Which commercial is your favorite? Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qy8v 1ghy38

Genres of Argument
Newspaper article, scholarly article, blog, etc.

Cultural contexts
Who writes arguments and why?

Must temporarily adopt authors beliefs and values, suspend personal skepticism and bias to hear authors point of view Write a summary of argument Search for personal experiences and values that coincide with argument

Question the writers

Logic Evidence and assumptions

Strategies

Think about what is missing from argument

Every thesis prompts an opposing thesis (antithesis) Conflict between these views leads to a new claim (synthesis) Synthesis incorporates aspects of both views

Think of a creative way to illustrate/explain the relationship between thesis, antithesis, and synthesis

Builds upon a summary

a formalized, critical reading of a passage that includes a personal response

purpose is to turn a critical reading of a passage into a systematic evaluation to deepen a readers understanding of that passage

must determine what an author says how well the points are made what assumptions underlie the argument what issues are overlooked, and what implication can be drawn from such an analysis, statement and explanation of personal assumptions (opinions/responses)

Begin by posing two broad questions about readings:

To what extent does the author succeed in his/her purpose?

To what extent do you agree with the author?

identify authors thesis identify the selections content and structure identify the authors purpose. authors purpose to inform, persuade, and/or entertain

Reason an author writes something

To inform To persuade To entertain

Is the information accurate? Is the information significant? What can the reader gain from this information? How is knowledge advanced by the publication of this material? Is the information of importance to you or to others in a particular audience? Why or why not?

Does the author fairly interpret the factual information? Could you offer a contrary explanation for the same facts? Does more information need to be gathered before firm conclusions can be drawn? Why?

What is the authors assertion or thesis statement? Is the authors argument valid? Does the author use clearly defined key terms? Does the author use information fairly? Has the author argued logically and not fallaciously? Watch out for faulty thinking and logical fallacies

Which elements of the work seemed effective/ineffective? Why? Offer an overall assessment, elaborating on personal views.
Did I care for the portrayal of a certain character? Did that character seem overly sentimental or heroic? Did his adversaries seem too villainous or stupid?

 Did his adversaries seem too villainous or stupid? Were the situations believable? Was the action interesting or merely formulaic? Was the theme developed subtly or powerfully, or did the work come across as preachy or shrill? Did the action at the end of the work follow plausibly from what had come before? Was the language fresh and incisive or stale and predictable?

To what extent do you agree with the author? your assessment of the presentation may not coincide with personal views:
you may agree with the author but feel the presentation is superficial

respond to authors main assertions (arguments) identify points of agreement and disagreement identify assumptions Elaborate upon your opinion.WHY do you agree or disagree?

identify the article title and author provide background information that answers one or more of the following questions:

Why is the subject of current interest? How or why is the subject of the passage controversial? What is the authors background? Under what circumstances was the passage written?

include a specific thesis statement

summarizes the authors main points and purpose for writing

is brief, complete, objective, and avoids plagiarism

essay objectively assesses the validity of the authors presentation by commenting on the authors success in achieving his/her purpose by reviewing 3 or 4 specific points

The specific points are based upon the following criteria:

Is the information accurate?
Is the information significant? Has the author clearly defined terms?

Has the author used and interpreted

information fairly? Has the author argued logically?

Essay responds to the authors views Essay discusses reasons for agreement and/or disagreement Questions to answer include:

With which views do you agree? Why? With which views do you disagree? Why?

states conclusions about the overall validity of the article assesses authors success at achieving aims mentions personal reactions to authors views restates the thesis by mentioning the weaknesses/strengths of passage

Group activity Choose an ad in Behrens text (pg 578-599) Answer questions for organizing a critique

Choose commercial Follow directions to write a critique of the video.

100 points

Rough draft due Thursday, October 3 Final copy due (we need to discuss this)

Active & Passive verbs

Commas

Classical structure