Facilitating fourth-grade students’ written argumentation: The use of an argumentation graphic organizer

Literacy instruction in the 21st century must bolster students’ ability to critically process text and craft well-reasoned written argumentation. The authors investigated changes in fourth-grade students’ (N = 28; 15 girls) written argumentation as they used a researcher-developed graphic organizer (i.e., Quality Talk graphic organizer [QT_GO]). The authors also examined the extent to which students’ graphic organizer performance predicted their written argumentation and whether such prediction was sustained across genres. Both QT_GO responses and written argumentation essays were scored for quantity and quality. Multilevel modeling analyses reveal that (a) both quantity and quality of students’ written argumentation essays statistically significantly improved after students used QT_GO and (b) students’ graphic organizer performance seemed to attenuate the effect of genre on their written argumentation for both quantity and quality. Results suggest that QT_GO facilitated students’ written argumentation, making it easier for fourth-grade students to write about both narrative and expository texts.