Developing Writers of Argument

Tools and Rules That Sharpen Student Reasoning
Michael W. Smith - Temple University, USA
Jon-Philip Imbrenda - University of Pittsburgh
Corwin Literacy
Developing Writers of Argument
December 2017 | 184 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781506394411
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Description

The ability to make effective arguments is not only necessary in students’ academic lives, it’s a transferable skill that’s essential to students’ future success as critical thinkers and contributing members of society. 

But in the here and now, how do we engage students and ensure they understand argument writing’s fundamental components? How do we take them from “Here’s what I think” to “Here’s what I Here’s what makes me think that. And here’s why it matters”?

This stunning, full-color book by Michael Smith and Jon-Philip Imbrenda shows the way, with ready-to-implement lessons that make argument writing topical and relevant. Students are first asked to form arguments about subjects that matter to them, and then to reflect on the structure of those arguments, a process that provides learners with valuable, reusable structural models.

  • Throughout the book, the authors provide helpful instructional tools, including
  • Literary, nonfiction, and author-created simulated texts that inspire different points of view
  • Essential questions to create a context that rewards argumentation
  • Lessons introducing students to the three essential elements of an argument—claim, data, and warrant—and how to make each effective
  • Questioning probes, semantic differential scales, and other innovative instructional approaches 
  • Samples of writing from the authors’ own students, and enlightening details on how this work informed the authors’ subsequent teaching approach 

Complete with guidance on applying the lessons’ techniques in a broader, unit-wide context, Developing Writers of Argument offers a practical approach for instructing students in this crucial aspect of their lifelong development.

 

Contents

Foreword by Jim Burke

Foreword by Jim Burke

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

PART I. THE ARGUMENT FOR ARGUMENT

  • Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Argument Cultivates Critical Thinking
  • Argument Fosters Collaborative Reasoning
  • Argument Promotes a Sense of Social Responsibility
  • What This Book Can Offer
  • Chapter 2. A Classroom Culture of Argumentation
  • Revisiting the Three R’s
  • Conversation as a Metaphor for Learning
  • Staging Conversations in Your Classroom
  • So What, Exactly, Is an Argument, Anyway?
  • Chapter 3. Our Instructional Approach
  • Transferable Classroom Tools
  • So Do They Work?

PART II. LESSONS

  • Chapter 4. Everyday Arguments
  • Introducing the Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 1: Apple Music vs. Spotify
  • Lesson 2: Taco Bell vs. Chipotle
  • Lesson 3: Who Is the Better Superhero?
  • Lesson 4: Which Video Streaming Service Is the Best?
  • Lesson 5: Heinz’s Dilemma
  • Lesson 6: To What Extent Am I Responsible to Others?
  • Chapter 5. Practicing Three Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 7: Crafting Controversial Claims
  • Lesson 8: What Makes an Effective Claim?
  • Lesson 9: What Makes Effective Data? Part 1
  • Lesson 10: What Makes Effective Data? Part 2
  • Lesson 11: How Do Warrants Relate to Claims and Data?
  • Lesson 12: Practice Writing Warrants
  • Chapter 6. Applying What They’ve Learned About Argument to Texts
  • Lesson 13: Who Is Going to Bounce Back?
  • Lesson 14: Using Three Key Questions to Understand a Poem
  • Lesson 15: Applying What We’ve Learned to a Literary Argument
  • Lesson 16: Learning the Reader’s Rule of Rupture
  • Lesson 17: Applying Argumentative Strategies to Respond to a Well-Known Theory
  • Lesson 18: Bringing Together All of the Elements of Argument: The Minnesota Twins Study
  • Chapter 7. Putting It All Together: Applying Argument to Life Choices
  • Lesson 19: Should I Choose a 2-Year or 4-Year College?
  • Lesson 20: What Career Has the Best Potential for Me?
  • Chapter 8. How to Use This Book
  • Using the Lessons Directly
  • Using the Tools
  • Using Our Lessons as Templates

References

References

Index

Index

Description

The ability to make effective arguments is not only necessary in students’ academic lives, it’s a transferable skill that’s essential to students’ future success as critical thinkers and contributing members of society. 

But in the here and now, how do we engage students and ensure they understand argument writing’s fundamental components? How do we take them from “Here’s what I think” to “Here’s what I Here’s what makes me think that. And here’s why it matters”?

This stunning, full-color book by Michael Smith and Jon-Philip Imbrenda shows the way, with ready-to-implement lessons that make argument writing topical and relevant. Students are first asked to form arguments about subjects that matter to them, and then to reflect on the structure of those arguments, a process that provides learners with valuable, reusable structural models.

  • Throughout the book, the authors provide helpful instructional tools, including
  • Literary, nonfiction, and author-created simulated texts that inspire different points of view
  • Essential questions to create a context that rewards argumentation
  • Lessons introducing students to the three essential elements of an argument—claim, data, and warrant—and how to make each effective
  • Questioning probes, semantic differential scales, and other innovative instructional approaches 
  • Samples of writing from the authors’ own students, and enlightening details on how this work informed the authors’ subsequent teaching approach 

Complete with guidance on applying the lessons’ techniques in a broader, unit-wide context, Developing Writers of Argument offers a practical approach for instructing students in this crucial aspect of their lifelong development.

 

Contents

Foreword by Jim Burke

Foreword by Jim Burke

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

PART I. THE ARGUMENT FOR ARGUMENT

  • Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Argument Cultivates Critical Thinking
  • Argument Fosters Collaborative Reasoning
  • Argument Promotes a Sense of Social Responsibility
  • What This Book Can Offer
  • Chapter 2. A Classroom Culture of Argumentation
  • Revisiting the Three R’s
  • Conversation as a Metaphor for Learning
  • Staging Conversations in Your Classroom
  • So What, Exactly, Is an Argument, Anyway?
  • Chapter 3. Our Instructional Approach
  • Transferable Classroom Tools
  • So Do They Work?

PART II. LESSONS

  • Chapter 4. Everyday Arguments
  • Introducing the Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 1: Apple Music vs. Spotify
  • Lesson 2: Taco Bell vs. Chipotle
  • Lesson 3: Who Is the Better Superhero?
  • Lesson 4: Which Video Streaming Service Is the Best?
  • Lesson 5: Heinz’s Dilemma
  • Lesson 6: To What Extent Am I Responsible to Others?
  • Chapter 5. Practicing Three Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 7: Crafting Controversial Claims
  • Lesson 8: What Makes an Effective Claim?
  • Lesson 9: What Makes Effective Data? Part 1
  • Lesson 10: What Makes Effective Data? Part 2
  • Lesson 11: How Do Warrants Relate to Claims and Data?
  • Lesson 12: Practice Writing Warrants
  • Chapter 6. Applying What They’ve Learned About Argument to Texts
  • Lesson 13: Who Is Going to Bounce Back?
  • Lesson 14: Using Three Key Questions to Understand a Poem
  • Lesson 15: Applying What We’ve Learned to a Literary Argument
  • Lesson 16: Learning the Reader’s Rule of Rupture
  • Lesson 17: Applying Argumentative Strategies to Respond to a Well-Known Theory
  • Lesson 18: Bringing Together All of the Elements of Argument: The Minnesota Twins Study
  • Chapter 7. Putting It All Together: Applying Argument to Life Choices
  • Lesson 19: Should I Choose a 2-Year or 4-Year College?
  • Lesson 20: What Career Has the Best Potential for Me?
  • Chapter 8. How to Use This Book
  • Using the Lessons Directly
  • Using the Tools
  • Using Our Lessons as Templates

References

References

Index

Index

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Developing Writers of Argument

Tools and Rules That Sharpen Student Reasoning

Michael W. Smith , Jon-Philip Imbrenda
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December 2017 | 184 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/01/2025 9781506354330 $40.95
Lifetime 01/01/2025 9781506394411 $37.00

The ability to make effective arguments is not only necessary in students’ academic lives, it’s a transferable skill that’s essential to students’ future success as critical thinkers and contributing members of society. 

But in the here and now, how do we engage students and ensure they understand argument writing’s fundamental components? How do we take them from “Here’s what I think” to “Here’s what I Here’s what makes me think that. And here’s why it matters”?

This stunning, full-color book by Michael Smith and Jon-Philip Imbrenda shows the way, with ready-to-implement lessons that make argument writing topical and relevant. Students are first asked to form arguments about subjects that matter to them, and then to reflect on the structure of those arguments, a process that provides learners with valuable, reusable structural models.

  • Throughout the book, the authors provide helpful instructional tools, including
  • Literary, nonfiction, and author-created simulated texts that inspire different points of view
  • Essential questions to create a context that rewards argumentation
  • Lessons introducing students to the three essential elements of an argument—claim, data, and warrant—and how to make each effective
  • Questioning probes, semantic differential scales, and other innovative instructional approaches 
  • Samples of writing from the authors’ own students, and enlightening details on how this work informed the authors’ subsequent teaching approach 

Complete with guidance on applying the lessons’ techniques in a broader, unit-wide context, Developing Writers of Argument offers a practical approach for instructing students in this crucial aspect of their lifelong development.

 

Table Of Contents:

  • Foreword by Jim Burke
  • Acknowledgments
  • PART I. THE ARGUMENT FOR ARGUMENT
  • Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Argument Cultivates Critical Thinking
  • Argument Fosters Collaborative Reasoning
  • Argument Promotes a Sense of Social Responsibility
  • What This Book Can Offer
  • Chapter 2. A Classroom Culture of Argumentation
  • Revisiting the Three R’s
  • Conversation as a Metaphor for Learning
  • Staging Conversations in Your Classroom
  • So What, Exactly, Is an Argument, Anyway?
  • Chapter 3. Our Instructional Approach
  • Transferable Classroom Tools
  • So Do They Work?
  • PART II. LESSONS
  • Chapter 4. Everyday Arguments
  • Introducing the Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 1: Apple Music vs. Spotify
  • Lesson 2: Taco Bell vs. Chipotle
  • Lesson 3: Who Is the Better Superhero?
  • Lesson 4: Which Video Streaming Service Is the Best?
  • Lesson 5: Heinz’s Dilemma
  • Lesson 6: To What Extent Am I Responsible to Others?
  • Chapter 5. Practicing Three Elements of Argument
  • Lesson 7: Crafting Controversial Claims
  • Lesson 8: What Makes an Effective Claim?
  • Lesson 9: What Makes Effective Data? Part 1
  • Lesson 10: What Makes Effective Data? Part 2
  • Lesson 11: How Do Warrants Relate to Claims and Data?
  • Lesson 12: Practice Writing Warrants
  • Chapter 6. Applying What They’ve Learned About Argument to Texts
  • Lesson 13: Who Is Going to Bounce Back?
  • Lesson 14: Using Three Key Questions to Understand a Poem
  • Lesson 15: Applying What We’ve Learned to a Literary Argument
  • Lesson 16: Learning the Reader’s Rule of Rupture
  • Lesson 17: Applying Argumentative Strategies to Respond to a Well-Known Theory
  • Lesson 18: Bringing Together All of the Elements of Argument: The Minnesota Twins Study
  • Chapter 7. Putting It All Together: Applying Argument to Life Choices
  • Lesson 19: Should I Choose a 2-Year or 4-Year College?
  • Lesson 20: What Career Has the Best Potential for Me?
  • Chapter 8. How to Use This Book
  • Using the Lessons Directly
  • Using the Tools
  • Using Our Lessons as Templates
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

“Smith and Imbrenda care about deep and meaningful learning. In this book, they show how argument can be taught in ways that develop tremendous engagement and deep understanding through a process that is in service of critical literacy and social imagination and responsibility. There are a lot of books about argument out there. I’d argue that this one is the best and most transformative I’ve ever read. The ‘so what’ lessons on reasoning/warranting alone will transform your teaching of argument and of much else.”
Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Distinguished Professor of English Education, Boise State University
“I was impressed with how Smith and Imbrenda's approach helped students who are usually passive learners become so engaged in discussions about readings. Our test scores reflected that passion.”
Matthew Record, Principal, Pocomoke Middle School, Pocomoke City, MD
“In just a few weeks, Smith and Imbrenda's approach to instruction transformed my classroom. My students and I became passionate about our reading, writing, and discussions; our state assessment scores went up. This stuff works. I wish I had known about it my whole career.”
Hanna Poist, Language Arts Teacher, Pocomoke Middle School, Pocomoke City, MD
“Developing Writers of Argument is not only a practical guide for teaching students, but also a practical guide for educating teachers in the art of argument made simple. Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the authors draw upon years of research-based strategies and methodologies to make lessons real and relevant for today’s learner. Reading the lessons provided me that 'ah ha' moment and helped me to internalize the need for the three Rs (relevance, responsibility, and respect) in teaching and learning.”
Kym Sheehan, Teacher/Curriculum Specialist, Charlotte County Public Schools, Port Charlotte, FL

Recommendations