Where to start the second argument. Learning to write an essay: Argumentation of one’s own opinion (Arguments worth one point)

1. Algorithm for working on an essay

2. How to work with a draft and essay plan

3.2 How to write the body

4. Typical mistakes in essays

The speech format of the essay is taken into account in the criteria No. 5 “Literacy”. The most common mistakes that are often found in essays can be grouped as follows:

Factual errors

Speech errors

A speech error is violation of norms of use and compatibility words.

Grammatical errors

Often the cause of grammatical errors, especially violations of agreement, is inattention when rewriting text. It is necessary to properly plan your time in order to carefully reread the text of the essay and make the necessary corrections.

M. Gorky

HOW I LEARNED

Story

When I was six or seven years old, my grandfather began to teach me to read and write. It was like that.

One evening he took out a thin book from somewhere, slapped his palm with it, me on the head, and said cheerfully:

Well, Kalmyk cheekbone, sit down and learn the alphabet! Do you see the figure? This is "az". Say: “az”! These are “buki”, this is “lead”. Understood?

He pointed his finger at the second letter.

What's this?

And this? - He pointed to the fifth letter.

Don't know.

- “Good.” Well, what is this?

Got it! Speak - “verb”, “good”, “is”, “live”!

He hugged me by the neck with a strong, hot hand and poked his fingers at the letters of the alphabet that lay under my nose, and shouted, raising his voice:

- "Earth"! "People"!

It was interesting for me to see that familiar words - good, eat, live, earth, people - were depicted on paper with simple, small signs, and I easily remembered their figures. For two hours my grandfather was teaching me the alphabet, and at the end of the lesson I could name more than ten letters without error, completely not understanding why this was necessary and how one could read, knowing the names of the alphabetic characters of the alphabet.

How much easier it is to learn to read and write now, using the sound method, when “a” is pronounced like that - “a”, not “az”, “v” - so it is “v”, and not “vedi”. The learned people who came up with the sound method of teaching the alphabet deserve great gratitude - how much children's strength is preserved thanks to this and how much faster the acquisition of literacy goes! Thus, everywhere science strives to facilitate man’s work and save his energy from unnecessary waste.

I memorized the entire alphabet in three days, and now the time has come to learn syllables, to compose words from letters. Now, according to the sound method, this is done simply, a person pronounces the sounds: “o”, “k”, “n”, “o” and immediately hears that he said a certain word familiar to him - “window”.

I learned differently: in order to say the word “window,” I had to utter a long nonsense: “he’s like ours, he’s a window.” Polysyllabic words were even more difficult and incomprehensible, for example: to form the word “floorboard”, you had to pronounce “peace-on=po=po”, “people-on=lo=polo”, “vedi-ik=vi=polovi”, “tsy-az=tsa=floorboard”! Or “worm”: “worm-is=che”, “rtsy-lead-yaz=tear=worm”, “what-er=k=worm”!

This confusion of meaningless syllables tired me terribly, my brain quickly got tired, my reasoning did not work, I said ridiculous nonsense and laughed at it myself, and my grandfather beat me on the back of the head or flogged me with rods for this. But it was impossible not to laugh, saying such nonsense as, for example: “think-he=mo=mo”, “rtsy-good-lead-ivin=rdvin=mordvin”; or: “buki-az=ba=ba, “sha-kako-izhe-ki=shki=bashki”, “artsy-er=bashkir”! It is clear that instead of “Mordvin” I said “mordin”, instead of “Bashkirs” “shibir”, once I said “bolt-like” instead of “god-like”, and “skopid” instead of “bishop”. For these mistakes, my grandfather severely flogged me with rods or pulled my hair until I had a headache.

And mistakes were inevitable, because in such reading the words are difficult to understand, you had to guess their meaning and say not the word that you read but did not understand, but one that sounds similar to it. You read “handicrafts”, but you say “mukosey”, you read “lace”, you say “chew”.

For a long time - about a month or more - I struggled with studying syllables, but it became even more difficult when my grandfather forced me to read the psalter written in Church Slavonic. Grandfather read this language well and fluently, but he himself poorly understood its difference from the civil alphabet. New letters “dog” and “xi” appeared for me, my grandfather could not explain where they came from, he hit me on the head with his fists and said:

Not “peace”, little devil, but “dog”, “dog”, “dog”!

It was torture, it lasted for four months, in the end I learned to read both “in the civil” way and “in the church way,” but I received a decisive aversion and hostility towards reading and books.

In the fall I was sent to school, but a few weeks later I fell ill with smallpox and my studies were interrupted, to my great joy. But a year later I was sent back to school - a different one.

I came there in my mother’s shoes, in a coat altered from my grandmother’s jacket, in a yellow shirt and untucked pants, all this was immediately ridiculed, for the yellow shirt I received the nickname “ace of diamonds.” I soon got along with the boys, but the teacher and priest disliked me.

The teacher was yellow, bald, his nose was constantly bleeding, he would come to class with cotton wool plugged into his nostrils, sit down at the table, nasally ask questions about the lessons and suddenly, falling silent mid-sentence, pull the cotton wool out of his nostrils and look at it, shaking his head. His face was flat, copper, oxidized, there was some kind of green in the wrinkles, what made this face especially ugly were his completely unnecessary pewter eyes, which stuck so unpleasantly to my face that I always wanted to wipe my cheeks with my palm.

For several days I sat in the first department, on the front desk, almost right up to the teacher’s desk - it was unbearable, it seemed he didn’t see anyone but me, he muttered all the time:

Pesko-ov, change your shirt! Pesko-ov, don’t mess around with your feet! Peskov, your shoes are leaking again!

I paid him for this with wild mischief: one day I took out half of a watermelon, hollowed it out and tied it on a thread to a door block in a dimly lit hallway. When the door opened, the watermelon rode up, and when the teacher closed the door, the watermelon landed with its cap right on his bald head. The watchman took me home with the teacher’s note, and I paid for this prank with my own skin.

Another time, I poured snuff into his desk drawer, he sneezed so much that he left the class, sending in his place his son-in-law, an officer, who forced the whole class to sing “God Save the Tsar” and “Oh, you, my will, my will.” " He clicked those who sang incorrectly on the heads with a ruler in a particularly sonorous and funny way, but not painfully.

The teacher of the law, a handsome and young, bushy-haired priest, disliked me because I did not have the “Sacred History of the Old and New Testaments” and because I imitated his manner of speaking.

When he came to class, the first thing he asked me was:

Peshkov, did you bring the book or not? Yes. A book?

I answered:

No. I didn't bring it. Yes.

What "yes?

Well, go home. Yes. Home. Because I don’t intend to teach you. Yes. I don't intend to.

This did not upset me very much, I left and until the end of classes wandered through the dirty streets of the settlement, taking a closer look at its noisy life.

Despite the fact that I studied tolerably, I was soon told that I would be expelled from school for misbehavior. I became depressed - this threatened me with great trouble.

But help came - Bishop Chrysanthos unexpectedly came to the school.

When he, small, in wide black clothes, sat down at the table, he pulled his hands out of his sleeves and said:

“Well, let's talk, my children!” - the class immediately became warm, cheerful, and had an unfamiliarly pleasant air.

Having called me to the table after many, he asked seriously:

How old are you? Only about? How long are you, brother, huh? It rained a lot, huh?

Placing his withered hand with large, sharp nails on the table, taking his bushy beard in his fingers, he stared into my face with kind eyes, suggesting:

Well, tell me from sacred history, what do you like?

When I said that I don’t have a book and I’m not studying sacred history, he straightened his hood and asked:

How is this possible? After all, this needs to be taught! Or maybe you know or heard something? Do you know the Psalter? This is good! And prayers? You see now! And even lives? Poems? Yes, you know me.

Our priest appeared, red-faced, out of breath, the bishop blessed him, but when the priest began to talk about me, he raised his hand, saying:

Allow me a moment... Well, tell me about Alexey, the man of God?..

Very good poetry, brother, huh? - he said when I paused, having forgotten some verse. - Anything else?.. About King David? I'll really listen!

I saw that he really listens and likes poetry; he asked me for a long time, then suddenly stopped, quickly inquiring:

Did you study from the psalter? Who taught? Good grandfather? Wicked? Really? Are you very naughty?

I hesitated, but said yes! The teacher and the priest confirmed my consciousness in many words; he listened to them with his eyes downcast, then said, sighing:

That's what they say about you - have you heard? Come on, come on!

Placing his hand on my head, from which came the smell of cypress wood, he asked:

Why are you being naughty?

It's very boring to study.

Boring? This, brother, is something wrong. If you were bored with studying, you would study poorly, but teachers testify that you study well. So there is something else.

Taking out a small book from his bosom, he wrote:

Peshkov, Alexey. So. But you still would have restrained yourself, brother, and wouldn’t be so mischievous! A little is possible, but a lot is annoying for people! Is that what I say, children?

You're a little naughty yourself, aren't you?

The boys, grinning, spoke:

No. A lot too! A lot of!

The bishop leaned back in his chair, pressed me to him and said in surprise, so that everyone - even the teacher and the priest - laughed:

What a deal, my brothers, because I, too, was a great mischief-maker at your age! Why would this be, brothers?

The children laughed, he questioned them, cleverly confusing everyone, forcing them to argue with each other, and only aggravated the merriment. Finally he stood up and said:

Okay with you, mischief makers, it’s time for me to go!

He raised his hand, brushed his sleeve to his shoulder and, crossing everyone with wide waves, blessed:

In the name of father and son and the holy spirit, I bless you for your good work! Farewell.

Everyone shouted:

Farewell, lord! Come again.

Shaking his hood, he said:

I'll come, I'll come! I'll bring you books!

And he said to the teacher, floating out of the classroom:

Let them go home!

He led me by the hand into the hallway and there he said quietly, leaning toward me:

So you - hold back, okay? I understand why you are being naughty! Well, goodbye, brother!

I was very excited, some special feeling was boiling in my chest, and even when the teacher, having dismissed the class, left me and began to say that now I should stay quiet, lower than the grass, I listened to him attentively, willingly.

The priest, putting on his fur coat, hummed affectionately:

From now on you must be present at my lessons! Yes. Must. But - sit humbly! Yes. Attention.

My affairs at school improved, but at home a bad story unfolded: I stole a ruble from my mother. One evening my mother went somewhere, leaving me to do housework with the child; Bored, I unfolded one of the books of the stepfather of the “3apnsky doctor” Dumas the Father, and between the pages I saw two tickets - for ten rubles and for a ruble. The book was incomprehensible, I closed it and suddenly realized that for a ruble you could buy not only “The Sacred History”, but probably also a book about Robinson. I had learned that such a book existed shortly before at school: on a frosty day, during recess, I was telling the boys a fairy tale, when suddenly one of them remarked contemptuously:

Fairy tales are nonsense, but Robinson is a real story!

There were several other boys who read Robinson, everyone praised this book, I was offended that I didn’t like my grandmother’s fairy tale, and then I decided to read Robinson so that I could also say about him - this is nonsense!

The next day I brought to school “The Sacred History” and two tattered volumes of Andersen’s fairy tales, three pounds of white bread and a pound of sausage. In a dark, small shop near the fence of the Vladimir Church there was Robinson, a skinny little book with a yellow cover, and on the first page there was a picture of a bearded man in a fur cap, with an animal skin on his shoulders - I didn’t like this, but the fairy tales were cute even in appearance , despite the fact that they are disheveled.

During the big break, I shared bread and sausage with the boys, and we began to read the amazing fairy tale “The Nightingale” - it immediately grabbed everyone’s heart.

“In China, all the inhabitants are Chinese and the emperor himself is Chinese,” I remember how pleasantly this phrase surprised me with its simple, cheerfully smiling music and something else surprisingly good.

Did you take the ruble?

Took it; here are the books...

She beat me very hard with a frying pan, and took away Andersen’s books and hid them somewhere forever, which was worse than the beating.

I studied at school almost the entire winter, and in the summer my mother died, and my grandfather immediately sent me “to the people” - as an apprentice to a draftsman. Although I read several interesting books, I still didn’t have a special desire to read, and I didn’t have enough time for it. But soon this desire appeared and immediately became my sweet torment - I spoke about this in detail in my book “In People.”

I learned to read consciously when I was fourteen years old. During these years, I was no longer fascinated by more than one plot of the book - a more or less interesting development of the events depicted - but I began to understand the beauty of the descriptions, think about the characters of the characters, vaguely guessed about the goals of the author of the book and anxiously felt the difference between what she was talking about the book, and what life inspired.

Life was difficult for me at that time - my hosts were inveterate philistines, people whose main pleasure was abundant food, and whose only entertainment was church, where they went, magnificently dressing up, as they dress up when going to the theater or to a public festivities. I worked a lot, almost to the point of stupor; weekdays and holidays were equally cluttered with petty, meaningless, fruitless work.

The house in which my hosts lived belonged to a “contractor of excavation and bridge work,” a short, stocky man from Klyazma. Pointed-bearded, gray-eyed, he was angry, rude and somehow especially calmly cruel. He had about thirty workers, all Vladimir men; they lived in a dark basement with a cement floor and small windows below ground level. In the evenings, exhausted from work, having dined on cabbage soup made from sauerkraut, stinking cabbage with tripe or corned beef, which smelled of saltpeter, they crawled out into the dirty yard and lay on it - in the damp basement it was stuffy and fumes from the huge stove. The contractor appeared at the window of his room and shouted:

Hey, are you devils out in the yard again? Fall apart, pigs! Good people live in my house - do they like to look at you?

The workers obediently went into the basement. These were all sad people, they rarely laughed, almost never sang songs, spoke briefly, reluctantly, and, always stained with earth, seemed to me like dead people who had been resurrected against their will in order to torment them for another lifetime.

“Good people” were officers, gamblers and drunkards, they beat orderlies until they bled, beat mistresses, colorfully dressed women who smoked cigarettes. The women also got drunk and slapped the orderlies on the cheeks. The orderlies also drank, they drank heavily, to the point of death.

On Sundays, the contractor went out onto the porch and sat on the steps, with a long narrow book in one hand, with a piece of pencil in the other; The diggers approached him in single file, one after another, like beggars. They spoke in low voices, bowing and scratching themselves, and the contractor shouted to the whole yard:

Okay, it will be! Take a ruble! What? Do you want it in the face? Enough! Go away... But!

I knew that among the diggers there were quite a few people from the same village as the contractor, there were his relatives, but he was equally cruel and rude to everyone. And the diggers were also cruel and rude towards each other, and especially towards the orderlies. Almost every Sunday, bloody fights broke out in the courtyard, and a three-story level of dirty swearing was heard. The diggers fought without malice, as if fulfilling a boring duty; the one who was beaten until he bled walked away or crawled to the side and there silently examined his scratches and wounds, picking his loose teeth with dirty fingers.

A broken face and eyes swollen from blows never aroused the compassion of his comrades, but if a shirt was torn, everyone regretted it, and the beaten owner of the shirt became sullenly angry and sometimes cried.

These scenes gave me an indescribably painful feeling. I felt sorry for the people, but I felt sorry for them with cold pity, I never had the desire to say a kind word to any of them, or to help the beaten ones in any way - at least to give water so that they would wash away the disgustingly thick blood mixed with dirt and dust . In essence, I didn’t like them, I was a little afraid and - I pronounced the word “peasant” in the same way as my hosts, officers, the regimental chaplain, the cook next door and even the orderlies - all these people spoke about peasants with contempt.

Feeling sorry for people is hard; you always want to joyfully love someone, but there was no one to love. The more I fell in love with books.

There was also a lot of dirty, cruel things that evoked an acute feeling of disgust - I won’t talk about it, you yourself know this hellish life, this complete mockery of man against man, this painful passion to torment each other - the pleasure of slaves. And in such a damned environment, I first began to read good, serious books by foreign writers.

I probably won’t be able to convey vividly and convincingly enough how great my amazement was when I felt that almost every book seemed to open a window into a new, unknown world, telling me about the people, feelings, thoughts and relationships that I didn't know, I didn't see. It even seemed to me that the life around me, all that harsh, dirty and cruel that unfolded before me every day, all this was not real, unnecessary; real and necessary only in books, where everything is more reasonable, beautiful and humane. The books also spoke about rudeness, about the stupidity of people, about their suffering, they depicted the evil and vile, but next to them there were other people whom I had never seen, whom I had never even heard of - honest people, strong in spirit, truthful, always ready even to death for the sake of the triumph of truth, for the sake of a beautiful feat.

At first, intoxicated by the novelty and spiritual significance of the world opened to me by books, I began to consider them better, more interesting, closer people and - as if - a little blinded, looking at real life through books. But the harsh, clever life took care to cure me of this pleasant blindness.

On Sundays, when the owners went on a visit or for a walk, I climbed out of the window of the stuffy kitchen that smelled of grease onto the roof and read there. Half-drunk or sleepy diggers swam around the yard like catfish, maids, laundresses and cooks squealed from the cruel tenderness of the orderlies, I looked at the yard from above and majestically despised this dirty, drunken, dissolute life.

One of the navvies was the foreman, or “workmaster,” as they called him, an angular old man Stepan Leshin, awkwardly made of thin bones and blue veins, a man with the eyes of a hungry cat and a gray, comically scattered beard on his brown face, on his sinewy neck and in ears. Ragged, dirty, worse than all the diggers, he was the most sociable among them, but they were noticeably afraid of him, and even the contractor himself spoke to him, lowering his loud, always irritated voice. More than once I heard workers scold Leshin for his eyes:

Stingy devil! Judas! Lackey!

Old Leshin was very active, but not fussy, he somehow quietly, imperceptibly appeared in one corner of the yard, then in another, wherever two or three people gathered: he would come up, smile with cat eyes and, sniffing his wide nose, ask:

Well, what, huh?

It seemed to me that he was always looking for something, waiting for some word.

One day, when I was sitting on the roof of the barn, Leshin, grunting, climbed up the stairs to me, sat down next to me and, sniffing the air, said:

It smells like hay... You found a good place - it’s clean and away from people... What are you reading?

He looked at me kindly, and I willingly told him what I had read.

“Yes,” he said, shaking his head. - So-so!

Then he was silent for a long time, picking at the broken nail on his left foot with a black finger, and suddenly, looking sideways at me, he spoke, quietly and melodiously, as if telling:

There was a learned gentleman in Vladimir, Sabaneev, a great man, and he had a son, Petrusha. He also read all the books and encouraged others to do so, so he was arrested.

For what? - I asked.

For this very thing! Don’t read, but if you read, keep quiet!

He grinned, winked at me and said:

I look at you - you’re serious, you’re not being mischievous. Well, never mind, live...

And, after sitting on the roof a little longer, he went down to the yard. After that, I noticed that Leshin was looking closely at me, watching me. He increasingly came to me with his question:

Well, what, huh?

One day I told him some story that really excited me about the victory of the good and reasonable principle over the evil, he listened to me very carefully and, shaking his head, said:

Happens? - I asked joyfully.

Yes, but how? Anything can happen! - the old man confirmed. - I’ll tell you...

And he also “told” me a good story about living, non-book people, and in conclusion he said, memorably:

Of course, you cannot fully understand these matters, however, understand the main thing: there are a lot of trifles, the people are confused in trifles, there is no way for them - there is no way to God, that means! Great embarrassment from trifles, you know?

These words pushed me into my heart with a reviving impulse; it was as if I saw the light after them. But in fact, this life around me is a trifling life, with all its fights, debauchery, petty theft and swearing, which, perhaps, is so abundant because a person lacks good, pure words.

The old man has lived on earth five times longer than I have, he knows a lot, and if he says that good things really “happen” in life, you have to believe him. I wanted to believe, because the books had already instilled in me faith in man. I guessed that they were after all depicting real life, that they were, so to speak, written off from reality, which means - I thought - that in reality there must be good people, different from the wild contractor, my employers, drunken officers and all the people in general, known to me.

This discovery was a great joy for me, I began to look at everything more cheerfully and somehow treat people better, more attentively, and, having read something good, festive, I tried to tell the diggers and orderlies about it. They were not very willing to listen to me and, it seems, did not believe me, but Stepan Leshin always said:

Happens. Anything can happen, brother!

This short, wise word had an amazingly powerful meaning for me! The more often I heard it, the more it awakened in me a feeling of vigor and stubbornness, a keen desire to “stand my ground.” After all, if “everything happens,” then what I want will happen? I noticed that on the days of the greatest insults and sorrows life inflicted on me, on the difficult days of which I experienced too much, it was on such days that the feeling of vigor and stubbornness in achieving the goal especially increased in me, on these days I was overcome with the greatest strength by youth. Herculean desire to clean the Augean stables of life. This has remained with me and now, when I am fifty years old, it will remain until death, and I owe this property to the sacred scriptures of the human spirit - books that reflect the great torment and torture of the growing human soul, to science - the poetry of the mind, to art - the poetry of feelings.

Books continued to reveal new things to me; Two illustrated magazines especially gave me a lot: “World Illustration” and “Picturesque Review”. Their pictures, depicting cities, people and events of foreign life, expanded the world more and more before me, and I felt how it was growing, huge, interesting, filled with great deeds.

Temples and palaces, not like our churches and houses, people dressed differently, the earth decorated differently by man, wonderful machines, amazing products - all this inspired me with a feeling of some kind of incomprehensible cheerfulness and made me want to do something, to build something.

Everything was different, dissimilar, but nevertheless I was vaguely aware that everything was saturated with the same power - the creative power of man. And my sense of attention to people, respect for them grew.

I was completely shocked when I saw a portrait of the famous scientist Faraday in some magazine, read an article about him that I did not understand, and learned from it that Faraday was a simple worker. This hit me hard in the mind, it seemed like a fairy tale to me.

“How is this possible? - I thought incredulously. - So, one of the diggers can also become a scientist? And I can?"

I couldn't believe it. I began to find out if there were any other famous people who were first workers? I didn’t find anyone in the magazines; a high school student I knew told me that many famous people were first workers, and gave me several names, among other things, Stephenson, but I did not believe the high school student.

The more I read, the more books connected me with the world, the brighter and more significant life became for me. I saw that there were people who lived worse, more difficult than me, and this consoled me somewhat, without reconciling me with the offensive reality; I also saw that there are people who know how to live interestingly and festively, as no one around me can live. And in almost every book there was a quiet ringing sound of something alarming, drawing me towards the unknown, touching my heart. All people suffered in one way or another, everyone was dissatisfied with life, they were looking for something better, and they all became closer and more understandable. Books shrouded the whole earth, the whole world with sadness for something better, and each of them was like a soul, imprinted on paper with signs and words that came to life as soon as my eyes, my mind came into contact with them.

I often cried while reading - the stories were so good about the people, they became so sweet and close. And, as a boy, overwhelmed by stupid work, offended by stupid swearing, I made solemn promises to myself to help people, to serve them honestly when I grew up.

Like some marvelous birds in fairy tales, books sang about how diverse and rich life is, how daring man is in his desire for goodness and beauty. And the further I went, the more healthy and cheerful my heart was filled with. I became calmer, more confident in myself, worked more intelligently and paid less and less attention to the countless grievances of life.

Each book was a small step, climbing which I ascended from animal to man, to the idea of ​​a better life and the thirst for this life. And overloaded with what I had read, feeling like a vessel filled to the brim with revitalizing moisture, I went to the orderlies, to the diggers and told them, portrayed various stories in front of their faces.

This amused them.

Well, a rogue, they said. - A real comedian! You need to go to the booth, to the fair!

Of course, I was not expecting this, but something else, but I was pleased with this too.

However, I managed sometimes - not often, of course - to make the Vladimir peasants listen to me with intense attention, and more than once to bring some to delight and even to tears - these effects convinced me even more of the living, exciting power of the book.

Vasily Rybakov, a gloomy guy, a strong man who loved to silently push people with his shoulder so that they flew away from him like balls - this silent mischief-maker once took me to a corner behind the stable and suggested to me:

And he crossed himself with a flourish.

I was afraid of his gloomy mischief and began to teach the guy with fear, but things immediately went well, Rybakov turned out to be stubborn in unusual work and very understanding. About five weeks later, returning from work, he mysteriously called me to his place and, pulling out a piece of crumpled paper from his cap, muttered, worried:

Look! I plucked this from the fence, what does it say, huh? Wait - “house for sale” - right? Well - is it for sale?

Rybakov's eyes widened terribly, his forehead became covered with sweat, after a pause, he grabbed me by the shoulder and, rocking me, quietly said:

You see, I look at the fence, and it’s as if someone is whispering to me: “The house is for sale”! Lord have mercy... Just like he whispers, by God! Listen, Lexey, have I really learned - well?

He buried his nose in the paper and whispered:

- “Two - right? - storey, on a stone "...

His face broke into a wide smile, he shook his head, swore obscenely and, chuckling, began to carefully roll up the piece of paper.

I’ll leave this as a souvenir - how she was the first... Oh, my God... Do you understand? It's like he's whispering, huh? Wonderful, brother. Oh you...

I laughed madly, seeing his thick, heavy joy, his sweet childish bewilderment at the secret that was revealed to him, the secret of assimilation through small black signs of someone else's thought and speech, someone else's soul.

I could talk a lot about how reading books - this familiar, everyday, but essentially mysterious process of spiritual merging of a person with the great minds of all times and peoples - how this process of reading sometimes suddenly illuminates for a person the meaning of life and a person’s place in it , I know many such wonderful phenomena, filled with almost fabulous beauty.

I can’t help but tell you about one of these cases.

I lived in Arzamas, under police supervision, my neighbor, the zemstvo chief Khotyaintsev, especially disliked me - to the point that he even forbade his servant to talk with my cook in the evenings at the gate. A policeman was placed right under my window, and with naive unceremoniousness he looked into the rooms when he found it necessary. All this greatly frightened the townspeople, and for a long time none of them dared to come to me.

But one day, on a holiday, a crooked man appeared in a jacket, with a knot under his arm, and offered me to buy boots from him. I said I don't need boots. Then the crooked man, looking suspiciously into the door of the next room, spoke quietly:

The boots are to cover up the real reason, Mr. Writer, but I came to ask if there was a good book to read?

His intelligent eye did not raise doubts about the sincerity of his desire and finally convinced me of it when, in response to my question - what kind of book he would like to receive, he thoughtfully said wryly in a timid voice and looking around all the time:

Something about the laws of life, that is, the laws of the world. I don’t understand these laws - how to live and - in general. Not far from here, a Kazan mathematician professor lives in his dacha, so I take math lessons from him for mending shoes and gardening work - I’m also a gardener - but she doesn’t answer me, and he himself is silent...

I gave him Dreyfus’s inferior book “World and Social Evolution” - the only thing I could find on the question.

Sensibly grateful! - said the crooked one, carefully putting the book behind the top of his boot. - Let me come to you for a conversation when I read it... Only this time I’ll come as a gardener, like pruning raspberries in the garden, otherwise, you know, the police are very surrounding you, and in general - it’s inconvenient for me...

He came about five days later, in a white apron with garden shears, a bunch of sponges in his hands, and surprised me with his joyful appearance. His eyes sparkled cheerfully, his voice sounded loud and firm. Almost from the very first words, he struck Dreyfus’s book with his palm and spoke hastily:

Can I draw the conclusion from this that there is no God?

I am not a fan of such hasty “conclusions” and therefore began to carefully interrogate him as to why this particular “conclusion” attracted him.

For me this is the most important thing! - he spoke hotly and quietly. - I reason like everyone else: if the Lord God exists and everything is in his will, therefore, I must live quietly, submitting to the highest plans of God. I read a lot of divine things - the Bible, Tikhon of Zadonsk, Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian and everything else. However, I want to know: am I responsible for myself and for my whole life or not? According to scripture, it turns out - no, live as prescribed, and all sciences are of no use. Also, astronomy is one falsehood, an invention. And mathematics too and everything in general. Of course, you don’t agree with this in order to submit?

No, I said.

Why should I agree? You were sent here under police surveillance for disagreement, which means you decide to rebel against the Holy Scriptures, because as I understand it: any disagreement is necessarily against the Holy Scriptures. From it all the laws of subordination, and the laws of freedom come from science, that is, from the human mind. Now - further: if there is God, then I have nothing to do, and without him - I must be responsible for everything, for my whole life and all people! I wish to respond, following the example of the holy fathers, only differently - not by submission, but by resistance to the evil of life!

All submission is evil because it strengthens evil! And excuse me - I believe this book! For me it is like a path in a dense forest. I have already decided for myself - I am responsible for everything!

We talked amicably until late at night, and I became convinced that the unimportant little book was the final blow that transformed the rebellious quest of the human soul into a firm religious belief, into a joyful admiration for the beauty and power of the world's mind.

This sweet, intelligent man truly honestly resisted the evils of life and died calmly in 907.

Just like the gloomy mischievous Rybakov, books whispered to me about another life, more human than the one I knew; Just like a crooked shoemaker, they showed me my place in life. Inspiring my mind and heart, books helped me rise above the rotten swamp, where I would have drowned without them, choking on stupidity and vulgarity. More and more expanding the boundaries of the world before me, the books told me how great and beautiful man is in striving for the best, how much he has done on earth and what incredible suffering it has cost him.

And in my soul, attention to man grew - to everyone, no matter who he was, respect for his work, love for his restless spirit accumulated. Life became easier, more joyful - life was filled with great meaning.

Just like the crooked shoemaker, books instilled in me a sense of personal responsibility for all the evils of life and aroused in me a religious admiration for the creative power of the human mind.

And with deep faith in the truth of my conviction, I tell everyone: love a book, it will make your life easier, it will amicably help you sort out the colorful and stormy confusion of thoughts, feelings, events, it will teach you to respect people and yourself, it inspires your mind and heart with a feeling of love to the world, to man.

It may be hostile to your beliefs, but if it is written honestly, out of love for people, out of a desire for good for them, then this is a wonderful book!

All knowledge is useful, knowledge of delusions of the mind and errors of feeling is also useful.

Love the book - the source of knowledge, only knowledge is saving, only it can make us spiritually strong, honest, reasonable people who are able to sincerely love a person, respect his work and heartily admire the wonderful fruits of his continuous great work.

In everything that has been done and is being done by man, in every thing, his soul is contained; most of all this pure and noble soul is in science, in art; it speaks most eloquently and clearly in books.

NOTE

First published in the newspaper “New Life”, 1918, number 102, May 29, under the title "About books", and at the same time, with the subtitle “Story”, in the newspaper “Book and Life”, 1918, number 1, May 29.

The story is based on a speech that M. Gorky delivered on May 28, 1918 in Petrograd at a rally in the “Culture and Freedom” society. The speech began with the words: “I will tell you, citizens, what books have given to my mind and feelings. I learned to read consciously when I was fourteen years old...” The work was republished several times under the title “How I Learned” with the first phrase omitted and small additions at the end of the story.

An article about how to properly prepare and write, using all the tactical and literary techniques in writing an essay in the form of an argument.

An argumentative essay always has the goal of convincing the reader (listener) of something, changing or consolidating his opinion on a certain issue (if the opinions of the author and the reader coincide.

Therefore, the basis of reasoning, its core, becomes a clearly formulated, understandable and justified from different positions one main idea .

We write an essay-reasoning on a free topic

Step one . Clearly and completely formulate the idea you want to prove.

You can check the success of this step as follows. Read the formulation to several people: if they have no questions about your position (objections to the essence of the issue do not count), then the formulation is successful. Now you can move on to writing an argumentative essay.

What parts does an argumentative essay consist of?

The complete essay-reasoning consists of 3 parts. This:

• thesis(that thought, judgment, position that you have formulated and which you will prove);
• arguments(each of them should serve as a visual, accomplished, and therefore convincing proof of your thought);
• conclusion(he essentially repeats the thesis, but takes it to a new level with broad generalizations, forecasts, recommendations, etc.).

An optional, but desirable part of the discussion is a brief introduction, the task of which is to involve the reader in a dialogue, to outline the essence and relevance of the problem.

Example . The topic of the essay-reasoning is "First love…". You can talk about first love endlessly (as well as about other issues), so let’s do it immediately step one - formulate a thesis.

With the thesis “First love is the most important stage in a person’s life, which will affect all future relationships and the personality itself,” the introduction could be like this: “For teenagers, it becomes the meaning of life, and in adults it causes an indulgent smile. However, parents and acquaintances grin in vain: according to psychologists, the source of our “adult” happiness and unhappiness is hidden in first love.”

Main part: arguments, content of arguments

Argumentation in an argumentative essay should occupy at least 2/3 of the total volume. The optimal number of arguments for a short (school or exam) essay is three.

The best arguments are well known historical facts(or not very well-known, but which can be easily found in authoritative sources - encyclopedias, reference books, scientific works, etc.). Good evidence would be statistics, events discussed. In the practice of school essays, the most powerful argument is literary work, but not everything, but that episode, storyline, story of the hero that confirms your idea.

To choose the right arguments, mentally pronounce your thesis each time and ask the question “Why?”

Example . Let’s take another thesis related to the topic “First Love” - “To love is to become better" Why?

• By trying to please another person, we improve. Literary argument. Tatyana Larina, wanting to unravel Onegin's soul, spends her days in his library reading books, eagerly peering at the notes left by Eugene, and reflecting on what she read. Not only does she finally understand what kind of person fate has brought her together, but she herself grows spiritually and intellectually.

An argument can also be personal experience, but remember that such evidence is the least convincing and is best presented as an extension to the basic facts, known and authoritative.

Step two . Select arguments that support your idea and arrange them in the following order: “ very convincing - quite convincing - the most convincing".

Conclusion

The conclusion deepens the thesis, contains - albeit not explicit - advice, rules, and offers forecasts.

Example. First love, no matter what age it happens, can turn a person into a tough, ruthless cynic, an incorrigible romantic, and a realist who does not exclude any possibilities for himself.

The first one will be deeply unhappy: he will not be able to love, which means he will remain lonely. The second often moves from the absolute optimism of “love forever” to the same pessimism of “no love.” And only the third is able to find harmony. To ensure that there are more and more people like this, adults, family, and friends should take the feelings of teenagers and children carefully and seriously.

Students aiming for higher education at prestigious universities are aware of the need to obtain high scores in compulsory subjects. As you know, this is impossible without completing a type C task - an open-type task with a detailed answer. The numbers speak for themselves here: the maximum amount for completing tasks of a high level of difficulty is one third of the total points (20 points out of a possible 60).

Type C assignments in the Unified State Exam in the Russian language are an essay-reasoning based on the text given for analysis. This type of task should not only reveal the actual knowledge of students, but also demonstrate their creative, analytical abilities, qualities of mind and intellectual level, show the knowledge base, erudition, breadth of outlook and civic position of the examinee.

In practical terms, Part C tests the level of communication skills:

• maturity of judgment when interpreting text;
• the ability to formulate one’s own statements;
• ability to use means of expression;
• compliance with the norms of the literary language, including spelling and punctuation.

Sources of substantiation of one’s own opinion (arguments) can be:

Natural evidence - witness testimony, documents, examination data, etc. Such arguments include reference to generally valid experience, evidence from the author of the essay himself, references to authority, proverbs, sayings, examples from fiction.

Logical proofs (arguments “to logos” or arguments for reflection) are arguments that appeal to human reason, to reason.

Sensual arguments (arguments for pathos), designed to evoke certain emotions, to create the desired attitude towards the person, object, phenomenon being described.

The use of examples from fiction as a type of argumentation of one’s own opinion stands apart from others, because, firstly, it allows you to get the maximum score for this criterion, and secondly, despite this, it is quite rare in the works of graduates.

For the literary argumentation of the Unified State Exam, the reading experience of the examinee is used, which may include:

• quotes;
• similar actions of literary characters and situations;
• character traits of a literary hero;
• the plot of a literary work;
• conflict of a literary work;
• different points of view of the authors on the problem.

Unfortunately, today's school graduates often lack sufficient cultural and literary horizons, and their motivation for cognitive activity is very low. Schoolchildren often avoid using their reading experience for fear of making a factual error or not finding suitable examples in their literary baggage.

For most teachers, it is obvious that the practice of memorizing possible essay topics and lists of possible literary arguments for them, as many self-preparation sites for the Unified State Exam offer, is vicious and harmful. In our opinion, we should proceed from the fact that the Unified State Exam is, first of all, a comprehensive exam created precisely in order to reveal the knowledge accumulated over the years of study and the ability to use it competently, that is, to reason, analyze, come to reasoned conclusions. Therefore, if this baggage, roughly speaking, is empty, then memorizing various lists, even with the outstanding intellectual abilities of the examinee, will only lead to confusion in thoughts and gross factual errors.

The teacher is faced with the question of how to provide students with the necessary arsenal of literary arguments for writing an essay on the Unified State Exam.

First of all, the teacher must carry out systematic work, controlling the reading of works from. Schoolchildren, starting from the 5th grade, need to instill skills and conduct various control activities in order to consolidate their mastery of the factual material of literary works.

In addition, it is necessary to familiarize students with the expected list of problems and topics underlying the texts of Part C. Such a list can be quite simply compiled on the basis of didactic and methodological materials for preparing for the Unified State Exam in previous years; similar materials are often found on various websites and forums, dedicated to the Unified State Exam.

List of topics for preparing for the Unified State Examination essay-reasoning

Material from the Unified State Exam portal.

• The problem of the soul, the inner world.
• The problem of the role of art in human life.
• The problem of the relationship between man and nature.
• Ecological problem.
• The problem of kindness.
• The problem of honor, bribery, corruption.
• The problem of mercy.
• The role of books in human life.
• The problem of reading in modern society.
• The problem of development and preservation of the Russian language.
• The problem of speech culture.
• The problem of the development of science and technology.
• The problem of modern education.
• The role of friendship in human life.
• The role of love in human life.
• The problem of historical memory.
• The problem of memory of the Great Patriotic War.
• The problem of intergenerational relationships.
• The problem of patriotism in the modern world.
• The problem of Russian national character.
• The role of television in modern society.
• Internet problem.
• The role of advertising in modern society.
• The role of faith in human life.
• The problem of moral choice.
• The problem of choosing a life path.
• Man and the Universe.
• The problem of loneliness.
• The problem of duty and honor.
• The problem of human dignity.
• The problem of talent and genius.
• The problem of tolerance in the modern world.

In the future, the teacher must rely on such a list when teaching argumentation and replenishing the argumentation base of students. There are many methodological developments in the teacher’s arsenal aimed at developing this skill. Here are just a few of them:

Exercise “Choose an example”

Assignment: select examples from the reader’s experience to the given theses, for example:

• The world is a mirror that shows each person his own reflection. (W. Thackeray)
• A bone thrown to a dog is not mercy. Mercy is a bone shared with a dog when you are as hungry as he is. (D. London)
• Teaching is only light, according to the popular proverb, but it is also freedom. Nothing liberates a person like knowledge... (I.S. Turgenev)

Exercise “Continue the Reasoning”

Assignment: continue the discussion by choosing a literary image to illustrate thoughts.

• The desire for good on the planet can unite billions of people, all local and international organizations that respect human rights, protect nature and life on earth in general.
• ...Strength is not in strength, but in thought and its clear expression, and therefore they fear the expression of independent thought more than armies, they set up censorship, bribe newspapers...

Compiling your own “piggy bank of arguments” for the Unified State Examination

Compiling and memorizing such a database of arguments is qualitatively different from memorizing ready-made lists. The essence of this method is the accumulation of illustrative arguments formulated by schoolchildren. The “piggy bank” is compiled in the form of a table. After identifying the problem and idea of ​​the work being studied in a literature lesson, students recall the material covered with similar issues and reflect this in the table. It is also recommended to include main quotes, literary and artistic associations related to the topic being studied.

An example of such a table (based on materials from I.M. Kuznetsova)

M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”

In conclusion, I would like to cite the famous words of the ancient Greek philosopher Menander: “A language that is wise in knowledge will not falter.” Indeed, in order to learn how to competently argue their own opinion, students must have a system of value guidelines based on knowledge of world history, culture and literature. And creating such a system in the minds of students is the main task of the teacher, and the successful completion of Part C of the Unified State Exam in the Russian language is nothing more than a successful “side effect.”

Used materials:

1. Narushevich A.G. We formulate, comment, argue (Main stages of working on an essay on the Unified State Exam in the Russian language): Lecture for students) // Russian language. - No. 12. — 2006
2. Kuznetsova I.M. Training in argumentation skills in accordance with the requirements of the Unified State Exam // http://festival.1september.ru/articles/622703/

Today we would like to discuss the topic of how to select constructive arguments that change people’s behavior patterns. If in real life situations arose when it was difficult to convince another person of your point of view, when the interlocutor does not understand obvious things, then today we will analyze a simple algorithm on how to convey this to people. And, as usual, we will reinforce the material with examples from real life.

When we looked at it in one of our recent articles, we talked about changing the behavior model of another person and the fact that the key point of the algorithm is “agreement on the problem.”

That is, if a person says: “yes, I agree, the situation is kind of awkward...”, then we can move on to a solution. Otherwise, it is too early to move - the person does not agree and/or does not understand what we are deciding.

If we are pushing for a solution without agreement on a problem, then several options are possible:

• The man fights back: “Yes, okay, we worked somehow before...”
• The person turns on the sabotage mode: “Okay, you’re the boss, I’m a fool, but then you’ll see that it was the wrong decision...”
• A person gives his boss a minus in karma: “Okay, let it be your way. (Not out loud anymore) The bosses are idiots, they themselves don’t understand why anything is being done, they only know how to put pressure.”

And it is at this point, without reaching agreement on the problem, in a fit of persuasion, we use non-constructive techniques that we talked about in the previous article:

“Why should I explain such basic things to a specialist of your level?”

“As a manager with your experience...”

“I’ve been trying to explain the basics to you for half an hour now...”

And the harder we press, the greater the chance of getting a minus in karma and the greater the weight of the minus itself.

Accordingly, I want to somehow bring a person to an agreement on the problem, without pressure, so that he agrees with the problem and moves on to a solution on his own.

We need arguments. Which we prepare at the preparation stage. Moreover, at the preparation stage, we don’t know which argument will work, because we don’t know what’s in the person’s head.

One argument is not enough. If you are going to assemble your beloved mother-in-law’s closet, then you don’t take the only key. You clarify: “Nadezhda Petrovna, what kind of key is needed?” She competently answers: “Seryozha, there are hexagonal nuts and some other bolts.” And you take a set of keys so that you don’t have to go a second time.

So here too - it would be good to prepare a set of arguments before the discussion, in case your only killer argument does not work.

So how are arguments prepared?

Example No. 1. Let's say you manage a team, and there is an employee who is constantly late for morning planning meetings (Scrum meetings, stand-up meetings, or just planning meetings). At these planning meetings, you discuss who did what yesterday, who will do what today, what problems there are, etc. That is, you distribute tasks and carry out some kind of coordination.

And then, the scoundrel, he’s late. And you want to make sure that he is not late.

It is clear that there may be situations when the wife has gone on a business trip and there is no one to take the children to kindergarten, etc. - We will not consider this here. Let’s assume that this particular Fedya sincerely does not understand why planning meetings are needed and is late for them. Well, at the person’s previous job, he didn’t have these stupid meetings, and everything was fine. They did the job and satisfied the customer. And here you are with your stupid meetings.

What we often see at trainings is that managers begin to speak their managerial language:

“Team motivation is falling”

“Team spirit is falling”

“This is against our company policies.”

That is, about some corporate ships that are sailing somewhere there. What is team spirit? Is it when you walk into a room and there is such a powerful team spirit in the air? What does it mean that motivation is falling? You, manager, in what parrots do you measure her? In lumens, which indicate how bright people's eyes are?

Managers speak their own language. They sometimes forget a little about what they felt and thought when they weren't managers.

Probably, the arguments should be a little different... A 2 by 2 matrix will help us understand the issue.

On one scale we will set aside time: present or future. On another scale, whose problem is this: yours or the person you came to discuss it with.

Which arguments do people listen to better? To those that show that you have a problem, or to those that show that they have a problem?

The answer is not so obvious. We can say that it depends on whether you have common goals, on his innate criticality, on the history of your relationship with this person (that is, your karma in his eyes). This is what determines whether your arguments about declining motivation and decaying team spirit will work.

But what is absolutely certain is that people listen well to arguments that concern them personally. One of the psychologists said that:

People change their behavior when they realize it is counter-constructive to their goals.

What does this late employee want? You know better, you work with him. But I'll guess what he might want:

• Wants interesting tasks and doesn't want boring ones
• Wants his opinion to be listened to
• Wants career growth
• Wants money

We can attach arguments to these wishes:

1. When you come back from the meeting, all the interesting tasks have already been dealt with.
2. Only boring tasks remain
3. On boring tasks I can't assess your growth
4. If I am now asked to recommend someone for a manager position, I will not be able to recommend you
5. In our company, a manager is someone who shows by example how company policies are followed + Argument No. 4

And now you are a little more prepared for the conversation. And you go from one argument to another, placing pauses, letting the person say what he thinks about this. But you no longer have one argument, but a whole set of keys.

And we have not yet analyzed what the person wanted to achieve with his behavior pattern right now. Let's try to do this with the following example.

Example No. 2. Let’s say you are leading a team, and your experienced employee (technical leader) unconstructively criticizes the work of his colleagues in front of everyone, periodically lashing out. Colleagues (specifically, Masha) are offended, cry, cannot work and are about to quit. Because nerve cells are not restored. And you decide to somehow change the behavior pattern of your technical leader.

This is, of course, worth thinking about. Has he always behaved this way, or did it start after a certain point? Maybe it's just a matter of motivation. The man became bored. We need to figure it out. Let's assume the tech leader was always this abrasive.

A short digression and an example from life. In his book “Up!” Inna Kuznetsova, the first Russian-speaking vice president of IBM, describes a case when at some point she found herself with a terrible boss who was very difficult to work with. And she was about to leave him when she unfolded this situation a little for herself.

After all, the further up you go, the fewer bosses you can choose from. And Inna perceived this situation as an excellent opportunity to learn how to work with a difficult boss. Life has become easier. Because when you understand the long-term goal and how the current situation will lead you to it, you can suffer.

Therefore, in our example, there may be an option to talk to Masha. You may be able to convince her that it would be useful for her to learn how to communicate with foul-mouthed tech leaders. :)

But let’s say you decide to talk to your experienced employee. You will start by describing why this situation is problematic for you:

• Work is done slowly
• Masha is in a non-resource state
• Masha may quit

But there is a chance that you will encounter misunderstandings:

• “Of course, we recruited from advertisements”
• “I get it right the first time”
• “He’ll quit, and thank God - maybe we’ll finally hire a normal person...”

So let's think about what a tech leader wants? What does he want with this behavior? To do it quickly and efficiently.

What does he even want?

• To be listened to
• Work with smart people
• Careers
• Money

Based on this, we prepare arguments:

1. Fast → What do you want? when you shout at Masha? To do it quickly? It doesn't work quickly...
2. Fast → Look: you screamed, Masha went away crying. Then she came to tell me how hard it is to work with you. I think about all the employees, I came to you to warm my brain about this. Now I’ll leave, you go to Masha to explain that there is no need to go over your head to the boss. Masha will quit. Who do you think will be responsible for searching, interviewing, inducting newcomers, and while they are away, doing their job?
3. To listen → Look. while you and Masha are communicating. everyone else has taken out popcorn and is watching. And they see how you convey your thoughts to your colleagues. How do you think. If people have a question, will they come to you to discuss it?
4. Work with smart people → You said you want to work with smart people? So smart people will also think about whether or not to work with someone who, if something happens, can use obscenities in front of everyone. Why do they need this?
5. Career → Our company grows those who can find a common language with any people. Now. If they ask me if I can recommend you for a manager position, I will not be able to do so. Because I don’t know how you will communicate with management and customers. The customer may also not understand something and may not be competent in your field. If you swear at him, that’s not the point...

Don't put too much pressure here. The person may not have looked at the situation from that angle at all. And he needs time to come to terms with the fact that his behavior pattern will not lead him to what he wants. Still, he lived with this model of behavior for several years.

And maybe this will be the second conversation when you agree with him in the format “Let’s try it differently... Instead of $%^# you say: “Masha, how did this happen?..”

It's not about manipulation

You can say: Alexander, but this is pure manipulation! How can that be, you yourself teach that you shouldn’t use them.

This is an important question. Manipulation is a hidden influence on a person to achieve one’s own goals. Don't get us wrong, we are not in favor of secretly solving your managerial problems using arguments that influence a person. In short, the reporting algorithm is as follows:

• I have a problem, I came to discuss it with you
• This is a problem for me, here's why...
• Besides, I want to work with you for a long time, but this situation is also a problem for you. And that's why…

Your current karma in the eyes of this person will simply determine the point at which he will begin to agree with your arguments. The idea is this.

Summary: try it

The summary is very simple: people change their behavior when they realize that it is counter-constructive to their goals. Think not only about your problems, but also select arguments based on the wants and desires of your interlocutor. And there should be several arguments - like keys in a set. Then the chances of success in the conversation increase greatly.