Teaching Argument Writing with Frankenstories

Proposal

Key questions

  • What should we do? How should we do it? Should we do it at all?

Used for

  • Resolving disputes regarding actions and priorities
    • At policy level ("Should we do X?")
    • At implementation level ("How should we do X?")

UNICEF Like us and we vaccinate zero children

Makes use of

  • Other argument types to justify reasoning:
    • Causal ("Doing X will lead to Y")
    • Valuational ("X is good and cheap")
    • Definitional ("Because A is classified as B, we should do X")
    • Ethical ("We cannot do alternative Z because it violates a moral principle.")
  • Sequencing connectives:
    • First, next, then, finally, meanwhile, also, additionally...
  • Conditional connectives:
    • Which, if, unless...

We can no longer afford to ignore the fact that we are in the midst of a transportation funding crisis, which has been exacerbated by an even larger and longer-term problem: how we choose to invest in our infrastructure. It is not difficult to imagine the serious consequences that will unfold if we fail to address the deplorable conditions of our bridges and roads, including the increasingly higher costs we will pay for goods and services that rely on that transportation network, and a concomitant reduction in our standard of living.

Too Big to Fall(2010)

Other notes

  • Concerned with costs and benefits
  • Limits are often about the scale and certainty of impacts
  • Can include proposals for what we should not do

Context ideas

  • Speaker roles: Leader, advocate, manager, technical expert, politician (council, government)
  • Situations: Emergency response, purchasing

FS Proposal argument monster sinkhole

Propose a practical solution to this specific situation. | R1 Define problem and propose solution | R2 Provide reason 1 | R3 Provide reason 2 | R4 Respond to objections | R5 Conclude

Propose a policy solution to this general trend. | R1 Define problem and propose solution | R2 Provide reason 1 | R3 Provide reason 2 | R4 Respond to objections | R5 Conclude

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