1. Analyze, evaluate, and conquer
The Argument Essay
Analyze, evaluate, and conquer

2. The Argument task: You are asked to:
Express how convincing you find argument
Not asked to agree/disagree
Analyze (break down) the argument itself
All presented are flawed in some way
Evaluate the use of evidence
Explain how more information/different approach would strengthen argument or make it worse

3. How is it evaluated? How well you:
Respond to specific directions given
Analyze and interpret elements of the passage
Organize and develop your analysis
Support your reasoning with relevant examples
Express yourself in standard written English

4. Step by Step Method Step 1: Don’t panic!
Step 1a: Identify instructions category
Step 2: Summarize premises and conclusion/s
Step 3: List flaws, choose 2-4 strongest
Step 4: For each problem/flaw:
Explain why it is faulty
Provide alternative explanation
Identify information needed to evaluate the argument
Step 5: Type essay with emphasis on instructions category
Step 6: Proofread your work

5. Step 1:Identify instructions category
8 possible prompts
3 categories
A- extra evidence needed (65% of all)
B- assumptions and roles (30 %)
C- other explanations (5%)
See pages in text for details

6. Step 2:Summarize premises and conclusions
Premises are reasons given or evidence presented in an argument. For our purposes, we will assume these premises are true.
Conclusions are the main point of the argument. The author makes a conclusion based on the evidence (premises) presented. Our job is to critique the conclusion based on this evidence.

7. Step 3:List flaws, choose 2-4
Identify common argument strategies
Cause and effect
Because there is rain sometimes when I see clouds, rain causes clouds
Statistical
68% of women prefer men with British accents, so all women prefer British men
Analogy
My dog has a tail, my cat has a tail. Therefore, dogs and cats are the same kind of animal

8. Step 4:Work on each flaw Common flaws/problems
Unsubstantiated assumptions
Vague or ambiguous words (some, many, few, etc)
Draw conclusion based on weak evidence
Correlation does not prove causation
Sample does not represent population
Analogous relationship not enough to draw general conclusion
Conclusion is too strong based on weak evidence

9. Step 5: Type your essay Intro paragraph: Middle 2-4 paragraphs
Paraphrase argument,
State that it is flawed
Generalize main flaws
Middle 2-4 paragraphs
State flaw, elaborate if necessary
Options based on question category
State assumption
Use examples to illustrate
Identify alternate explanation
Identify extra information needed to evaluate conclusion
Indicate how information would help evaluate conclusion
Restate flaw
Conclusion
Specific to prompt
Reminder of points made
Explain how argument can be strengthened
State that in current form, argument is flawed

10. Step 6: Proofread Proofread your work:
Look for errors easily fixed: caps, paragraph divisions, double-typed words, general mis-spellings, small grammatical errors

11. Pacing Strategy 30 minutes per writing task
Step 1/2: Analyze argument- 2 mins
Step 3: List/select flaws 4 mins
Step 4: Identify/analyze assumptions- 2 mins
Step 5: Type- 20 mins
Step 6: Proofread- 2 mins

12. Scoring breakdown 6- Outstanding: Convincingly supports
5- Strong: Well-chosen examples, communicates clearly
4- Adequate: Logical connections satisfactory, some flaws
3-Limited: Unclear ideas, less than satisfactory language usage
2-Weak: Lack of analysis/organization/language problems
1-Fundamentally deficient: confusing or irrelevant content
0- Unscorable: