Day 6 - Tuesday

Day 6 - Tuesday

I. Housekeeping

  • roll call
  • return second skeletal arguments
  • syllabus review: first papers assigned Thursday

II. Evidence Review

Evidence a double-headed monster: not debatable but subjective. How do you know? Recall ad: "The senses don't lie."

 

Today we deal with even less objective evidence: music. What makes this music Copland-esque? Students listen and respond, noting ideas down on paper.

 

III. Acknowledgment/Response

"But what about?" A/R proves that you're a thoughtful writer, responsive and dialogic, interested in more than simply winning the argument. Ex: Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.

 

  • What do you acknowledge?

    You may acknowledge either actual (known) differences in opinion or anticipated differences in opinion. Acknowledging means that you admit such differences exist/might exist.

 

  • How do you respond?

    In your response, you politely state why the acknowledged different opinions are insignificant, incorrect, ill-formed, etc. You rebuild your original position, extending it a bit to account for the concerns you've acknowledged. In the response, you make a mini-argument, complete with evidence, etc.

 

A/R is a process. First, you sum up the opposing argument (acknowledgment): "Some might argue that" Next, you respond to the argument: "However, those people overlook/misunderstand/are only partly right/etc."

 

  • When do you A/R?

    A/R can occur at any point in the argument. You can A/R at the largest level (claim), or you can A/R at the smallest level (interpretation of evidence).

 

IV. Back to the Copland CD

Students will A/R at the level of evidence. They may 1) dispute Copland evidence interps already offered or 2) offer an interpretation that anticipates opposition.

 

V. Group Work

Students share their returned skeletal arguments with a partner, one who chose either the same myth (but different artist) or same artist (but different myth). Goals: 1) to review the parts of argument and their function and 2) to be able to acknowledge/respond to one portion of partner's argument for homework. This A/R will be written out in paragraph form.

 

V. Claims Revisited

Use evidence and A/R to properly limit your claim. Can you not think of any evidence to support the claim/reasons you'd like to offer? Change the claim. Can you think of a million obvious opposing arguments -- arguments that you can't respond to? Change the claim.