Tuesday, July 28 2009

Part One Goals

• Considering our arguments

• Workshopping our arguments.

part One

our homework for today was the following:

Tie your analysis, evaluation, and synthesis into one 3-5 page argument.

In order to complete this assignment, you needed to think about what an argument is, and how an argument should be laid out.

So let’s begin today by having you turn over your drafts. We are going to be writing for the next ten minutes on the following topic. What is an argument? What is the point of an argument? What do you need to do to your current writing to  transform your analysis, evaluation and synthesis into an argument? (10 Mins)

Group Discussion (5-7)

Class Discussion:

What are some basic elements to arguments?

1) Thesis

2) Supporting evidence

3) Good explanation of how your evidence supports your thesis.

Workshop

Step 1: Content Check: Isolate and identify the specific transitions the author uses to move you from his or her analysis to evaluation, and from his or her evaluation to synthesis. If you cannot identify these transitions, or if the transitions need more work to be effective, let the author know.

Mechanics Check: Basic paragraph structure check: Does every paragraph 1) fall between 6-8 sentences, and 2) Contain at least one quote (paragraphs in the synthesis section should have a minimum of two quotes

When you finish reading, write a paragraph on the back that explains what you think the argument is, based on your reading. Is it clear? Can you identify a specific thesis? If so, what is, and can you quote it directly?

Break

Part Two Goals

• Introduction to the Toulmin argument structure.

Part Two

Introduction to the Toulmin argument

We begin my making claims:

However, in the instance of our papers, are claims are going to be specific to Hertsgaard’s argument.  Our THESIS will be our MAJOR OR MOST IMPORTANT CLAIM. We will also have numerous “lesser” claims we make along the way.

CLAIMS need to be backed up with evidence and support. For our purposes, the evidence and support we use will come from the articles we have read: The Oblivious Empire, America the Beautiful, and the third article of your own choosing.

Example: Because the American Government has carried out mass murder before, it is guilty of terrorism.

You will notice that that there is a problem here, which is that it may not be obvious to the reader how the EVIDENCE is connected to the CLAIM.

What we have with such a statement is essentially an enthymeme: a statement that has some presumptions wrapped up in it. These presumptions may make sense to you, but they may not make sense to the reader, so we have to be careful to unpack them for the reader. We do this with what is called a WARRANT.

The American Government has carried out mass murder before. For example, when the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, tens of thousands of people died. The deaths of many innocent Japanese citizens terrified the people of Japan, and forced the nation to change its political and military goals. The point of terrorism is to achieve exactly this effect through exactly these means. Subsequently, Hertsgarrd is correct when he claims that the United States has committed acts of terrorism in the past.

So – notice that we begin with a claim, and then connect it to some evidence. THEN we explain the specific logical relationship between the claim and the evidence.

Let’s look at the arguments we have be working on.

1)      Identify your major and minor claims. If this information is missing, you need to provide it.

2)      Identify the evidence you have been working on. If this information is missing, you need to provide it.

3)      Identify the WARRENTS in your writing. If this information is missing, you need to provide it.

Okay, now let’s look at the article by Alan Dershowitz on page 166: Testing Speech Codes. We will re-read it, and then test it against the basic topics we have covered today.

Homework

Revise your argument into a Toulmin argument

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