Prof. Rodas defines what makes an argument, goes through a step-by-step explanation of Eyal Press' argument in "Dirty Work," and presents an exercise for students in ENG 112 at Bronx Community College / CUNY.
3. Is chocolate actually
poisonous?
What IS an
argument?
Not a question.
An argument is not
just asking a
provocative question,
even if the answer
seems obvious.
4. What IS an
argument?
A written argument or
an academic argument
takes a position and
uses evidence to try to
convince others.
8. Dogs make better pets than cats.
why?
dogs are loyal
dogs are better companions
cats don’t even like humans
9. Now … let’s try it out …
… using Eyal Press’ argument as an example.
10. Prison
guards are
bad people.
makes a clear
statement.
shows an
opinion.
is NOT a
question!
It might seem as though
Press is arguing that
corrections officers are bad
people …
This COULD be a thesis because it …
11. Prison guards
are bad
people.
… this is also a little TOO simple.
It doesn’t give any explanation or reason.
Let’s try again …
But …
12. Prison guards
must be bad
people because
they are willing
to do work
that’s
fundamentally
harmful to
others.
More complex
Includes
explanation
Press does point out that
corrections officers cause
harm, but this is NOT the
main idea of his argument.
14. Because of the complexity of Press’s
argument, he needs to make his case
in stages; it’s too big to communicate
all at once .
“Good people” might
think they are morally
pure, but they are
partly responsible for a
larger system that
causes terrible harm,
including “moral injury”
to “dirty” workers.
15. 1. Makes a clear statement.
2. Shows an opinion.
3. is NOT a question!
4. Includes basic explanation.
16. What does “dirty work” look
like? Or, who does “dirty
work”?
Take and upload your own
photo of any workplace or
person working.
Describe the photo and
explain why you think the
picture represents is “dirty
work” or not.
Before we build up to more complex
forms of argument, we have an
exercise this week that gets us
started making our own argument
about WHAT “dirty work” is …
17. Need more help?
Prof. Rodas says …
thanks for studying!
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