argumentative-writing

Unit15ArgumentativeWritingUnitObjectivesAttheendoftheunityouwill1.haveageneralideaofwhatargumentativewritingisandbeawareoftheimportanceofargumentation;2.befamiliarwiththeessentialsforanargumentation;and3.knowabouttheformofargumentativewriting.Task1SamplereadingAskthestudentstoreadthesamplewritingonpagesof150-151.Workinpairsanddiscussthefollowingquestions:1.AccordingtoMaryaMannes,whatiswrongwithTV?WhatdoesshebelieveTVcouldaccomplish?IssheoptimisticthatTVwillreachthisstageofdevelopment?2.Thewritertellsusthatherchildhoodwasnottypical.Whataspectsofherchildhooddoyoufeelsupportthatstatement?3.WhydoesthewriterusethelongquotationbythenewspapercolumnistSylviaPorter?WritingtechniquesWritingpurposes：Wewriteargumentativeessaystoa)presentyouropinionb)explain,clarify,andillustratethatviewpointandc)persuadethereadersthattheviewpointisvalidorcorrectsothattheaudiencewillbemovedtoactionorbelief.PresentyouropinionAnopinionisabelief,anattitude,oraviewpoint.Sometimes,youwritetogiveyouropiniononasubject.Factoropinion?Therearetwokindsofstatements.Astatementoffactisnotthesameasastatementofopinion.Astatementoffactissomethingthatcanbeprovenrightorwrong.Pleasecomparethefollowingstatements.Theyarefactsoropinion?•TheEmpireStateBuildingisinNewYorkCity.•ItisfuntoclimbthestepsoftheEmpireStateBuilding.PresentyouropinionWhenyouwrite,itisveryimportanttorecognizeifyouarewritingfactsoropinions.Astatementofactcanbeproventrueorfalse,butastatementofopinioncannot.Certainwordsactassignalsthatastatementisanopinion.Wordsthatshowapprovalordisapprovalarewordsofopinion;someopinionwordsarebetter,best,good,bad,pleasant,unpleasant,poor,andgreat.E.g.RalphisabetterstudentthanSpot.Statementsthatsaywhatisdesirablearestatementsofopinion.Wordslikeshould,oughtto,andmustareopinionwords.E.g.LindashouldaskStantothedance.Predictionsareanotherkindofopinion.Wordsandphraseslikewill,shall,andisgoingtosignalaprediction.Anystatementthatpredictswhatwillhappeninthefutureisanopinion.WritingtechniquesFormsofArgumentationArgumentforconvincing:athesisstatementofourposition+supportingreasonsandevidence.Outlinescheme(1)Argumentforsolvingaproblem:statementofaproblem+asuggestionofabestsolutionOutlineschemeOutlineschemeIntroduction:-explanationoftheproblem-analysisofcausesandeffects/relevancetoreadersBody:-Thesolution(thesis-proposition)-Explanationoftherelationofsolutiontoproblem(Effect/Practicalityofsolution)-SuperiorityofonesolutionoverothersConclusion:Writingprocedures1.DecideuponatopicAvoidthesubjectsthatcanbedeterminedimmediatelybyavailablefactualmaterials.e.g.Poor:InterviewisawayofrecruitmentBetter:MyViewonInterviewasaSelectionProcedureAvoidsubjectsthatare“no-wintopics”,forwhichnoconclusioncanbereached,esp.thosewhichinvolvepersonaltaste.e.g.Mydogismorebeautifulthanyourdog.ShakespeareismyfavoriteEnglishwriter.Avoidsubjectsthatwouldnotinterestourreaders.Writingprocedures2.Structuringanargumentativeessay:anintroduction+abody+aconclusion.•Theintroductiongivesbackground,stimulatethereaders’interestintheproblemorproposal,andalsoconvincethereadersthattheycantrustusandthattheycanbenefitfromourproposition.•TheThesisSentencewouldbeconciseandessential,andconsistofmainargument+ahintofallargumentstobedevelopedinthebodypart.Afterthebrain-storming,transformtheTentativeThesisSentencetotheThesisSentence.•SugarConsumption.(anindicationofageneralsubject.)Thisfragmentisn’tathesisstatement.Instead,itsimplyindicatesageneralsubject.Furthermore,yourreaderdoesn’tknowwhatyouwanttosayaboutsugarconsumption.Narrowdownthetopic•Reducingsugarconsumptionbyelementaryschoolchildren.Thisfragmentnotonlyannouncesyoursubject,butitfocusesononesegmentofthepopulation:elementaryschoolchildren.Furthermore,itraisesasubjectuponwhichreasonablepeoplecoulddisagree,becausewhilemostpeoplemightagreethatchildrenconsumemoresugarthantheyusedto,noteveryonewouldagreeonwhatshouldbedoneorwhoshoulddoit.Youshouldnotethatthisfragmentisnotathesisstatementbecauseyourreaderdoesn’tknowyourconclusionsonthetopic.Takeapositiononthetopic•Moreattentionshouldbepaidtothefoodandbeveragechoicesavailabletoelementaryschoolchildren.Thisstatementassertsyourposition,butthetermsmoreattentionandfoodandbeveragechoicesarevague.UseSpecificLanguage•Expertsestimatethathalfofelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar.Thisstatementisspecific,butitisn’tathesis.Itmerelyreportsastatistic.Makeanassertionbasedonclearlystatedsupport.•BecausehalfofallAmericanelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar,schoolsshouldberequiredtoreplacethebeveragesinsodamachineswithhealthyalternatives.Noticehowthethesisanswersthequestion,“Whatshouldbedonetoreducesugarconsumptionbychildren,andwhoshoulddoit?”Whenyoustartedthinkingaboutthepaper,youmaynothavehadaspecificquestioninmind,butasyoubecamemoreinvolvedinthetopic,yourideasbecamemorespecific.Yourthesischangedtoreflectyournewinsights.Writingprocedures•Thebodyofthepapermustmakeallappealsandpresentthekindofevidencewhichcanconsistofstatistics,authority,analogy,facts,ca