So today I want to spend some time on two different topics. The first should apply to everyone; the second to those people working with APA formatting (as opposed to MLA formatting) for their final papers.
A Quick Primer on Argumentation
I know many of you will be putting your final paper together this weekend. Before you get started, I wanted to cover some basic argumentative Do’s and Don’ts. What makes for a strong argument? What kinds of moves set you up for failure?
First, I want to go over the basic kinds of arguments. These come from Cicero, Quintilian, and the Roman rhetoricians and their articulation of stasis theory:
Arguments of Fact/Existence: What happened? (You says it did happen? who questions what happened? why do they ask these questions? What changes if we agree that something different happened?)
The classic example here would be global warming and climate change, since there is a question of whether the science here is conclusive. Or there is the question of the Kennedy assassination and whether it was the result of an individual, deranged shooter or a larger conspiracy.
Arguments of Definition: What is a Thing? (How has the thing been defined by different people? How have other things similar to the thing been defined? How has the definition of the thing changed over time? What might be a new definition for the thing?)
Two examples worthy of note: First, 9/11. 9/11 was categorized/defined as an act of war. Because it was an act of war, that led to a different series of procedures (arguments of procedure below). But what if we had categorized 9/11 as a crime? That would have conjured a completely different set of agencies and expectations.
A second might concern marriage, a term whose definition has become a site of concern and contest over the past 15 years.
Arguments of Evaluation: Is a thing good of bad? Who thinks it is good? Why is it good? Who thinks it is bad? Why are they wrong?
The complexities of an evaluative argument lie around establishing the particular scales different people use to evaluate whether a thing is good or bad–what are the grounds for such an evaluation? On what scale are you measuring good and bad (for instance, think of the complexities surrounding the Edward Snowden situation). Often, an evaluative argument centers on explicating and comparing different value systems in relation to a particular thing as much, if not more, than actually evaluating the thing.
Arguments of Procedure: What should we do about a thing? What have we already done about the thing? What have we done about similar things? (precedent) What are the options available to us? What will we gain? What do we lose? These are often phrased as “if….then….” arguments dependent upon an agreed definition (see above). For example: if we agree that marriage is primarily a union of two people committed to each other, then there is no sound reason to oppose LGBTQ marriage.” Or “If we agree to look past this season, then the Ray’s trade of David Price doesn’t look quite so bad.”
Each of these types of argument engenders a different series of questions or expectations. As a writer, you have to have a clear sense of what kind of argument you are making, and recognize and make clear when you are moving into a different kind of argument.
Generally, arguments can be thought to have two parts–there’s a claim, and then there’s the evidence. I’ll be looking for both
What you want to avoid is falling into bad argumentation, what we call logical fallacies.
APA Format Workshop
Today we’ll be working on the same paper we worked on Monday, but we’ll be putting it into APA rather than MLA format. Once again, the OWL will be our guid.
Homework Clarification
I’ve gotten a few questions about this, so let me clarify here.
Due tonight at midnight, Review Essay #3. This does not have to be a single book source; rather, it might be useful for you to look at 2-5 other, shorter sources. Use Google Scholar to find articles that discuss your current sources. Or perhaps you need to find an extended book review of one of your sources to establish (or challenge) its credibility. Or you realize you are making a different argument than you expected and need to find some new evidence. Review Essay #3 is a chance for you to get some credit for doing the research you need to do in order to complete your final paper.
Due in class on Monday, 8 paper copies of your final paper. Those copies will be read and commented upon in-class on Monday. You also need to share a copy of the paper with me via Google Docs. This replaces medium essay #4–I think it makes more sense for you to crank out a complete draft of your paper.
Due next Sunday at 11:59pm, Your revised final paper. That’s all folks.
