ColonelDragonflyMaster737
Option 1: A Definition Argument + Toulmin Framework : A…
Option 1: A Definition Argument + Toulmin Framework: A Definition Argument: Write an essay in which you argue that a borderline or contested case fits or does not fit within a given category. In the opening of your essay, introduce the borderline case you will examine and pose your definition question. In the first part of your argument, define the boundaries of your category (criteria) by reporting a definition used by others or by developing your own extended definition. In the second part of your argument (the match), show how your borderline case meets (or doesn’t meet) your definition criteria.
Submit a Toulmin Framework before your argument. Week 4 has a Live Lecture on this.
Ideas to help you get started: Ideally, in writing this argument you will join an ongoing conversation about a definition issue that interests you. Think of concepts that are defined differently by different people. What cultural and social issues that concern you involve disputed definitions? In the public arena, you are likely to find numerous examples simply by looking through news storiesfor example, the disputes about the definition of “torture” in interrogating terrorist suspects or about “freedom of religion” in debates about religious organizations having to pay for contraception in employees’ health insurance. Often you can frame your own definition issues even if they aren’t currently in the news. Is using TiVo to avoid TV commercials a form of theft? Is flag burning protected free speech? Is solitary confinement “cruel and unusual punishment”? Is Wal-Mart a socially responsible company? Are voter ID laws racist?
As you are seeing, there is a question involved for your essay, and the question will have a word or phrase that will frame the argument.
Are highly skilled video game players (race car drivers, synchronized swimmers, marbles players) true athletes? –> In this essay you will need to define “true athlete” and either argue that skilled video game players are or are not true athletes.
Is a gourmet chef (skilled furniture maker, tagger) a true artist? –> In this essay, you would need to define what it means to be a true artist, and then argue either that a gourmet chef is or is not one. Get the idea?
Here are some more questions to help you come up with a topic you like.
Is a chiropractor (acupuncturist, naturopathic physician) a “real doctor”?
Is mountain climbing an act of courage?
Are rodeos [zoos, catch-and-release trout fishing, use of animals for medical research] guilty of cruelty to animals?
Explore your definition issue and try to determine how others have defined your category. If no stable definition emerges from your search, create your own definition by deciding what criteria must be met for a contested case to fit within your category.
To help with your Toulmin framework and essay, identify your audience and determine what’s at Stake: Consider your responses to the following questions:
· What audience are you targeting? What background do they need to understand your issue? How much do they already care about it?
· Before they read your argument, what stance on your issue do you imagine them holding? What change do you want to bring about in their views?
· What will they find new or surprising about your argument?
· What objections might they raise? What counterarguments or alternative points of view should you address?
· Why does your argument matter? Who may be threatened/made uncomfortable by your views? What’s at stake?
