Analyze, evaluate, and conquer The Argument Essay Analyze, evaluate, and conquer

The Argument task: You are asked to: Express how convincing you find argument Not asked to agree/disagree Analyze (break down) the argument itself All presented are flawed in some way Evaluate the use of evidence Explain how more information/different approach would strengthen argument or make it worse

How is it evaluated? How well you: Respond to specific directions given Analyze and interpret elements of the passage Organize and develop your analysis Support your reasoning with relevant examples Express yourself in standard written English

Step by Step Method Step 1: Don’t panic! Step 1a: Identify instructions category Step 2: Summarize premises and conclusion/s Step 3: List flaws, choose 2-4 strongest Step 4: For each problem/flaw: Explain why it is faulty Provide alternative explanation Identify information needed to evaluate the argument Step 5: Type essay with emphasis on instructions category Step 6: Proofread your work

Step 1:Identify instructions category 8 possible prompts 3 categories A- extra evidence needed (65% of all) B- assumptions and roles (30 %) C- other explanations (5%) See pages 25-26 in text for details

Step 2:Summarize premises and conclusions Premises are reasons given or evidence presented in an argument. For our purposes, we will assume these premises are true. Conclusions are the main point of the argument. The author makes a conclusion based on the evidence (premises) presented. Our job is to critique the conclusion based on this evidence.

Step 3:List flaws, choose 2-4 Identify common argument strategies Cause and effect Because there is rain sometimes when I see clouds, rain causes clouds Statistical 68% of women prefer men with British accents, so all women prefer British men Analogy My dog has a tail, my cat has a tail. Therefore, dogs and cats are the same kind of animal

Step 4:Work on each flaw Common flaws/problems Unsubstantiated assumptions Vague or ambiguous words (some, many, few, etc) Draw conclusion based on weak evidence Correlation does not prove causation Sample does not represent population Analogous relationship not enough to draw general conclusion Conclusion is too strong based on weak evidence

Step 5: Type your essay Intro paragraph: Middle 2-4 paragraphs Paraphrase argument, State that it is flawed Generalize main flaws Middle 2-4 paragraphs State flaw, elaborate if necessary Options based on question category State assumption Use examples to illustrate Identify alternate explanation Identify extra information needed to evaluate conclusion Indicate how information would help evaluate conclusion Restate flaw Conclusion Specific to prompt Reminder of points made Explain how argument can be strengthened State that in current form, argument is flawed

Step 6: Proofread Proofread your work: Look for errors easily fixed: caps, paragraph divisions, double-typed words, general mis-spellings, small grammatical errors

Pacing Strategy 30 minutes per writing task Step 1/2: Analyze argument- 2 mins Step 3: List/select flaws 4 mins Step 4: Identify/analyze assumptions- 2 mins Step 5: Type- 20 mins Step 6: Proofread- 2 mins

Scoring breakdown 6- Outstanding: Convincingly supports 5- Strong: Well-chosen examples, communicates clearly 4- Adequate: Logical connections satisfactory, some flaws 3-Limited: Unclear ideas, less than satisfactory language usage 2-Weak: Lack of analysis/organization/language problems 1-Fundamentally deficient: confusing or irrelevant content 0- Unscorable: