1. Argument! The Important Elements

2. Argument (in English) is NOT…  …you and your b.f. yelling at each other because you were flirting with someone else.  …when Mark yells, “You’re a D+!!”  … Bryce informing us, once again, that Tacocat spelled backwards is Tacocat… Unless you put a hyphen in there… Taco-cat spelled backwards is Tac-ocat…  …when Kenna mean-mugs me in class.  …when Batman talks in his crazy, deep Batman voice.

3. Qualities of Argumentative Writing  A type of persuasion through which a speaker / writer attempts to convince people that their ideas have merit.  Purpose: Getting the audience to either agree with you completely or at least understand your point of view.  Methods: Establishing a logical (reasonable) claim(s), then supporting the claim with evidence from external sources.  In order for the argument to be complete, the speaker must address multiple viewpoints!

4.  Claim  Evidence  Warrant  But not necessarily in that order The components of argument are:

5. Claim  Claim—a statement of belief that someone else could disagree with.  Ex: Batman is not a superhero, for he is only a hero.  Claim of fact: state something is true or not  Claim of value: state something has or doesn’t have worth  Claim of policy: assert something should or shouldn’t be done

6. Evidence  Evidence—the data or grounds that support the claim; Answers: “What makes you say so?”  Ex: Batman doesn’t have any ‘super’ powers.

7. Warrant  Warrant—explains why the evidence leads to the claim  Ex: Superheroes are, in fact, super because of their abilities to do unnatural things. The fact that Batman is completely without any skills / abilities that the average person couldn’t develop means that he cannot be a superhero.

8. Identifying elements of Argument! 1.Pull up your Anthem “Theme Tracking WS” and identify your Claim, Evidence, and Warrants!! 2.Watch the TED Talk by Cameron Russell, and identify her Claims, Evidence, and Warrants! We’ll do both of these things together, so don’t freak out if you get confused!

9. Forming an argument of your own! Lets imagine the following scenario: You are a member of the cabinet of the President of the United States of America! You have just been informed that there is an armada of giant, Martian, man-eating walruses is headed towards Earth to destroy the human race. As quickly as you can  Form a well- written, strongly supported argument in which you recommend a specific course of action to our president.

10. The hard part… Constructing your claim is the easy part. The hard part is SUPPORTING your claim through the use of evidence and warrants. Let’s talk about the kinds of support (evidence) you can use…

11. You have a point you want to make (claim), so how to you prove it??  Find evidence to support your claim!  “Because I said so” is not good support  Good support can come in the form of:  Ethos  Pathos  Logos

12. Logos  Appeal to people’s logic  Ex. 2+2=4  Argument utilizes logos the most  Consist of:  Facts/Statistics  Literal and historical analogies

13. Let’s see some logos in action:  First, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Y_56BQmY_e8&feature=related  Then, in your notebook, answer the following questions: 1) What is the video’s claim? 2) In what piece of evidence is logos being used to support the claim? 3) Why is it effective to use logos in this commercial?

14. Ethos  Refers to the sources credibility and authority  Is your evidence from a reliable, credible source?  A speaker can either build or destroy his or her own Ethos!  How does one BUILD ETHOS?  Appropriate Language (don’t say “gonna”)  Use a sincere and clear-minded voice  Correct grammar & vocabulary  Should we trust this mommy? 

15. Let’s see some ethos in action…  First, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =3NxF3ipUEHE  Then, answer the following questions in your notebook: 1) What is the video’s claim? 2) In what piece of evidence is ethos being used to support the claim? 3) Why is it effective to use ethos in this commercial?

16. Pathos  Trying to convince an audience by appealing to their emotions!  Ex. Drunk driving offenders should receive harsher punishments because my 2 year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver.  Okay in persuasion, but not in argument  Consist of:  Loaded language  Vivid descriptions  Figurative language  Connotative meanings

17. Let’s see some pathos in action…  First, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =6eXfvRcllV8  Then, answer the following questions in your notebook: 1) What is the video’s claim? 2) In what piece of evidence is pathos being used to support the claim? 3) Why is it effective to use pathos in this commercial?

18. What type of appeal is this?  Scenario: You are trying to convince your father to stop smoking.  Evidence #1: Dr. Joe Smith, a cardiac surgeon with 20 years experience says he would never start smoking because of the many health risks associated with it.  Evidence #2: I remember when Grandma died of lung cancer. It was the first time I have ever seen you cry, Dad. I remember that you also made me promise not to start smoking.  Evidence #3: More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are from smoking-related illnesses.  Evidence #4: Smoking greatly increases your risks for lung cancer and many other cancers.  On your whiteboard, write one more piece of evidence you could use to support this argument. Then, have a partner label your evidence as ethos, pathos, or logos.