大学英语高级写作教程Unit-4-Argum课件

Unit4ArgumentativeWriting

LearningAimsandObjectivesOnsuccessfulcompletionofthisunit,studentsshouldbeableto:Organizeandwriteanargumentativeessay;Identifyandevaluatethesupportawriterprovidestodefendanargument;Developanarguablethesis;Arguebothsidesofanissue;Supportandexplainargumentswithfacts,examples,data,researchorquotations;Torefuteopposingarguments;Reviewtransitionandcohesiontechniques.I.Lead-inActivities

II.GuidanceforArgumentativeWritingIII.WritingPracticeIV.AssignmentV.SampleArgumentativeEssaysLead-inActivitiesActivity1:OralTask.Chooseoneofthefollowingtwoquestions,andtalkaboutitwithyourpartners.1.Whataretheimportantissuesnowbeingdiscussedonyourcampus?Studentsselectingteachers?StudentsbeingstreamedintohierarchicalclassesbasedontheirEnglishproficiency?Studentshavingthefinalsayinevaluatingateacher?More-stringentacademicstandardsforstudents?Chooseanimportantissueorproblemonyourcampusandexplainit.Youmaywanttocheckthecampusnewspaperforideas.2.Whatisahotsocialissueorproblemthatconcernsyouandotherstudentsyouknow?EconomicadvancementVsenvironmentprotection?Whoaretoblameforcurrentenvironmentaldamage?ThegrowingCPI?Shouldgovernmentintervenetosavethemarket?Talkaboutthisissueorproblemanddiscussitsinfluence.Whatarepeopledoingaboutthisissueorproblem?Whatisyouropinionandwhy?Activity2:ListeningTask.ListentoJ.F.Kennedy’sInauguralAddressandtrytofindwhatstrategiesJ.F.Kennedyhasusedtopersuadeandconvincehisaudience.

unit_4_肯尼迪就职演讲-arguementative.mp3J.F.Kennedywastheyoungestcandidateeverelectedtothepresidency,whowontheelectionwithanarrowmargin,sohisinauguraladdresswasdesignedtoconvinceandpersuadetheAmericanpeopleandtheworldthatthePresidentandhisteamwerecapableofleadership,withvigorandwithvision.Thereforeinhisspeechheemployedseveralrhetoricaldeviceslikeantithesis,parallelismandrepetition.Thenlistentothespeechandfindoutthesentencesconcerned.repetitionparallelismantithesis

Activity3:Investigateyourcampustofindoutactivitiesonargumentationamongthestudentsatyouruniversity.Chooseoneormoreofthefollowingactivities.Checkyourstudentcenter,campusbulletinboards,andthecampusnewspaperforadvertisementsorclubrecruitments.Howmuchdoyoufind?Whatissuesareimportantonyourcampus?Attendameetingofagrouporcluboncampus,andobservehowtheyargueintheirdiscussionsandhowtheyconvinceothers.WatchTVorvideoaboutdebatesuchasCCTVEnglishdebatecompetitionandfindouthowthecontestantsargueandwhatrhetoricaldevicesareusedintheirspeeches.II.GuidanceforArgumentativeWriting

1.DefinitionofArgumentativeWritingAnargumentativeessayistoattempttochangethereader’smind,toconvincethereadertoagreewiththepointofvieworopinionofthewriter.Therefore,itissupposedtobehighlypersuasiveandlogical.Argumentativewritingistheactofformingreasons,makinginductions,drawingconclusionsandapplyingthemtothepointthatisunderdiscussion.Itisusedtoshowthatyouropinionortheoryaboutsometopiciscorrect,oratleastsomehowmoreaccurateorconvincingthanwhathasbeenputforwardbyothers.Remember,youraimistopersuadethereaderthatyourpointofviewhasmerit—thatyourargumentissoundandcannoteasilybedismissed.

2.IdentifyandevaluatethesupportawriterprovidestodefendanargumentReadthemagazinearticleinthetextbook“CollegeLectures:IsAnybodyListening?”,whichwillgiveyouageneralideaofargumentativewriting.Init,DavidDanielsquestionsatraditionalteachingmethod:thelectureclass.Beforeyouread,answerthesequestions:Haveyouattendedanylectureclassesincollege?Ifso,whathappenedinthem?Islecturinganeffectivewayforyoutolearn?Doyouthinkyourexperienceinlectureclassesistypical?Whymightsomeobjecttolecturingasateachingmethod?Whymightsomedefendit?1.Comprehension/DiscussionQuestionsWhatisDaniels’thesis?Whereisitlocated?Whatreasonsdoeshegivetosupporthisthesis?Howdoeshesupportandexplainhisreasons?WhatteachingmethoddoesDanielsproposetoreplacelectures?AccordingtoDaniels,whatareitsadvantages?Whatmightbesomedisadvantages?DoyouagreewithDaniels’thesis?Whyorwhynot?Imaginethatyouwantedtosupportlecturingasateachingmethod.Whatreasonswouldyougive?2.DevelopanArguableThesisThesisistheMOSTIMPORTANTSENTENCEinyourpaper.Todevelopanargumentativethesis,theauthorhastotakeastandofanissue;frequently,too,itproposesacourseofaction(oftenexpressed,bytheway,withthemodalshould).Intheargumentforstudentsselectingteachers,thethesisforapaperonthistopicmightbe,“Universitiesshouldgiveallstudentstherighttoselecttheirteachers.”Ofcourse,someoneelsemightargue,“Universitiesshouldnotgiveallstudentstherighttoselecttheirteachers.”So,whencomposeanarguablethesis,youmust:Letthereaderknowthemainideaofthepaper;Answerthequestion:“WhatamItryingtoprove?”RememberathesisstatementIsnotafactualstatement,butaclaimthathastobeproventhroughoutthepaper;Helpstoguideyourreaderthroughyourargument;Isgenerallylocatedintheintroductionofthepaper;Athesisstatementmaysometimesbelocatedwithinthebodyofthepaperorintheconclusion,dependinguponthepurposeorargumentofthepaper.PlanningTodecideonyourthesis,askyourself,“Whatismyanswertothetopicquestion?”Youranswer(yes,no,maybeinsomeinstances)representsyouropinion,whichwillprovideyourthesisstatement—theanglefromwhichyouwillargue.Tosupportyourthesisstatement,askyourself:“WhydoIbelievethis?”“Whatarethemainreasons?”“Whathasbeenwrittenaboutthistopic?”Youranswerswillprovidethematerialforthebodyofyouressay.Reasonscouldbepersonal,cultural,socialoreconomic.Perhapsyoucanthinkofotherreasons.OrganizationYouressaymustclearlyexplainthepositionyouwilltakeonyourchosentopic.Youmustprovidereasonsthatelaborateyourideasandgivestrongsupporttoyourargument.Rememberyouaretryingtopersuadethereaderoftheworthinessofyourassertion.Thereforeyouressayrequiresthefollowing:Athesisstatement,whichintroducesthepositionyouwilltakeonyourchosentopic.Themainreasonsforyouropinion.Credibleandpersuasivesupportforyourposition.Thismayincludesomecriticalreviewofwhatothershavewrittenaboutthistopic,whichyoucanusetostrengthenyourargument.(Forinstance,youcouldgiveanotherperson’sopinion,andthenshowwhyyoubelievethistobeflawed.)Astrongconclusioninwhichyousumupyourargument.Yourconclusionshouldre-emphasizethemainpointsmadeinyourpaper.Youmaychoosetoreiterateacalltoactionorspeculateonthefutureofyourtopic,whereappropriate.Avoidraisingnewclaimsinyourconclusion.3.WaystoSupportandExplainArguments:

Thereareanumberofwaystosupportyourpointinanargumentativeparagraph.Sincethepurposeistoconvinceorpersuade,youcanusewhatevertypeoforganizationandsupportthatissuggestedbythereasonyougive.Usually,facts,anecdotes,textualevidence,examples,experts’testimony,logicalreasoningandanalogyareexploitedtosupportandexplainthereasons:1)Facts:Factsincludedatathathasbeenobjectivelyprovenandisgenerallyaccepted,suchashistoricalfacts,scientificdata,statistics,andsoforth.Inordertoobtainfactstosupportyourpoint,youmayneedtodosomelibraryresearch.

2)Anecdotes:Anecdotesarebriefstoriesabouteventsorexperiencesthatarerecountedinaninterestingway.Inordertoprovideconvincingsupport,anecdotesmustberelevanttotheargument,welltold,andtruetolife.Toberelevant,ananecdotemustserveasmorethanentertainment;itmustprovideanecessarycontributiontoyourargument.3)TextualEvidence:Textualevidencecomesfromliteraturereview.Itcanbequotes,paraphrase,orsummarizepassagesusedtostrengthenyourargument.Carefullyselectthesebitsoftextualevidenceandmakethemrelevanttoyourargument’sthesisandreasons.

4)Examples:Tobeeffective,theexamplesyouuseshouldbetypicalandselectedfromasufficientnumberofreliablesourcestoprovethecase.Ifyouuseexamplesfrompersonalexperience,besurethatsuchmaterialisapplicabletoalargergroup.5)Experts’Testimony:Experts’testimonyisusedtohelpsupportyourpoint.Anexpertisapersonwhoisparticularlyknowledgeableaboutatopicbecauseofhisorherresearch,profession,orexperience.Youwillneedtousetheproperquotationandcitationformatforopinionsfromexperts.6)LogicalReasoning:Logicreasoningisawayofprovingordisprovingapointofviewbyexpoundingontherelationship,mainlythatofcauseandeffect,betweeneventstoconvinceorpersuade.7)Analogy:Analogyistoexplainaneworunfamiliarorcomplexobject/eventwithwhatthereadermightfindmorefamiliaroreasiertounderstand.III.WritingPractice1.WritingtasksTask1Studythefollowingthesisstatements.Putan“A”intheblankifthestatementisargumentative.Becareful!Astatementhavingshouldaspartoftheverbisnotautomaticallyargumentative.1.______Collegestudentsshouldhavecompletefreedomtochoosetheirowncourses.2.______Prospectiveconsumersshouldbeaddressedtopromotesales.3.______Universityshouldsetadresscodeoncampus.4.______Thisuniversityhasmoreadvancedfacilitiesthananyotheruniversityinthecity.

5.______Studentsshouldhaveasayinthehiringandfiringofteachers.6.______Pornographicbooksoughttobebannedfromthelibrary.7.______GeneTherapyisgainingapromisingmarket.8.______Scienceadvancementisadouble-bladedsword.9.______Theworldshouldnotcondonetheinternationaltradeinhumanorgansformedicalimplantsfromunderdevelopedcountries.10.______Mannersareimportantinhumancommunication.Task2

Readthefollowingthesisstatements,andthinkofthereasonsinsupport(“pros”)ofthethesesandthereasonsagainst(“cons”).Onseparatepaper,listasmanyreasonsasyoucanforbothsides.Thenunderlinethereasonforeachthesisstatementthatyouthinkisthecrucialone,theoneattheheartoftheissue.Collegestudentsshouldhavefreedomtochoosetheirowncourses.Astudentconvictedofcheatinginanexamshouldautomaticallybeexpelledfromcollege.Ayearofnationalservice,withlowpay,shouldberequiredofall18-year-oldsinthiscountry.Task3

Studythefollowingsentenceswhichgivereasonsforwhycertainactionsshouldorshouldnotbeimplemented.Thendecidewhatkindofdevelopmentyouwouldusetoargueforeachofthem.Forexample,wouldyouexplainwiththeuseofexamplesand/orfactualdetails?Wouldyouexplainaprocess?Wouldyoudiscusscausesoreffects?Wouldyoucompareandcontrast?1.Onereasonthatweshouldlegalizemarijuanaisthatthegovernmentcouldcollecttaxesonitssale._________________________________________________

2.Onereasonweshouldnotlegalizemarijuanaisthatitsuseleadstotheuseofmoredangerousdrugs._________________________________________________3.Weshouldnotbuildmorenuclearpowerplantsbecauseofthepotentiallydevastatingeffectstheycouldhaveiftheybreakdown.____________________________________________4.Requiringparentstogetlicensesinordertohavechildrenwouldhelptoreducechildabuse.__________________________________________________5.Oneoftheadvantagesofhavingafootballteamisthatitboostsstudentmorale.__________________________________________________Task4Writeanargumentativeessayononeofthefollowingtopics.Trytousethedevelopmentalpatternofafiveparagraphessay:1—introduction,2-4—bodyand5—conclusion.(300-400w)Topic:Shouldtheworldcondonetheinternationaltradeinhumanorgansformedicalimplantsfromunderdevelopedcountries(i.e.kidneys)?Thesis:No,Ibelievethatthetradeofhumanorgansfromunderdevelopedcountriescannotbecondoned.Mainpoints:1)Social—itleadstotheexploitationofthepoorbythewealthy.Asthereisshortageofsuchorgansontheworldmarket,itencouragesthegrowthofanillegalblackmarket.2)Moral—itisacorruptpracticethatdevaluestheworthofsomepeople'slives.3)Economic—poorpeoplesellabodyorganinthehopeofeasingtheirfinancialsituation,butthehealthofthedonorcanbeimpairedandleadtotheirdeath.

4)Legalavenuescurrentlyexistindevelopedcountries—donationsfromaccidentvictimsatthebequestofthevictimthemselvesoraconsentingfamilymember;voluntarydonationsfromapersonofsayakidneyorbonemarrow.2.CheckingandreviewingPeerReview:Whenyouhavefinishedwritingthefirstdraft,giveittoaclassmatetoreadandreview.UsethepeerreviewchecklistinAppendixItorespondtoeachother’sdraft.

Self-Assessment:Usethischecklisttohelpyoutogivesuggestionstoyourpeersandtoreviseyourownessay.

ChecklistforanArgumentativeEssay/PaperPointstoConsider

Yes

No

1.Mysubjectfortheargumentativeessayisaimedataddressinganissue.2.Ihavestatedmypositionontheissue.3.Ihavearguedformypositionandmyessayislogicallyorganized.4.Myargumentativeessayhasdefinedthemainconceptsorterms5.Itpresentsallsidesoftheissue,includingtheopposingsides.6.Mymainpoints/argumentsaresupportedbyevidence.7.Myargumentativeessayhasevaluatedtheargumentspresented.8.Myreasons,premises,&evidenceareenoughtoconvincethereaderorchangethemindofmyopponents.9.Ihavedistinguishedbetweenmyownideasandthosetakenfromotherauthors.10.Ihaveacknowledgedthesourcesforotherauthors.11.Ihavecheckedthroughmyworkforerrorsofspellingandpunctuation.12.Ihaveproofreadmy“final”paperatleasttwiceandaskedsomeoneelsetoproofreadittoavoidtypos.3.ExtensionsforargumentativewritingTowriteaneffectiveargumentativeessay,youaresupposedtobeableto:1)RefuteopposingargumentsRefutingopposingargumentsisacharacteristicthatismoreparticulartoargumentativeessaythantoexpositoryessays.Giventhetwosidesoftheissue,ifyouwanttoconvincethereaderthatyouarerightoryourideaismorevalidorsignificant,youhavetoproveyourownstandanddisprovethecounterpart’sopinion.Iftheopponentmakessomevalidpoints,youshouldconcedethemandagreethattheyarevalid,andthengoontoargueyourownpoints.

2)Offeracounterargument

Addressingtheclaimsoftheoppositionisanimportantcomponentinbuildingaconvincingargument.Itdemonstratesyourcredibilityasawriteranddemonstratesthatyouhaveresearchedthemultiplesidesoftheargumentandhavecometoaninformeddecision.Counter-argumentsmaybeplacedatvariouspositionsthroughoutyourbodyparagraphs.Youmaychoosetobuildeachofyourmainpointsasacontrasttooppositionalclaims,orofferacounter-argumentafteryouhavearticulatedyourmainclaims.Remember,tobeeffectiveincounter-arguing,youhavetoremaintactfulyetfirm.Consideryouraudiencewhenyouofferyourcounter-argument.Tobeginwith,assumethatthereaderdisagreeswithyou.Afterall,ifheorshedidnot,therewouldbenocausetoargue.Addressyourreaderbywritingobjectively,logically,andrespectfully.Onceyouhavearguedtothepointstheoppositionholds,thenyoucanfurthersupportyourcasebyaddingtheotherreasonsmentionedearlier.3)MakerefinementorimprovementAlmostallreasonablearguments,eventhesimplestone,requiretheuseofthreebasictools:

cleardefinitiondeductivereasoning

inductivereasoningCleardefinitionisthebasisoftheargument(e.g.whatisunderdispute)andofalltermscentraltotheargument.Soanessentialpartofmostargumentsistoclarifyexactlywhatyoumean.Deductivereasoningordeductionisalogicalprocessbywhichwemovefromsomethingwealreadyallagreetobetruetotheapplicationofthisgeneraltruthtoaparticularcase.Inductivereasoningorinductionisthelogicalprocessbywhichweproceedfromparticularevidencetoaconclusionwhich,onthebasisofthatevidence,weagreetobetrueorprobablytrue.Suchthinkingisalsooftencalledempiricalreasoningorempiricism.Itrequiresevidencesuchasfacts,data,measurements,observations,andsoon.

Ifyourwritingdoesnotshowaclearlogicprogressionwiththesethreetools,trytoimproveit.Justasitisnecessarytoexplainanexampletoshowitsrelevancetothegeneralization,itisnecessarytoexplainthereasontoshowhowitsupportsthethesis.4)AchieveparagraphcoherenceAnimportantcharacteristicofargumentativeparagraphsisthattheymustbecoherent,thatis,theargumentmustflowlogicallyfromsentencetosentence,sothatthereadermovesfromtheopeningdeclarationofthetopic(inthetopicsentence),throughtheevidenceandinterpretation,totheconclusionoftheparagraphinaclearlinearfashion,withnoerraticjumpsorconfusinginterruptions.5)TransitionalwordsThekeytosustainingthecoherenceofaparagraphistheappropriateuseoftransitionalwords.whichservesaslinksandindicatethelogicalconnectionsbetweensentencesandparagraphs.Thelistbelowindicatessomeofthecommontransitionwordsgroupedaccordingtothelogicalfunctiontheycarryout.Forcontinuitywithwhathasgonebefore:and,inaddition,moreover,furthermore,also,indeed,besides,secondly,next,similarly,again,equallyimportant,beyondthat.Forillustrationorintroducingevidence:forexample,forinstance,asanillustration.Foremphasis:infact,inotherwords,thatis,indeed,asamatteroffact.Forconclusion:thus,hence,therefore,consequently,asaresult.Forcontrast:but,however,nevertheless,bycontrast,ontheotherhand,conversely.Forqualification,doubt,orreservation:nodoubt,ofcourse,tobesure.Forsummary:inshort,allinall,inbrief,inconclusion,toconclude,givenallthis.Toavoidrepetition:pronounandadjectivallinkslikethis,that,theabove-mentioned,such.Toindicatetimerelationships:after,afterwards,then,later,before,while,atthesametime,immediately,thereupon,next,meanwhile,subsequently,previously,simultaneously.Toindicatespatialrelationships(importantinphysicaldescriptions):above,beside,nextto,ontheotherside,facing,parallel,acrossfrom,adjacent.IV.Assignments

Writeanessayof300-400wordsdiscussingthefollowingtopics.Topic1:Cosmeticsurgeryhasbecomeincreasinglypopularinmanycountriesthroughouttheworld.Somepeoplesaythateveryageinlifehasitsowntypeofbeautyandoneshouldbecontenttoagegracefully.Furthermore,allsurgeryhasrisks,soitisfoolishtoundertakeunnecessarysurgery.Butotherssaythatpeoplehavetherighttochoosewhattheydowiththeirbodies,andthatcosmeticsurgeryitcanbringpersonalsatisfactionandaboosttoone’sselfesteem.Whatisyouropinionofthistypeofsurgery,whichmanymenandwomenareusingtoretainamoreyouthfulappearance?(Discuss).Inyouransweryoumightconsidersomeofthefollowingaspects.Societal:Thewesternworld’sobsessionwithyouthandbeauty.Womenoftencomplainthatoncetheyreach40yearsofagetheybecome‘invisible’.Ethical:Somepeoplehavebecomeaddictedtocosmeticsurgery,andperhapssomesurgeonswillrepeatedlyperformpotentiallydangerousproceduresonthesamepersoninordertomakemoney.Evaluation:Manycosmeticsurgicalproceduresareextremelysuccessful,butsomegoterriblywrong,andsuchmistakesoftencannotbereversed.Suggestion:Surgeonsshouldnotwastetheirtimecateringtothepamperedrich,butrathershouldusetheirtalentstohelppeoplewithgenuinedisfigurements.Topic2:

Shouldliveanimalsbeusedfortheadvancementofscientificresearch?Istheirsufferingandlossoflifeworththegainsformedicalscience?Topic3:

Eachyearbillionsofdollarsarebeingspentonspaceexploration.Instead,shouldthisvastsumofmoneygotowardsimprovingthestandardoflivingforthepoorercitizensoftheworld?Topic4:

ItissaidthattheChinesehighschoolstudentshaveaveryhardtimewiththeirstudywhilethecollegestudentshavetoomuchtimeattheirdisposal.Writeanessaywiththefollowingstatementasthetitle.“MyOpinionontheCurrentEducationSysteminChina”Discuss.

Topic5:Becauseofthetest-orientedassessmentsystem,theChinesefamiliesaresaidtolaymoreemphasisontheirchildren/child’sacademicdevelopmentthanotherwise.Writeanessaywiththefollowingstatementasthetitle.“AcademicDevelopmentAloneIsInadequateforCitizensofthe21stCentury.”Discuss.V.SampleArgumentativeEssaysPassage1BeautyinMyHeart

ByXiongFeiRecently,someshockingnewsappearedinthenewspaperthataKoreanactresshastoleavehercareertemporarilybecauseshecannotmakesomeveryelaboratefacialexpressionsowingtotheproblemsofhercosmeticsurgery,whichcausedaheateddebateamongthepublic,centeringonwhetherawomanshouldtakethiskindofsurgery.

Withthefastdevelopmentofmedicaltechnology,agrowingnumberofwomenwanttobemorebeautifulorkeepyouthbytakingcosmeticsurgery,especiallyinKorea,wheretheskillsofcosmeticsurgeryranksNo.1intheworld.Thereasonsareself-evident.Asabeauty,youcanmakeagoodimpressionontheemployerwhengoingtoajobinterview,oryoucanhavethecharmtoattracttheguyinyourdream,andperhapsyoucanfindaneasyaccesstotheentertainmentfield.Alloftheselureslikeamagicpromptwomentotakeabravesteptowardthecosmeticsurgeryknife.However,asthesurgeryiscateringtowomen’svanityandmakingoneafteranotherartificialbeauty,thereexistsomefactorsthatcannotbeoverlooked.

Firstly,itdoeshavesomepotentialharmtopeoplephysically,damagingtheskinorsomeorgan.Somecosmeticsurgicalproceduresgoterriblywrong,andsuchmistakesoftencannotbereversed.TheKoreanactressisasadcaseinpoint.Whatiswaitingforherisnothingbutcareerlossandparalysisofherface.Secondly,psychologicaldangerscannotbeoverlooked.Somepeoplehavetastedthesweetofthesurgeryandthusbecomeaddictedtoit.Somespendalargesumofmoneyjustforaniceface,whileothersmaywanttheirfacechangeduptodatelikehavingtheirclotheschangedbecausetheycannotstandtheirfacewithmoreandmorewrinkles.

Infact,thatistotallyunnecessary.In1980s,oneofthefamousauthorsinthewesternworldpointedoutwhatcountstowomenistheirkindnessoftheirinnerheart,theirintelligenceandthenaturalbeauty.Inthemainstreamofpursuingbeautificationof