Developing an Argument: What an Argument is This workshop will: Examine the process of developing an ‘argument’ when preparing and writing Identify the components of an ‘argument’ Understand the role of claims and inferences Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice Today’s Plan What is a claim? What is an inference? What is an argument? 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

A claim = ‘such and such is the case’ 1.What is a claim? A claim = ‘such and such is the case’ Apply critical thinking to the claim: you look at the possible meaning and significance of it evaluate it by comparing it to other claims make an informed decision 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice 1.What is a claim? Including President Obama, five out of the most recent seven US presidents have been left-handed. Possible ?s: A. What proportion of the US population is left-handed? 10% so there may be something significant about such a high proportion of recent left-handed presidents. B. What about the presidents before the last seven? 3 out of 36, ie about 10%. So why are recent presidents so different? C. If Barack Obama had lost the election in 2008, would that have meant that four of the most recent seven US presidents had been left-handed? No: his opponent was left-handed. If George W. Bush (right-handed) had lost, his opponent was also left-handed! D. How many other countries have (had) left-handed leaders 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

1.What is a claim? Activity 1 Possible ?s 35% of US and 20% of UK entrepreneurs are dyslexic Possible ?s Is the definition of ‘entrepreneur’ the same in the US as it is in the UK? Is the definition of ‘dyslexia’ the same in the US as it is in the UK? Are the figures of 35 and 20% significant? More specifically, what figure would we expect if the % of dyslexic entrepreneurs was the same as the % of the population that is dyslexic? If the figure is not the same (or not even nearly the same), what might be an (or the) explanation? 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice 1.What is a claim? Claims to inference 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice 2.What is an inference? One claim to claim something else claim claim = inference 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice 3.What is an argument? More than one inference used to defend one point of view is an argument many inferences = argument 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice 3.What is an argument? Derek Bentley did not shoot the gun so he should not have been hung. Derek Bentley meant ‘give the gun to the policeman’ so he should not have been hung. 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Activity 2: Entrepreneur inferences 3.What is an argument? Activity 2: Entrepreneur inferences People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to delegate is important. People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where problem-solving abilities are important. People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to communicate is important. 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice References Clip art – argument Cottrell, S. (2013) The study skills handbook. 4th Ed. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Oxford Dictionaries. (2014) Abbreviations. Oxford, OUP. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/abbreviations Accessed 9 July 2014. Sauter, J. (2008) The Apostrophe character rendered using the OCR-A font. Florida: Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OCR-A_char_Apostrophe.svg Accessed 7 July 2014. Super Teacher Worksheets. (2013) There, Their, They’re. Tonawanda:Super Teacher Worksheets. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/homophones/there-their-theyre.pdf Accessed 16 June 2014. University of Surrey. (2014) Writing skills. Guildford, University of Surrey. http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/writing%20Skills%20Leicester/page_01.htm Accessed 6 March 2014. University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2014) 10: Apostrophe errors. Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison. https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CommonErrors_Apos.html Accessed 7. July 2014. Van den Brink-Budgen, R. (2010) Critical thinking for students. 4th Ed. Oxford, How To Books Ltd. 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice Service Where are we? Chesham Building B0.23. Give us a call or come speak to us Monday-Thursday 10am-12pm and 1pm-4pm Who am I? Louise, the dedicated workshop adviser. Who can help me with study and writing skills? Lucy and Russell run Instant Study Skills Advice sessions Monday-Thursday and Writing Skills Clinics twice a week. You can also access self-help resources on our webpage. Who can give me maths advice? Helen and Michael specialise in Maths support for students though clinics and pre-booked appointments. How do I get in touch? Email: academic-skills@brad.ac.uk Telephone: 01274 236849 http://www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills/induction/ 22/11/2018 Academic Skills Advice

Academic Skills Advice Any questions? Produced by Louise Livesey May 2014 13 January, 2015 Academic Skills Advice