Transcript Reasonable

Adapted from a Duke University
Writing Studio Workshop
What is required of you to
write an effective argument?
1. Understand the nature of the position taken
in the prompt
2. Take a specific stand—agree, disagree, or
qualify—with the assertion in the prompt
3. Clearly and logically support your claim
What is an effective
academic argument?
Effective argument will be well-grounded,
persuasive, and significant.
Effective argument requires us not merely to
participate in an academic conversation, but
also to contribute something of value to the
discussion.
The Burkean Parlor Context
for “Good” Argument
Imagine you enter a parlor. You come late. When you
arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are
engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated
for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about.
In fact, the discussion had already begun long before
any of them got there, so that no one present is
qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone
before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you
have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in
your oar.
Someone answers; you answer him; another
comes to your defense; another aligns himself
against you, to either the embarrassment or
gratification of your opponent, depending upon
the quality of your ally's assistance. However,
the discussion is interminable. The hour grows
late, you must depart. And you do depart, with
the discussion still vigorously in progress.
― Kenneth Burke
Constructing and deconstructing
arguments involve the same three
fundamental questions:
1. What is the question at issue?
2. What is the author’s point?
3. Do the author’s reasons elicit belief ?
From: Rolf Norgaard. Ideas in Action: A guide to Critical Thinking and Writing.
(Harper CollinsCollege Publishers); 1994, p 15.
Questions to Consider in
Evaluating Arguments
1.
What are you claiming?
2.
What reasons do you have for believing that claim?
3.
On what evidence do you base these reasons?
4.
What warrants (principles) make your reasons relevant
to your claim?
5.
What would you say to someone who said, “But what
about…?”
From: “Argument in a Nutshell” in The Craft of Argument, concise ed., by
Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb (New York: Longman, 2003), p. 43.
1. What is the author claiming?
Rap, otherwise known as the music
associated with hip hop culture, is a
popular genre of music that offers a
contemporary platform for studying the
same themes and ideas of classical
literary canon; as such, it should be
central to the high school English
curriculum in urban public schools.
What qualities should
a main claim have?
• Interpretive: does it offer to explain a reality or
relationship?
• Specific: can we point to the question at issue
and is it too general to be meaningful?
• Contestable: can we disagree?
• Significant: why should we care?
• Reasonable: can we follow the logic?
Is the claim interpretive?
Rap, otherwise known as the music associated
with hip hop culture, is a popular genre of music
that offers a contemporary platform for studying
the same themes and ideas of classical literary
canon; as such, it should be central to the high
school English curriculum in urban public
schools as way to engage students with culturally
relevant material.
Is the claim specific?
Rap, otherwise known as the music associated with
hip hop culture, is a popular genre of music that
offers a contemporary platform for studying
the same themes and ideas of classical literary
canon; as such, it should be central to the high
school English curriculum in urban public schools
as way to engage students with culturally relevant
material.
Is the claim contestable?
Rap, otherwise known as the music associated
with hip hop culture, is a popular genre of
music that offers a contemporary platform for
studying the same themes and ideas of
classical literary canon; as such, it should be
central to the high school English curriculum in
urban public schools as way to engage students
with culturally relevant material.
Is the claim significant?
Rap, otherwise known as the music associated
with hip hop culture, is a popular genre of music
that offers a contemporary platform for
studying the same themes and ideas of
classical literary canon; as such, it should be
central to the high school English curriculum in
urban public schools as way to engage students
with culturally relevant material.
Is the claim reasonable?
Rap, otherwise known as the music associated
with hip hop culture, is a popular genre of music
that offers a contemporary platform for studying
the same themes and ideas of classical literary
canon; as such, it should be central to the high
school English curriculum in urban public
schools as way to engage students with culturally
relevant material.
2. What reasons do you have for
believing that claim?
Reasons are relationships that we construct in our
own minds to explain something.
Reasons are what we give to explain something, to
make something make sense.
Reasons interpret (explain) evidence for our
readers and demonstrate how that evidence
supports the claim.
Stated Reasons
Claim: Rap should be used in urban high school
Curriculum.
Reasons:
1. It is popular and therefore engaging
2. It links cultural context to educational context
3. It provides the same premise for studying
literary themes and concepts
3. What evidence do you
base these reasons on?
Evidence (or more accurately, reports of
evidence) are things outside of our own mind
(facts, figures, reports, books, etc) that support
the reasons we present to make our claim.
Distinguishing between
Reasons and Evidence
We need to think up reasons to support our
claims.
We need to find evidence to support our
reasons that in turn supports our claim.
Reasons are our own internal constructions explaining
reality; evidence is external to us. Both support claims.
From Williams and Colomb, p 122.
What counts as evidence?
Evidence is either:
– extrinsic (data,
facts, testimony,
authority)
– intrinsic (invented)
Strong evidence is:
–
–
–
–
–
sufficient
precise
accurate
representative
authoritative
Examples of Extrinsic Evidence:
In this case, the author offers several pieces of data
to demonstrate the popularity of rap music.
In a recent media survey of students attending two
midtown high schools, rap was rated as the favorite
musical choice. Education researcher, Dierdre Paul,
promotes rap as a valid literary genre alongside traditional
poetry as a means of cultural synchronization, or
establishing harmony between the cultural systems of
schools, diverse groups of learners, and the communities
from which those learners come.
Examples of Intrinsic Evidence:
For example, students living in Compton,
California may connect more to the Compton
raised rapper Kendrick Lamar than say the old
Bard, Shakespeare. Furthermore, his music
provides strong lyrical content worthy of
literary analysis.
Illustrative Examples
Don’t just give an example—tell a story. Your illustrations
should run 4-6 sentences. Help your audience see your point—
don’t just tell them what to think. Here are possible places to
consider:
a) Current Events: Events today that connect to your topic?
b) Personal Experience: Something you experienced or witnessed
that is relevant to the topic.
c) History: Do you see an analogy to the past?
d) Film , Television, or Literature: Stories don’t have to be real to
be plausible! And, of course, some shows are based on real
stories.
e) Hypothetical: Imagination to create a reasonable possibility.
4. What warrants make your
reasons relevant to your claim?
Warrant (also known as a bridge):
Explanation of why or how the data supports the
claim, the underlying assumption that connects
your data to your claim.
CLAIM
EVIDENCE
WARRANT
Example of a Warrant :
Here, the warrant is based on a generally held
belief:
It is universally accepted that a critical factor in
student learning is engagement. Therefore, if
students in urban high schools love rap so much, then
those who typically would not engage in studying
canon texts, such as Shakespeare, might find rap lyrics
a powerful source of statements about life.
5. Counterarguments
Counterarguments ask you to consider how you
would answer someone who asked, “But what
about…?”
It is important to acknowledge and respond to
questions and objections to your argument.
Consider using phrases such as “to be sure,”
“admittedly,” and “some have claimed,” etc.,
followed with “although,” “but,” “however,” “on
the other hand,” etc.
5. Counterarguments
Structurally addressing the opposing side, includes
first acknowledging the counterclaim and then
providing a rebuttal.
Counterclaim: A claim that negates or disagrees
with the thesis/claim.
Rebuttal: Evidence that negates or disagrees with
the counterclaim.
The Writing Lab. The Owl Purdue.
Example of
counterargument:
Many contest the idea of using rap music in the
classroom because of its negative content.
Admittedly, rap does frequently use profanity and
includes mature content while also promoting sexual
promiscuity, drug use, and the glorification of
partying. However, there are many rap songs that
present social tensions, raise issues about the role of
women, love, money, and life and death in positive
and school appropriate ways. Consequently, we
would avoid rap lyrics that are unsuitable for school.
Qualifying the Argument:
Boys Suck
“Qualify” means that you will modify, limit, or
restrict your agreement or disagreement by
presenting exceptions.
Qualifying an author’s argument (to agree only
when…): to validate the merit of the author’s
message (or the opposing viewpoints side), but only
to a certain degree. Boys suck, but only when…
Qualifying the Argument
Amend the author’s argument : to modify/change
the argument (not completely) by stating “I agree
with you, but only when A, B, or C happens.”
Terms of Agreement: Boys suck when they dump
you over text.
Qualifying the Argument
Another possibility is to complicate the opposing
argument by add specific conditions before you
would agree with the author’s argument.
Conditions: Not all boys suck. The kind of boy
that sucks is one that…