Abazeed & Maura Language Arts

1. Background Knowledge: This is where you give the reader insight on the topic at hand and show that you have built in ethos to discuss this argument and give an opinion on it.

2. Significance of Argument: So what and who cares. Here you will address the significance of the issue being discussed.

Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of _____________, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about ___________ because ______________.

3. Claim: In this sentence you will discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the author’s argument. You have three options for this sentence:

Option 1- you agree:  X’s theory of _______________ is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of ____________.

Option 2- you disagree: By focusing on ____________,  X overlooks the deeper problem of

(The sentence starters here are not directly related to the prompt of “Free Will”, they are just examples)

1.Think back to the research assistant, Natasha Josephowitz’s comments on the “Twin Study,” or in this case. “Triplet Study.” These comments practically revealed the determination of the study and it’s argument about Nature (genetics) vs Nurture (Environment) debate. What was the claim, or argumentative determination that they came to? Be sure to incorporate the concept “free will.” Provide a personal example of genetic inheritance relating to personality traits/characteristics that influence your choices.

2.What evidence was provided throughout the documentary to prove this claim?

3.How does this argument differ or compare to the argument produced by Bandura’s study in source #1, Destin’s study in source #2, and by Plomin and Selzam in source #3?

Here is a link to the video if you would like to watch this again.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jW4fbrXokB9eytecIZCTJshS9WzJ7PtW/view

Rhetorical strategies are the most noticeable or most obvious rhetorical techniques a writer employs. Find two examples and infer the effect each has on the article. The effect is referred to as your reasoning/commentary, and it demonstrates your ability to infer.

A.Identify(label) and quote: “       “ (Examples of strategies: anecdotes, statistics/research, examples of word choice or diction, syntax, imagery etc)

B.Effect: Infer the effect or impact the rhetorical strategy has on the audience or how much stronger the argument is because of it. (this is the reasoning/commentary). Again, this is another way to practice inference.

**Remember, almost everything is rhetoric. Rhetoric is all around us; we cannot escape it. Our duty is to analyze rhetoric, unpack it, read between the lines, GET INTO THE WRITER’S MIND!

(1) In an excerpt from his autobiography titled “Shame”, author and comedian Dick Gregory reflects on a traumatic childhood experience of shame in the hands of his teacher. (2)He illustrates this by giving insight about a specific day in school in which his teacher humiliates him in front of his classmates and a girl he loved, Helene Tucker.(3) The purpose of this piece is to show the damage of shaming one at young age in order to prevent it by those individuals who have authority over a young soul. (4)He writes with vivid detail and description to an audience of authority so that this type of shaming can be prevented.

To infer is to conclude by reasoning from premises or evidence; to predict or surmise. If you say, “I’m going to fail this test,” I can infer that

(a) You don’t understand the material

(b) You didn’t study

(c) You think I give unfair tests

(d) You just got in a fight with your best friend and don’t care about the test.

A.Fact: “        “ (Quote a fact from article)

B.Inference: (Draw an inference from the fact. Be careful that you are not just paraphrasing the fact)

Tone is a reflection of the author’s attitude toward his subject. He/she might be enthusiastic, cynical, nostalgic, humorous, sentimental, satiric, didactic, etc. An author’s may change throughout the article; however for this exercise look for the overall tone and select one adjective which best describes it.

A.Tone: (adjective)

B.Support: (Quote examples of 3 words/phrases which set the tone)

A.Identify at least 2 Assertion’s that support the speaker’s central argument or main idea; there may be more than 2. In other words, how does the author make his/her argument or main idea stronger? Basically, what claims are provided to support the thesis?

B.Connect the assertions to the overall claim. How do the assertions support the author’s argument/main idea?