The Open Prompt: Timing
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1-3 minutes reading and working the prompt.
3 minutes deciding on a position.
10-12 minutes planning the support of your
position.
20 minutes writing the essay.
3 minutes proofreading.
The 5 Canons of Rhetoric: Invention
Kinds of Evidence
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Anecdotes
Contrast and comparison
Cause and effect
Appeal to authority
Facts/statistics
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Details
Quotations
Needed definitions
Recognition of the opposition
Examples
Get out your “Pick a pair of words…”
prompt
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Go through the prompt again, and start
categorizing/adding to your evidence
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What seems worthwhile/worth developing for your
essay?
What can you throw out?
The 5 Canons of Rhetoric:
Arrangement
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Two types that we’re going to focus on:
– Toulmin Argument
– Rogerian Argument
Today we’ll talk about Toulmin
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Using this method requires using a logical
structure, but not just to prove a point…
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You want to convince the reader of the validity of
your argument, and the claims you’ve presented.
The Toulmin Argument: the “traditional” one
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Make a claim
Provide grounds for your claim
Explore the warrant for the claim
Provide backing for the warrant
Explore the rebuttal to the claim
End with a concession
Make a claim
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You first must choose a topic and then form
your opinion.
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This info is written in one sentence (like an
assertion).
Ex. “Standardized tests are biased against female
and minority students
A “because clause” can be added to the claim as
a reason.
There may be more than one claim!
Provide grounds for your claim
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Evidence in the form of facts, data, or any
info that supports the claim.
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To be credible, a claim needs specific evidence.
You’re answering the questions, “How do you
know?/What is that based on?” with your grounds.
Explore the warrant for the claim
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A warrant is the unstated assumption
underlying a claim, which should be a value,
principle, or belief that the audience agrees
with.
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Enthymeme!
Warrants connect the claim and the support:
come from personal experiences and
observations.
Provide backing for the warrant
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Support for the warrant that answers the
question, “Why do you believe that?”
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Depending on your audience this backing should
include:
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Emotional appeals
Quotations from famous people or recognized experts
Statements based on the author’s personal credibility.
Explore the rebuttal to the claim
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Acknowledging the limitations
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Hey, this might not always be true…but!
Qualifiers: generally adverbs that modify a key
noun; some common ones are typically usually,
some, several…
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Use these sparingly, but appropriately.
Don’t simply state it! You must rebut the rebuttal!!
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Discredits the opposition if you acknowledge, and then
shut it down.
End with a concession
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A key point to this type of argument
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Brings the opposing sides together by
acknowledging a part of the opposing argument
that you cannot refute.
Conceding that the opposition is valid, and then
building on it to further your own claim creates
warm and fuzzies, but you stand strong!