Readings and assignments from The Elements of Argument:
In class: Identify the claim (Students answer questions in the text for homework)
Assignment 1: Read pp. 3-10. Answer questions 1 and 2 on pages 10-11.
Thomas Frank’s “X-ray Tests, Both Security, Privacy”
Joe Sharkey’s “Airport Screeners See X-rated X-rays”
Klapper’s
Assignment 2: Read pages 11-21. Answer Qs 1-3 on pp. 14-15. Claim of Fact, Value,
or Policy
Assignment 3: Read pp. 21-27 Summarize the analysis of the “Will the Politics of
Teen Sex Stop a Cancer in Vaccine” in one paragraph. Be sure to include all
significant terms related to argument.
Separate Assignment: Read pp. 31- 35. Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of
Independence” and underline all examples of parallelism that you can find.
Assignment 4: Read Pages 35- 43
Edward Jay Epstein “Sex and the Cinema” Answer question 2 on page 41 in 5
sentences or more.
Assignment 5:
Read pages 43-49
Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address” with additional exercises from
Teaching Nonfiction in AP English.
Charles Adams’ “Lincoln’s Logic” Whose argument was more convincing—
Lincoln’s or Adams’? Why? 5 sentence minimum response.
Assignment 6: Read pages 49-59
1. Model the process used to analyze Alfie Kohn’s “No Win Situation” to analyze Desda
Moss’s “Freak Dancing: If Only It Stopped There.” Respond to the essay not in terms
of its ideas but instead evaluate in terms of the way it is written: Analyze its
rhetorical structure. (Minimum response 5-8 sentences).
2. On page 59, answer question 1.
3. On page 59, answer question 4 in 5 sentences or more. Use YouTube or the links
provided if necessary to answer this question. Specify which episode you are
analyzing –Title and date of episode. http://www.colbertnation.com or
http://www.thedailyshow.com
Assignment 7:
Part I: Read pp 81-83
Answer question 1 on page 82 pertaining to Charles Krauthammer’s “Let’s Have No More
Monkey Trials”
Please review pages 13-14 regarding the delineation among claims of fact, value, and policy
because the explanation on these particular pages here for Claim of Fact are not providing
appropriate examples.
Part II: (Minimum 6 sentence response) Read pp. 85 -87 Alan M. Dershowitz’s “Is There a
Torturous Road to Justice?”
a. Identify the claim in the essay and state it in your own words.
b. This essay is a problem-solution essay. The problem we are faced with is whether we are
allowed to compel witnesses to provide us with information. Which methods of compulsion
are legal?
c. What is Dershowitz’s solution to the problem of using torture as an interrogation
technique?
d. What is the rationale behind his solution?
e. Do you agree with it? Why or why not? (Can you guess what I think? ;) )
Part III: (Minimum 3 sentence response.)
Read Seth Finkelstein’s “Alan Dershowitz’s Tortuous Torturous Argument” on pp. 87-91.
Did you find Finkelstein’s argument convincing? Why or why not?
Assignment 8
Read pp. 102- 107 “Should We Fight Terror with Torture?” by Alan M. Dershowitz
Answer questions 1-7 and #8 Does the title seem fitting for this essay? Why or why not?
Assignment 9
Read Margaret Mead’s “Warfare: An Invention—Not a Biological Necessity.”
Answer questions 1-5.
Assignment 10: Argument by Definition
A. Read pages 122-137 and define the key methods used to define terms in an argument;
define the following terms: stipulation, negation, example, and extended definition.
B. Read Brian Whitaker’s definition essay “The Definition of Terrorism” and state where or
how he uses stipulation, negation, example, and extended definition to define terrorism. C.
C. Pick one other method of definition he uses and state where or how he uses this
technique.
D. Have you detected the author’s bias? Whose side is the writer on? How do you know?
Assignment 11: Argument by Definition continued
A. Read “Race by the Numbers “ pages 137-139 and answer questions 1-5.
B. Read “Family, a Symbol of Love and Life, but Not Politics” on pages 140-142 and answer
questions 1-7. (Notice the apophasis.)
C. Answer question 7 on page 156. (Short answer)
Assignment 12: Defending Claims of Fact
Part I Read pages 157-165 including “A Reassuring Scorecard for Affirmative Action.”
Question: What is the major claim? How is it supported? (3 sentence minimum).
Part II Read “Picking Sides for the News” by Robert J. Samuelson on pages 166-169. Answer
questions 1-5 and answer these questions as well:
Samuelson claims that over time news has slowly become more selective and slanted.
6. What evidence does he provide to support his claim?
a. What reasons does he provide to explain this dangerous trend? (Minimum of 5
reasons)
b. What data (polls, statistics, etc.) does he provide?
c. Which authorities does he cite?
d. What analogy does he make?
e. Samuelson states: “It will be a sad day when we trust only the media that voices
our views.” Is this a claim of fact, value, or policy?
f. **Samuelson poses a rhetorical question by asking readers “What’s going on?
Why should we care?” Please answer this question in a minimum of 5 sentences.
Why should we care that, for the most part, media today is merely presenting us
with views we (or the corporate owners of the media station) already agree
with?
Assignment 13 Defending Claims of Value
Part I Read pages 167-176 What claim of value does Kowinski make in his essay
“Kids in the Mall: Growing Up Controlled”? What does the author believe the
children learn from the mall? What is the author’s attitude toward this learning
experience?
Part II Read “Crash” by Robert Ebert on pages 177-179. Answer questions 1-4 on p.
177.
Assignment 14 Defending Claims of Policy
Part I Read Elisha Dov Hacks’s “College Life versus My Moral Code” on pages 179184.
A. What is the problem Hack has with Yale’s policies?
B. What is the major claim of policy Hack is making?
Part II Read “One Year Later, Power to Seize Property Ripe for Abuse” on pages 207208 and “Vital Tool of Last Resort” on pages 209 – 210 and answer questions 1-6 on
p. 210.
Assignment 15 – Providing Support Read pages 211-241
A. Compose a rhetorical précis on “Single-Sex Education Benefits Men Too.” (4
sentences formatted according to proper précis format as posted online.)
B. Read “The True Cost of SUVs” and answer questions 1-6 on page 241.
Assignment 16:
Read “Connecting the Dots…to Terrorism” on pages 246-254 and answer questions
1-5.
Assignment 17: Read “Marriage-Plus” on pages 258 -265. Answer questions 1-5.
Assignment 18: Analyzing Warrants
Part I -- Read pages 272-287
A. Summarize Levin’s argument in “The Case for Torture” in 3 sentences or less.
B. Are the hypothetical examples Levin uses as support convincing? Why or why
not?
C. What assumption underlies his argument?
Part II --Read pages 288 -289 “We’re all Celebrities in Post-Privacy Age” Answer
questions 1-5.
D. Look at the ad on page 290. Answer questions 1-4.
Assignment 19: Logic – Induction
Read pages 322 -327
Answer the practice question on induction on page 327.
Remind me to read the story “Love is a Fallacy” aloud in the next class. Thank you.
Assignment 20: Logic- Deduction and inductive fallacies
Read pages 327-347
Identify logical fallacies in the practice section. Do #s 1-3 and we will do the rest in
class. I will review fallacies with you in class.
Remind me to give you a photocopy of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Thank you.
Review satiric techniques in class and in packet.
Assignment 21 Argument through satire
A. Read Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”on pages 354-361 and answer questions 1-8.
B. Identify 4 satiric techniques and 3 examples of each—annotate them.
C. Annotate 2 examples of apophasis.
Most likely for quarter 4:
Assignment 22
Read pages 370-388
Answer question 2 on “Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language.”
Assignment 23
Read George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” pp. 406 -416. Answer questions 15.
(There are many essays on testing in this book as well. )