Elements of an ArgumentWhat do you need to make this work?

Argument

ArgumentoWhat is an argument?o Claim – What are you trying to say?

o An evaluationo A proposalo Your thesis statement

o Reasons & Evidence – What do you have to back it up?o Examples – personal narratives, etc.o Sources – research – citations

o Claims Reasons Evidence

“Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.”

Burke, Kenneth. The Philosophy of Literary Form. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1941. 110-111.

The Unending Conversation

Thesis StatementoWhere do you start?o Invention

o Brainstorm, etc.o Researchable question

o What do I want to know?o What do I want to prove?

o Working thesiso A hypothesis

o Research may change your thesis!o Revise your thesiso Build your argument

Write a thesis statement for each of the following and we will discuss as a class:

1. You think the school should offer more financial aid for students

2. You think there should be more/fewer smoking areas on campus

3. You think composition classes should/should not be mandatory for all students

Thesis Practice

Thesis Statements Should…oContain a “Because” clauseo “You should do this because…”o The reason for your claim

oBe Specifico Bad: “Students should exercise more.”o Good: “Students should do at least 30 minutes of aerobic

exercise per day because…” oBe Provableo Fact: “Blue is a color.”o Opinion: “I like the color blue.”o Thesis: “Blue is the best color because…”

The PrécisLearn to love it!

PrécisoWhat is a précis?o Also known as a “Rhetorical Summary”o A summary that contains specific information

from a texto 4 Sentences

o Why do you write a précis?o For reading comprehensiono To quickly reference the information in

a sourceo To determine the reliability of a sourceo To determine how and when to use a source

Précis FormatSentence 1 - Defining information about the worko Name of author (optional—a phrase describing the author)o genre and title of worko date in parentheseso a descriptive verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “imply,” “suggest,”

“claim,” etc.) and a “that” clause containing the essay’s main assertion or thesis statement

Sentence 2 - An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the thesis, usually in chronological order

Sentence 3 - A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order” phrase

Sentence 4 - A description of the intended audience and an explanation for the identification of that audience using tone, language, content, and context as clues.

Précis Example(1) In her article "Who Cares if Johnny Can't Read?" (1997), Mary Smith asserts that Americans are reading more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of "high culture" reading.

(2) Smith supports her claims about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present reading practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about the intrinsic value of reading.

(3) Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture.

(4) She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat irreverent audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the ideas she opposes are old-fashioned positions.

1. Pair up2. Write a précis on a New York Times

editorial3. Discuss the précis with the class4. Which précis is the closest to a

comprehensive and precise summary?

Précis Practice