ACADEMIC WRITING I May 30, 2014

Today Introduction to the final unit (Argumentative Writing)

p vocabulary 1. g8. m 2. k9. d 3. l10. e 4. a11. h 5. f12. j 6. i13. c 7.b

p. 190 – Read for main ideas 1. B 2. A 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. A 7. B 8. B 9. A 10. B

p. 190 – Read for details a. 3 b. 10 c. 6 d. 8 e. 9 f. 1 g. 2 h. 4 i. 8 j. 5

p. 195

Argumentative Writing Writing in which you take a position on an issue. i.e., The Lioncourt Rocks are rightfully Korean territory. 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”).

Argumentative Essay Requires the writer to investigate a topic, collect and evaluate evidence, and establish a position on the topic.

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 - Claim (i.e., thesis statement) Simple: Rats need water to live Support: Because 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 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 division)?

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 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”? How does “good” relate to the position?

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” - 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.com3darunravi.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 Requires: - Evidence to support the position. What’s better than one supporting point?

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 clearly be included on the daily menu of elementary school cafeterias.

Assignment 5 – Argumentative Paper Topic: Capital punishment Step 1: Start researching capital punishment. - Check the course website for sources. - Read these sources and take notes.