Argument: Not Just “Because I Said So” Anymore

Integrating Evidence with Support in Body ParagraphsTricia McKennyBourbon County High SchoolEKU Writing Project SI 2014June 16, 2014

QuickwriteThink of the last time you truly had an argument with someone (maybe you really wanted chicken minis, but they wanted an Egg McMuffin; maybe Mom wanted you home at 10:00 but you wanted to stay out until midnight; maybe you really don’t think gun control is a good idea and your neighbor really does, etc.). Write about how you tried to prove your point and what happened.

Argumenthttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=76PObMv2N8s

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s2J0sMeYFHI

The Research Says…“Research tells us that the assessment of whether

evidence “counts” also depends upon how a writer usesevidence to support an argument. Writers carefullyselect evidence based on their chosen stance, purpose, andaudience.

Then writers use their chosen evidence to warrant,or justify, their stance. In literary analysis, for example,evidence from a literary text counts when citations includespecific details that support a particular argumentabout the literature and when the writer sufficientlyconnects the textual evidence with his or herstance.”“Using Evidence In Writing: A Policy Research Brief” National Writing Project

The Research Says…“Research has consistently found that students invariably develop

stronger and better-supported arguments when the teacher has a deep knowledge of the written argumentation model within their discipline and provides scaffolding for students in the individual steps of finding evidence and developing their arguments. Some steps in the process of incorporating evidence include:

-Finding and interpreting sources-Evaluating the quality of the sources and data-Analyzing the data-Making connections between the source and the argument-Incorporating a wide range of evidence into the argument-Structuring the argument- Distinguishing strong arguments from weak argumentsWhen teachers scaffold discrete strategies, students— especially

lower performing students—tend to develop stronger academic literacies, produce stronger arguments, engage in more critical thinking, and show deeper understanding of the content material.”

“Using Evidence In Writing: A Policy Research Brief” National Writing Project

ContextThis is a part of a larger unit on persuasion.Students have already focused on the parts

of the introduction, they are aware of paragraph structure (topic sentence then evidence and support) and have already discussed reliability, credibility, accuracy and citing sources.

This is a process for finding and integrating evidence from a reliable source and expanding on that information with their own ideas (something students struggle with).

ResourcesTexts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading; Harvey “Smokey” Daniels and Nancy Steinekehttp://www.heinemann.com/textsandlessons/

Everything's an Argument with Readings: 5th Edition Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, Keith Walters

"They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing By Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein

Oh, Yeah?!: Putting Argument to Work Both in School and Out (Exceeding the Common Core State Standards) [Paperback] Michael Smith, Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, James Fredricksen

Text Coding: Gettin’ Dirty in English Class!

(from: Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading)

First Read: Read the article actively and annotate the text using these text codes. Include explanation and record your own thoughts in the margins when necessary.

Text Coding: Color CodingSecond Read:Read again with two different colored highlighters. Choose one color to highlight information that could be used to argue for the issue (pros) and another color to highlight information that could be used to argue against the issue (cons).

Collaborative Annotation/Text-On-Text “Discussion”

(adapted from: Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading)“Like other forms of written conversation, text-on-text balances airtime, getting all group members involved in discussions. The shy kids cannot hide and the bloviators cannot dominate when the conversation is happening silently, in writing, and everyone gets the same amount of time to write. And later, once each student has built up a body of writing about a topic, all the kids usually have enough confidence to speak up when the discussion goes out-loud.”

Collaborative Annotation/Text-On-Text “Discussion”-In the text, use your text codes to circle or underline and annotate parts of the text. (everyone use their own color marker and give us a key so we know who’s who!)-Use an arrow out into the large margin to expand and explain on what you are talking about (your reactions, feelings, questions, and connections).

-Why did that part stand out to you?-Why do you agree/disagree with the point the

author made?-How did you connect to a point made in the

article?-Each person should comment AT LEAST two times.-THEN, you may write AT LEAST two comments in response to what a teammate wrote.

Gallery Walk-Now you will have a chance to see all of your classmates’ responses. -Take your notebook/text so you can make notes of what you observe.-You will go to each table to read your classmates’ responses.-Record (on your text or in your notebook) points that your classmates made that you may not have thought of but may be able to use when you write your argument.

Brainstorming Tool: Modified 4 Square Organizer

The Passage Says… I Say…Pros

Cons

Extension: More Organizers as skills are added

The Passage Says…

I Say… What About…?(Counter-

Claim)

Answer(Refutation)

Developing Paragraphs: Quotes and Explanation-Now is the time to begin forming paragraphs. We know that every quote will need our own explanation, so use one color Post-It to record any quotes you want to use. Shoot for 2-3 quotes to support your side of the issue.-For each quote, now use another color Post-It to record your explanation sentence to add your explanation to the quote.

Idea Development: The Hamburger Paragraph For students, we

remind them that the ‘meat’ of their paragraph is the evidence they provide, but they must expand on those ideas. Their topic sentence can help them focus, and when breaking it down into parts they are able to get more elaboration.

Developing Paragraphs: Topic Sentence, Evidence, SupportNow we can develop a paragraph that will look like this:

Now you can use the Post-Its to organize your ideas (Maybe 2 quotes belong in the same paragraph with the same topic sentence? Maybe you need more evidence? Maybe you need to focus on your explanation?) . You can expand into another paragraph if needed. If you finish organizing, you may write a draft of your paragraph in your notebook.