This document contains an agenda and terms list for Class 15 EWRT 1B. The agenda includes an in-class writing assignment on essay #3, which will involve a directed summary, counterargument, and conclusion. The terms list defines key terms like androgyny, anti-Semitism, assigned (biological) sex, bisexual, cross-dresser, cultural humility, and FtM/MtF. Guidance is provided on how to write a directed summary, counterargument, and conclusion for the essay assignment.
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Writing the Persuasive Essay What is a persuasiveargum.docxambersalomon88660
Writing the Persuasive Essay
What is a persuasive/argument essay?
In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to
convince the reader to believe or do something
Persuasive writing, also known as the argument essay, utilizes logic and reason to show that
one idea is more legitimate than another idea. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt a
certain point of view or to take a particular action. The argument must always use sound
reasoning and solid evidence by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and
quoting experts.
When planning a persuasive essay, follow these steps
1. Choose your position. Which side of the issue or problem are you going to write about,
and what solution will you offer? Know the purpose of your essay.
2. Analyze your audience. Decide if your audience agrees with you, is neutral, or
disagrees with your position.
3. Research your topic. A persuasive essay must provide specific and convincing
evidence. Often it is necessary to go beyond your own knowledge and experience. You
might need to go to the library or interview people who are experts on your topic.
4. Structure your essay. Figure out what evidence you will include and in what order you
will present the evidence. Remember to consider your purpose, your audience, and
your topic.
The following criteria are essential to produce an effective argument
• Be well informed about your topic. To add to your knowledge of a topic, read
thoroughly about it, using legitimate sources. Take notes.
• Test your thesis. Your thesis, i.e., argument, must have two sides. It must be
debatable. If you can write down a thesis statement directly opposing your own, you
will ensure that your own argument is debatable.
• Disprove the opposing argument. Understand the opposite viewpoint of your position
and then counter it by providing contrasting evidence or by finding mistakes and
inconsistencies in the logic of the opposing argument.
• Support your position with evidence. Remember that your evidence must appeal to
reason.
Parts of the Persuasive Essay
1. The Introduction
The introduction has a "hook or grabber" to catch the reader's attention. Some
"grabbers" include:
1. Opening with an unusual detail: (Manitoba, because of its cold climate, is not thought of as
a great place to be a reptile. Actually, it has the largest seasonal congregation of garter
snakes in the world!)
2. Opening with a strong statement: (Cigarettes are the number one cause of lighter sales in
Canada!)
3. Opening with a Quotation: (Elbert Hubbard once said , "Truth is stronger than fiction.")
4. Opening with an Anecdote: An anecdote can provide an amusing and attention-getting
opening if it is short and to the point.
5. Opening with a Statistic or Fact: Sometimes a statistic or fact will add emphasis or interest
to your topic. It may be wise to include the item's .
1 How to Write a Analytical Essay Writing an analyti.docxhoney725342
1
How to Write a Analytical Essay
Writing an analytical essay can seem daunting, especially if you've never done it before. Don't
worry! Take a deep breath, buy yourself a caffeinated beverage, and follow these steps to create
a well-crafted analytical essay.
What do you want to analyze?
Your analysis must have the following four sections:
Introduction
Summary
Analysis
Conclusion (optional)
Part 1: Prewriting your essay
1. Understand the objective of an analytical essay. An analytical essay means you will
need to present some type of argument, or claim, about what you are analyzing. Most
often you will have to analyze another piece of writing or a film, but you could also be
asked to analyze an issue, or an idea. To do this, you must break the topic down into parts
and provide evidence, either from the text/film or from your own research, that supports
your claim.
For example, "Stanley Kubrick's The Shining uses a repeating motif of Native American
culture and art to comment on America's history of colonizing Native Americans' lands" is an
analytical thesis. It is analyzing a particular text and setting forth an argument about it in the
form of a thesis statement.
2. Decide what to write about. If you are writing this for a class, your teacher will
generally assign you a topic (or topics) to write about. Read the prompt carefully. What is
the prompt asking you to do? However, sometimes you will have to come up with your
own topic.
If you're writing an analytical essay about a work of fiction, you could focus your
argument on what motivates a specific character or group of characters. Or, you could
argue why a certain line or paragraph is central to the work as a whole. For example:
Explore the concept of vengeance in the epic poem Beowulf.
If you're writing about a historical event, try focusing on the forces that contributed to
what happened.
If you're writing about scientific research or findings, analyze your results.
2
3. Brainstorm. You may not immediately know what your thesis statement should be, even
once you've chosen your topic. That's okay! Doing some brainstorming can help you
discover what you think about your topic. Consider it from as many angles as you can.
[2]
Look for repeated imagery, metaphors, phrases, or ideas. Things that repeat are often
important. See if you can decipher why these things are so crucial. Do they repeat in the
same way each time, or differently?
How does the text work? If you're writing a rhetorical analysis, for example, you might
analyze how the author uses logical appeals to support her argument and decide whether
you think the argument is effective. If you're analyzing a creative work, consider things
like imagery, visuals in a film, etc. If you're analyzing research, you may want to
consider the methods and results and analyze whether the experiment is a good design.
A mind map can be hel ...
AsAm 308 Guidelines for the Final Project Outline 1 P.docxdavezstarr61655
AsAm 308 Guidelines for the Final Project Outline 1
Prepare an OUTLINE for your Argumentative Final Project Essay. Distributed March 22, 2018
Submission due at Titanium Assignments by Friday, April 6, 12pm (noon).
Suggested Length: 1 page, single-spaced
Note: This handout is adapted from one by historian and Harvard professor Jill Lepore.
By your project thinking and writing, you can engage and practice making a contribution toward
our course objectives --
This course takes Asian women living in the US as the focus of analyses of identity,
culture, and political economy. We will examine works by and about Asian American
women from multiple disciplines, in order to elucidate how Asian American women
have been represented and treated as the objects of history and culture, as well as
how Asian American women in turn shape these forces. By exploring the areas of
immigration and settlement, social stereotyping, identity construction, family,
community, labor, organized resistance, and cultural production, we will attempt to
answer questions such as: Who are “Asian American women”? What are the
commonalities and differences of racialization, gender, class, sexuality, language and
culture that delineate this category? How do Asian American women negotiate the
complexities of multiple identities and positions of their lived experiences, both in the
United States and transnational spaces?
Requirement 1: What am I going to argue? This is my THESIS.
An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the
thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is
generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.
__ In general, your thesis statement should be 1-2 sentences long and should be found at the end
of your first paragraph (or occasionally your second paragraph).
Requirement 2: A Well-Organized Body
The body of the paper is where you flesh out your thesis and present your evidence. Most people
find it helpful to outline before beginning to write. It is important that you move logically from
point to point as you move from paragraph to paragraph.
__ Present each of your paragraphs and its central idea.
This central idea is generally expressed in a topic sentence which is usually the first or second sentence in a
paragraph. Many people find it helpful to string their topic sentences together after completing an essay. This
should produce a coherent paragraph beginning with your thesis statement.
! What sequence of evidence best supports your claims?
! How and where will you engage both with what other scholars have written about your
subject, or broader interpretations about his period in history, or with theories about the
past, or historical forces?
! Are there counter-arguments that you haven’t considered?
* T.
Writing a Persuasive Paragraph or Essay Choose a deba.docxbillylewis37150
Writing a Persuasive Paragraph or Essay
Choose a debatable topic
A debatable topic has two valid arguments. Your topic should be one about which you know something. The more
evidence you can provide, the more likely you are to sway your audience. You must plan on doing research and your
essay must be documented properly.
Formulate an argumentative thesis
Some topics have been discussed so often they are tired, uninteresting and not worthy of discussion. Choose a
current topic. Because the purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince readers to accept your position, your thesis
must take a stand. One way to make sure that your thesis actually does take a stand is to formulate an antithesis, a
statement that takes an arguable position opposite from yours.
Define your terms
You must make clear the terms you use in your argument. Be careful to use precise language in your thesis, avoiding
vague words such as wrong, bad, right and immoral, which convey different meaning to different people.
Accommodate your audience
Who are your readers? Are they unbiased observers or people deeply concerned about the issue you are discussing?
Are they skeptical, hostile, emotional or unconcerned? How will you convince each type?
Consider opposing arguments
You must know how to refute opposing arguments. Do this by showing that opposing views are untrue, unfair,
illogical, unimportant or irrelevant. Discuss the limitations of the opposing view. When you acknowledge an
opposing view, do not distort it or present it as ridiculously weak. This tactic, called creating a straw man, could
seriously undermine your credibility.
Gather evidence
Build your argument on assertions, claims you make about a debatable topic backed by evidence which is
supporting information in the form of examples, statistics or expert opinion. Document your evidence carefully.
Establish your credibility
Establish your credibility by finding common ground, demonstrating knowledge, and maintaining a reasonable tone.
Demonstrate knowledge about your subject by personal experiences and research. Make certain that you document
source material very carefully. For your instructor, an undocumented quotation or even an incorrect date can call an
entire paper into question. Use reasonable language, not emotionally charged language that will turn away the
reader.
Present your points fairly
Avoid distorting evidence and quoting out of context. In other words, be honest.
Don’t Apologize
Never suggest that you don't know what you're talking about or that you're not enough of an expert in this subject
that your opinion would matter. Avoid phrases like, "In my humble opinion....I'm not sure, but....." Make a BOLD
statement and proceed with confidence!
Don’t Refer to Yourself
Do not announce what you are about to do in the essay. "In this paper, I will.......... The purpose of this essay is
to......." JUST DO IT! Do not.
4. • Androgyny (also androgynous, bi-gendered, no-
gendered): A person who identifies as both or neither of
the two culturally defined genders, or a person who
expresses merged culturally/stereotypically feminine and
masculine characteristics or neutral characteristics.
• Anti-Semitism: Hostility toward, or prejudice or
discrimination against Jews or Judaism.
• Assigned (Biological) Sex: A social construct referring
to the state of being intersex, female, or male. A concept
that relies on the dichotomous division of various genitive,
biological, chromosomal, hormonal and physiological
differences in human.
5. • Bisexual: A person who is emotionally, physically, and/or
sexually attracted to both men and women. Some people avoid
this term because of its implications that there are only two
sexes/genders to be sexually attracted to and this reinforces the
binary gender system.
• Cross-Dresser: Someone who enjoys wearing clothing typically
assigned to a gender that the individual has not been socialized
as, or does not identify as. Cross-dressers are of all sexual
orientations and do not necessarily identify as transgender.
“Cross-dresser” is frequently used today in place of the term
“transvestite.” This activity seems more obvious when men as
opposed to women engage in it publicly, because of an inequity
in societal norms concerning attire and other components of
appearance.
6. • Cultural Humility: A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation
and critique, to redressing the power imbalances in the
[interpersonal relationship] dynamic[s], and to developing
mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic partnerships with
communities on behalf of individuals and defined populations.
• FtM (F2M)/MtF (M2F): Generally, abbreviations used to refer
to specific members of the trans community. FtM stands for
female-to-male, as in moving from a female pole of the
spectrum to the male. MtF stands for male-to-female and refers
to moving from the male pole of the spectrum tot eh female.
FtM is sometimes, not always, synonymous with transman.
Conversely, someone who identifies as MtF, may identify as a
transwoman.
8. Introduction: Directed Summary
Transition to Thesis Statement
Thesis Statement
Section A
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Section B
Body Paragraph 3
Body Paragraph 4
Section C
Body Paragraph 5
Body Paragraph 6
Counterargument
Conclusion
10. Directed Summary
• A directed summary provides readers of your
paper with the information they need to
understand your argument and explanation.
• State the title and author of the literary work
near the beginning of the first paragraph,
perhaps in the first sentence. This is essential
so that the reader knows which work you are
discussing.
11. • Hook the reader. In the first sentences, write what
is particularly interesting about the work. This
thought-provoking information must also be
relevant to the topic you will discuss in your
essay.
• Assume that the reader is familiar with the work
about which you are writing. Do not include too
much plot summary in the introduction or in the
rest of the essay. Do include the part of the story
that will support your thesis.
12. • Use transitions throughout the introduction. Because
there are so many aspects of the work that have to be
included, the introduction can end up fragmented
and confusing. Make sure that it makes sense on its
own as a paragraph. Clearly transition from your
introduction into your thesis.
• State the thesis near the end of the introduction
(your introduction might be more than one
paragraph). The thesis should clearly state what the
essay will analyze and should be very specific.
13. Transition from Introduction to
the Thesis Statement:
• In Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg describes the
development of protagonist, Jess Goldberg, through a
series of moments of resistance to a society that cannot,
or will not accept hir. This book shows that social
pressure, oppression, and violence act not only as
forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of
agency; they can inspire people to challenge injustice in
pursuit of liberty.
14. Try writing your introduction
1. Title and author
2. Hook the reader with a thought-provoking
aspect of the story, one that connects to
your essay.
3. Assuming the reader is familiar with the
text, include a brief summary that provides
support for your paper.
4. Use transitions to keep the introduction clear
and organized.
5. Transition to the thesis.
6. Include your thesis near the end of the
introduction.
16. • When you write an academic essay, you make an argument: you
propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that
suggests why the thesis is true. When you counterargue, you
consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of
your reasoning. This is a good way to test your ideas when drafting,
while you still have time to revise them. And in the finished essay, it
can be a persuasive and disarming tactic. It allows you to anticipate
doubts and pre-empt objections that a skeptical reader might have; it
presents you as the kind of person who weighs alternatives before
arguing for one, who confronts difficulties instead of sweeping them
under the rug, who is more interested in discovering the truth than
winning a point.
• Not every objection is worth entertaining, of course, and you
shouldn't include one just to include one. But some imagining of
other views, or of resistance to one's own, occurs in most good
essays.
17. The Turn Against
A counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to
challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical
reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out a
problem with your demonstration:
1. that a different conclusion could be drawn from the same facts, a key
assumption is unwarranted, a key term is used unfairly, certain evidence is
ignored or played down
2. one or more disadvantages or practical drawbacks to what you propose
3. an alternative explanation or proposal that makes more sense.
You introduce this turn against with a phrase like one of these
• Some might object here that
• It might seem that
• It is true that
• Admittedly
• Of course
18. The Turn Back
Your return to your own argument—which you announce with a
but, yet, however, nevertheless or still—must likewise involve
careful reasoning, not a flippant (or nervous) dismissal. In
reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may do one
of the following:
1. Refute it, showing why it is mistaken—an apparent but not real
problem
2. Acknowledge its validity or plausibility, but suggest why on balance
it's relatively less important or less likely than what you propose,
and thus doesn't overturn it;
3. Concede its force and complicate your idea accordingly—restate
your thesis in a more exact, qualified, or nuanced way that takes
account of the objection, or start a new section in which you
consider your topic in light of it.
19. Where to Put a Counterargument
A counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay. Try it in several places
and see where it fits best:
1. as part of your introduction—before you propose your thesis—where the existence
of a different view is the motive for your essay, the reason it needs writing.
2. as a section or paragraph just after your introduction, in which you lay out the
expected reaction or standard position before turning away to develop your own.
3. as a quick move within a paragraph, where you imagine a counterargument not to
your main idea but to the sub-idea that the paragraph is arguing or is about to
argue.
4. as a section or paragraph just before the conclusion of your essay, in which you
imagine what someone might object to what you have argued.
But watch that you do not overdo it. A turn into counterargument here and
there will sharpen and energize your essay, but too many such turns will have
the reverse effect by obscuring your main idea or suggesting that you are
ambivalent.
20. Counterargument:
Of course, there are times when social pressure, oppression, and
violence push people to conform, but these examples generally fall into
one of three main categories: One, people bow to social pressure,
oppression, and violence when they do not have a significant reason to
resist; two, people bow to social pressure, oppression, and violence when
the consequences are life threatening; and three, people bow to social
pressure, oppression, and violence until they can strategize their
resistance. This final response is the one that Feinberg illustrates through
Jess Goldberg.
This book shows that social pressure, oppression, and violence act not
only as forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of agency;
resistance to these forces can inspire people to challenge injustice in
pursuit of liberty.
21. Do you need a counterargument?
1. Is there an obvious argument against your thesis?
2. Is there a different conclusion could be drawn from the
same facts?
3. Do you make a key assumption with which others might
disagree?
4. Do you use a term that someone else might define a
different way?
5. Do you ignore certain evidence that others might believe
you need to address?
6. Is there an alternative explanation or proposal that some
might more readily believe?
23. Strategies for Writing a Conclusion
Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay
to write, and many writers feel that they have nothing
left to say after having written the paper. A writer needs
to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a
reader remembers best. Your conclusion should be the
best part of your paper.
A conclusion should
• stress the importance of the thesis statement,
• give the essay a sense of completeness, and
• leave a final impression on the reader.
24. Create a new meaning
Demonstrating how your ideas work together can
create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper
is worth more than its parts.
Stone Butch Blues shows that social
pressures, oppression, and violence are
appropriate ways neither to create harmony
nor to manage cultural diversity
25. Answer the question "So What?”
Show your readers why this paper was
important.
Stone Butch Blues provides knowledge
that can liberate those people who suffer
social oppression by both providing
models of, and encouraging, successful
resistance.
26. Propose a course of action
Redirect your reader's thought process and help him or
her to apply your info and ideas to her own life or to
see the broader implications.
Finally, Stone Butch Blues inspires people to
challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty for all
people.
27. Let’s try writing a couple of conclusions
1. Answer the question "So What?”: Show your readers why this
paper was important.
2. Synthesize information: Show how the points you made and
the support and examples you used fit together.
3. Challenge the reader: Help readers redirect the information in
the paper, so they may apply it to their own lives.
4. Create a new meaning: demonstrating how your ideas work
together can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper
is worth more than its parts.
5. Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or
questions for further study: Redirect your reader's thought
process and help him or her to apply your info and ideas to her
own life or to see the broader implications.
6. Echo the introduction: If you begin by describing a scenario,
you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay
was helpful in creating a new understanding.
28. • Post #18: Directed
Summary,
Counterargument,
Conclusion
• Bring three complete
copies (at least 3.5
pages) of your draft to
our next meeting.