Argumentation

Essential Questions

•What is justice?•What issues resonate across cultures?•How are arguments are developed?

Unpacking EA 2B

Prompt: Develop an argument about an issue that resonates across cultures. Choose a position, a target audience, and effective structure to convey your argument.

DO NOW: Deconstruct the above prompt. What skills and knowledge do you need to have to complete this prompt?

Develop an argument about an issue that resonates across cultures. Choose a position, a target audience, and effective structure to convey your argument.

Skills Knowledge

Rhetorical Appeals (Persuasive Language) • Pathos – emotional appeal

Describes the writer’s appeal to an audience's emotions.

• Logos – logical appealDescribes the writer’s appeal to the reader’s logic/reason by making a reasonable claim and offering proof in support of that claim, whether the reader agrees or not.

• Ethos – ethical appealDescribes the writer’s appeal that relies on the credibility of the author. The reader asks themselves, "What does this person know about this topic?" and "Why should I trust this person?"

"As your doctor, I have to tell you that if you don't stop smoking, you're going to die."

"50% of marriages end in divorce"

"My mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was twelve. I saw her pain and suffering which is why I want to support MS research."

"Before I was president, I was the governor of New York."

Analyze Rhetorical Appeals

• “On Surrender at Bear Paw Mountain, 1877” (150)• “On Women’s Right to Vote” (151-152)

Elements of Argument• Claim – the thesis of the argument

• Evidence - support for the claim/thesisCommentary- explanation of why and how the evidence

supports the claim

• Counterclaims – a position taken by someone with an opposing viewpoints or evidence that disagrees with your thesisConcession – admission that the opposing side has valid points

• Refutations – Evidence or reasoning that negates the counterclaims

• Conclusion – concluding statement that pulls the claim and evidence together to create a call to action

Forms of Evidence

• Evidence - used to support a thesis/claim in an argument• Empirical evidence – based on experience and

direct observation through research• Logical evidence – based on facts and a clear

rationale• Anecdotal evidence – based on personal accounts

Identifying Elements of an Argument

Read “Time to Assert American Values” (142)• Identify the claim.• Identify the evidence. • What types of evidence are used?

• Identify the concessions.• Identify the refutation.• Identify the call to action. • How did the write signal the conclusion?

Reasoning & Evidence

To evaluate an argument:• Determine whether a writer’s reasoning is

valid• Determine if the evidence provided

sufficiently supports the claim• Be aware of the use of common fallacies

Analyzing an Argument

Read from Mohandas Ghandi’s “On Civil Disobedience” (148)• Identify intended audience. • Identify claim.• Identify supporting evidence.• Identify the organization of the argument.

Common Fallacies• Hasty Generalizations – a conclusion based on

insufficient or biased evidence; rushing to a conclusion• Either/Or – a conclusion that oversimplifies the

argument by reducing it to only two choices• Ad Populum – an emotional appeal that speaks to

positive or negative feelings rather than the real issue• Moral Equivalence – a comparison of minor

misdeeds with major atrocities• Red Herring – a diversionary tactic that avoids the

key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments(146)

Evaluating Reasoning

• Look back at from “On Civil Disobedience” • Identify examples of fallacious

reasoning (common fallacies)

Unpacking EA 2B

Prompt: Develop an argument about an issue that resonates across cultures. Choose a position, a target audience, and effective structure to convey your argument.

DO NOW: Deconstruct the above prompt. What skills and knowledge do you need to have to complete this prompt?