Teaching Argument Writing with Frankenstories

Assumptions

"What generally accepted beliefs & values does the audience need to hold for the evidentiary reasoning to make sense?"

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In a nutshell

  • Because arguments are a potentially infinite stack of claims, at some point we have to draw a line and say, "Below here, we assume we're all in agreement," then take some things for granted.
  • So we assume that our audience shares certain beliefs and values necessary to make the argument work. For example:
    • "We agree that this economic data about Beaverton is accurate. We agree that it is the role of the city council to make policy decisions that improve our city's prosperity. We agree that our definition of prosperity includes economic performance..." and so on.
  • Often these assumptions are not stated, but they do exist which means they can be challenged, including by the person making the argument.

Over the past few years, the concept of microaggression has made its way into public discussions at dozens, if not hundreds, of colleges and universities, with many institutions offering workshops to faculty members on identifying and avoiding microaggressions and disseminating lists of microaggressions to caution faculty and students against expressing statements that might cause offense.

All of these applications hinge on one overarching assumption: that the microaggression research program aimed at documenting the phenomenon is sound and that the concept itself has withstood rigorous scientific scrutiny.

"Why a Moratorium on Microaggressions Is Needed"

Going deeper

  • Weak arguments often make faulty assumptions.
  • This is one of the trickier concepts from Toulmin's model.
    • Toulmin uses the term "warrant", as in a granted right, as in: "What gives you the right to make this claim?"
    • Hillocks uses the term "rule", as in: "What rule would we all expect to apply in this situation?"

In Frankenstories

  • Assumptions are an advanced concept.
  • They're not included in the canonical argument format for reasons of space, but they will come up in other prompt formats.
  • But it's good to know they exist!
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