<p>I thought that our essays have to be one-sided to achieve a high score.
I just looked over the essay in page 197 of the Blue Book, "Is deception ever justified?", and the analysis of the essay by CB.</p>
<p>CB says that this essay received a 6 (single score) because it demonstrated "outstanding critical thinking" by providing 2 examples that show that deception is justified, and 1 example that shows it isn't.</p>
<p>I get that the point the person is trying to make is "WHEN is deception justified", and uses Enron as an example of a situation in which deception is NOT justified (because their goal was ultimately to steal money) while the main thesis states that Deception is sometimes justified (i.e. agree with prompt - deception is ever justified)</p>
<p>Is this a good thing to do? Use 2 examples to support your thesis and then another 1 to... Kind of... Not support your thesis? I thought our essays were supposed to be very single-minded, and no "it could be, but it could also not be" etc...</p>
<p>According to Barron 2400, Barron Prep and PR Prep, just take one side and stay on your position.
It does not mean you cannot moderate what you write and make some concessions. For instance, it might be good to show that you think deception is almost never justified, though you are aware that in certain special conditions it is and it’s kinda the exception that proves the rule.
But I personnaly wouldn’t try to build a whole paragraph on an argument that does not support my thesis though…
If you do so you should probably make sure that your thesis is really clear, that your previous examples were strong anf that your conclusion is straight.</p>
<p>Thats supposed to be a counterargument right? When I took AP Comp, and we learned how to write argument papers, we learned to always adress a counterargument. I used this while writing my paper (I only received a 10 but I’m certain it was because the weakness of my examples).
We also learned about Qualification, where you support both sides a bit, but collegeboard doesn’t want this because in such little development space, the essay turns out weak and unfocused.</p>
<p>Yep, it’s very hard to pull off a counterargument with limited time and space. It’s not impossible, and it can lead to a great essay, but unless you’re an exceptional writer, you’re best off not trying it. Picking one side can earn you a 6 just as well :)</p>