9TH GRADE CP ENGLISH
ARGUMENTATIVE MLA RESEARCH PROJECT
PART I: GET THINKING!
JOURNAL #1
• What was your worst writing experience? What was
your best writing experience? Explain
LET’S LOOK AT SOME STANDARDS FOR
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING:
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising,
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
MORE STANDARDS
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing
and to interact and collaborate with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources,
assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the
information while avoiding plagiarism.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
WHAT DO THESE STANDARDS IMPLY?
•What words jump out?
•Support claims, valid
reasoning, relevant, sufficient,
clear, appropriate to task,
credible, accurate, draw
evidence, technology
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
PERSUASION AND ARGUMENTATIVE?
PERSUASION VS. ARGUMENT
Persuasion
Argument
•Ethos (author
credibility)
•Pathos (emotional
appeals)
•Logos (logical
appeals)
•Reason
THE DIFFERENCE…
A particular audience can be persuaded, whereas
the universal audience must be convinced;
particular audiences can be approached by way
of values, whereas the universal audience (which
transcends partisan values) must be approached
with facts, truths, and presumptions.”
~Miller & Charney
ARGUMENT
WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT?
• 1. To change reader’s point of view
• 2. To bring about some action on the readers part.
• 3. To ask the reader to accept the writer’s
explanation or evaluation of a concept, issue or
problem.
IS IT ARGUMENT OR PERSUASION?
IS IT ARGUMENT OR PERSUASION?
IS IT ARGUMENT OR PERSUASION?
IS IT ARGUMENT OR PERSUASION?
ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENT
 Claim
 Evidence: relevant and verifiable
 Warrant: explanation of how the evidence supports
the claim; often common sense rules, laws, scientific
principles or research, and well-considered
definitions.
 Backing: support for the warrant (often extended
definitions)
 Qualifications and Counter-arguments:
acknowledgement of differing claims
ZOMBIES!
• Read the following comic strips. Discuss:
•
•
•
•
1. What is the claim?
2. What is the evidence?
3. What is the warrant?
4. Are there any qualifications or counter
arguments?
AUDIENCE
How do writers’ assumptions about audience affect production of a text?
 1. How much to elaborate based on what they anticipate readers know
 2. How much to tailor the development of claims
 3. How much to care, since writers’ concerns are bigger when audience
matters
 4. How to accommodate audiences if writers don't identify with them
“Considering the audience, therefore, is not simply a matter of selecting the
information that readers need to understand the argument. Instead,
writers must anticipate objections and questions and develop persuasive
appeals, including building on common ground, refuting opposing claims,
offering an acceptable reader-writer relationship, and presuming upon
appropriate beliefs and values."
~Miller & Charney
CHOOSING AN ARGUABLE ISSUE
• Arguments need. . .
•
•
•
•
•
•
An issue
An arguer
An audience
Common ground
A forum
Audience outcomes
• Arguments fail with. .
.
• No disagreement or
reason to argue
• Risky or trivial issues
• Difficulty establishing
common ground
• Standoffs or fights
that result in
negative outcomes
Mascots should be
strong or tough and
represent the area.
They should be
something people
would be proud to
be.
Explanation
A Miner would be a
good mascot
selection for our
school.
Evidence
Claim
CREATING AN ARGUMENT
Our area has mining
as one of its primary
industries, so the
choice would
represent our area. In
addition, miners need
to be tough because
they do strenuous
work—and
dangerous work.
They work hard to fill
a need for people
everywhere. That’s
something to be
proud of.
FOUR CORNERS
• The Supreme Court was right this week to reverse
the ban on the sale of violent video games to
children.
• Strongly Agree? Agree? Disagree? Strongly
Disagree? Write for 3 minutes on your opinion.
FOUR CORNERS CONT.
• Go to corner of room matching your response. In
your groups, you have several minutes to create an
argument: claim, convincing evidence and
explanation to present a two-minute argument to
the rest of the groups.
STEP 1: PICK A TOPIC
• At this time, you need to pick a topic for your
argumentative essay!
• What is your claim?
TOPIC/FOCUS
• Chose a topic that interests you.
• Consider the availability of sources.
• Ask yourself:
• Why is this interesting?
• What makes my argument valid?
• What should someone know about this topic?
STEP 2: RESEARCH
• Find sources that you MIGHT use.
• What evidence could you use to support your
claim?
SOURCES
• A good source will have an author or be a credible
website, sponsored by a major company or news
organization.
• Make sure you write/copy/print: all titles (of book,
article, web page) name of publisher, company,
news organization, dates, place of publication,
publisher, editor, page numbers, date site was
made, date you accessed the site.
BAD SOURCES
•
•
•
•
•
About.com
Howstuffworks.com
*Wikipedia
Personal blogs
Sites with no author
STEP 3: THESIS STATEMENT
• Now that you looked at the research, you need to
create a thesis statement.
• Definition: a short statement, usually one sentence,
that summarizes the main point or claim of an
essay, research paper, etc., and is developed,
supported, and explained in the text by means of
examples and evidence.
STEP 4: ORGANIZE NOTES
• 1. Create 3-5 clear points to be made
• 2. Organize research notes/materials to fit into
each category.
• 3. Establish your point made through reading the
research.
REMEMBER:
• Claim
• Evidence
• Explanation
• (For each topic)
GOOD WRITING
• Now that you have chosen a topic, written a thesis
statement, organized your research and created
your claims, it’s time to write!
• Let’s look at good writing!
GENERAL QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE
WRITING
• Grouping ideas into sentences and paragraphs that
carry meaning efficiently and move ideas forward
• Creating an effective thesis
• Introducing an idea effectively
• Connecting ideas (between sentences and
paragraphs)
• Punctuating correctly
• Creating and maintaining an appropriate tone
• Concluding meaningfully
• Using words eloquently
THE STRUCTURES AND LANGUAGE OF
ARGUMENT
Incorporating others’ words or ideas
Subordinating opposing views
Organizing for greatest effect
Maintaining an academic tone
Analyzing and explaining data/sources adequately
Recognizing the difference between reasons and
evidence
• Evaluating quality of evidence/research
•
•
•
•
•
•
CONNECTING IDEAS EFFECTIVELY
• Why? To establish clear relations between ideas
“The best compositions establish a sense of
momentum and direction by making explicit
connections among their different parts, so that
what is said in one sentence (or paragraph) not
only sets up what is to come but is clearly informed
by what has already been said. When you write a
sentence, you create an expectation in the
reader’s mind that the next sentence will in some
way echo and be an extension of the first, even if—
especially if—the second one takes your argument
in a new direction.”
~Graff & Birkenstein
WAYS TO MAKE CONNECTIONS
•
•
•
•
•
Transitions
Pointing words
Repetition of key words and phrases
Synonyms
Idea hooks
EXAMPLE
• “The only thing more dangerous than being on the
back of a racehorse was being thrown from one.
Some jockeys took two hundred or more falls in their
careers. Some were shot into the air when horses
would ‘prop,’ or plant their front hooves and slow
abruptly. Others went down when their mounts
would bolt, crashing into the rails or even the
grandstand. A common accident was ‘clipping
heels,’ in which trailing horses tripped over leading
horses’ hind hooves, usually sending the trailing
horse and rider into a somersault. Finally, horses
could break down, racing’s euphemism for incurring
leg injuries.” Seabiscuit, Hillenbrand
TRANSITIONS
EXAMPLES: Also, besides, furthermore, in addition,
similarly, in other words, for example, for instance,
although, but, despite the fact that, however, as a
result, since, so, therefore, admittedly, as a result,
consequently, yet
Spot is a good dog. He has fleas.
Spot is a good dog, even though he has fleas.
Courage is resistance to fear.
Courage is mastery of fear.
Courage is not absence of fear.
POINTING WORDS
• EXAMPLES: this, these, that, those, their, such, her, it, etc.
“Children wanted their kiddy-cars to go faster. First, the animal
design was done away with. Then off went a couple of the
wheels. The two remaining wheels were greatly enlarged and
then aligned down the center of the vehicle. Finally,
handlebars and footrests were added. These primitive twowheelers went much faster than the four-wheeled kiddy-cars.”
~ Toys! Wulffson
“Riders didn’t even have to leave the saddle to be badly hurt.
Their hands and shins were smashed and their knee ligaments
ripped when horses twisted beneath them or banged into the
rails and walls. Their ankles were crushed when their feet
became caught in the starter’s webbing.”
~ Seabiscuit, Hillenbrand
REPETITION OF KEY WORDS OR
PHRASES
• “She sighed as she realized she was tired. Not tired
from work but tired of putting white people first.
Tired of stepping off sidewalks to let white people
pass, tired of eating at separate lunch counters and
learning at separate schools. She was tired of
‘Colored’ entrances, ‘Colored drinking fountains,
and ‘Colored taxis. She was tired of getting
somewhere first and being waited on last. Tired of
‘separate,’ and definitely tired of ‘not equal.’” ~
Rosa, Giovanni
SYNONYMS AND PRONOUNS
• “Candy is almost pure sugar. It is empty of nutritional
value. It is an extravagance. It dissolves in water. It melts
in your mouth, not in your hands. It’s the icing on the
cake. Candy is so impossibly sweet and good that
eating it should be the simplest thing in the world. So
how can there be anything of substance to say about
it?”
~ Candy and Me, Liftin
• “Religion was central to Egyptian life from the beginning,
and the pharaoh played a key role in its rituals. In life, the
ruler was thought to be the son of Ra, the all-powerful
sun god.”
~ Secrets of the Sphinx, Giblin
IDEA HOOKS
• “Mark Twain is established in the minds of most
Americans as a kindly humorist, a gentle and
delightful ‘funny man.’ No doubt his photographs
have helped promote this image. Everybody is
familiar with the Twain face. He looks like every
child’s ideal grandfather, a dear old whitethatched gentleman who embodies the very spirit
of loving-kindness.
• Such a view of Twain would probably have been a
source of high amusement to the author himself.” ~
Lively Art of Writing, Payne
IN COMBINATION
“Jebel Musa in the morning is like a tiger at dawn, a cat curled
up in the shadows, its coat the color of pumpkin pie, its
demeanor a misleading message: tame. As we arrived at the
small plateau where climbers prep for the hike to come, the
mountain seemed almost inert, waiting. At 7,455 feet, it’s not a
particularly tall mountain: half as high as the tallest mountain
in the Colorado Rockies; roughly as tall as the highest peak in
the Appalachians. But it is impressive, completely dominating
the landscape around it like a mother elephant dwarfing her
babies. A mixture of red and gray granite fused together in an
imposing, almost threatening mass, Mount Moses rises straight
from the ground and softens slightly at the top like a drip
castle. Though not as angular as Mount Ararat, nor as tall as
nearby Mount Katarina, it still seems like a particularly imposing
backdrop, waiting for some particularly majestic drama to
take place in front of it.” ~ Walking the Bible, Feiler
STEP 5: WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT!
• (But how to I use my research information
correctly?)
USING OTHERS’ IDEAS APPROPRIATELY
• Quoting: using the exact words of another. Words
must be placed in quotation marks and the author
cited.
• Summarizing: putting the ideas of another in your
own words and condensing them. Author must be
identified.
• Paraphrasing: putting someone else’s ideas in your
words but keeping approximately the same length as
the original. Paraphrase must be original in both structure
and wording, and accurate in representing author’s
intent. It can not just be switching out synonyms in the
original sentence. Author must be identified.
QUOTING
• Why use quotations?
• when the speaker’s name and reputation add credibility
• when the phrasing of the quotation is interesting or
revealing and cannot be stated another way as effectively
• How effective are these examples?
• Many students “improve their reading ability” by looking at
a text closely and by giving their first reactions to it (Burke
46).
• Mem Fox contests, “worksheets are the dead-end streets of
literacy: there’s a non-message on each line, going
nowhere, for no reason” (69).
• Hints: cut quotes to the core and use them like spice,
sparingly
SUMMARIZING
• Summaries
• Should be shorter than original text
• Should include the main ideas of the original
• Should reflect the structure of the original text somewhat
• Should include important details
Is this an effective summary of Source B?
At the moment of harvest, food begins to lose vitamins,
minerals, and phytochemicals important for fighting disease
and maintaining health. Because the decrease is negligible,
however, even if food is days or weeks from harvest, it’s still
possible to derive nutrition from it and be healthy by making
smart food choices.
PARAPHRASING
• Source: “People of African descent in the Diaspora
do not speak languages of Africa as their mother
tongue.”
• Inappropriate Paraphrase: “People of African
descent no longer speak the languages of Africa as
their first language.”
• Appropriate Paraphrase: “Painter contends that
cultural factors like language and religion divide
African Americans from their ancestors. Black
Americans speak a wide variety of languages, but
usually these are not African.”
INTRODUCING OTHERS’ IDEAS
• Put source names either before the idea [Painter
insists that the hula hoop can help fight diabetes] or
after the idea in parentheses [Others find the idea
ridiculous (Smith, Wilson)].
• Use vivid and precise verb signals more than “says”
or “believes” to show how an author feels or how
an idea might relate to other ideas: agrees,
recommends, insists, explains
• Make sure the idea adds to the point you are
making. Dropping in unrelated quotes or names
diminishes your credibility. SHOW how the idea
contributes to YOUR argument.
NOW IT’S TIME FOR MLA
• Is this torture over yet???
• Step 6: Preparing the final copy
WHAT IS MLA?
MLA stands for Modern
Language Association which
promulgates guidelines for
preparing student research
papers and projects and
scholarly manuscripts in the
humanities. “MLA style” refers
to a system of citing research
sources.
SETTING UP YOUR PAPER
• 1. 1 inch margins
• 2. Set paper on double spacing
• 2. Header: Name and page numbers (upper right
hand corner)
• 3. Heading: Your name, teacher’s name, name of
class, date (day-month-year)
• 4. Title: Centered
FORMAL MLA FORMAT
1”
Header
Heading
1”
Title
FORMATTING QUOTATIONS
• Citation follows the quotation directly
At the time we thought, “gone are the
days of care” (Frick 29), but now we know
different.
• Punctuation always outside parenthesis
Do dreams always “alter our perception of waking
reality” (Wilson 8)?
HOW DO I CITE?
There are two parts to citing according to MLA
style:
1. Brief In-text citations (in parentheses) within the body of
your essay or paper
2. List of full citations in the Works Cited page at the end
of your paper
WORKS CITED PAGE
The Works Cited Page appears at the end of
your paper on its own page.
Everything you referenced in your text must
be listed in your Works Cited page.
Conversely, everything you list in the Works
Cited page must be cited in your essay.
The Works Cited page provides the
information needed for a reader to find and
retrieve any source used in your paper.
SAMPLE WORKS CITED PAGE
*Sources are listed alphabetically
Indent all lines after
the first ½ inch for
each work listed
*The entire
Works Cited
page is
double-spaced
Title “Works Cited” is centered
at the top of the page
Be sure that
each citation
has a format
descriptor
(properly
placed within
the citation);
e.g., Web, Print,
Film
All citations end
in a period (.)
STILL NOT SURE?
• Use your Central Dauphin MLA Handbook for
reference