Last class: Topic narrowing/choice Workshop…

 

HW 3, list of potential arguments, due next class!

3 parts of research paper

Choosing among arguments

All about Audience/writing for Audience

Talk about Paper 0: Death Penalty Paper

Give out Death Penalty Paper parts for group activity

 

Three steps for Research part of paper:

I) One approved thesis (Narrowed to 6th level and argumentative form)

 

II) Gather list of potential subtopics/arguments that will become topic sentences (one per paragraph)

 

III) Details/Quotes: one or two pieces of evidence from a source, usually quotes, with citation [credit to where you got it from]

 

 

*Then you try to figure out which subtopics/arguments you will keep, which details/quotes can go under each.

 

 


·       SUBTOPICS/ topic sentences – need 1 for each argumentative para (or per 2 para)

 

NUMBERS

In a double spaced page, typically 3-4 para per page.

 

3-4 Subtopics/specific arguments x 4 pgs = 9 – 16 subtopics/topic sentences

 

Subtract intro (1-2 short para) and conclusion (1 para)= -3

 

6-13 subtopics/topic sentence required

 

 

YOU SHOULD have an idea of at least HALF of the subtopics before attempting a paper topic

 

Example Thesis:

Every college student should be required to complete at least one semester participating in a team sport in order to graduate.

 

PRO

CON

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHOOSING ARGUMENTS from list of potential arguments

 

1)Always start your early research with at least 2 more than the minimum you need 

2)Sometimes in early research you will find 2-5 new or better arguments

3)Rate/Put arguments in order of strongest or easiest to understand first

4)Choose/keep arguments that are STRONG as opposed to weak or common sense

5)Choose/keep  arguments that have few easy counters by the other side

6)Keep arguments that have 2 or more good pieces of evidence/supporting quotations;

    arguments that you cannot find good quotes/evidence may need to be abandoned or replaced

 

 

 

 

What about Counterarguments?

You need 1 counterargument argumentative paragraph for the 1st paper.  You need 2 for the 2nd/final paper.

 

Need a Paragraph with 1-2 quotes/evidence (right before the conclusion or after a related/opposite argument you are making) defending against/attacking an OPPOSITE POINT OF VIEW or counterargument (counterarguments can be opposition point of view, different view-point, limits of budget and reality, difference between ideal & practice, etc). 


 

What arguments would be best to do?

SAMPLE THESIS,  

1)     diabetes      

2)     children with diabetes

3)     survival of children with diabetes

4)     diet and survival of children with diabetes

5)     diet management and survival of children with diabetes

6)     proper diet management and survival of children with diabetes

Proper dietary management of children with diabetes is vital for their survival

 

Put a star next to the top 6 or 8 arguments

 

Potential topic Sentences/Specific arguments

1)Children need to know what they can eat

2)Parents of children with diabetes can follow the U.S.  Department of Agriculture's Food Guide

3)Healthy eating doesn't mean an end to a child's favorite foods

4)Knowing when to eat is just as important as what to eat

5)A regular meal plan needs to be enforced for children with diabetes

6)Carbohydrate counting and food exchange systems can ensure that the child is getting the proper nutrition she needs.

7)Counting carbohydrates in food can also be used to balance blood sugars

8)There are other steps a parent can take in order to control blood sugar, especially with sweets eaten at parties

9)Using school lunch menus can help you and your child choose foods that fit in with her meal plan

10)Parents can try to make their child's meal look the same as their friends.

11)Furthermore, making wise choices when eating fast foods can help a child's diet plan

12)Certain foods should be kept away from the home environment, so it wouldn't be so difficult for the child to resist

13)A parent will have to pay close attention to their child's height and weight to making sure it is about in the same range as other children, and with this action, have a better idea of diet allowances

 

Sample Paragraphs

Healthy eating doesn't mean an end to a child's favorite foods. Children with diabetes can still eat the foods they already enjoy. However, they may have to limit their amount, change how it is prepared or when it is eaten (Clavell 55). This could be viewed by the child as a positive because in her mind, the same food will still be available.  Portion control, even slight, can fool a child and make them feel they are just like one of the other “normal” children: “Cognitive studies of diabetic children below the age of 7 have proven that the food, not the portion size, is the criteria by which common meal content is a standardization of peer acceptance” (“Snollas Study Website”).

 

Parents can try to make their child's meal look the same as their friends. For example, "When her friends are having fried hamburgers, potato chips, and cola, your child can have a broiled hamburger, pretzels, and a diet soda" (Siminerio 54). This way, the child blends in without having the extra fat and sugar. “Something as basic as taking a snack out of the sugar free packaging and putting into transparent sandwich bag prevents a child as being cast as the ‘diabetic’ freak in school” (Mortimer 22).  No one will be the wiser until the child feels comfortable revealing their medical difference.

SAMPLE THESIS

1)     image

2)     image of beauty

3)     image of beauty in media

4)     women and the image of beauty in the media

5)     women and skinniness as the image of beauty in the media

6)     women pressured by skinniness as the image of beauty in the media

 

Women in the U.S. are pressured to be thin because skinniness is presented as the main criteria for being beautiful

 

 

 

 

Topic Sentences/Specific arguments

 

1)The obsession of celebrities with skinniness gives women the perception that they need to be thin to be considered attractive

2)The fashion industry is a great example of how women are pressured to be skinny

3)With children's dolls, such as Barbie, women are almost hardwired from girlhood about the ideal body

4)Television often presents plotlines where the thin woman wins happiness and the heavier girl must learn to settle.

5)Advertising feeds upon the weight control industry and does everything it can to manipulate women towards that industry’s goals

6)Image manipulation used universally by womens’ magazines makes sure that any identifiable woman of realistic weight in media appears 10-20 pounds lighter

 

Sample Paragraph

The obsession of celebrities with skinniness gives women the perception that they should be thin to be considered attractive Whether it is the influence of actors, singers or any other performer in the spotlight, they project an image of thin perfection that women try to emulate. That in itself is not the problem; the problem is that they are directly punished or rewarded as “beautiful” based on their weight: "Slimming and slim stars have dominated both the press coverage of beauty and desirability, self-starving activities linked to shape and weight manipulation" (Wykes 104). Five pounds gained means “an actress has become a pig” (105). After seeing their favorite stars slim down to nearly nothing, celebrity journalism then praises them for reaching a skeletal state. These celebrities also "exaggerate the cultural value of women as models of femininity…display, sexuality, beauty, youth, desirable…based on one marker - the slender body" (Noth 11). Slender becomes the sign of successful, lead, beautiful actresses; average to heavy weight is the casting call of the nag, outcast, uncontrolled, gluttonous, or background woman, or at best, the ‘best friend’ role.

 

GIVE HW3: List of potential arguments (at least 6) for one of your approved topics

 

Talk about Paper 0: TRAINING PAPER:
Death Penalty “put it together” Paper
group activity

 

·        Team Activity:  a chance at extra credit

Give out the TOPIC SENTENCES/ SPECIFIC HANDOUT

Given a random POV:  For or against a swift death penalty

 

Next class: 

·        The Activity: Agree on/Choose the 3 best/strongest arguments for your side

 

·        Identify the two weakest arguments FOR YOUR SIDE (For or Against) from the list and briefly (1-2 sentences) explain why they are weak.

 

 

·        You get a handout of quotes.  Agree on/Match the 2 best quotes to each of the 4 arguments.  Show them on a ‘team sheet’ as an outline.

 

·        Team submits a single handwritten TPEOEO or TPEE paragraph (for the whole team) from one of the 4 arguments/with 2 quotes.

 

 

·        REWARDS
Best teams’ outline For and against: Gets 2 points of extra credit. 
Every other team which successfully completes requirements, gets 1 point.  Any team choosing the two weakest arguments for their favorite 3 gets ZERO points of EC.