Slides for Day 9 in EWRT 2, Spr 18

1. CREM EWRT 2
Day 9
Arguments! Science! Reasoning!

2. Business / Participation
 Paper 2 is due this week:
 Bring a draft of the TEXT you’ll use to
class on Wednesday. This will be part
of your final grade.
 Final draft is due Friday evening on
Canvas.
 How do you cite your sources if you
are submitting a .png file?
 If you want to include sources as
hyperlinks, you will need to submit a
list to me of your links (and what URL
each one links to). The easiest way to
do this is to submit it as a
“Comment” on your submission after
you submit Paper 2.
 How is Piktochart going?
 Participation for today: up to 6 total.
 Up to 2 points for full class discussion.
 2 points for your group participation in
the argument analysis activity
 2 points for your group participation in
the reasoning worksheet.

3. Overall Participation (at the end of Wk 4)
 The RAW overall participation totals
will be curved and then converted
into a letter grade for your final
participation grade in the course
(worth 20%).
 Will drop lowest NYT Quiz and two
lowest discussion scores.
 At the end of Week 4:
 Mean: 125
 Range: 90-146
 Std Dev: 15
 Based on the distribution, this is what I think
would be fair participation grades if I
assigned them today:
 136-146 = A range (11)
 120-135= B range (12)
 99-119 = C range (9)
 Under 99 = D (1)
 IF you don’t like this grade, you have few
weeks to do something about it (but not the
whole rest of the quarter—participation
opportunities will significantly decline after
Week 9).
 What could you do?

4. Structure of argument:
Termiology
 Issue: What question is this piece of writing trying to answer?
 Conclusion: The answer to that question.
 (How does this differ from the way we might use this word in writing classes?;
what do we usually call this?)
 Reasons: The reasons for that answer.
 Evidence: A type of reason. Data or statistics or facts that
support that answer.
 Argument: The conclusion + the reasons.

5. Groups for today
Melissa
Vanessa
Chris
Juan
Berna
Drew
Fermin
Daniel F.
Jasmin
Lilie
Kyan
Daniel B.
Tito
Rei
Esmeralda
Ana
Kass
Mayela
Jose
Sara
Angelica
Eric
Esquivel
Seona
Dean
Brianna
Monique
Kenny
Julio
Lisa
Marvin
Sylvina
Nicole

6. Taking apart an argument
 Read and “deconstruct” a
New York Times editorial
into the pieces of its
argument.
 Identify:
 The issue
 The conclusion
 The reasons
 Put on sheet of paper.
Will present to the class.
 David Brooks, “The Blindness of Social
Wealth”
 Paul Krugman, “We Don’t Need No
Education”
 Michelle Goldberg, “Truth Has Stopped
Mattering in the Russia Investigation”
 Paul Krugman, “Apple and the
Fruits of Tax Cuts”
 Ross Douthat, “How Trump Is Winning”
 Boris Johnson, “Don’t Scuttle the
Iran Nuclear Deal”

7. Science!
 What makes something science?
 How is science different from journalism?
 What kinds of evidence does science care about?
 What values do you associate with science? What does science value?
 What are the things that science can do well?
 What can science NOT do? What is it NOT good at?
 If science can be fabricated, why/when should we believe it?
 How do people criticize science in our culture?
 Why do people doubt science? (Melissa)
 How might we respond to those critiques?

8. Two types of reasoning
Deduction Induction

9. Two types of reasoning
Deduction
 From general laws to specific
cases.
 Guarantees true conclusions IF the
premises are true (the “general
laws”).
 Ex.: All humans are mortal. Oprah
is human. Therefore, Oprah is
mortal.
Induction

10. Two types of reasoning
Deduction
 From general laws to specific
cases.
 Guarantees true conclusions IF the
premises are true (the “general
laws”).
 Ex.: All humans are mortal. Oprah
is human. Therefore, Oprah is
mortal.
Induction
 From specific observations to
general conclusions about the
world.
 No guarantee of true conclusion.
Why not?
 Ex: I’ve met a lot of smokers who
look older than they are.
Therefore, smoking probably
causes wrinkles.
Complete the worksheet in your groups.
Be prepared to share your reasoning.

11. HW for Wednesday
 1. Reading: Otto, “The War on
Science” (This is long. Start now.)
 2. Discussion 9 (question posted by
6 PM on Tues, May 8; response
posted by 9 AM the next morning).
 3. A draft (text only) of Paper 2 is
due in class on Wednesday.
 Participation for today: up to 6
total.
 Up to 2 points for full class
discussion.
 2 points for your group
participation in the argument
analysis activity
 2 points for your group
participation in the reasoning
worksheet.