Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Basic Argument Structure
Basic Argument Structure
Claims
Reasons/Key points
Organizational structures
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Argument Structure Review
□ Claim: The government should pass laws that
make texting while driving a primary offense.
■ Reason/key point 1: (BECAUSE) banning texting
while driving would significantly decrease traffic
deaths.
□ Evidence: A 2006 study done in two Australian states
found an estimated 45,600 people had near-misses
due to using their mobile phone in the car.
□ Evidence: The New York Times reports that when
long-haul truck drivers texted, ‘their collision risk
was 23 times greater than when not texting’
□ Evidence: The Public Policy Institute of California
points out that 300 lives per year will be saved in the
state due to hands-free cell phone laws.
□ Making texting while driving a primary offense would
decrease traffic deaths. A 2006 study from Australia
found that in just two Australian states, an estimated
45,600 people had near-misses in their car due to cell
phone use. That’s a striking number. The New York
Times reports that when long-haul truck drivers texted in
their vehicle, ‘their collision risk was 23 times greater
than when not texting’. Furthermore, in California a law
requiring hands-free devices in cars saves an estimated
300 lives per year. Clearly, making this a primary
offense is a good idea.
One reason the government should make texting while driving a primary
offense is because such a law would decrease traffic deaths – and there is
plenty of proof to support this fact. For example, a 2006 study done in
Australia found that in just two Australian states an estimated 45,600
people had near-misses in their cars due to cell phone use. If there were a
law banning texting in the car, the number of near-misses (and, logically,
actual crashes) would decrease significantly, ultimately saving lives.
Additionally, the New York Times reports that when long-haul truck drivers
texted in their vehicle, ‘their collision risk was 23 times greater than when
not texting’. Clearly, when truck drivers took their eyes from the road to
focus on their cell phones, they put many innocent people on the road in
danger. Similar logic applies to drivers of cars who, although they are not
generally hauling large loads, do have several thousand pounds of metal
around them. These dangers could be mitigated with stronger laws against
it in the first place. If texting while driving were a primary offense in all
states, then a police officer would need no other reason to pull over a
texter. Furthermore, the Public Policy Institute of California estimates that
a law requiring hands-free devices in that state saves an estimated 300
lives per year. If disallowing talking on the phone while in the car in
California could save that many lives, imagine how many of thousands of
people in the US could be saved if texting were banned, as well. Clearly,
making this a primary offense is a good idea.
4 Types of Claims
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Claims of Fact or Definition
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What is a Topic?
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What is an Issue?
□ Identifying an issue
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teps to identifying an issue
• raw on our Personal xperience
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What is inquiry?
□ Asking narrow and refined questions to help
develop knowledge and ideas about an issue
□ Getting curious
□ Exploring many different frames of an issue
(not a topic—much more narrow)
□ The beginning of an argument
■ Often good inquiry will lead you to a good
research question (which is just a question that is
debatable that you choose to answer in a
particular way with particular support)
■ The answer to the research question turns into
your thesis statement/claim for the argument you
wish to present into the conversation
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Example
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Starting with an inquiry
Creating Inquiry Questions - • Asking Good Questions
Part of good inquiry is learning how to ask good questions.
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GOOD questions …
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GOOD questions …
• The question itself should provide context for the reader of a question.
It should provide enough information to FOCUS the response
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Thesis statement
□ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handout
s/thesis-statements/
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Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis
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Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis
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Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis
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An Example
■ Vietnam forests are being destroyed by the beetles , which are able to
breed more ferociously due to warming trends. If warming trends
don’t stop, there won’t be any more Vietnam forests, so awareness
must be raised.
□ Play with the wording of your thesis statement and create four
claims (the four different categories).
An Example
□ Play with the wording of your thesis statement and create four
claims (the four different categories).
Value: Saving the tropical forests is the most important action for
Vietnamese to take.