Before Class If you find it helpful, this is an excellent time to review the material we have covered in unit 3 and the material we went over on Tuesday

Quiz 3 (Quiz content will not be displayed on class website)

Unit 4 Goals Learn strategies to effectively address counterarguments and advanced rhetorical techniques Create, strengthen, and clarify original theses Participate in an advanced class debate to gain experience applying rhetorical skills and counterargument strategies

Today’s Goals Assess learning goals from unit 3 Return class focus to argument, persuasion, and rhetorical strategies Learn basic strategies for creating an original thesis or argument

Argument- the Heart of Rhetoric 2 main parts: Truth seeking: diligent, open-minded, and responsible search for the best solution to a problem, taking into account all available information and points of view Persuasion: the art of making a claim and justifying it convincingly so that the audience is moved towards your position Why are these two components together problematic?

Argument- the Heart of Rhetoric 2 powerful words that can be used for forming and supporting arguments: “should”: when used as part of a thesis or argument, this proposes a best possible solution while at the same time acknowledging the information within is not necessarily a universal fact. “because”: adding a ‘because’ subordinate clause to your thesis allows you to support it with the best reasons or evidence you have found. This can also be used as the basis of your forecasting in closed form prose.

Situation Found on A&B 340 A bunch of starlings build nests in the attic of a family’s house, gaining access to the attic through a torn vent screen. Soon the eggs hatch, and every morning at sunrise the family is awakened by the sound of birds squawking and wings beating against the rafters as the starlings fly in and out of the house to feed the hatchlings. After losing considerable early morning sleep, the family repairs the screen. Unable to get in and out, the parent birds are unable to feed their young. The birds die within a day. Is this cruelty to animals?

Group Activity - Forming an Argument In your unit 3 groups Answer the following questions in response to the situation we have just read: 1. Would you consider the family’s act an instance of cruelty to animals? Why or why not? Generate at least two reasons for both sides of the argument, and use these to form arguments supported by a “because” clause. Ex: The family’s act constituted cruelty to animals because the starlings were doing minimal harm and they way they killed the birds caused needless suffering. 2. What could the family have done about the starlings in the attic besides the solution they used? Try to generate at least 3 alternative solutions. 3. Select one of the solutions you came up with in question 2. Form an argument that proposes a solution to the problem, like a hypothetical thesis, using “should” to indicate it is a proposal, and add a “because” clause to support it with at least one reason.

Group Activity: Unit 4 Planning In your unit 3 groups Spend a few minutes to share with your group the topics you have used for all three major essays as well as your topics for the debate. 1. Having nearly finished the first three major essay, what is one topic each student could use for their final essay: the classical argument? 2. What are three topics you would like to consider using for our final debate? List the topics as well as how many group members would be interested in arguing for each side (pro/con). 3. Based off of your group discussion, what are two topics you would NOT like to hear about or participate in debating for unit 4?

Group Activity: Second Draft Peer Review Pair up with one other person from your unit 3 group different than your previous peer review partner (2 only if someone is missing their informative article) Exchange the second drafts of your informative articles. Read through them carefully, answer the questions below, and share the answers with your peers. 1. What graph, graphic, table, or chart does the writer use to highlight their research results? Does this seem the most effective option based on their research method? Why or why not? 2. How are the body paragraphs of the essay organized? Would you best describe the essay as having an inverted pyramid structure, a regular closed form prose structure, a thesis seeking, or delayed thesis structure? 3. What seems to be the writer’s most convincing point in support of their thesis (or answering their thesis question)? Is this based off of primary or secondary research? 4. If you could offer one suggestion for revision of the essay thus far, what would it be?

Homework Informative Article Final draft due by 4/12 to Turnitin.com by midnight Print copies not accepted Should include all of your secondary sources and all of your research results Pay close attention to the visual rhetoric and document design strategies; these are 30% of the essay’s grade