DAWN KNIGHT: Hi.
I'm Dawn Knight, an English teacher
from Westfield, Indiana.
And today, we're going to talk about sophistication
in the argument essay.
If you joined me for the last video,
we talked about the argument essay a little then as well.
This time, we're really going to delve a little bit deeper
into how to get that sophistication point.
So a couple of things we'll look at.
One is having a nuanced argument,
which means we're exploring the complexities
or tensions of the argument.
I'll talk about what that means in a few minutes.
And selecting relevant sophisticated evidence.
I did touch on that a little in the last video,
but we'll talk about it a little bit more today.
So one of the things I want to clear up
is what an argument is not, and it's not just
disagreeing with someone.
This is what we see on social media
all the time and people sharing memes,
but that's not what an argument actually is.
So an argument is entering into an ongoing conversation
about a subject.
It includes evidence that supports, complements,
or contradicts a thesis or argument.
And it's more credible when writers refute, rebut,
or concede opposing arguments.
And I want you to notice that ongoing conversation.
It's one of the things that I love the most about this class
because I think it empowers you and gives you
a voice in these really important conversations
that are happening.
And I think it's important to hear that it's
conversation, not meme sharing.
So a lot of people think of arguments
in that black and white, pro/con, I'm right,
they're wrong kind of way.
And that's what we want to avoid.
Instead, what we really want to look at is those complexities,
those shades of gray where we land when we really
think about all of the important perspectives on an issue.
And in doing that, we give ourselves
credibility as a writer because we're
acknowledging those places where we see these other perspectives
that might have some merit.
So there are a couple of different things
we can do to give ourselves that credibility,
and that means some sophistication as well.
So one is reputation, using evidence
to show when someone is wrong about something.
Another is rebuttal, and that just
means presenting your side of the issue.
And then finally, concession, and that's
when we acknowledge other points of view of an issue.
And this is still an argument, so we still
need to have an opinion.
We're not writing a report, but we're acknowledging
those tensions and nuances.
And we'll look at what that means.
So we're going to use the 2016 prompt today in order
to look at sophistication in the argument essay.
So if you look at this first part,
I just want to point out again, in case you
didn't see the last video.
In the argument prompt, there's always
going to be a little bit of background
information at the top.
So in 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde
observed, "Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone
who has read history, is man's original virtue.
It is through disobedience that progress
has been made, through disobedience
and through rebellion."
So this time, this is giving us a little information
about something that Oscar Wilde said, but that's not the prompt
itself.
The prompt is here.
Wilde claims that disobedience is a valuable human trait
and that it promotes social progress.
Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which
Wilde's claims are valid.
Use appropriate examples from your reading, experience,
or observations to support your argument.
So I want to point out here that because this
is asking to what extent we think his claims are valid,
it's already starting to get us in that shades of gray area,
the complexity area.
It's not just a do you think it's valid or not?
Really quickly, a reminder of our line of reasoning.
We want a little bit of context or background.
In this case, we might talk about rebellion
and social progress and what we know about that.
You might think about the Revolutionary War
or you might think about the Civil Rights Movement, any
of those kinds of things that can help give some context
or background for your reader.
And then the thesis is to directly answer the prompt.
So to what extent you think Wilde's claims are valid?
We have our body paragraphs with claims
that are directly focused on answering the prompt.
One reason the thesis is valid would be that first body
paragraph.
The second body paragraph is centered around another reason
why the thesis is valid.
You can have more than two body paragraphs.
It depends on what your reasons are.
But a reminder, since it's timed,
that you want to make sure you don't overdo it
and try to do too much.
So two really well-written body paragraphs
is better than three just OK ones.
I know I keep saying that if you've seen the other videos,
but just making sure we know.
And then the conclusion, you want
to summarize and potentially get to the implications, the so
what?
And that also is an area where you
can get to some sophistication.
Because this doesn't come with a resource
packet, like the synthesis essay or source packet
and because it doesn't have a passage associated with it,
it's all about what we know.
So we just do a quick brainstorm.
We did this in the last video too.
What do I know about progress and disobedience
and revolution?
And so I think Revolutionary War.
I think Boston Tea Party.
I think Underground Railroad.
I think Civil Disobedience.
We read that in English class.
Gandhi Salt March.
We talked about that in one of our rhetorical analysis videos.
So we have all these things potentially from history class
or English class.
Or we might think about disobedience
in terms of the speed limit or underage drinking
and some of those negative implications
too that may not lead to progress.
And so we do this mental inventory
of what all do I know?
And thinking about where that information came from.
And where do I have the most sophisticated examples
that I can draw from that go beyond my friend
in the lunchroom, and get into some more sophisticated
that come from a class or my knowledge of current events?
It's a really great idea to even just weekly look
at current events and try to remind yourself
to do that, and be up on some of those current events
that you might be able to draw in.
All of those are a little more sophisticated
than those general anecdotes.
So the thesis I came up with was,
Wilde's claim that it is through disobedience and rebellion
that progress has been made is valid,
as it is often led to major strides in social progress.
However, it can be difficult and dangerous.
So if you look on the screen here, notice,
we're not just saying it's valid.
We're not saying it's not valid.
Instead, we've landed in those shades of gray.
It is valuable, and it can lead to progress.
However, bad things can happen if we do.
So we're acknowledging that.
We're already getting to that level of sophistication
by acknowledging the tensions.
All right.
And so my first claim for my first body paragraph
might be to focus in on how disobedience has often
led to great social progress.
And then I also might look at rebellion for body paragraph
two.
Like disobedience, rebellion has also led to social progress.
Now notice, in both of those, I'm just focused on the fact
that it has led to social progress.
What about the danger?
What about the difficulty?
Well, this is where my commentary is going to come in.
So I could write a body paragraph
that's just about danger.
But I think, in terms of the specific examples
I'm going to use, I can show that not only did
they lead to progress.
But also, they were very dangerous.
And so I don't want to just be redundant and have
a second paragraph that's saying the same thing.
But now is focused on the dangers.
So I'm just going to weave it into my commentary.
And we'll see what that looks like here in a minute.
OK.
So evidence selection for body paragraph one-- disobedience
has often led to great social progress.
Remember, I want evidence that's focused on the claim,
so disobedience, that's cited with as much
detail as I can to illustrate credibility.
So if I know I saw it on a documentary
on a specific channel, I might cite that channel.
If it was from a specific class, I might cite that class.
But I may not know an entire MLA or APA citation.
And that's OK.
We want it to be sophisticated.
We want to avoid fiction, if possible.
Because fiction is fiction, unless you can justify it.
I talked about that a little bit in the last video.
You want to avoid personal anecdotes,
unless you are a really credible, sophisticated example
of something.
And that can be the case.
But when we're talking about oh, I
had two friends at lunch who didn't take their tray up.
That was disobedient.
That may not be a really sophisticated example.
Typically, we want to try to draw our evidence
from our knowledge of current events, historical events,
classes we've taken, nonfiction books we've read,
things like that.
If we were going to choose examples for our first body
paragraph, which of these two examples
do you think would be the best?
A time you disobeyed your parents?
That Rosa Parks stayed in her seat on the bus?
That Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the I Have a Dream speech?
That Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
to a white man on the bus, disobeying the law
and beginning the Montgomery bus boycott?
Or that Martin Luther King, Jr. organized
sit-ins in which Black people sat at whites only lunch
counters, practicing civil disobedience
and becoming an important part of the Civil Rights Movement?
Now hopefully, this is kind of obvious
when I'm asking for the two best here.
But I really wanted to talk through a couple of things
here.
So obviously, these two are the best ones.
And you'll notice that Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King,
Jr. were also examples from B and C.
The difference here is where we get into sophistication.
So in this essay, I saw a lot of students
write about Rosa Parks.
But they didn't really talk about how it was disobedience.
And because we want to make sure that our evidence is focused
on our claim and that our claim is focused on our thesis,
it's really important that disobedience is a part of that.
So it wasn't just that Rosa Parks stayed in her seat
on the bus.
It was that she was disobeying the societal norm
and law at the time, and that her disobedience helped spark
the Montgomery bus boycott, which has helped spark
the Civil Rights Movement.
So it led to societal progress.
So we have to get those elements in there.
The same thing with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I
Have a Dream speech.
I actually had a lot of students write that.
And the thing is, we have the freedom of speech.
And so how is it disobedient to give a speech?
Instead, we're looking at what Martin Luther King,
Jr. did that was disobedient, in order to really focus in
on this particular essay.
So that's why these two would be our best, most specific, most
sophisticated pieces of evidence.
So here, we have our specific pieces of evidence
plugged into our paragraph one outline.
Remember, it's focused on the claim.
We have it cited, US history class.
It's not fiction.
We've avoided personal anecdotes as much as possible,
and drawn on historical knowledge.
Now let's talk about the commentary.
We want to go beyond summarizing.
We want to show and not just tell.
So we're not just restating or summarizing.
We're explaining, in two to three sentences,
how that specific evidence focuses on the claim
and addresses the complexity or tension.
And that's sophistication.
Here's an example of a paragraph that I wrote.
As I go through this, you'll see where the claim is.
Disobedience led to social progress in the United States,
illustrating Wilde's claims.
This was evident throughout the Civil rights Movement,
like when Rosa Parks disobeyed the law
by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man.
Although she had not boarded the bus with that intention,
the exhausted Parks, when asked to move, decided not to.
While her disobedience led to both an arrest and a fine
for her, it also sparked the Montgomery bus boycott,
which ultimately led to the integration of the bus system.
Similarly, Martin Luther King, Jr.
used disobedience to help break down racial barriers.
One act of disobedience he organized, for example,
was sit-ins in which Black people sat at whites
only lunch counters.
Like Parks, King's civil disobedience and oratory skills
would ultimately lead to social progress,
as King played a vital role in the passing of the Civil Rights
Act.
However, King was also arrested and eventually assassinated,
and his followers were often beaten
and some were killed as they fought for this progress.
So while disobedience can be a powerful tool
to achieve progress, it can also be a difficult and dangerous
one.
So we see the outline of the body paragraph here.
We have the claim.
We have specific, sophisticated evidence.
We have the commentary that goes beyond summarizing it,
and instead explains how the disobedience led to progress.
And this is where we get into that tension.
So you'll see in those yellow areas, that's
where in our commentary, we've looked at the nuances
and acknowledged that even though it
leads to social progress, it's difficult. It's dangerous.
So your turn.
You're going to put all the pieces together here and write
body paragraph two.
We're looking at a similar situation, except this time,
we're looking at rebellion and how that has also
led to social progress.
So you're looking for specific, relevant, sophisticated
examples.
You might think about the Revolutionary War
here as just one way to get you started to think about this.
Explain how the evidence supports the claim
and try to get into that idea of danger and disobedience.
When I'm thinking about the Revolutionary War, for example,
at the time, because the colonists were still English,
by going to war against their country, that's treason.
And the punishment for that is death.
So what they were doing was taking
on one of the world's greatest powers at the time.
And the punishment for not winning, which was very likely,
was death.
So it was a very dangerous proposition.
So think about that.
Get into that complexity when you're
thinking about your commentary.
You can use that last paragraph as your model
when you think about it.
Try to address that sophistication and tension.
When you're ready, just hit Play and move on.
In the conclusion, we talked about how, in your conclusion,
you summarize.
And then the implications-- the so what?
So this is where we think about what it
means when we put it together.
So are there things going on in today's society
that we can learn lessons about from maybe
some of these historical examples,
ways we can apply these lessons, that we should potentially
sometimes disobey in order to progress as a society?
However, we also have to understand
the consequences of what those actions might mean.
And so are there-- is there something
that's currently going on that you can tie that to?
Or think about what you know with social media.
Is there a way that we can talk about disobedience or rebellion
in terms of social media and what that might mean?
So what does it mean?
What are some implications to society and potential lessons
that can be learned that we can leave our readers with?
So some final reminders to recap.
Remember to write a nuanced argument that
includes the complexities of the situation.
Select evidence that is relevant, convincing,
and sophisticated.
And delve deeper into your commentary
and explore the tensions of the argument, those shades of gray.
Thank you so much for joining me for these videos.
Remember to be kind to yourself and to others.