1. islandschool
Year 8
Island Time
Truth and Lies
Joint Paper
Overview
The aim is for you to collaborate in groups to analyse a contentious question. You are to research arguments for and
against the question and to present a paper about the research. The paper will present the question, the arguments for
and against and reach a conclusion.
The skills
Collaboration, dividing tasks, assuming a particular role, research, writing an argument, peer review of work, types of
editing, presentation.
Organisation
Your teacher will divide the class into groups of four. As a group you will research together and inform each other on
your ideas- but the actual writing responsibility will be divided up so that one person is the main writer for one section. In
addition each student will take an overall role. For example one person will take responsibility for the introduction
and will also be the Editor in chief.
Sections
1. Introduction on the History and Context of the problem. Why is it important and why is it relevant?
2. Arguments in favour. What arguments have been put forward in favour of the proposition? You should quote from a
variety of sources and try to find arguments and evidence that support each other and the statement. Referencing of
sources is important.
3. Arguments against- the same as above.
4. Conclusion. A summing up of which evidence is the stronger and why. You should try to say how confident you are of
your conclusion, and criticise some of the data that you have found. Try to suggest what the consequences of the
conclusion should be and what further research might be done to make the conclusion more certain.
Other roles
1. Editor in chief- This person looks at the overall flow of the documents and suggests how sections might be improved
in order to create a better complete document.
2. Data editor- This person will look at the accuracy of the statements and of the referencing. They will check that all the
references are correct and can be followed, and that they have been reported correctly.
3. Graphical editor- This person will supply suitable graphics to illustrate the document or edit the layout of graphics that
have been supplied by individual contributors. They are responsible for the layout of the paper.
4. Summarising editor- This person will write a short summary or abstract of the report, giving brief descriptions of each
of the four sections within an agreed word limit.

2. Steps in the role
1. Brainstorming- Do you understand the question? What are your initial feelings about the statement? What sort of
evidence is your group going to look for?
2. Research- Find all the data required.
3. Sharing- Compare the data found by colleagues. Research, share, research, share, research and share
4. Writing- Put your section together with your data. Note that the person writing the conclusion may need to continually
go back to those writing For and Against in order to come to a conclusion.
5. Editing- Each person performs his or her editing role. Again, this part may require some re-writing
6. Presentation (optional). Each group gives a short talk to the class on their question and their findings
Some possible contentious statements
1. Gun control leads to a safer society.
2. A vegetarian diet is healthier.
3. Homeopathic cures help people recover from illness.
4. Websites should be monitored so that lies and disinformation are removed.
5. Video games lead to violent behaviour.
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3. Guide Sheet for Writing the Introduction
Name
Contentious statement
What are the Key words and phrases in the statement? Write down what they mean. Try to get different definitions and
compare them. Make sure you fully understand the terms used.
Does this question have a history? When did it start becoming important? Have particular events or changes made the
question more or less important these days?
Is the question particularly important in a particular place or part of the world? Are there places where it is not
particularly relevant and others where it is really contentious?
Why is it important? What hangs on the resolution of this question?
What would happen if we could all clearly agree it was true?
What would happen if we could all agree it was false?
Are there dangers to people believing the wrong truth about this statement?
Now try to put together your introduction with as much detail as possible. Make the points in separate paragraphs, and
try to get them to flow together.
Your introduction should have a title and a list of the research team that has worked on this project. The title should have
the contentious statement and a sub title saying that this is an investigation into the evidence for and against the truth of
this statement.
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4. Guide Sheet for Writing the Arguments in Favour
Name
Contentious statement
Your role is to search for as many arguments as you can find that support the statement. Try to find different sources that
will support it. The best sources will have some evidence to help their argument. Evidence can be in the form of case
studies or statistics. Try to get a combination of both.
It is very important to realise that you, personally, do not necessarily have to believe the statement true. Even if you
disagree, your role is to find the evidence in favour and be convincing about it.
A case study is a story about an individual case that shows this statement is true in this case. It might be personal, in that
the person writing may be talking about their own experience, or it might be about another person or group of people.
Case studies can be very powerful in appealing to emotion.
Statistical evidence will take a bigger picture and give numbers. This may compare different groups of people, or the
same group at different times. This kind of evidence can be very powerful in appealing to reason.
For each source that you have chosen you should do the following things:
1. Summarise the argument they make in your own words.
2. Quote any evidence they give, whether it is statistical or case studies.
3. Make sure that you credit the source of the information by giving a book reference or a web address. This can be
done by using footnotes in your article.
At the end, sum up the strongest parts of the argument in favour of the statement. Try to make your argument flow
together, so it is easy to read. You are aiming to write a piece that is strongly in favour of your statement, and is
convincing to the reader that the statement is true. This will be a combination of your own ideas and the evidence you
have found.
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5. Guide Sheet for Writing the Arguments against
Name
Contentious statement
Your role is to search for as many arguments as you can find that show the statement to be false. Try to find different
sources that will attack it. The best sources will have some evidence to help their argument. Evidence can be in the form
of case studies or statistics. Try to get a combination of both.
It is very important to realise that you, personally, do not necessarily have to believe the statement false. Even if you
agree with it, your role is to find the evidence against and be convincing about it.
A case study is a story about an individual case that shows this statement is false in this case. It might be personal, in that
the person writing may be talking about their own experience, or it might be about another person or group of people.
Case studies can be very powerful in appealing to emotion.
Statistical evidence will take a bigger picture and give numbers. This may compare different groups of people, or the
same group at different times. This kind of evidence can be very powerful in appealing to reason.
For each source that you have chosen you should do the following things:
1.Summarise the argument they make in your own words.
2.Quote any evidence they give, whether it is statistical or case studies.
3.Make sure that you credit the source of the information by giving a book reference or a web address. This can be done
by using footnotes in your article.
At the end, sum up the strongest parts of the argument against the statement. Try to make your argument flow together,
so it is easy to read. You are aiming to write a piece that is strongly against your statement, and is convincing to the
reader that the statement is false. This will be a combination of your own ideas and the evidence you have found.
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6. Guide Sheet for Writing the Conclusion
Name
Contentious statement
Your role is to conclude the paper. This is a very crucial piece of writing, and can go in one of three ways. In each case
you must use the evidence that the two people writing the arguments have found. You will need to discuss, as a group,
which argument is the most convincing. In the end it is your final decision, and you may decide in one of these ways:
1.The statement is true. If this is the case you need to explain why the arguments and evidence for the statement are
stronger than those against.
2. The statement is false. If this is the case you need to explain why the arguments and evidence against the statement
are stronger than those for it.
3. The answer is more complicated than that. There may be some aspects that are true, but it might not be true in all
cases or situations. In this case you need to describe when it is true and when it is false. Or, possibly, there is not yet
enough evidence to be able to make a clear decision. If this is the case, can you suggest any research that might help us
decide?
However you decide, your role is to compare the two arguments and contrast them. Try to bring conflicting evidence
together and explain why it conflicts. Try to weigh up conflicting arguments.
In order to write your conclusion, you will need to have a good understanding of the evidence and arguments before
you write. This means you need to help and support the researchers while they are finding their evidence. You cannot
start writing until they have gathered all their information.
Keep going back to the researchers and reading what they are writing. This will help you make your conclusion fit well
with the previous work. You must use the evidence they have brought up rather than any opinion you may have had
before starting on the work.
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