1. INTRODUCTION
TO
ARGUMENTATION
LESSON #4
CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3

2. BY THE END OF LESSON #4 YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERISTICS AND DEFINING FEATURES OF ACADEMIC
ARGUMENTATION
USE A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES TO FIND ARGUABLE ISSUES TO EXPLORE
DESCRIBE A TEXT'S RHETORICAL CONTEXT
READ TO BELIEVE AND READ TO DOUBT
ANALYZE AND DISCUSS THE FEATURES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A
VARIETY OF ARGUMENTS ABOUT VIDEO GAMES
UNDERSTAND THE CLASSICAL STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENT
DESCRIBE, IDENTIFY, AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF THE CLASSICAL APPEALS
DEFINE AND IDENTIFY AN "ISSUE QUESTION"
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A GENUINE ARGUMENT AND A PSEUDO-ARGUMENT
DEFINE AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "CLAIMS" AND "REASONS"
OBJECTIVES

17. You try! Informal Writing #1:
2. Discuss the sample argument essay,
"Petition to Waive the University Mathematics
Requirement," on pages 18-21 in your Writing
Arguments textbook on the “Informal Writing
#1” forum of the discussion board. With your
classmates, discuss whether or not you think
the student who wrote the letter should be
exempted from the math requirement and why
or why not. Don't forget that discussion
comments should be at least one fully-
developed paragraph. After the discussion,
consider how your thinking evolved during the
discussion. Did any of your classmates'
views cause you to rethink your own?

21. You try! Informal Writing #1:
1. Brainstorm 5 debatable issues that you
could debate for the first essay; formulate
an issue question for each, and share
these with your classmates by posting
them on the “Informal Writing #1
discussion forum.” Read your classmates'
comments and use these ideas for
inspiration if you can't think of something
to write about for this class and others
throughout the semester.

25. You try! Informal Writing #1:
3. Complete the “For Class Discussion”
activity on page 30 of your Writing
Arguments textbook for ONE of the
statements and post your answer and then
post a reply to someone who chose a
different statement suggesting different ways
to believe and doubt the statement.

36. You try! Informal Writing #1:
4. For each of the 5 questions on page 63
(the “For Class Discussion Activity”), decide
whether the question is an issue question or
an information question. If it could be
both, explain in what context it would be an
issue question and in what context it would be
an information question. Post your answer
and then read your classmates’ answers and
see if you agree or disagree with their
reasoning.

38. You try! Informal Writing #1:
5. Decide whether each of the issue
questions on page 65 (the “For Class
Discussion Activity”) would lead to a
reasonable argument or a pseudo-
argument. If you believe it would lead
to a pseudo-argument, explain why.