For this week’s homework, please write your answers to the following questions in the comments:
a) What is an “argumentative” topic that you might want to write your paper on? (You may change your topic later, so don’t worry too much. But make sure it is something you are really interested in!)
b) What are two or three reasons why you have this opinion?
c) What is a counterargument against your opinion?
d) What is your refutation to the counterargument?
Read Matt’s example:
a) Topic: Elementary school students should study Japanese, their local dialect, and English.
b) Reasons: 1. Studying languages is good for children’s brain development 2. Learning about local dialects is important to keep all cultures in Japan alive 3. Starting English at a young age will ensure their pronunciation is natural.
c) Counterargument: Students should learn standard Japanese first before they speak a dialect or learn a foreign language.
d) Refutation: Children all over the world, from Switzerland to India, learn and use three or four languages with several positive benefits.
English 1: Writing 
a) Smoking should be illegal in Japan.
b) 1. Smoking is bad for your health.
2. Smoking is also bad for people around the smoker.
c) Taxes for cigarettes are very important for Japanese government’s revenue
d) Affecting people’s health for money is a stupid idea. Raise other tax rates.
LikeLike
a) same sex marriage should be made legal in Japan.
b)1 Every one have the right to marry whoever they want.
2 Japanese insurance system is given to family.
c) the birthrate may decrease.
d) the different sex couple make children and the same sex couple may adapt children.
LikeLike
a) Nuclear power plants should cease operation.
b)1 It may cause terrible accidents.
2 Nuclear waste is harmful for our lives.
c) It is more efficient than other way to generate electricity.
d) Our lives must be more important than efficiency.
LikeLike
a) High school students should be allowed to work part-time job.
b)1 They can make money by themselves and may learn how to use money properly.
2 They can interact with a wide range of people at workplace.
c) They should spend time studying, not working part-time job.
d) There are many things which they can learn only through part-time job.
LikeLike
a)There is no problem that high school students dye their hair.
b)1 Students who do not have black hair by nature need not to dye their hair black.
2 They come to care their appearances.
c)People have bad impression of students whose hair is bright color.
d)It is unfair to judge people by their appearances.
LikeLike
a) Topic: Vaccine passport should be mandatory in Japan.
b) Reasons: 1 It helps prevent further spread of infection.
2 If people get infected, it’s likely that they have a milder symptom.
3 It leads to increasing the rate of people vaccinated.
c) Counterargument: Vaccine passport deprives people of their freedom of choice.
d)Refutation: If more restrictions are put into effect as the infection spreads further and things get
worse without vaccine passport, that would deprive of more freedom.
LikeLike
a) Topic: Schools should not prevent students from calling their friends by their nicknames.
b) Reasons: Calling someone by their nickname…
1. makes the other person feel closer to you.
2. can leave a lasting impression on each other.
3. will give a chance to get to know each other better.
c) Counterargument: It’s a trigger for bullying.
d) Refutation: It is more important to create an environment where students can be given nicknames that are respectful of others.
LikeLike
a) High school education should be done using smartphones and PCs.
b) 1. Students can search any information at any time in classes.
2. With electronic devices, students don’t have to bring heavy paper textbooks.
c) Electronic devices distract students’ attention from studying.
d) Teachers can look at students carefully and give a question more often than usual in order to make students concentrate on classes.
LikeLike
a) Japan should accept more refugees.
b) 1 They would be the workforce. 2 It would increase Japan’s international trust and voice.
c) The cost of support to refugees until they become independent in Japan is large.
d) Refugees would help economic growth in Japan when they could fit in with new environment.
LikeLike
a) Students should clean their class room by themselves.
b) 1. They can develop cleaning skill.
2. They will come to treat stuffs in their class room carefully.
c) Students should concentrate their own study.
d) Cleaning is a important skill in children’s life. They learn not only subjects but social and domestic skills in the school.
LikeLike
a) Topic: Should government regulate how much you can spend playing video games?
b) Reasons: 1. You can learn a lot of skills through playing video games.
2.A lot of people earn money by playing video games.
c) Counterargument: It may be harmful because there are people who are addicted to playing video games and they can’t lead a normal life.
d) Refutation: It may be true but being addicted to something applies to other things such as SNS, alcohol and gambling and regulating all things that may make people addicted is not a good and a sensible solution.
LikeLike
(a) Topis: Pressure to have a perfect body to women hurts them mentally and physically.
(b) Reason 1: It lowers self-esteem especially young women’s self esteem. 2: It leads to go on an unreasonable diet. 3: It drives female objectification.
(c) Counterargument: It helps women have a perfect body, which is good for them.
(d) Refutation: Almost all pictures of perfect bodies are retouched, so it is impossible to be “the perfect body”.
LikeLike
a. Students aged 13-18 should be able to choose whether to go to school or to take classes online.
b. Some students who are actually talented lose their opportunity to study because of problems the school has, for example, bullying or strict rules in school. An online class, which is held for a lot of students at the moment, can be a solution to teacher-shortage in Japan and to improve the quality of classes.
c. Students cannot develop their social skills through class or club activities if they do so. The PC or smartphone which online classes require is surely expensive for some families. It is difficult to attend online classes for students who are under 13 and whose parents work full-time jobs because of security reasons.
d. There are some ways of living that comparatively don’t require communication skills. The government should support them financially. Statistically, students under 12 are less likely to be absent from school.
LikeLike
(a) Topic: The salary of public servants should be raised
(b) Reasons: 1. They worked for us so they deserve it
2. it will boost the whole economy
(c) Counterargument: It is a waste of tax
(d) Refutation: When they use their money, the economy will turn better and taxes might be reduced.
LikeLike
a) Homework in university should not be too hard.
b) 1 Students in university are busy with various activities.
2 University is a place where students can study freely what they like.
c) Students in university would not study unless they are forced to.
d) According to some studies, too much homework is counterproductive.
LikeLike
(a) TOPIC: The Japanese government should stop raising the tax on old cars
(b) REASON: 1: It’s not an equal rule, given everybody doesn’t always afford new cars.
2: Not all new cars are greener to safer than old cars
3: Some foreign countries reduce the tax on old cars.
(c) COUNTER ARGUMENT:
The automobile industry cannot make money if people hesitate to buy new cars.
(d) REFUTATION
Old cars cost a lot because of the regular maintenance. Plus, not all people stop buying new cars if the tax rate changes. So, I think there’s only a little negative impact on the industry.
LikeLike
a) The length of club activities in Japanese schools should be shorten
b) 1. Japanese students tend to have little time for studying and leisure due to their being forced to spend so much time for club activities they belong to
2. Too much to physical and mental strain from club activities may well lead to a lack of concentration in a learning process at school which should be the core of educations.
3. An excessive amount of club activities may lead to a physical injury, particularly for those who belong to outdoor clubs.
c) students need to make a sacrifice of their time, to a certain degree, in order to make an achievement such as winning a tournament.
d) A learning process should be more crucial than making an achievement in club activities, considering students’ future careers.
LikeLike
(a) High school students should not be allowed to use smartphones in the classrooms.
(b) 1. Students cannot concentrate on classes if they can use their smartphones in the classrooms.
2. There may be problems with students’ privacy because of smartphones.
(c) Students should take responsibility for their smartphone use and we should not prohibit it by the
rules.
(d) High school students are not mature enough and they may not be able to smartphones properly in
the classrooms.
LikeLike
(a) TOPIC: Universities should hold same classes both online and in person.
(b) REASON: 1 Students who live far from the university can attend classes easier than only classes in person. 2 They can join classes which have a lot of members more likely to hold in person.
(c) COUNTERARGUMENT: It may cause a gap of efficiency of lectures between online and in person.
(d) REFUTATION: Students and teachers can interact each other even online, and there are options to compensate the gap.
LikeLike
a) It should be allowed for married couples to have a separate surname in Japan.
b) It takes a lot of procedures to change their surname.
There are some problems after they changed their surname.
c) The same surname is a tradition of Japan, and we should preserve it.
d) It is not Japanese tradition from a long time ago. When many people don’t hope it, it should be abandoned even if it is tradition. Also, those who want to have the same surname have the right to do so.
LikeLike
a)English speaking should be emphasized in Japanese high schools.
b)1.Many high school students don’t know how to read a little bit difficult English words accurately even though English is a “language.”
2.Improving speaking skills would have positive impact on listening skills.
c)Considering the system of Japanese entrance exam, reading skills should be emphasized.
d)If you were able to read fast, you would improve the speed of reading, too.
LikeLike
a) The entrance examination system should be removed.
b) 1: It is weird that the people who truly want to study at university cannot do. (A lot of people go to university to get an advantage in job hunting.)
2: It is better that students can attend various classes in various university.
c) It’s hard to open a class when there are so many people.
d) The courses are held online.
Make some restrictions to attend.
(Students who have specific reason can attend classes that can’t join normally.)
LikeLike
a) English education for children should be started as early as possible.
b) 1. It is effective for children to learn foreign languages for as long a time as possible.
2. Children can easily master foreign languages if they start to learn them in the developmental stage of their brains.
c)Children should master their native languages before they start learning foreign languages.
d)There is no data that people in the Netherlands, where the early English education is carried on, have decreased abilities to speak their native language.
LikeLike
a)Elderly people in Japan should not drive cars.
b)1.As you get old, your ability to judge things decreases.
2.As you get old, your sight become narrow.
c)Cars are necessary for people living in the country area in Japan.
d)Some of the country area in Japan adopt a transfering system.
LikeLike
a) Euthanasia should be legal for society.
b) We have to protect the right to choose death.
It is painful for patients to suffer from the disease for a long time.
Euthanasia can save treatment costs.
c) There is a possibility that end-stage patients are forced to choose death by silent pressure from their relatives.
d) Primary doctors counsel patients to confirm their will, and if patients can not talk at all, doctors should judge it from patients’ previous comments.
LikeLike
a) Online classes should be continued even after the pandemic.
b) 1. You don’t have to get up early even if the class starts early in the morning. 2. Students in foreign countries can take a class and we can take a class held by a professor in a foreign country. 3. The slides are easy to read when they are shared on the screen of our own laptop. It helps us understand the content of the class.
c) It is hard to communicate smoothly in online classes.
d) Some classes are not interactive and the professor just lectures us while other classes, for example speaking class, need communication. We should choose which class should be in-person and which can be online.
LikeLike
a) Plastic bottles should be banned.
b) 1 Plastic bottle is made from oil and is not good for global warming. 2 Using too many plastic bottles are a waste of resource. 3 Many bottles are thrown away to the sea, and they hurt marine life.
c) Plastic bottles are light, tough, easy to carry, very useful.
d) Having my bottles is a better way for the environment.
LikeLike
a) The number of vending machines in Japan should be reduced.
b) 1. Vending machines consume electricity even at night, which is not environmentally friendly. 2. Littering occurs around vending machines.
c) Vending machines are convenient in that you can always buy a drink quickly.
d) There are many convenience stores in Japan that are open at night, and you can buy most of the things you need there.
LikeLike
a)The Japanese government should introduce quota system.
b) 1 There are a lot of counties which have already introduced the system and the results show it effective.
2 In Japan, only a few female politicians are the member of the National Diet. This circumstances must be changed for the equality.
c) Quota system is unfair to male politician.
d) Today’s situation is unfair to female politician and we need immidiate reform to achive gender equality.
LikeLike
a) Japanese married couples should be allowed to have separate surnames.
B) 1. There are too many forms to rewrite when your surname changes. 2. Many women have issues with their career when their surname changes. 3. It can have a positive effect on gender equality.
c) What about the couples children’s surname?
d) Countries such as South Korea and the US allow separate surnames. They have different systems to keep track of the family members and not much problem has been reported.
LikeLike
a)Junior or high Students should be able to dye their hair.
b)1 It is personal choice.
2 Dying hair won’t affect their school life.
c)Dying hair is not suitable for high school students.
d)It is prejudice.
LikeLike