Week 11/MWF Days 29, 30, 31; TR Days 21 and 22 – Monday, November
3-Friday, November 7
Weekly Objectives
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Students will be able to continue expanding their knowledge of essay development with an
emphasis on solidifying the thesis statement, considering alternative perspectives, and
argumentation structure. Students will also be able to identify logical fallacies in writing
and hopefully avoid using them in their own writing. Additionally, they will be able to
actively prepare for their individual P3 conferences. This will be accomplished through:
o Engaging in another thesis mini-workshop
o Reviewing and applying argumentation structures
o Analyzing an exemplary argumentation model
o Exploring and discussing the importance of alternative perspectives and then
applying that idea to their own essays
o Transferring the ideas of logical fallacies to a humorous activity
o Developing a model for how conferences will be held and preparing accordingly
Connection to Last Week:
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Last week, students worked toward understanding argumentation essay development with
an emphasis on fully, logically, and ethically connecting all claims / reasons / evidence and
the creation of a solid thesis statement. Many of you may have also decided to reiterate and
connect the idea of appeals to the P3 audience.
All of last week’s work provides the foundation for this week’s further exploration and
practice regarding essay development. What is studied this week will increase their
understanding of the immense scope of argumentation; students will use their initial
understandings to further realize the positions they are taking in their claims, explore
argumentation structure, appreciate alternative perspectives, learn to recognize errors of
logic, and figure out how to best organize their arguments to suit audience needs and
expectations. The total process will also be applied to learning how to prepare for their
individual P3 conferences.
Connection to Next Week:
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This week’s intensive look at the claim’s position, essay structure, alternative perspectives,
issues of logic, and essay organization will be a catalyst for next week’s conferences where
students will learn how to use a conference experience to ask salient questions, better their
writing, and to help them prepare for the week’s first Peer Review Workshop. Additionally,
students will use knowledge attained this week and cumulatively to practice looking at and
analyzing a successful argument.
Suggested Activities:
CONTINUED THESIS SUPPORT
 Continued Thesis Support Suggested Activity: Thesis Mini-Workshop 2
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Using the THESIS STATEMENT, AUDIENCE AND APPEALS EXERCISE
homework, ask students to engage in another MINI-THESIS STATEMENT
WORKSHOP
Instructions are found in P3: Appendix
ARGUMENTATION STRUCTURE
 Mini-Lecture: It is often of great value to review various organizational structures that can
be employed. By reviewing model “structures” and “outlines” we can help students
move away from the five-paragraph essay even more and open the door to new possibilities
of writing. You might consider giving a brief tutorial about the differences between
Classical and Rogerian argumentation models (found in P3: Appendix, “Argumentation
Structure Lecture”)
o This mini-lecture needs visuals. A hand-out is also strongly suggested.
o Be brief in your lecture—the goal is to show students myriad possibilities of
structuring essays.
o It is okay to engage in some repetition here and revisit previously reviewed
concepts and visuals.
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Argumentation Structure Suggested Activity: A Follow-Up of the Mini-Lecture
 After the brief review of said structures and organizations, ask students to
write down answers to the following questions, using their hand-outs. This
is a good way to hone in on the earlier definitions of argumentation and how
all arguments have similar goals.
 What are the similarities that all the models share?
 What are their differences?
 Which model would be the best fit for your argument and your
audience?
 After students have spent some time writing, lead a full group discussion to
explore their answers. Be sure to point out how all three models have a
claim and pay attention to alternative perspectives.
 As homework, ask students to create an outline for their argument using one
of the models that best fits their purpose, audience and focus.
 A suggested mini-lecture and visuals are included in this week’s suggestions.
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Argumentation Structure Suggested Activity: A Fishbowl
This is an activity that brings together argument structure AND audience appeals. Using
King’s “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” offers students a chance to see how integrated
audience appeals and argument structure are.
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This activity is a great way to apply all attained knowledge to an argument
that students read and then share their finding in the FISHBOWL format.
The text used here is “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. Some folks use “The Declaration of Independence.” You can select
another text. Just make sure it is exemplary and embodies the ideals of
argumentation as CO 150 presents them.
Whatever text you use, it is strongly suggested that you provide some
contextual background and not assume knowledge. For example, when
using King’s text, it is good to also have students read “A Call to Unity” and to
provide a bit of King’s background.
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Also, check with any Comp Administrator to make sure that you are within
fair use guidelines before you post a text.
The FISHBOWL activity is found in P3: Appendix.
EXAMINE ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES
After learning that a counterargument is an argument offered in opposition to their own argument
(one way to frame it is to think about the reader’s “But…” statement), many students are often
confused and skeptical. They wonder: how would brining up someone else’s point of view help
them prove their own point? By framing refutation in terms of building ethos and logos, you can
help students see how responding to a “but” from the reader can actually help them build
credibility and further support their own argument.
Craft a brief lecture and a follow-up application activity to have students learn about refuting
counterarguments. Chapter 10 of JTC has some good information on counterarguments, and you
may find it helpful to supplement it with information from elsewhere, such as the Purdue OWL.
The instructor’s manual for JTC has an exercise called the “oppositional claim approach” which can
help students identify contradicting reasons to their thesis and begin crafting a rebuttal to those
reasons. If you choose to craft your own activity, consider having students consider a “but” (i.e., a
counterargument) of an article they’ve already read and are familiar with, then work through how
they’d respond. At this point in the writing process, students should have their thesis statements
established, so working individually or in small groups to identify counterarguments of their own
claim can be a way to connect the lesson back to their own writing.
The following are suggested activities:
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Alternative Perspectives Suggested Activity: Deborah Tannen and “The Argument
Culture”
o This activity was also a suggested activity in Week 10. If you did it last week, no need
to repeat. However, you COULD expand on the knowledge gained last week. Why not
continue conversations about Tannen?
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After students have read Tannen as homework and answered the guiding questions
(see the suggested homework), it would be beneficial to conduct a large group
discussion where students share their answers and together you can explore the
idea of dialogue vs. debate.
Alternative Perspectives Suggested Activity: How Many Sides Can You See?
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This activity helps students to actively think and plan for paying attention to
alternative perspectives in their own arguments.
Review the sample graph with students.
Then, ask them to create their own graph and fill it in with the reasons they
currently are working with and possible alternatives to explore.
Finally, ask them to pair and shares, exchange charts, and see if they can make
further suggestions regarding alternatives for each other.
MY REASONS / POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES EXAMPLE
CLAIM: Grades should be changed to pass / fail in non-major courses
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MY REASONS
Grades inhibit learning by putting too
much emphasis on competition.
POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES
Grades actually promote learning by
setting students to study as hard as
possible.
Pass / Fail grading encourages students
to explore non major fields.
If students don’t have traditional
grading, they won’t take non-major
courses seriously
Grade competition with majors in the
field can be discouraging.
Students should be encouraged to
compete with majors. They may want to
change majors and need to know if they
can compete.
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Alternative Perspectives Suggested Activity: “The Oppositional Claim Approach”
Professor Sue Doe also offers a wonderful exercise titled “The Oppositional Claim approach” on
page 126-128 of the Teaching with Joining the Conversation guide.
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Alternative Perspectives Suggested Activity: Empathy and Doubting
o This activity helps students to reinforce close and critical reading skills, spotting
logical fallacies, and becoming a dialogical reader and writer.
o See the full explanation in P3: Appendix.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
Many of our lessons about argumentation focus on learning what the student should do in order to
write the most effective argument. When it comes to logical fallacies, though, we teach students
about them so they can avoid using them in their argument. Logical fallacies are very seductive for
first-year writing students. They believe they’re making a sound argument when they say, for
instance, “Either people start driving electric cars or climate change is just going to get worse.” A
study of logical fallacies, however, reveals how problematic such an argument really is. Though
sometimes logical fallacies are used intentionally (such as in some political speeches and in
advertising), they can weaken an argument written in an academic context.
Using JTC (pp. 410-412) and any other resources you may find online or in books about logical
fallacies, craft a mini-lecture that discuss discusses what fallacies are, why they’re important to
avoid, and what some of the common fallacies are.
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Suggested Activity: Parodying Logical Fallacies
 After reading about fallacies in the JTC (410-412) for homework, as a class,
review the common types of fallacies as outlined in the JTC
 Then, as a fun way to apply the concept, engage in the following activity as
provided by Professor Sue Doe:
 Choose a topic that students may feel strongly about
 Pass out the graph included at the end of this week’s plans.
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 The, ask students to pair up and write parodies demonstrating the
logical fallacies
 Have students share them in small groups and select one from each
category to share out to the class as a whole
 Share out and enjoy the hilarity.
CONFERENCE PREPARATION
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Remember to have students sign up for a conference slot with you. Most instructors
cancel a day of classes and offer 15-20 minute slots to meet with each student.
You might want to consider offering some in class time for students to prepare for
their conferences.
It is very wise to make the conference worth process points and to connect some
sort of formal preparation process to the meeting.
A sample conference preparation is included in P3: Appendix.
Suggested Homework Assignments:
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Applicable readings from the JTC for this week:
o “Address Counterarguments” (417-418)
o About logical fallacies (410-412)
o “Frame Your Argument (419-420)
o “Address Counterarguments” (417-418)
o About logical fallacies (410-412)
o “Frame Your Argument (419-420)
o “Organizing” (505-516)
o “Drafting and Designing” (517-556)
Applicable readings from the JTC for next week:
o “Review and Improve Your Draft” (420-421)
Read Tannen’s article “The Argument Culture" (in the P3: Appendix) as preparation for
a discussion on alternative perspectives and answer the following questions: (if you select
to do this)
o Who is Deborah Tannen?
o How does Tannen define the "argument culture?"
o Do you agree with her definition of argument and her idea that the “sports and war”
metaphors don’t help us solve anything? Why / why not?
o What is Tannen's view on necessary fights? What is your view?
o What does Tannen say about "the power of language"?
o What is Tannen's view of how high-tech communication is affecting us?
o How does Tannen say the "argument culture” shapes us?
o What is Tannen's solution? What do you think about her idea?
o How might you use Tannen’s ideas about argument as you write your own
argument?
Using what you know about different argumentation models, create an outline for
your argumentative essay based on one of the models that best fits your purpose, audience
and focus.
In preparation for the Empathy / Doubting Activity, read three texts that all deal with
the same issue, yet are all from different perspectives. (I usually go outside of the theme of
ethics in higher education as a way to assert that these processes go beyond the theme at
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hand and also to broaden the class a bit for those who may be getting antsy with the class
theme.)
o Read these texts empathetically, and make a sincere and conscious effort to
understand and appreciate the author’s feelings, beliefs, and values.
o Based on these readings, write out a list of reasons and evidence that support each
author’s viewpoints.
o Forum Post (optional to assign): In your preparation for the Empathy/Doubting
Activity you were asked to strive to understand the author’s feelings, beliefs, and
values. How did attempting to understand where an author is coming from affect
your interpretation of their text? How might this information help you as the
author of P3 (where you may be the one introducing a “tough” perspective to the
conversation)? How might you boost your ethos for your intended audience? How
might you insert ways that would help an audience read YOU empathetically?
Prepare for your conference next week by completing the “Sample Conference
Preparation” worksheet.
Things to Keep in Mind:
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Next week will be your first experience with conferences. Be sure to prepare yourself and
your students.
Likewise week you should consider engaging in two types of workshop activities: 1)
workshop an exemplary argument; and 2) engaging in the first of two workshops for P3.
Some instructors will only provide one workshop experience and use the extra day for
catching up and class business. It is up to you to decide.
Check the instructor’s manual for Joining the Conversation for activities designed to help
students understand inquiry. As you move ahead, check out “Teaching Chapter Ten:
Writing to Convince or Persuade” (116-130).
Don’t hesitate to ask any of the Comp Administrators for ideas if you’re stumped about a
lecture or lesson.
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MWF Lessons/Project 2/Day 12