Which commercial is your favorite? Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qy8v

1ghy38

 Genres of Argument

› Newspaper article, scholarly article, blog, etc.

 Cultural contexts

› Who writes arguments and why?

Must temporarily adopt author’s beliefs

and values, suspend personal skepticism

and bias to hear author’s point of view

 Write a summary of argument  Search for personal experiences and values that coincide with argument

 Question the writer’s

› Logic

› Evidence and assumptions › Strategies

 Think about what is missing from argument

 Every thesis prompts an opposing thesis

(antithesis)

 Conflict between these views leads to a new claim (synthesis)

 Synthesis incorporates aspects of both views

Think of a creative way to illustrate/explain

the relationship between thesis,

antithesis, and synthesis

 Builds upon a summary

 a formalized, critical reading of a passage that includes a personal response

 purpose is to turn a critical reading of a

passage into a systematic evaluation to deepen a reader’s understanding of that

passage

 must determine what an author says

 how well the points are made

 what assumptions underlie the argument

 what issues are overlooked, and what

implication can be drawn from such an analysis, statement and explanation of

personal assumptions

(opinions/responses)

Begin by posing two broad questions about

readings:

 To what extent does the author succeed in his/her purpose?

 To what extent do you agree with the author?

 identify author’s thesis

 identify the selection’s content and structure

 identify the author’s purpose.

 author’s purpose – to inform, persuade, and/or entertain

 Reason an author writes something

 To inform

 To persuade

 To entertain

 Is the information accurate?

 Is the information significant? What can the reader gain from this information? How

is knowledge advanced by the

publication of this material? Is the information of importance to you or to

others in a particular audience? Why or

why not?

 Does the author fairly interpret the factual information? Could you offer a contrary explanation for the same facts? Does

more information need to be gathered

before firm conclusions can be drawn? Why?

 What is the author’s assertion or thesis

statement?

 Is the author’s argument valid? Does the

author use clearly defined key terms?

Does the author use information fairly? Has the author argued logically and not

fallaciously?

 Watch out for faulty thinking and logical fallacies

 Which elements of the work seemed effective/ineffective? Why? Offer an

overall assessment, elaborating on

personal views.

› Did I care for the portrayal of a certain

character?

› Did that character seem overly sentimental

or heroic?

› Did his adversaries seem too villainous or stupid?

› Did his adversaries seem too villainous or

stupid?

› Were the situations believable?

› Was the action interesting or merely

formulaic?

› Was the theme developed subtly or

powerfully, or did the work come across as

preachy or shrill?

› Did the action at the end of the work follow plausibly from what had come before?

› Was the language fresh and incisive or stale

and predictable?

To what extent do you agree with the author?

 your assessment of the presentation may not coincide with personal views:

› you may agree with the author but feel the presentation is superficial

 respond to author’s main assertions (arguments)

 identify points of agreement and

disagreement

 identify assumptions

 Elaborate upon your opinion….WHY do you agree or disagree?

 identify the article title and author

 provide background information that

answers one or more of the following

questions:

› Why is the subject of current interest?

› How or why is the subject of the passage

controversial?

› What is the author’s background?

› Under what circumstances was the passage

written?

 include a specific thesis statement

 summarizes the author’s main points and purpose for writing

 is brief, complete, objective, and avoids

plagiarism

 essay objectively assesses the validity of the author’s presentation by commenting on the

author’s success in achieving his/her purpose by reviewing 3 or 4 specific points

 The specific points are based upon the following criteria:

› Is the information accurate?

› Is the information significant?

› Has the author clearly defined terms?

› Has the author used and interpreted information fairly? Has the author argued

logically?

 Essay responds to the author’s views

 Essay discusses reasons for agreement

and/or disagreement

 Questions to answer include:

› With which views do you agree? Why?

› With which views do you disagree? Why?

 states conclusions about the overall validity of the article

 assesses author’s success at achieving aims

 mentions personal reactions to author’s

views

 restates the thesis by mentioning the

weaknesses/strengths of passage

Group activity Choose an ad in Behrens text (pg 578-599)

Answer questions for organizing a critique

 Choose commercial

 Follow directions to write a critique of the video.

› 100 points

› Rough draft due Thursday, October 3

› Final copy due (we need to discuss this)

 Active & Passive verbs

 Commas

 Classical structure