All the parts come together
This is a review of the previous three lessons on argumentation. It will give you a chance to practice making a full, well-reasoned argument.
This course has a lot of strategies that may be easy to understand but hard to produce, especially when you are under pressure. If you can't use these strategies when it counts—in meetings, Q&A, brainstorming and discussion—then you need to keep practicing them until they come naturally to you. You can always go back and review a lesson you aren't confident of whenever you need to. There's no time limit on this course!
While most people know deep down that review is very important, as adults we prefer to think we can master things quickly and efficiently. We want to cut to the chase. However, there are things in life that simply take time and practice to master. This is one of them.
In order to use these strategies, at a minimum students need to be able to produce them without their teacher prompting them during practice.
If you'd like to add detail, you can ask:
Is it better to learn twenty things and forget them, or learn just a couple and remember them? It's better to remember. Take the time and make sure you remember.
Of course, these early strategies are a big part of the course moving forward, and essentially every lesson after this will be a review lesson because students should be using these strategies in all subsequent lessons.
What does a basic answer structure look like? Discuss:
- the beginning;
- the middle; and
- the end.
Let your student supply as much of this as possible. The points in brackets are optional depending on the question and the style the student chooses.
Beginning
- (React to the question); and
- Give a clear claim.
Middle
- Give a secondary claim;
- Add evidence [fact, example, anecdote, analogy, testimony];
- Give reasoning [why it’s important, what you can do]; and
- (Repeat as necessary).
Ending
- (Use a transition phrase);
- Restate the claims [just claims, not evidence or reasoning]; and
- (Add a “so what?” [a hope, recommendation, or action]).
Note
This is an idealized structure and not suitable for every situation.
- Your teacher will give you an answer to the question, "What's the best way to learn a language?" Analyze their answer and give them advice on how to improve it.
- Now, practice answering some common questions, using all the elements of a strong argument you've learned so far.