Here is a pdf file of the assignment guidelines.
Below is a list of some definition arguments. Some of the choices are arguments that students in the past have used, others are from the e-text or additional examples. You may choose from this list of create one of your own. Be certain, however, that you are arguing DEFINITION and not something else. Use the formula I gave in class to help determine a claim. Many definition arguments have the word IS in the middle (but not all do).
Remember that you need to determine the “so what” of these arguments. Why does it matter if your audience views/understands/uses the term in the way you argue? What’s at stake? Who might be affected and how?
Student Examples
Wind energy is a good “Green” technology.
>>>The student identified what wind energy is AND set forth the criteria for “Green technology” (this is where research can come in). She then showed how wind energy fits all the criteria of Green technology and argued that because it fits ALL of the criteria (and does so better than other technologies) it should be given priority in funding and development. She could have argued that wind power will help reduce greenhouse emissions for the US and/or that understanding what makes a technology “green” can help consumers make better choices, etc.
Nuclear energy is not a good “Green” technology.
All graffiti is vandalism, but some is art while some is crime (don’t prosecute the “art”).
Feed lots are a form of animal cruelty.
Volunteering is a social responsibility.
Music piracy is always stealing and therefore is never acceptable.
>>>This student identified what counts as “music piracy” (downloads AND ripping CDs, etc.) and set forth the criteria for “stealing.” He then showed how these acts fit the description of stealing. From there he argued that when the public steals music they are committing a morally and legally unacceptable act. The ramifications are that musicians can suffer (cheated out of money, intellectual property is lost) and that the potential of the music industry might be limited.
High schools in America do not educate; they only teach to tests.
>>>This student identified what “to be educated/to educate” and “teaching to the test” mean. He also indicated what he felt happens in many high schools across the US and showed that many assignments appear to only consider the test results. He argued that a true “education” would look differently in what students know by the time they graduate. From there he developed what he thought could/might
ADD is/is not a mental illness.
Standardized tests are biased measurements.
Music is/can be medically healing.
“Positive” stereotypes are harmful ideas (or stereotypes are stereotypes even when they seem harmless).
Spanking/corporal punishment of children is/ is not abuse.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a valid alternative to Western medicine.
All speeding is a crime.
Wearing a helmet is good motorcycle safety practice.
Hybrid cars are not truly “Green” technologies.
From the E-text
Teen suicide rates are greatly exaggerated.
>>>What criteria must something meet in order to be considered “exaggerated?” Why does it matter if these rates are/are not “exaggerated?” What’s at stake and for whom?
AIDS epidemic is a serious problem.
>>>What criteria must something meet in order to be considered a “serious problem?” Why does is matter if the AIDS epidemic is/is not a “serious problem?” What’s at stake and for whom?
Poverty is child abuse.
Cyberterrorism is/is not a serious threat.
Other ideas
Waterboarding is/is not torture.
Voting is/is not a civic duty.
NASCAR/car racing (or cheerleading, bowling, dance, etc) is/is not a sport.
Owning three cats does not make me a “cat lady.”
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Graffiti: Crime or Art?
City of Fernley, NV statement on graffiti crime: http://www.cityoffernley.org/index.aspx?NID=295
National Crime Prevention Council’s Facts and Figures on Graffiti: http://www.ncpc.org/programs/catalyst-newsletter/catalyst-newsletter/archives/february-2005-catalyst/graffiti-facts-and-figures
Graffiti Hurts.org: http://www.graffitihurts.org/
Interview with Swoon (video): http://www.psfk.com/2009/08/video-interview-with-swoon.html
POPaganda: The Art and Subversion of Ron English (film) http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/watch/4/popaganda_the_art_and_subversion_of_ron_english
BLU: Moto (film) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4
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