poem (setting, mood, imagery, symbolism) and the speaker’s word choice all contribute to the existence or nonexistence of the bird.
