The Craft of Research, Ch. 11 Planning and Drafting

Organizing the Body of your Report Some fields have expectations for the flow of your paper. For this essay, following the Classical argument model, we will be using that approach. This is something we touched on in the outlining process and we have been working on in the Writing Workshops.

Sketch Necessary Background, Definitions, and conditions This is something we addressed or began addressing in Writing Workshop 1. The text points out that “Once you have a working introduction, decide what your readers must know and understand before they can understand the substance of your argument” (196). The optimal word in the above quotation is “must” because this means you are paying attention to informing your audience of what is needed so that they can follow your argument that follows

Find the best order for your reasons and evidence This where you are or should be working in regards to Writing Workshop 2. One thing of note here, and why I wanted you guys to put together an outline of this specific section, that it can be tricky to find “the best order for your reasons. If your argument depends on a sequence of parallel reasons, try arranging them in different orders. It costs less to reject bad choices now than to revise them later. You can do this most easily if you print out your outline as a storyboard, with each main reason at the top of a separate page. Add supporting material, particularly evidence, letting it run onto more pages if necessary…” (197)

Different Combinations… OLD to NEW Readers often like to start with what they know and move towards what they don’t. You can begin with what they are more familiar with and then move towards the unfamiliar. SHORTER and SIMPLER to LONGER and MORE COMPLEX Start with the shorter and simpler, let your readers move in and get comfortable and then work them towards the long and complex UNCONTESTED to MORE CONTESTED Begin with what is more readily accepted and not controversial and then move slowly to the more controversial or less accepted

Other Possibilities for Ordering Chronological Order: Of course, we know this one well Logical Order: Move from the evidence to reason to claim, or vice versa Concessions and Conditions First: You can begin with an objection, that you can then rebut, and then engage in providing evidence to present your affirmative view, or vice versa

Locate and acknowledgments and responses This is part of what we call the counter-argument section for us. The book points out we want to, in our arguments, to “Try to acknowledge and respond to the most important questions and objections where you think readers will raise them” (199).

Help start counter-argument Let’s play Peter Elbow’s “Believing Game” here. On a piece of paper I want you to write TWO things in TWO short paragraphs (do NOT label them) Write a paragraph in SUPPORT of your argument for your graphic novel Write a paragraph in AGAINST your argument for your graphic novel Return to your anti-thesis exercise if you still have it to help here. We will exchange these and have others read them, if you do your job right, the reader should NOT be able to tell which paragraph is which.