1. Analyzing an Argument: Claims & Evidence The Global Writing Block Pavich 2015-2016

2. PowerPoint Credits:

3. What Is an Argument? Expressing a point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence in order to convince your audience to adopt your point of view or take action. 0 It begins with a main/central claim (the thesis), which is supported by reasons, and those reasons are then supported by evidence. 0 It presents reasonable/logical ideas to convince the audience. 0 It considers the audience; what are their values, morals, and beliefs, and how will this impact their reception of the claims being made? 0 It considers the opposition instead of ignoring or attacking it; this adds to the credibility of the person arguing, making us more likely to believe him/her. 0 It considers the issue from multiple perspectives as a means of thoroughly analyzing it before judgment.

4. Why Analyze It? 0 By taking the argument apart, we can begin to see how strong the claim truly is, which will help us decide whether or not it’s worth listening to and/or using to support our own research. MAIN CLAIM REASONS TO SUPPORT MAIN CLAIM EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT REASONS

5. APPLICATION Let’s take a shot at Analyzing an Argument… DIRECTIONS: 0 Read the debate article, “Is it Time to Ditch the Penny?” 0 Using the “Analyzing an Argument” handout provided, attempt to identify the main claim/argument being made by each side of the debate. Then break their claims down into the reasons why they believe that claim and what evidence they have to support those reasons.

6. Now that you’ve read the debate articles, let’s take the arguments apart to analyze their strength… 0 What is Jeff Gore’s main claim/argument? It is time to retire the U.S. penny.

7. Analyzing the Argument: Jeff Gore, CON’T 0 What REASONS does Gore give for WHY we should retire the U.S. penny? 0 HINT: Look for broad statements that sound like someone’s opinion. 1. The penny is no longer useful as currency. 2. Pennies slow down cash transactions. 3. There are other alternatives to the penny that could be adopted instead.

8. Analyzing the Argument: Jeff Gore, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Gore give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 1: The penny is no longer useful as currency. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: Inflation, which requires us to periodically reform our coinage systems, has eroded the penny’s value; it costs more than a penny to make a penny.

9. Analyzing the Argument: Jeff Gore, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Gore give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 2: Pennies slow down cash transactions. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: Canada, whose monetary system is similar to ours, retired their penny for this reason; according to Canadian Parliament’s Senate Financial Committee, pennies “slow grocery lines.”

10. Analyzing the Argument: Jeff Gore, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Gore give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 3: There are alternatives to the penny. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: Rounding transactions up or down to the nearest nickel will solve the problem—we already do this on U.S. military bases, which proves it could work.

11. 0 Does Gore provide reasons to support his main claim that the penny should be abolished? 0 Are those reasons paired with evidence to support them? 0 Is the evidence reasonable/believable? 0 What seems to work well in his argument/what do you give him credit for? 0 What doesn’t seem to work well/what do you find yourself criticizing or resisting? 0 Does his case satisfy you? With these things in mind, let’s take a look at the opposition’s argument…

12. Now that you’ve read the article, look back over it… 0 What is Mark Weller’s main claim/argument? The penny should NOT be retired because it helps our monetary system and our people.

13. Analyzing the Argument: Mark Weller, CON’T 0 What REASONS does Weller give for WHY we should retire the U.S. penny? 0 HINT: Look for broad statements that sound like someone’s opinion. 1. People benefit from the penny. 2. Strong public support for the penny still exists. 3. It is not cost effective to get rid of it; the government won’t actually save money.

14. Analyzing the Argument: Mark Weller, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Weller give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 1: People benefit from the penny. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: 0 Consumers benefit: 0 If we start rounding nickels, companies will inevitably round ‘up’ to turn a profit, so goods/services will become more expensive. 0 Charities, who support people, benefit: 0 They raise millions of dollars through penny drives, i.e. The Cancer & Lymphoma Society collected 1.5 billion pennies, raising $15 million dollars; Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald charities have had similar successes.

15. Analyzing the Argument: Mark Weller, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Weller give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 2: Strong public support for the penny still exists. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: 0 Polls show that two-thirds to three- quarters of the people want to keep it in circulation.

16. Analyzing the Argument: Mark Weller, CON’T 0 What EVIDENCE does Weller give to SUPPORT these broad reasons? 0 HINT: Look for specific information in the form of concrete examples, statistics, data, or other pinpointed information. REASON 3: It is not cost effective; the government won’t save money. EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT: 0 It costs a dime to make a nickel, which is much pricier than making pennies.

17. 0 Does Weller provide reasons to support his main claim that the penny should NOT be abolished? 0 Are those reasons paired with evidence to support them? 0 Is the evidence reasonable/believable? 0 What seems to work well in his argument/what do you give him credit for? 0 What doesn’t seem to work well/what do you find yourself criticizing or resisting? 0 Does his case satisfy you?

18. Argument Review: Now that we’ve read BOTH arguments and have considered BOTH sides, let’s make a JUDGMENT on who presents the stronger case… ABOLISH THE PENNY (Gore) No longer useful Inflation Slows down transactions Canada Other alternatives Round to nickel KEEP THE PENNY (Weller) Helps people Consumers Charities Public support Polls in favor Cheaper to keep Nickels cost more to make

19. Evaluating the Arguments IN FAVOR OF:REASON: WELLERBoth sides discuss the price of making the various currencies, but Weller specifies the evidence more so than Gore by indicating the precise cost of nickel vs. penny production. GOREWeller speaks on behalf of a group that is funded by the zinc industry, which is the materials to make pennies, so this makes him appear more biased than Gore as a source. BOTHGore offers a solution, but Weller dismisses it with convincing evidence. Still though, Gore does show that his solution is workable because it’s already being implemented on military bases.

20. IN FAVOR OF:REASON: GOREGore compares our system to Canada to prove his point that the penny is outdated, and this works because Canada has a comparable money system; meanwhile, Weller only relies on the vague mention of polls to serve as evidence that the penny is still popular. WELLERGore mentions that pennies slow down cash transactions, but Weller counters this by mentioning our increasing tendency to purchase with debit and credit cards. WELLERWeller offers concrete evidence of pennies working to serve the people, citing a diverse group of charities who benefit the poor, children, and those suffering from medical ailments like cancer; whereas Gore lacks a range of evidence to prove any of his points. Evaluating the Arguments, CON’T

21. IN FAVOR OF:REASON: WELLERWeller has a stronger argument for the consumer because he exposes the logical point that businesses will likely ‘round up’ as opposed to ‘down’ since their goal is to maximize profit. Evaluating the Arguments, CON’T A close evaluation reveals that both sides have their strengths as well as their weaknesses, but it looks like over all, it’s a 5-3 win for Weller!