Is this an argument?

Is this an argument?

​How to know what is an argument statement

Before We Start…

Let’s see what you know

We have discussed (either online or in person) what it takes to make an argument statement.

Let’s see what you know.

Word Cloud

Give one or two words that are related to creating argument statements?

Open Ended

Before we start, knowing what you know so far about creating argument statements, what questions do you have?

Learning about Argument Statements

What are Argument Statements

Every piece of rhetoric is saying something. Whether it's a cartoon or a movie, all of them are arguing (or saying) something.

An argument statement is sentence saying what the rhetoric is discussing and an opinion of it. It's not the opinion of the student writing the statement but what the piece is arguing.​

What does an argument statement Look like?

An argument statement fulfills a couple of requirements. The following slides will discuss them briefly. You may want to write this down and create a checklist for yourself.

Word Choice Matters

The argument statement is not long. Similar to a tag line it is 5-7 words.

That's why you should consider every word. ​

Subject | Subject

An argument statement is a statement

​An argument statement is a sentence. It is NEVER a question.

The sentence is a declarative sentence. ​That means it's a complete sentence, with a subject and a predicate. It is never a fragment or incomplete.

An argument seeks to answer a question. That is why it is NEVER a question. ​

Reminder:

But really, Word Choice Matters

Argument statements don't use unspecific words like "some", "could", "not many", or "sometimes", "many"

Argument statements use specific and conditional words like "all", "everyone", "no one", "should", "all the time"​

Don't use Cliches

​

Argument statements state things as fact

Argument statements are debatable (that means not EVERYONE should agree with your statement).

You don't have to agree with your own argument statement

You don't have to agree with your argument statement

Now that you have been shown what makes a good argument statement, let's play a game

In the following slides will be argument statements.

Choose the right answer on the slides.

Multiple Choice

What is wrong with this argument statement:

Perfection is sometimes dependent on one's views

• Too long

• Uses unspecific wording

• It's a question

• It's debatable

Watch the wording

Perfection is sometimes dependent on one's views --

​

The word "sometimes" is unspecific

​

Multiple Choice

What's wrong with this argument:

Without competition improvement will be delayed

• It's too long

• It has unspecific language

• It's not debateable

• It's a cliche

It's not an argument if people agree

Without competition improvement will be delayed ---

​

Who would disagree with this? An argument statement is a conversation starter. If everyone agrees, there's no conversation.​

​

Multiple Choice

What's wrong with this argument:

The price to pay for equality for all will always lead to an inequality for someone else.

• It's too long

• It has unspecific language

• It's a cliche

• It makes no sense

Don't Write a Novel

The price to pay for equality for all will always lead to an inequality for someone else. ​ ---

​

Argument statements are short, 5-7 words

​

​

Multiple Choice

What's wrong with this argument:

The early bird gets the worm

• It's too long

• It doesn't make sense

• It's cliche

• Unspecific wording

It's a cliche because it's overused

The early bird get the worm --

​

This is a cliche and has been overused. Aim to avoid these. ​

​

Multiple Choice

What's wrong with this argument:

Laura's life is just too storybook to be real

• Too long

• Cliche

• Too specific

• It's perfect

Too specific

The argument has to be specific enough to be for a story but not so specific that it could be for just that story.
Remember that it's just answering a question: What does it mean to be a human on this planet?

After that lesson and those prompts, what did you learn. In the next slides, answer the questions to complete this activity

​

How did you do?

​

Why is this important to learn?

Open Ended

After this lesson, what did you learn about making argument statements?

Open Ended

Taking what you have learned in this lesson, write an argument statement for one of the stories we have read. Don’t forget to tell us which story you’re writing a statement for.