WRITING @ CASE

Teaching Argumentation

Please Note: This page is under construction! More information coming soon!

Fall 2009 - Portfolio Reading Committee Report & Discussion

• > Full Committee Report
• > Summary Report
• > Faculty Brown Bag Discussion Handout

Notes & Ideas - 10/22/09

• > At the SAGES/WRC Faculty Brown Bag discussion (10/22/09), we discussed the value of teaching careful critical reading, especially in First Seminar. Annie Pecastaings shared her approach of using shorter, argumentative articles (of a length that could be read and critiqued carefully in a class session) with students. She asks students to identify not only "main ideas," but transitions, argumentative "moves," the structure of the arguments (including counter-points, etc.). For another take on the importance of reviewing as an academic skill, see: Weir, Rob, "Career Advice: Let's Review." Inside Higer Ed. 23 Oct. 2009.
• > At the same Faculty Brown Bag, Susan Dominguez shared her approach of asking students to add a counter-point to their arguments in subsequent revisions, making the task of revision more than just an "editing" task.
• > Betsy Banks shared her students' struggles (and triumphs) with the concept of narrowing claim statements in her University Seminar. Among the strategies she and the group brainstormed were: using Chapter 4 ("Yes/No/Okay, But") in They Say, I Say; and the "template" for moving from question to problem described in The Craft of Research (Chapter 4, p. 51). Students might be asked to "fill in the blanks" in this form:Topic: I am studying ________, Question: because I want to find out what/why/how _________, Significance: in order to help my reader understand _________.

Argumentation in the News

• > Viadero, Debra, "Researchers Try to Promote Students' Ability to Argue." Education Week. Sept. 14, 2009.

"Fun" Ways to Introduce the Topic

• > Monte Python's "The Argument Clinic" (via YouTube)
• > UT Austin Student Interactive Guide to the Writing Process

Models for Teaching Argumentation

• > The Toulmin Model of Argumentation (Claim-Warrant-Backing)
• >"Teaching Argument Analysis in an Introductory Philosophy Course" (Jonathan Lavery & Jeff Mitscherling, University of Guelph, Ontario)

Additional Teaching Resources

SAGES & Writing Programs Recommended Outcomes:

• • SAGES Learning Outcomes: http://www.case.edu/sages/fellows.htm#seminar
• • Writing Outcomes: http://www.case.edu/sages/fellows.htm#write
  

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – for a variety of handouts & clear explanations, for example:

• • “Developing Strong Thesis Statements”: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/
• • “Using Research & Evidence”: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/
• • “Organizing Your Argument”: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/03/
• • “Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion”: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/04/
  

Other Online Sources on Argumentation:

• • Dartmouth Writing Program, “Teaching Argument”:
  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/faculty/pedagogies/argument.shtml
• • UNC Writing Center, “Argument”: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/argument.html
  

Print Resource on Integrating Writing into Your Classes:

• John C. Bean. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking,
  and Active Learning in the Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001. (Available in
  Kelvin Smith Library & at the Writing Resource Center.)
  

Case Faculty Suggestions (Produced by the Faculty Writing Fellows, Spring 2007)

• • “On Teaching College Writing”: http://www.case.edu/artsci/engl/writing/csw/OnTeachingWriting.pdf