1. AGENDA ANNOUNCEMENTS Attendance Announcements Anatomy of an Argument
Attendance
Announcements
Anatomy of an Argument
Researching & Resolving Problems
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Conferences
Course Schedule
HOMEWORK:
Synthesis Matrix
(upload to the dropbox in Blackboard before 9:00am on Wednesday)

2. These conferences are meant to be productive.
The purpose of this conference is for you to discuss the argument you want to make in your Researched Argument essay. This means you will need to have completed your research and your Synthesis Matrix and already have a good
idea of what you have to say about the issue you’ve investigated and the
solution or plan of action you want to recommend.
These conferences are meant to be productive.
To receive full credit, you need to be on time and prepared to
discuss your research.
Missing your conference counts as 2 absences!

3. Looking ahead… You are here! U3WD1 = 2 pages U3WD2 = 6-8 pages
Conference Response due Sunday by 11:59pm!
U3WD1 = 2 pages
U3WD2 = 6-8 pages

4. Anatomy of an Argument Claim Evidence Connection Claim Evidence
Context
Quote
Explanation
Connection
Claim
Evidence
Context
Quote
Explanation
Connection
Claim
Evidence
Context
Quote
Explanation
Connection
Introduction
Conclusion

5. Just as detectives use various types of evidence, writers incorporate evidence to prove their points—and they also use different types of evidence, depending upon which form is most useful and relevant to their points.
These different types of evidence include—but are not limited to—quotes, paraphrases, summaries, anecdotes, and hypothetical examples.

6. Regardless of the type used, all evidence serves the same general function: it bolsters a writer’s argument. Students often confuse evidence with research; the two do not mean the same thing. Whereas “evidence” refers to a something that supports a claim, “research” is something much more: it’s a conversation.

7. Research retrieves evidence, but performing research should not just point you, as a writer, to useful quotes that you can use as support for claims in your writing; research should tell you about a conversation, one that began before you decided upon your project topic.

8. When you incorporate research into a paper, you are integrating and responding to previous claims about your topic made by other writers. As such, it's important to try to understand the main argument each source in a particular conversation is making, and these main arguments (and claims) can then be used as evidence—as support for your claims—in your paper.

9. Let’s look at an example.
I’m writing a research paper that suggests offshore drilling should be banned, and my thesis is as follows:
Though some may argue that offshore drilling provides economic advantages and would lessen our dependence on foreign oil, the environmental and economic consequences of an oil spill are so drastic that they far outweigh the advantages.

10. Following this thesis come body paragraphs relating my main points:
Though some may argue that offshore drilling provides economic advantages and would lessen our dependence on foreign oil, the environmental and economic consequences of an oil spill are so drastic that they far outweigh the advantages.
Following this thesis come body paragraphs relating my main points:
(1) the known economic impact of past oil spills, (2) the known environmental impact of past oil spills, (3) the potential impact of oil spills on marine and human life, (4) a comparison between advantages and disadvantages of offshore drilling, and (5) a response to potential counterarguments. My conclusion would then include a proposal to ban offshore drilling.

11. So, for instance, in my 5th body paragraph I include the following claim (in my topic sentence) and also provide the following evidence as support:
Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65).

12. Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65).
I can’t just stop there, because my reader would not necessarily know the connection between my point and the quote. As such, I must make the connection for my reader.

13. A connection may take the form of explaining what the sourced material is saying (breaking down ideas):
Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65). Palin’s assertion implies that the majority of our oil comes from unstable regimes in antidemocratic regions. Although her concerns about providing such regimes with a measure of economic power over the United States is understandable, offshore drilling poses a greater threat to the stability of our economy.

14. A connection may point the reader back to the thesis:
Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65). Though Palin’s argument is representative of a group that views offshore drilling as a necessity, it fails to acknowledge that America’s largest petroleum trading partners are not countries with unstable regimes.

15. A connection may point the reader back to the paragraph’s main point:
Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65). Palin’s argument is representative of a cohort that believes in the importance of domestic oil production.

16. A connection may point the reader to the author’s purpose:
Others argue that the US needs to end its dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions which will necessitate domestic oil production. During an April 2010 speech to the Southern Republican conference, Sarah Palin responded to the ongoing debate about offshore drilling and insists that “relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and makes us more beholden to these countries” (Malcom 2011, p. 65). Despite Palin’s (and Republicans’) protests, offshore drilling presents a more real threat to American security than do foreign regimes.

17. You MUST include clear connections!
Thus, depending on where you want to go in your argument, you have many options for ways to make connections for your reader. Remember, your reader is not in your brain; and as smart as he or she may be, you still need to make connections that explain the relevance or purpose of included sourced material.
You MUST include clear connections!

18. The paragraphs in your paper will look like this:
Claim
Evidence
Connection
Claim
Evidence
Connection
Claim
Evidence
Connection

19. The paragraphs in your paper will look like this:
Introduction
Thesis Statement
Claim
Evidence
Connection
Body
Paragraph

20. Researching and Resolving Problems
Washington State University is suffering a major budget crisis.
On the back of the article, free write what you know about the problem as a member of this community.
[read the article]
You, as a writer, cannot solve the budget crisis, but you can think critically about it and offer your readers suggestions on steps they can take to help solve the problem.
What can your readers do?
(continue free writing on back of the article)

21. Free write about the argument you want to develop in your paper.
What are the subtopics that you’ve identified as being important parts of the conversation?
What are your sources saying about those subtopics (in general)?
What are the different stories being presented?
What do you have to say about those ideas? What is your opinion?
What is the solution or plan of action you think you will recommend?
(Remember, you can’t solve the world’s problems in your paper, but you can recommend a reasonable solution or suggest a plan of action for your readers to consider)

22. HOMEWORK: Submit your Synthesis Matrix to the dropbox in
Blackboard by 9:00am on Wednesday!
I’ll see you at your conference!