Discussion Topic: The Issue of Standardized Testing in Schools
Assignment Two / Argument/Persuasion
This paper requires that you design a thesis that will develop a debatable point.
Do Not use any researched material or outside sources in this paper.
This project requires designing a thesis that will refute conflicting points of view. It follows a method called The Rogerian Strategy.
Design a thesis that will signal that a conflicting point of view will be refuted. Build up your introductory paragraph with details that lead to the thesis and place the thesis at the end of paragraph one.
A thesis that sets up a refutation sounds like the following:
Although some believe that testing should remain standardized, basing student success on standardized testing causes student learning to decrease because the assessment takes away focus on various sets of learning skills.
Derive your paragraph topics from the main ideas in your thesis. Lead each paragraph into effective and supporting examples as evidence to give each idea substance.
Your evidence will come from real examples that you get from observation. Your evidence in your paper will come from what you have witnessed first-hand. Provide real details in each main paragraph for your examples and evidence. If your own experiences are included, that is all right. However, the details should be dominantly from what you have seen. Claims remain empty if the evidence is general or absent. It is very important to practice establishing your source.
One thing that can help you with this is to focus your argument on an immediate issue, not on one that would have you save the whole country. If your topic is too broad, you won’t have the experience to show for it, so your thesis will not be very well supported. Avoid making statements that call for outside source details, as a result. The more specific you make your thesis, the more structured your paper may be. Avoid picking topics that are too broad and cannot have observed supporting evidence, like world peace or Hitler, and others if you do not have direct experience with them.
Develop your paragraph topics from key elements derived from your main thesis. The key elements should be ideas that need to be illustrated and supported with detailed, real examples in your main paragraphs. Support each paragraph topic with vivid, real examples that you get from observation. Use descriptive language to develop your examples effectively. The examples should show how you know what key ideas from your thesis mean. Then, conclude your paragraphs in a way that shows what its main point means as a result of the evidence.
It is required that you refutethe conflicting side of your thesis. Fully refuting one point from the conflicting point of view may involve at least two paragraphs. One paragraph will need to introduce the point that will be weakened, give evidence to show its weakness, and transition to the next. The next paragraph will need to redirect the point to the stronger point, your side, give evidence to show how it works more strongly, and then conclude the main point as a result.
To refute a point, provide reasons not to be persuaded by the other side of the argument. Part of refuting a point includes providing examples or evidence of how you know what the opposing side argues. This means that you have to establish how you know your topic and your side of the issue. Illustrate your evidence thoroughly. Then, demonstrate how the counter-argument can be refuted.
I will be looking at how specific you make your argument. I will watch to see how supportive your examples are to the points you make. I will look for smooth paragraph transitions, decreased numbers of fragments, verb tense agreement, unambiguous pronoun references, and other local material.
word limit:1208