TODAY’S GOALS

• Begin developing a thesis for your classical argument essays

• Introduce basic counterargument strategies and practice identifying underlying assumptions

• Continue planning for the class debate

THESIS STRATEGIES REVIEW

7 Powerful thesis strategies we have discussed thus far

• Use “should” to propose solutions rather than state absolute facts

• Use “because” to add forecasting elements or supporting evidence to your thesis

• Qualify your thesis with adverbials and auxiliary verbs such as “likely” or “can” to make your thesis less vulnerable to refutation

• Eliminate unnecessary words, clauses, and sentences to increase the Clarity of your thesis

• Make sure your thesis is Original and does not restate the same ideas of your secondary sources

• Increase the Credibility of your thesis by eliminating first person or references to your own opinions or beliefs

• Check to make sure your thesis is Arguable and contentious and not something everyone would agree on before seeing evidence

JOURNAL ENTRY 27

• Focus: Thesis and forecasting

• At this point in the development of your classical argument essay, you should have selected a topic and be working towards a version of your thesis.

• Use this time to brainstorm a thesis for your classical argument essay as well as the reasons you can use to support it

• I suggest writing many theses or many different versions of the same thesis here. You can select the best one and edit it and refine it as the paper develops

• You may wish to consider: • What unique ideas do you have about your topic that will differentiate your thesis from

others and make it original?

• You may also find it helpful to begin thinking of what reasons you will forecast and use in your body paragraphs as these can sometimes be incorporated into your thesis with “because clauses”

BASIC COUNTERARGUMENT STRATEGIES

3 Main strategies

• Rebutting main ideas• Questions are a powerful strategy here• Anticipate what your opponents will say• You can question your opposition’s argument/thesis (consider the language carefully), underlying assumptions of

the opposing argument, the supporting reasons, or the evidence used to support those reasons

• Attacking evidence• Many times your opponent’s argument will be strong on its own, but that does not mean it is completely

rhetorically sound• When you cannot find direct fault with a claim, consider disputing the reasons used to support that claim• Examining the argument’s use of all three rhetorical appeals can be helpful here

• Conceding to opposing views or evidence: • In some cases, a certain point of your opposition’s argument may be so strong that it is not easy to counter. In this

case, you may wish to concede the point• This is not “giving up”.” It acknowledges that an issue is complex and can actually make you seem like a more

credible speaker overall• However, you can, after conceding a point, you should transition the argument to an area in which your own

view/reasons are strong or an area in which your opponent’s argument is weak

BASIC COUNTERARGUMENT STRATEGIES

• Attacking a thesis• If the thesis statement seems to be in response to a thesis question, offer your own possible answer to that thesis question• Look for logical fallacies or underlying assumptions (logos)

• Look at ‘because’ clauses first as an easy way to identify underlying assumptions• Ask questions that your opposing side cannot easily answer• Find parts of the thesis that are too strongly stated and can be negated with a counterexample• Consider a pathos appeal: an argument may be logical, but that does not mean it is sympathetic to all views. Use your

audiences’ beliefs and emotions to convince them instead

• Attacking evidence or supporting reasons• Consider the three rhetorical appeals to be a pyramid that holds up the argument; if one is missing or weak, attacking that

area can cause the whole argument to fall apart• Look for absolutes: if an argument says anything with complete certainty, all you need is a single counterexample to refute it• Attack the credibility (ethos) of the evidence. Is it from a reliable source? Was their methodology flawed? Was their sample

size large enough to be generalizable?• Does the main idea of a supporting source align with the main idea of the counterargument? Many articles will use sources

only for a particular piece of data, and if you look at the source of their information, you can often use it against them• Look for logical fallacies and underlying assumptions

PRACTICE COUNTERARGUMENTS

For each of the following, identify at least one underlying assumption and a possible objection or counterargument to the claim:

A. “The family showed cruelty to animals because the way they killed the starlings caused needless suffering”

B. “The family was justified in killing the starlings because starlings are pests”

(Based off the situation on p. 341)

C. The government has the right to monitor citizens’ electronic communications because this is the best way to prevent terrorism

D. Social media has very negative effects on most people’s interpersonal relationships so parents should limit their children’s usage of it

GROUP ACTIVITY: COUNTERARGUMENT & THESIS PLANNING

• In your unit 4 groups

1. For each group member, write out a revised thesis based on your earlier planning and paying careful attention to clarity, originality, credibility, and arguability

2. Develop a counterargument strategy for each of the following claims: a) Watching violent TV cartoons increases aggressive play behavior in boysb) “Despite all the claims that a number of individuals might state, colleges must

increase tuition rates out of necessity for survival”c) “I say hybrid classes are an efficient strategy in working to benefit teachers ability to

engage students and promote student’s learning overall”d) Doctors who assist their consenting patients in committing suicide are violating the

Hippocratic oath and must have their licenses revokede) The United States needs to reduce the cost of college to make it more fair for lower

income families and students

GROUP ACTIVITY 2: DEBATE PLANNING

• In your debate groups

• Continue to work on preparations for your debate

• At this point you should make sure to consider: 1. Will you appoint a group leader? If so, who? If not, how will you make quick decisions

during the debate?2. Will your group be using a set order or flexible order? If a flexible order, how will you

decide the order during the debate? (You will have very little time for this)3. What research will you bring to the debate to support your argument? 4. What is the final list of your main speaking points (one per group member)? For each

speaking point, identify a primary speaker, a backup speaker (who will take over if the primary speaker is unavailable), and which rhetorical appeal(s) will be used.

On a separate sheet of paper, write out the answer to number 5 and share it with you opposing group5. What 3 speaking points will you be sharing with the opposing side?

HOMEWORK:

• Read A&B 351-361

• Sign up for a unit 4 and class progress conference before Friday’s class

• Journal Entry 28• Focus: CA Source Evaluation 1• Find the first source you will use for your classical argument essay• Read and analyze the source. • Sum up the argument it makes or find its thesis statement and write it here• Identify the source as supporting your view, supporting an opposing view, or

providing neutral background information• Finally, play the Believing and Doubting Game to find the strongest and

weakest elements of the source.