Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 - They Say, I Say Chapter 2 Exercise 1
Homework usually is not a students favorite thing to do. Many don't like it because they think its a waste of time and doesn't help them learn anything. Teachers sometimes don't realize how long it takes some students to complete it due to factors such as not understanding whats its asking them to do. This problem ties to the fact that most kids don't like homework. If they don't understand the material in class how are they going to complete the assignment(s) at home. However, others argue that homework only helps you remember things for short periods and then you forget it which judging from personal experience is true in most of the time.
Many students have a hard time understanding that homework is truly helpful (occasionally). It helps the student review the material at home. While it is true that homework completion time varies per student this is sometimes important. The more time they spend on homework, the more time they have to learn the material.
Purposes of Arguments
Main Idea:
Writers and speakers have many purposes for arguing in addition to winning, to inform, to convince, to explore to make decisions, etc.
Details:
Arguments (discover a truth)-conviction
Persuasion (know a truth)-action
Arguing isn’t always about winning or even changing others views.
Arguments to Inform
Main Idea:
Arguments can take on the forms of being informative or persuasive.
Details:
Informative arguments are more obviously intended to persuade.
Arguments to Convince
Main Idea:
You are not trying to conquer opponents but to satisfy readers that you had thoroughly examined those causes and that they merit serious attention.
Details:
Reports usually aim to persuade readers rather than win out over opponents.
The presence of those who might disagree is always implied, and it shapes a writer’s strategies.
Arguments to Explore
Main Idea:
The writer’s assertion that a problem exists and that the writer or the reader needs to solve it.
Details:
Exploratory arguments may be deeply personal.
Some exploratory pieces present and defend solutions.
Arguments to Make Decisions
Main Idea:
Arguments that aim at making good decision.
Details:
Argue for a particular decision.
Examine pros and cons of each alternative.
Arguments to Meditate or Pray
Main Idea:
Writer or speaker is most often hoping to transform something in him – or herself or to reach a state of equilibrium or peace of mind.
Details:
The effectiveness of an argument depends not only on the purposes of the writer but also on the context surrounding the plea and the people it seeks most directly to reach.
Allows the reader to reach an understanding of the speaker.
Occasions for Arguments
Main Idea:
Consider the public occasion that calls for arguments.
Details:
Arguments about the future past with implications for the future, arguments about the future with bearings on the present, and so on.
Arguments about the Past
Main Idea:
Arguments involving the past.
Details:
Forensic arguments also rely heavily on precedents – actions or decisions in the past that influence policies or decisions in the present and on analyses of causes and effect.
May also be arguments about character.
Arguments about the Future
Main Idea:
Because what happens in the past influences the future, deliberate judgments often rely on prior forensic arguments.
Details:
Deliberate arguments often draw on evidence and testimony.
Arguments about the Present
Main Idea:
Arguments about the present are often about contemporary values.
Details:
The ethical premises and assumptions that are widely held within a society.
Tend to be heard at public occasions.
Can be passionate and eloquent.
Kinds of Argument
Main Idea:
Another way to categorizing arguments is to consider their status or stasis.
Details:
Did something happen?
What is its nature?
What is its quality?
Arguments of Fact – Did something happen?
Main Idea:
An argument of fact usually involves a statement that can be proved or disproves with specific evidence or testimony.
Details:
Arguments are often quite subtle, involving layers of complexity not apparent when thee question is initially posed.
It can be difficult sometimes to establish facts.
Arguments of Definition – What Is the Nature of the Thing?
Main Idea:
Often involves determining whether one known object or action belongs in a second – and more highly contested – category.
Details:
Issues of definition can have mighty consequences.
Arguments of Evaluation – What Is the Quality of the Thing?
Main Idea:
Arguments of definitions lead naturally into arguments of quality – that is, to questions about quality.
Details:
Writers often take them for granted, ignoring their complexity and importance in establishing people’s values and priority’s.
An argument of evaluation advances by presenting criteria and then measuring individual people, ideas, or things against those standards.
Proposal Arguments – What Actions Should Be Taken?
Main Idea:
Writers have to succeed in presenting a problem in a compelling way that makes the readers to think to themselves.
Details:
A proposal argument often begins with the presentation of research to document existing condition.
Using the stasis questions as a way to get into the topic of global warming adds up to a crash course on the subject.
Audiences for Arguments
Main Idea:
No argument even one that engages stasis questions thoroughly, can be effective unless it speaks compellingly to others.
Details:
You’ll always be addressing an intended reader, one who exists in your own mind.
Although the use of personal pronouns can often help make readers feel a connection to the writer, it can also be dangerous.
Considering Context
Main Idea:
Setting the readers in context.
Details:
Reading always takes place in what you might think of as a series of contexts – concentric circles that move outward from the most immediate context to broader and broader contexts, including local and community contexts, institutional contexts and cultural and linguistic contexts.
