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ContemporaryCollegeEnglishIntermediateWriting,BookTwoUnitThree:PopIconsandHeroesMaintasksTolearn1)howtosupportyouclaiminanargumentativeessay2)theuseoflanguage(conciseness)I.Revision:Argumentation1.Essentialelementsofargumentation1)Theissue2)Theclaim3)Thesupporttypesofsupport–reasons,evidence,emotionalappeal)4)RefutationTheclaiminanargumentativeessay1)Itisthepointofviewtheauthortriestoproveabouttheissue,thatis,theauthor’sviewontheissue(thethesisstatement)2)Aclaimisbasicallycomposedoftwoparts:thefirstpartistheissueunderthediscussionandthesecondpartisthecommentorthejudgmentontheissue.3)Itisnotobjective/impartial,butsubjectivelyassertedbytheauthor,basedonhis/herspecificknowledgestructure,valuesystem,etc.4)Aclaiminargumentationismeanttobepresentedfor“publicacceptance”-anyclaimthatclasheswiththebasicinterestsandprinciplesofthetargetedpublicismostlikelytoberejected(basedonthepublicgood)5)Itrequiressupportiveevidencetoshowtotheaudience/readersthatitiswell-foundedandtrustworthy.Typesofclaims[seep.26-]Claimsinargumentationareusuallyclassifiedintothreetypes,eachwithadifferentquestiontoaddress:aclaimoffactaclaimofvalueaclaimofpolicy1).AclaimoffactA)Itreferstothetypeofclaimanauthormakesaboutacertainfact;inotherwords,itisastatementaboutthestatusorconditionsofafact.B)Asaclaimoffactconcernsthefactualstatusofanissue,tojustifyitrequiresonetodemonstratehowtrueitisinrealityAclaimoffactcanonlybesupportedbyfactualevidencea)directfactualevidence(statistics,hardproof,etc.)b)indirectfactualevidence(authority,inferencesbasedonknownfacts)C)Aclaimoffactshouldnotbeconfusedwiththefactitself.a)aclaimoffactisamentalinterpretationofacertainreality;areportoradescriptionaboutafact,usuallybasedontheauthor’sbelief,outlook,wayofperception,knowledgestructure,etc.b)theauthoractuallygivesthefactastrongsubjectivecoloring.2)Aclaimofvalue-ItisdifferentfromaclaimoffactA)NotastatementaboutthetruthfulnessoffactsB)Notintendtoassertwhethersomethinghasexisted,exists,orwillexist,butusedtomakejudgmentsC)Toexpressone’sattitudetowardssomethingbyapprovingordisapprovingaccordingtosomestandardorvaluesystemB)Effectiveclaimsofvaluearebasedona)somevaluesystem,tastesorpreferencessharedbyacertainpublicb)supportedbysufficientevidence/prooftoshowtotheaudience/readerthatitiswell-foundedandtrustworthy3)AclaimofpolicyA)Asthenamesuggests,itadvocatesadoptionofpoliciesorcoursesofactionbecauseproblemshavearisencallingforsolutionB)Itusuallycontainstwosubclaims:II.Argumentation(thesupport)1.ThesupportdefinedTheevidencetheauthorprovidestoshowthathis/herclaimiswell-founded.The3commontypesofsupportare:2.TypesofsupportReasons(p.51)Evidence(pp.51-52)Emotionalappeal(pp.51,125)A)Emotionalappealiseffectivea)whenpureevidentialsupportisnotsufficienttowinovertheaudiencetoyoursideb)theauthormakesadirectappealtotheaudienceforsupporttryingtobringtheaudiencearoundtoaccepthis/herclaimbysayingthattheysharethesamevalue,needs,etc.B)Inrealargumentation–a)thesetypesofsupportareoftencombinedtoworkfortheeffect;b)itisofvitalimportancetomakesurethesupportprovidedfortheclaimissufficient,up-to-dateandrelevantPracticingtheguidelines[p.53-]Ex.2Studythefollowingshortpassagesandfindoutwhattype(s)ofevidenceusedineachtosupportthetopicsentence(reason).1)Examples2)statistics3)personalobservation4)expertopinionIII.Theuseoflanguage(conciseness)1.Whatisconciseness?a)Itmeansbeingdirectandtothepoint,withoutusingunnecessarywords.Iftheideaisfullyexpressed,thefewerwords,thebetter.b)Theoppositeofconciseness-redundancy(usingmorewordsthannecessary)wordiness(usingtoomanywords)onlyobscure,insteadofclarifying,theidea.avoidredundancyandtightenwordysentencestoachieveconciseness.2.Howtoachieveconciseness1)Avoidrepetitionofideas1.Thanksgivingfostersasenseofbelongingandtogetherness.Revised:Thanksgivingfostersasenseofbelonging.2.ItwasblueincolorRevised:Itwasblue.3.Itwassmallinsize.Revised:Itwassmall.4.Maryisaquietandcarefulwoman.Revised:Maryisquietandcareful.2)AvoidunnecessaryrepetitionofwordsExample:1.ThefirstwomantochairthecommitteewasLiMing.Ms.LiMingwasalsotheyoungestpersonevertoholdtheoffice.Revised:Ms.LiMing,thefirstwomantochairthecommittee,wasalsotheyoungestevertoholdtheoffice.2.MyfathercomplainsthatI’malwaysonthephone,atanytimeoftheday.HemeansthatIdon’tgiveanyoneelseachancetouseit.Revised:MyfathercomplainsthatnooneelsehasachancetousethephonebecauseI’monitallday.3)Takeoutthepadding(unnecessaryanduninterestingwordsaddedtomakeasentencelonger)Examples1.HereturnedintheearlypartofthemonthofAugust.Revised:HereturnedinearlyAugust.2.WhatIbelieveisthatyousucceedlargelybecauseofyourperseverance.Revised:Ibelieveyousucceedlargelybecauseofyourperseverance.4).Changeclauses/phrasesintophrases/singlewords.Examples1.Thereport,whichwasreleasedrecently,shockedeveryoneintheschool.Revised:Therecentreportshockedeveryoneintheschool.2.theclassshowingthebestperformance–thebestclass3.amanwithambition–anambitiousman5)Avoidoverusingthenounformsofverbs.Thefunctionofthisdepartmentisthecollectionoffundsforchildrennotinschool.Revised:Thisdepartmentcollectsfundsforchildrennotinschool.3.PracticingtheGuidelines[p.55]Ex.11)W;2)W;3)C);4)C;5)W;6)W;7)W;8)W;9)W;10)CEx.2Rewritethefollowingsentencestomakethemmoreconcise[p.55]1.Theteachingplantooktwomonthstorevise.2.Thestudentscompletedtheprojectbythedeadline3.InMaypeopleofdifferentprofessionsinthiscitywillelectrepresentatives,whowillattendanationalcongressofmodelworkersinBeijinginOctober.4.Allmembersagreedthatameetingwasnecessary.5.Surroundedbytrees,thehousecanhardlybeseenfromtheoutside.6.Mrs.Johnsonapprovedofmyideatoreducethehomeworkload.7.ThecommitteeagreedtohelpMr.Smithdecideonpriorities.8.Ifyouneedhelpincompletingyourproject,pleasenotifyMr.Wills,myassistant.9.Wewillnotknowtheresultsuntilwecompletethiscontest.10.Iamamazedtodiscoverthatwehavebeencontactingthewrongpersonforasolution.ReadingforWritingYourPeers’Compositions[pp.65-]LiAo-GongYiduoHeJiong:IsHeWorthAdmiring?-LiNaPleasforSisterLin-SongRuiKeepaSafeDistancefromPopIcons-FeiChenQuestionstothinkabout1.Whataretheargumentsforthefouressays?2.Doyouconsiderthewriters’waysofdevelopingtheirthesiseffectively?Why?1.Whataretheargumentsforthefouressays?Passage1:thewriterarguesthatsheadmiresLiAoforhisknowledge,pertinacityandout-spokennessdespiteallthecriticismshehasreceived.Passage2:thewriterstatesthereasonswhysheadmiresHeJiong:histalent,humorandpersonalityPassage3:althoughLinDaiyuisgenerallysaidtobenarrow-minded,noteasy-goingandacrimonious,theseremarkscannevermarherbeautyinheartandinlooks.Passage4:thewritercautionsreaderstokeepasafedistancefrompopiconsbecausetheycanbeanegativeexampleforthehealthydevelopmentofyoungpeople.2.Doyouconsiderthewriters’waysofdevelopingtheirthesiseffectively?Why?Yes,sincetheyallprovidereasonsandevidencetosupport/provetheirpointofview.Theywanttoprovethatafigure,thoughcontroversial,maymeritouradmiration,asinthecasesofLiAo,HeJiongandLinDaiyu;foralltheirgoodlooksandpopularity,somepopiconsmayevenhavenegativeinfluenceuponyoungpeople,asinthecaseofMichaelJackson,etc.