Argument Abounds

As a result of reading student drafts, I now have some advice of problems to watch for:

In the RESTATEMENT of OPPONENT’S POSITION, remember that the opponent states his/her position in the form of claim and support (Which sounds like “This thing is true because…”). If you state it in the form of “You say this… and then you claim that…” the result is that the tone seems to be accusatory. Instead, try something like “I was really interested in the part of your article that explains…. because…” or “I know that you believe …..because….. and I wanted to explore this idea further.”

In the section that requires you to express the circumstances under which you AGREE with your OPPONENT’S POSITION, be sure to be specific about why, when, and how you might agree. Don’t just say, “I can see your point,” or “that could be true in some ways.” Also remember that by saying “I agree …. is true when …. happens,” you are ALREADY implying that you believe the thing is NOT TRUE when the thing does NOT happen. You should not say this here in a Rogerian Argument. Your goal is to make your opponent listen to you, to build a relationship with him/her. Watch out for words like “BUT…HOWEVER…ALTHOUGH…” in this section. Don’t let these slip in!

Your TRANSITION should directly address your opponent and invite him/her to consider a new way of thinking. Don’t just launch in to the argument that supports the second position and call it transition. Transition needs to gently help the reader move along into the next part of the argument.

Remember that revisions of the Annotated Bibliography are due

Monday, 4/2/07.

Revisions must be submitted in a folder containing the following:

1. Original Annotated Bibliography (graded)
2. Grade sheet for original Annotated Bibliography
3. Revised Annotated Bibliography

IN ADDITION, you must HIGHLIGHT the revised copy to indicate any CHANGES MADE from the original.

GRADES for the revision will be AVERAGED with the original grade to arrive at a final grade for the assignment. This grade is 15% of your course grade.

Since submission of revision requires that you have received your graded original back, the LAST DAY to submit LATE papers (at 40 points off) is WEDNESDAY, 3/28/07. If you have not submitted an original by this date, your revision will be averaged with an original grade of zero.

WHO SHOULD REVISE? In order to raise an averaged grade by one letter grade, your revised grade must be at least two letter grades higher than the original. This means that students with grades of C or lower are the best candidates for revision.

Here is an electronic copy of the assignment sheet: Rogerian Assignment

In order to write Rogerian argument, you must be able to clearly articulate your opponent’s position (which means their claim and their major support). You must also be able to clearly articulate your own position (your claim and your major support).

You must be able to articulate both of these positions in neutral, dispassionate (not inflammatory or biased) language. Only then can you go on to build the links between the two positions that constitute the Rogerian argument.

On Monday, 3/26, you will bring to class a draft of both position statements necessary for your argument. In peer review groups, we will check to see if you have managed to remain unbiased when stating these two positions. One tool is to use the template “Some people believe….. because… Other people believe …. because ….” In stating these positions, you will not indicate which of the “people” you agree with, and you should be able to state both positions with equal attention and equal value, so that it is not possible to tell which side you are taking. This part comes later in the paper.

To clarify, these two position statements will become part of your Rogerian paper. However, you are NOT writing a draft of the entire paper on Monday, 3/26. You are only writing the two positions, giving them “separate but equal” treatment. This is an important first step in writing a good Rogerian argument, and it is important to do this separately from writing the entire paper.  

P.S. Thanks to Amanda for asking this question!

Drafts due this Friday, March 2nd. Please review this list of Requirements for Annotated Bibliography.

 Also, please be aware that I have added a new page containing a Sample Annotated Bibliography.  

 Here is a copy of the assignment sheet which details the steps of the research paper process, due dates, etc:

Researched Position Paper Sequence

The issue proposal (1-2 typed, double-spaced pages), is due Monday, February 26th. Please review the assignment sheet for details.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN, you may want to explore the steps listed in Exercise D, page 24 of Wood. You are actually already being required to complete this process – this is why you are asked to read articles and complete reading log entries (the first two are due Wednesday, February 21st).

YOU WILL ALSO WANT TO BE SURE that you have used the “12 Tests of an Arguable Issue” (page 25) on your idea.

MORE DETAILED DIRECTIONS and a SAMPLE ISSUE PROPOSAL are located in Exercise G of Wood (page 26).

As always, feel free to ask questions if anything seems unclear!

Remember that we have two required Toulmin Assignments. Together, these activities comprise ten percent of your final course grade. Although technical difficulties necessitated some changes to our original assignment plan, we will forge onward, and the online syllabus has been edited to reflect recent changes. Please feel free to check it, print it, or use it to revise your previously printed syllabi.

TOULMIN ASSIGNMENT #1 is due Monday, February 19th. For this assignment, you will consider an article of SPAM (included in handout) as an argumentative text. Following the directions on the handout, identify each part of the Toulmin model. Next, identify elements of logos, ethos, and pathos used by the author. Finally, find and correct some of the many, many grammatical errors. Have fun!

TOULMIN ASSIGNMENT #2 and EXTRA CREDIT are due on Friday, February 23rd. Remember that on Friday, February 16th you were asked to bring a magazine or newspaper advertisement to class? This ad should make an argument with which you strongly disagree. Following the directions in this handout, you will generate a Toulmin analysis, identify elements of logos, ethos and pathos in the advertisement, and (specifically) identify the target audience. This analysis will require considerably more thought and explanation than Toulmin Analysis #1, since the parts of the argument will be less blatantly stated – and may even be visually represented.

Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to design and create your own “anti-ad” in response to this advertisement. See handout for details. 

Please notice that a project is due next Wednesday, February 7. This project is worth 3 daily grades. The project requires that you demonstrate understanding of the terms and concepts LOGOS, ETHOS, and PATHOS by creating three different versions of the same argument. Each version will be approximately 250 words (one typed double-spaced page), for a total of three typed pages.

Directions:

Choose an audience to whom you will argue. You may write your argument to a professor, an employer, a parent, or a significant other. Chose an issue about which to argue, keeping your audience in mind. For example, if your audience is a professor, you may wish to argue that you deserve an “A” in your course. If your audience is an employer, you may wish to argue for a raise.

PART 1 LOGOS: Write your argument once using logical proof to support your claim.

PART 2 ETHOS: Write your argument again using proof of your personal credibility and/or using support from authoritative sources to support your claim.

PART 3 PATHOS: Write your argument one last time, using an appeal to the emotions of your audience.    

This Peer Workshop Form will be used in class on Friday. Final essay grades are based upon process as well as product, and peer review sessions are a mandatory part of the writing process. Missing peer review sessions will significantly affect your essay grade. If, however, you must miss class on a peer review day due to an unavoidable circumstance, you may print the Peer Workshop Form (linked above) and take it to the writing center for completion.

For your convenience, I am also providing you with a copy of the Grading Criteria for Claim Detection Essay. I hope this document may be useful as a checklist for revision.

Happy writing!

Here is a copy of the assignment sheet for the first major assignment, the Claim Detection Essay:

Assignment Sheet for Essay 1

Remember that this essay is worth 10 percent of the course grade. A draft is due on FRIDAY, JANUARY 26th , and the final essay is due MONDAY, JANUARY 29th!