Persuasive Paper Assignment for What Your Point
Dr. Gingrich, SIG, Summer 2014
Persuasive Paper/Speech for SIG What’s Your Point? Write an essay (500-750 words) persuading a person/people that a particular action is appropriate for a particular circumstance. You should convince them to take a position in which they support your issue. You should have notes from at least two sources.
Prepare a speech of (2-3 minutes) on the persuasive paper. Include some type of visual clue, prop, handout to go with the presentation.
Topics are due on Thursday, July 10th we will be working on this in the lab
Speeches and Papers are due on Friday, July 11th (notes drafts and beginning of period)
The argument should also center on the following from Toulmin’s model of argument
(In all cases the following three should be included in the paper)
Claim: The claim is the main part of the argument. An essay/speech may also have a
series of subclaims related to the claim.
Support: The additional information that the author supplies to convince the audience of
the claim---EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE
These are the types of logical proofs/appeals. Attempt to use two different types.
Argument from Deduction also called argument from principle:
Example: General Warrant-- Every person has a unique set of fingerprints
Support: The accused person is a person.
Claim: The accused has a unique set of fingerprints.
Argument from Definition: If the audience accepts the definition, the claim should be accepted by definition.
Warrant: Self-esteem is narcissistic
Support: An educational goal is to teach self-esteem.
Claim: This educational goal also teaches narcissism.
Argument from Cause: Places the subject in a cause-and-effect relationship to show that it is either the cause of an effect or the effect of a cause.
Warrant: Depression in a group of people has increased.
Support: The group of people has also increased its use of the internet.
Claim: The Internet may be causing depression.
Argument from Sign A specific visible sign is sometimes used to prove a claim.
Claim: There is no adult supervision in the freshman dining hall.
Support (sign): There are no butter pats on the ceiling in the dining hall.
Warrant: Adults do not flip butter pats onto the ceiling.
Argument from Induction: Provides a number of examples and draws a claim, in the form of a conclusion, from them.
Claim (generalization): The sun always comes up.
Support: For example, the sun has come up every day of recorded history.
Warrant: Every day provides a sufficient number of days to make the
claim that the sun always comes up.
Examples: Danny Algrant was a difficult student who became famous.
An unpromising adolescent became a school principal.
A low tester became a successful writer.
Claim (generalization made on the basis of examples)
These unpromising students did well later, so others may also.
Warrant: These three examples are enough to make us accept the claim.
Argument from Statistics: describes relationships among data, people, occurrences, and events in the real world, only they do so in quantitative terms.
Claim: Child killing is increased in Rio de Janeiro
Support: Forty percent more children may be killed this year than last year.
Warrant: Forty percent represents an increase.
Argument from Historical, Literal, or Figurative Analogy Historical and literal analogies explore similarities and differences between items in the same general category, and figurative analogies do the same, only with items in very different categories.
Historical Analogies: These explain what is going on now in terms of what went on in similar cases in the past.
Claim: Many people will die of AIDS
Support: Many people died of the Black Death.
Warrant: AIDS and the Black Death are similar.
Literal Analogies: These two compare two items in the same category: two school systems, two governments, two religions, two individuals.
Claim: The state should spend more money on education.
Support: Another state spent more money with good results.
Warrant: The two states are similar; and the results of one will be the results of another.
Figurative Analogies: These compare two items from different categories as in a metaphor, only the points of comparison in a figurative analogy are usually spelled out in more detail than in a methaphor.
- Do something
- Believe something.
Prepare a speech of (2-3 minutes) on the persuasive paper. Include some type of visual clue, prop, handout to go with the presentation.
Topics are due on Thursday, July 10th we will be working on this in the lab
Speeches and Papers are due on Friday, July 11th (notes drafts and beginning of period)
The argument should also center on the following from Toulmin’s model of argument
(In all cases the following three should be included in the paper)
Claim: The claim is the main part of the argument. An essay/speech may also have a
series of subclaims related to the claim.
Support: The additional information that the author supplies to convince the audience of
the claim---EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE
These are the types of logical proofs/appeals. Attempt to use two different types.
Argument from Deduction also called argument from principle:
Example: General Warrant-- Every person has a unique set of fingerprints
Support: The accused person is a person.
Claim: The accused has a unique set of fingerprints.
Argument from Definition: If the audience accepts the definition, the claim should be accepted by definition.
Warrant: Self-esteem is narcissistic
Support: An educational goal is to teach self-esteem.
Claim: This educational goal also teaches narcissism.
Argument from Cause: Places the subject in a cause-and-effect relationship to show that it is either the cause of an effect or the effect of a cause.
Warrant: Depression in a group of people has increased.
Support: The group of people has also increased its use of the internet.
Claim: The Internet may be causing depression.
Argument from Sign A specific visible sign is sometimes used to prove a claim.
Claim: There is no adult supervision in the freshman dining hall.
Support (sign): There are no butter pats on the ceiling in the dining hall.
Warrant: Adults do not flip butter pats onto the ceiling.
Argument from Induction: Provides a number of examples and draws a claim, in the form of a conclusion, from them.
Claim (generalization): The sun always comes up.
Support: For example, the sun has come up every day of recorded history.
Warrant: Every day provides a sufficient number of days to make the
claim that the sun always comes up.
Examples: Danny Algrant was a difficult student who became famous.
An unpromising adolescent became a school principal.
A low tester became a successful writer.
Claim (generalization made on the basis of examples)
These unpromising students did well later, so others may also.
Warrant: These three examples are enough to make us accept the claim.
Argument from Statistics: describes relationships among data, people, occurrences, and events in the real world, only they do so in quantitative terms.
Claim: Child killing is increased in Rio de Janeiro
Support: Forty percent more children may be killed this year than last year.
Warrant: Forty percent represents an increase.
Argument from Historical, Literal, or Figurative Analogy Historical and literal analogies explore similarities and differences between items in the same general category, and figurative analogies do the same, only with items in very different categories.
Historical Analogies: These explain what is going on now in terms of what went on in similar cases in the past.
Claim: Many people will die of AIDS
Support: Many people died of the Black Death.
Warrant: AIDS and the Black Death are similar.
Literal Analogies: These two compare two items in the same category: two school systems, two governments, two religions, two individuals.
Claim: The state should spend more money on education.
Support: Another state spent more money with good results.
Warrant: The two states are similar; and the results of one will be the results of another.
Figurative Analogies: These compare two items from different categories as in a metaphor, only the points of comparison in a figurative analogy are usually spelled out in more detail than in a methaphor.