Examples that show the thinking.
534 examples and lessons to explore. Find an approach, follow the thinking, and try it in your own writing.
Should Public Money Support the Arts?
An argument for limited, accountable public support for arts access, with attention to education programs, competing public needs, and the limits of workforce data.
What Should a U.S. Road Test Measure?
A road test should assess safe decisions and vehicle control, count ordinary errors transparently, and treat critical failures separately. California’s published scoring conditions and New York’s documented parallel-parking task illustrate different parts of that standard, while the limits of the public materials caution against unsupported comparisons.
Portuguese and Spanish Overseas Expansion, 1450–1650
Portugal and Spain pursued overseas wealth and power through different imperial patterns. Later competition among European states made overseas trade and territory part of wider conflicts, although colonial rivalry was not the sole cause of war.
Should Renters Have More Access to Renewable Energy?
Renters should have greater access to renewable energy through community solar, provided programs offer transparent terms, meaningful savings, and consumer protections. Rooftop ownership remains useful, but it cannot be the only path to participation.
Should Middle Schools Do Away With Homework? The Case for a Balanced Policy
An argument for retaining a small, purposeful amount of middle-school homework while limiting workload, protecting students’ time, and using assignments to guide instruction.
Life Lessons: Struggle Versus Success
An argument that difficulty often makes lessons urgent, but success can teach equally valuable lessons when people reflect on how it was achieved and whom it affects.
Who Should Be Responsible for AI Mistakes?
An evidence-based argument that responsibility for AI mistakes should be shared but assigned according to each party’s control, knowledge, and ability to reduce risk.
Othello’s Jealousy and Iago’s Deception
An analysis of how Iago turns uncertainty into jealousy in Shakespeare’s Othello, and what the tragedy reveals about trust and judgment.
Public Transit in the USA: Why Buses and Trains Still Matter
An explanatory essay on how public transit connects people to jobs and services, why rural and urban systems differ, and why useful trips depend on connections beyond a route’s existence.
Sectional Tensions and American Society, 1800–1848
An evidence-based argument about how slavery and expansion intensified sectional conflict, shaped reform and party politics, and remained constrained by cross-regional coalitions and national institutions.
Why Reusing a Product Can Be Better Than Recycling It
An explanatory essay on why keeping a usable product in service can avoid more material processing than recycling, while recognizing that reuse is not suitable for every product.
Should Teacher Salaries Depend on Student Performance?
A qualified argument for evaluating teaching with multiple forms of evidence while rejecting student test scores as the direct or dominant determinant of teachers’ pay.