Cover: Ideas in Argument, 2nd Edition by John R. Williamson; Mary Jo Zell; Elizabeth Davis

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Ideas in Argument

Second  Edition©2026  John R. Williamson; Mary Jo Zell; Elizabeth Davis

ISBN:9781319575861

About

Ideas in Argument, Second Edition, is designed to help all students—and teachers—succeed in AP® English Language and Composition courses. It was created to support teachers and guide students as they become stronger analytical readers and persuasive writers.

  • Completely aligned to the 9 units in the AP® English Language and Composition Course and Exam Description
  • Scaffolds the skills across the units in a way that builds students’ confidence and success
  • Includes engaging and inspiring texts that students will love to read, and teachers love to teach
  • Presents rhetorical reading and analytical writing workshops that actually teach the craft of argument—now with more templates and models
  • Builds critical thinking skills and takes students beyond the classroom into real-world arguments
  • Contains organizers, charts, templates, and tips that help students understand and practice the rhetorical skills and concepts that matter most
  • Written in a voice that speaks to students
  • Includes detailed, step-by-step workshops focused on tackling the AP® FRQ prompts in alignment with the AP® Course and Exam Description and Personal Progress Checks
  • Provides test-taking strategies alongside practice multiple-choice questions and AP® FRQ prompts throughout every unit
  • Features a new, full Practice AP® Exam at the back of the book

Table of Contents

UNIT 1 ▪ Communicating an Idea

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Message

    Tom Hanks, Commencement Address, Harvard University

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: The Writer’s Claim

    Steve Rushin, Give the Kids a Break

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Narration and Description

    Trevor Noah, Born a Crime

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: The Writer’s Tone

    Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Faith and Doubt

    Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

    Langston Hughes, Salvation

    Richard Feynman, The Value of Science

    Arthur Miller, Why I Wrote The Crucible

    Seema Yasmin, Can You Believe Anything? The Sunrise Problem

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Writing a Narrative

    Maiya Bhandari, Vibrant Colors (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Rhetorical Analysis

Writing and Supporting a Defensible Thesis

    Helen Keller, Letter to Dr. Finley

    Kate Conley, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story (Speech)

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 2 ▪ Appealing to an Audience

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: Considering the Audience

    Kamala Harris, I Will Not Be the Last

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Relevant and Sufficient Evidence

    Israel Garcia, “Superpredator” Labels Are a Relic of the 1990s, but Tough-on-Crime Policies Persist

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Persuasion

    Richard Haass, Why We Need Civics

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Syntactical Choices for Effect

    George W. Bush, Address to the Nation on September 20, 2001

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Reason and Revolution

Writing and Supporting a Defensible Thesis

    Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Convention

    Thomas Paine, The American Crisis Number 1

    Susan B. Anthony, Is It a Crime to Vote?

    Audre Lorde, The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action

    Sima Bahous, UN Commemoration of International Women’s Day

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Writing a Persuasive Argument

    Finley Gardner, Students Deserve a Free Education (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Argument

Establishing a Line of Reasoning

    Seth Hahn, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Cori Bush, St. Louis Climate Strike Speech

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 3 ▪ Understanding Context

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Rhetorical Context

    Dan Crenshaw, Five Lessons That Veterans Can Teach Us

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Sources of Evidence

    Molly Smith, The NFL Must Prioritize Players’ Safety and Humanity

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Process Argument

    Chris Daly, How the Lawyers Stole Winter

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Transitions

    Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts, and Jeffrey Watumull, The False Promise of ChatGPT

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ The Individual and Nature

    Margaret Fuller and Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Letter to Readers,” Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Dial

    Henry David Thoreau, Walden

    Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

    Robin Wall Kimmerer, Skywoman Falling

    António Guterres, The State of the Planet

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Exposition: Writing a Process Argument

    Kathryn Stribling, Breaking Into the World of Clay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Synthesis

Incorporating Evidence from Sources

    Steve Reddy, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Wendell Berry, The Agrarian Standard

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 4 ▪ Analyzing Purpose

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: Multiple Purposes

    Taylor Swift, For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Function of Evidence

    Liam Burke, Why the World Needs Superheroes

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Definition Argument

    Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, Letters of an American Farmer: What Is an American?

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Eliminating Ambiguity

    Ralph Ellison, Hidden Name and Complex Fate

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Division and Unity

    Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

    Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address

    Sandra Day O’Connor, Commencement Address, Stanford University

    Zadie Smith, Don’t Let Your Fellow Humans Be Alien to You

    Elizabeth Kolbert, How Politics Got So Polarized

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Exposition: Writing a Definition Argument

    Hannah Richards, Transcendentalism (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Rhetorical Analysis

Writing Commentary

    John Steinbeck, Symptoms

    Phat Pham, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    Queen Elizabeth II, History Will Remember Your Actions

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

    Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Colin Powell, Address at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the U.S. Diplomacy Center

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 5 ▪ Creating Coherence

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Exigence

    Tom Morello, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Unity and Coherence

    FKA twigs, Congressional Testimony on Intellectual Property

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Causal Argument

    Jay Caspian Kang, Should People Have the Right to Say Awful Things Without Facing Legal Consequences?

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Syntax for Emphasis and Coherence

    Richard Rodriguez, X: The Neutering of the Spanish Tongue

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Place and Values

    Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

    Mike Ivey, A Rose by Any Other Name Is a Damned Brier

    Jesmyn Ward, My True South: Why I Decided to Return Home

    Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Displaced, the Unwanted

    Xochitl Gonzalez, How Bodegas Became Cultural Centers for Beauty

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Exposition: Writing a Causal Argument

    P J Vigo, The Effects of Technology Integration on the Learning Experience (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Argument

Creating Unity and Coherence

    Alejandra Taylor, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Zora Neale Hurston, How It Feels to Be Colored Me

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 6 ▪ Establishing and Evaluating Credibility

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Credibility

    Michael Phelps, Congressional Testimony on Anti-Doping

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Strategic Evidence

    Preminda Jacob, Banksy and the Tradition of Destroying Art

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Classification/Division Argument

    Imani Perry, Opening Up the Hip-Hop Vault

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Precision of Language

    Edward Lee, Why I Write

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Wealth and Poverty

    Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

    Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat: Outlining the New Deal Program

    Barbara Ehrenreich, In America, Only the Rich Can Afford to Write Poverty

    Lakshmi Puri, Women Entrepreneurs Can Drive Economic Growth

    Darrell M. West, Should America Have Trillionaires?

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Exposition: Writing a Classification/Division Argument

    A Satirical Look at the Division and Classification of Essays (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Synthesis

Synthesizing Evidence from Sources

    Boya Shi, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 7 ▪ Comparing Perspectives

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: Nuance, Complexity, and Contradictions

    Lin-Manuel Miranda, What Artists Can Do

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Qualification and Concession

    Kelly Conaboy, The Bizarre Tragedy of Children’s Movies

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Evaluation: Comparison/Contrast Argument

    Suzanne Britt, Neat People vs. Sloppy People

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Syntax for Purpose

    Colson Whitehead, The “Loser Edit” That Awaits Us All

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Justice and Progress

    Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail

    Harvey Milk, You’ve Got

    Elie Wiesel, Hope, Despair and Memory

    Gloria Steinem, Commencement Address, Wellesley College

    Judith Heumann, Our Fight for Disabilities—And Why We’re Not Done Yet

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Writing an Evaluation Argument Using Comparison/Contrast

    Riley Stevenson, Climate Activists Must Fight for System Change and Individual Change (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Rhetorical Analysis

Explaining Significance

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Commencement Address, Johns Hopkins University

    Mirabelle LoPresti, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    James Baldwin, Letter to My Nephew: My Dungeon Shook

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 8 ▪ Explaining Complexities

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Dynamic Rhetorical Situation

    Kurt Vonnegut, Letter to Drake School Board

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Counterargument: Refutation and Rebuttal

    Clint Smith, The Meaning of Life Without Parole

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Evaluation: Problem-Solution Argument

    Scott Shigeoka, How Curiosity Can Help Us Overcome Disconnection

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Contrast and Incongruity

    Horace Miner, Body Ritual among the Nacirema

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Individuals and Communities

    Toni Morrison, Be Your Own Story

    Judith Ortiz Cofer, The Myth of the Latin Woman

    Tommy Orange, How Native American Is Native American Enough?

    Julia Alvarez, What We Believe About Identity

    Chaiya Milowic, Influencer Culture Needs to End

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Writing an Evaluation Argument: Proposing a Solution

    Walter Li, Self-Care Alone Will Not Fix the System (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Argument

Acknowledging and Responding to Opposing Arguments

    Kat Humphreys, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    Ronald Reagan, Tear Down This Wall

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


UNIT 9 ▪ Joining the Conversation

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ RHETORICAL SITUATION: Understanding the Rhetorical Situation

    Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General Urges Americans to ‘Rethink How We’re Living Our Lives’ in Closing Letter to the Country

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Biases and Limitations

    Tre Johnson, Black Superheroes Matter

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Multimodal Argument

    Thomas Hobbs, Will Tattoos Finally Be Accepted as Art?

AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ▪ STYLE: Voice and Complexity

    Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in the Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney

IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ▪ Technology and New Frontiers

    Stephen Hawking, Questioning the Universe

    John McWhorter, What the World Will Speak in 2115

    Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Becoming Martian

    Scientific American, Exploration Is Essential to Human Success

    Jane Goodall, A Speech for History

COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ▪ Writing a Multimodal Argument

    Reese Furr, Rhythm of Life (Student Model Essay)

AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ▪ Synthesis

Demonstrating Complexity

    Vihaann Upadhya, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)

AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay

AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE

Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading

    E.O. Wilson, The Bird of Paradise

Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing


AP® Practice Exam

Guide to MLA, APA, and CSE Documentation Styles

Guide to Generative AI

Visual Rhetoric Workshops

American Literary Periods at a Glance

Glossary/Glosario

Headshot of John Williamson

John Williamson

John R. Williamson, PhD is professor of English education and dean of P–12 programs at Eastern Kentucky University where he also continues to teach AP® English Language and AP® English Literature at the University’s Model Laboratory School. Prior to this role, John served as the vice president of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the College Board’s AP® Program where he led the transformation of the suite of AP® courses and exams, including both AP® English courses. John continues to lead workshops as an AP® faculty consultant. Additionally, he has experience as a reader and table leader for both AP® English Exams. John has taught courses at all high school levels, as well as both undergraduate and graduate courses in composition, rhetoric, linguistics, theater, and literature.

Headshot of Mary Jo Zell

Mary Jo Zell

Mary Jo Zell is currently an AP® English Content Specialist for Mass Insight and Research, Inc. She taught high school English for thirty years and served as the English department chair at Keller High School (Texas) where she taught AP® English Language, AP® English Literature, and Dual Credit English. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Tarrant County Community College. Mary Jo is an experienced reader and table leader for the AP® English Language Exam. She served on the AP® English Literature Instructional Design Team and presents many workshops as an AP® faculty consultant for both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature.

Headshot of Elizabeth A. Davis

Elizabeth A. Davis

Elizabeth Davis has taught English for more than three decades for Round Rock ISD and College Station ISD, where she also served as English Department Chair for many years. She has been a reader for the AP® English Language Exam and served on the AP® Literature Instructional Design Team. For over twenty years, she has served as an AP® faculty consultant, conducting workshops in both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature.