Fundamentals of writing March 27, 2015

Today Intro to argumentative writing APA style Photo credit: www.lifehack.org

Basic Essay Structure

Thesis statement Most important sentence in the introduction. It states the specific topic of the essay.

Thesis statement Provides a specific topic. i.e., Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture. Young people in England have less freedom than young people in the United States. Winning the lottery can affect a person’s brain.

Thesis statement Sometimes the thesis statement lists the subtopics of the essay. Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, and government. Young people in England have less freedom than young people in the United States in their choice of where they live, whom they marry, and what their job is.

Thesis statement Sometimes the thesis statement shows the pattern of organization the essay will follow. When buying a used car, use these four strategies to get the best price. There are several differences between a divorce lawyer and a corporate lawyer. My best friend and I spent an entire summer building a tree house in my grandmother’s old apple tree. Logical division of ideas Comparison/contrast Chronological order

Argumentative Writing First, argumentative writing requires an issue or “prompt”. The issue you write about must be arguable. i.e., “Smoking should be illegal” vs. “Smoking is harmful to people’s health.” arguable not arguable

Key Features Thesis Statement states the main idea of the essay in a complete sentence, not in a question. is usually at the end of an introduction. states an opinion, position, or attitude on a topic. It doesn’t just state the topic, itself. often lists subtopics. does not directly announce your main topic.

Thesis statement problems Too general: A college education is a good investment. Better: A college education is a good investment because it increases earning potential, provides networking opportunities, and broadens perspectives.

Thesis statement problems Just an announcement: I am going to write about sports injuries. Better: Avoid sports injuries by eating healthy, properly stretching, and studying your sport.

Funnel introduction Moving to a new country can be an exciting, even exhilarating experience. In a new environment, you somehow feel more alive. Seeing new sights, eating new food, hearing the foreign sounds of a new language, and feeling a difference climate against your skin stimulates you senses as never before. Soon, however, this sensory bombardment becomes sensory overload. Suddenly, new experiences seem stressful rather than stimulating, and delight turns into discomfort. This is the phenomenon known as culture shock. Culture shock is more than jet leg or homesickness, and it affects nearly everyone who enters a new culture-tourists, business travelers, diplomats, and students alike. Although not everyone experiences culture shock in exactly the same way, many experts agree that it has roughly five stages.

Argumentative Writing

Consider: 우리말 = ENGLISH! South Korea should adopt English as its official language. 우리말 = ENGLISH!

South Korea should adopt English as its official language.

Argumentative Essay Requires the writer to 1.Investigate a topic. 2 Collect and evaluate evidence. 3. Establish a position on the topic. 4. Support that position.

Argumentative Writing Writing in which you take a position on an issue. i.e., South Korea should adopt English as its official language. AND… you support your position using logical, evidence-based reasons. The goal: convince the reader of the strength of your claim (not necessarily that your claim is “right”).

Argument – a group of statements An argument consists of: - Claim (i.e., thesis statement) - Support (i.e., evidence and reasoning throughout an essay) Example: Drinking water daily is good for your health as it cleans out your liver and reduces the level of toxins in your blood.

Argument – a group of statements An argument consists of: - Claim: Drinking water daily is good for your health (i.e., thesis statement) - Support : as it cleans out your liver and reduces the level of toxins in your blood. (i.e., evidence and reasoning throughout an essay) Example: Drinking water daily is good for your health as it cleans out your liver and reduces the level of toxins in your blood.

Argument - Claim (i.e., thesis statement) Simple: Rats need water to live Support: Because several experiments have demonstrated this.

Argument - Claim (i.e., thesis statement) Complex: The end of the South African system of apartheid was inevitable. Support: Every successful revolution in the modern era has come about after the government in power has given and then removed small concessions to the uprising group.

Argument - Support Different fields prefer certain types of support: i.e.) logical development of points examples statistics experimental results

Argumentative Writing Requires: - A clear, strong position on the issue. - Division of the position into body paragraphs. - Logical support for the position. - Evidence to support the position.

Argumentative Essay Requires the writer to 1.Investigate a topic. 2 Collect and evaluate evidence. 3. Establish a position on the topic. 4. Support that position.

Argument - Support Different fields prefer certain types of support: i.e.) logical development of points examples statistics experimental results

Argumentative Writing Requires: - A clear, strong position on the issue. - Division of the position into body paragraphs. - Logical support for the position. - Evidence to support the position.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - A clear, strong position on the issue. i.e., Chocolate cake should be part of elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus because of its amazing properties that help students throughout the school day.  This thesis statement has: a clear topic: Chocolate cake a controlling idea: “Should be part of elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus”

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Division of the position into body paragraphs. Chocolate cake should be part of elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus because of its amazing properties that help students throughout the school day. - What are these “amazing properties”? - How many are there? (that will decide the paragraph divisions)

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Division of the position into body paragraphs. Cake’s properties: - increases study performance. - improves classroom experience. - provides a great amount of energy. Body paragraph 1 Body paragraph 2 Body paragraph 3

Argumentative Writing Our thesis statement revised: Chocolate cake should be part of elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus because it increases study performance, improves the classroom experience, and provides a great amount of energy.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Logical support for the position. Explanations of how each part of the essay supports the position.  These explanations must make logical connections to the position. i.e., “Cake increases study performance, so it is good.”

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Logical support for the position.  These explanations must make logical connections to the position. i.e., “Cake increases study performance, so it is good.” - This explanation is vague and lacks logical connection. What is “good”?

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Logical support for the position. Position: “Cake should be on elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus” Connection? - Cake increases study performance.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Logical support for the position. Position: “Cake should be on elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus” Reason 1: Cake increases study performance. Elementary school students have increasing pressures to do well in school as expectations of what they should learn and how much they should learn change. As a result, elementary school students now study more difficult subjects, such as math, for longer periods of time. By increasing study performance, cake can help students cope with these new demands.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. - Cake increases study performance. Says who?! This guy?  Or maybe this guy?! Source: 3darunravi.blogspot.com

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. In order for an argument to be persuasive, evidence from appropriate and reliable sources is required.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. Types of evidence: - Statistics (i.e., Cake increases concentration by 30%) - Expert opinions (neuroscientists have found that certain chemicals in cake improve brain function) - Facts (The human brain requires sugar to function) - Examples

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. - Cake increases study performance. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011).

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). NOTE: Remember to explain the relevance of your evidence!

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. - Cake increases study performance. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). An increase in concentration can allow students to cope with increased class demands, especially in more difficult classes, such as math, which require concentration to solve complex problems.

Argumentative Writing What’s better than one piece of evidence? Requires: - Evidence to support the position. 2 !!! (or 3, etc.)

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. Two (or more) supporting points with evidence will be more persuasive to the reader; thus making your argument stronger. i.e., Cake also has a positive effect on reaction time. The chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones, 2009). NOTE: Remember to explain the relevance of your evidence!

Argumentative Writing Requires: - Evidence to support the position. Two (or more) supporting points with evidence will be more persuasive to the reader; thus making your argument stronger. i.e., Cake also has a positive effect on reaction time. The chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones, 2009). Increased reaction times allow students to answer questions faster and to more readily understand explanations and examples.

Argumentative Writing Requires: - A clear, strong position on the issue. - Division of the position into body paragraphs. - Logical support for the position. - Evidence to support the position.

Argumentative Writing - Example Thesis statement: Chocolate cake should be part of elementary school cafeterias’ daily menus because of its amazing properties that help students throughout the school day. Body paragraph 1: Cake increases study performance (topic sentence).

Argumentative Writing - Example Body paragraph 1: Cake increases study performance. Elementary school students have increasing pressures to do well in school as expectations of what they should learn and how much they should learn change. As a result, elementary school students now study more difficult subjects, such as math, for longer periods of time. By increasing study performance, cake can help students cope with these new demands. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). An increase in concentration can allow students to cope with increased class demands, especially in more difficult classes, such as math, which require concentration to solve complex problems. Cake also has a positive effect on reaction time. The chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones, 2009). Increased reaction times allow students to answer questions faster and to more readily understand explanations and examples. All that’s missing is a concluding sentence!

Argumentative Writing - Example Body paragraph 1: Cake increases study performance. Elementary school students have increasing pressures to do well in school as expectations of what they should learn and how much they should learn change. As a result, elementary school students now study more difficult subjects, such as math, for longer periods of time. By increasing study performance, cake can help students cope with these new demands. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). An increase in concentration can allow students to cope with increased class demands, especially in more difficult classes, such as math, which require concentration to solve complex problems. Cake also has a positive effect on reaction time. The chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones, 2009). Increased reaction times allow students to answer questions faster and to more readily understand explanations and examples. By providing a much needed increase in study performance, cake should be included on the daily menu of elementary school cafeterias.

Journal Entry 2 - Check the course website

Argumentative Writing - Sources You may have noticed these in the example: (Wonka, 2011) (Jones, 2009) These are called “citations”. Citations give credit to the source of your information.