Proposal Argument

Today we will cast your essay into the proposal argument forms. A proposal argument is essentially identifying a problem and then proposing a solution to it. In its simplest form, it looks like this:

We should do X because ...

And then you fill in the reason for X and your evidence supporting it.

Here's an example of a proposal argument.

We should get out of school early today because a 30-foot tall pygmy shrew is destroying the city.



1. You can present proposal arguments in three different forms. The first is called the categorical claim. It looks like this:

We should do X because X is a Y.

For example:

We should eat pygmy shrew for dinner tonight because eating it is a demonstration of community pride.

2. The second is called the causal claim (in other words, one thing causes the other). It looks like this.

We should do X because X will lead to good consequences.

For example:

We should eat pygmy shrew for dinner tonight because eating it will lead to a more sanitary neighborhood.

3. The final proposal argument is the resemblance claim (in other words, one thing is LIKE the other). It looks like this.

We should do X because X is like Y.

For example:

We should eat pygmy shrew for dinner tonight because smelling the rotting corpse of the 30-foot pygmy shrew the National Guard shot down is like living next to a sea of rancid diapers.

Your assignment for the day is to cast your argument into these three versions of the proposal argument: the categorical, the causal, and the resemblance versions.

When you are finished, please let me take a look at it. Then email it to me by copying the text and pasting it into the the email body.

I am happy to assist you at any time.

Thursday fun

All right, me lads and lassies. During the past two days we've put together two very important elements for our essays.

1. We've got ourselves a thesis

2. We've got ourselves a few supporting quotes and citations.

Now let's put them together into a mini essay.

This is how you do it.

1. Write an introduction. The introduction will:

a. Grab the reader's attention.
b. Tell the reader what your thesis is.

2. Write 2 body paragraphs supported by your evidence. A body paragraph will:

a. Quote the evidence
b. Cite the evidence.
c. Show why the evidence supports your thesis.

3. Write a concluding paragraph. This paragraph will sum up the information and reiterate the thesis statement.

Let me give you an example of how one of these mini-essays might look:

Hey. did you just fart? I can't believe you! Don't you know that farting will hasten the ice age?

It's true! According to a study performed at Stanford University, places with high incidence of farting are prone to be colder than places scoring low on the fart index. Don't you see? The more you fart, the colder it will get.

If you don't believe me, go to www.putacorkinit.com. It tracks the fart index of every capital city in the United States. Minneapolia, Minnesota and Pierre, North Dakota - the two coldest capital cities in America - also score highest on the fart index. Isn't the correlation obvious?

So remember, before you let one rip, consider the damage you will do.

Email me your mini essay by the end of the class.

More To Do

Today you will receive your thesis to argue. So your job for the hour is to start researching.

I would like you to come up with three quotes that support your argument.

"Put the relevant quote in quotation marks"

Then make the citation by writing:

1. The name of the web site

2. The name of the article.

3. The name of the author (it there is one)

4. The URL

Email me the three quotes and citations in the body of the email (not as an attachment) by the end of class.

To Do List

1. Google this: "4-day school week"

2. Read through at least 5 of the articles that come up.

3. Make a list of the concerns these articles bring up.

4. Make a list of the arguments in favor of the 4-day school week.

5. Make a list of the top three (3) concerns and the top three (3) favorable arguments you'd like to address in your essay.

6. Send the list you made for #5 to my email: carters@uinta6.k12.wy.us I will make assignments based on these lists. Hopefully you'll all get something you want to work with.

The Plan for the Term

You will put together one (1) paper, at least three (3) pages long arguing for the schedule of your choice.

The paper will address one (1) thesis.

The paper will be argumentative in structure.

The paper will incorporate original research done by you.

The paper will include at least one (1) graphic that clarifies the information you are
presenting.

Your thesis and research will be different than anyone else’s.

You will put together one (1) short speech (30 seconds long) based on your paper.

The speech will be argumentative in structure.

The speech will incorporate at least one visual element meant to clarify your information.

You will present the speech to the class.

You will present the speech to the school board during their January meeting.

The Results

Turns out that the block schedule wasn't as popular as everyone thought it was.

Taking a vote from each class, we came up with the following tallies:

Traditional Schedule: 4 votes

Block Schedule: 4 votes

4 1/2 Day Schedule: 23 votes

So it seems our job is to convince the board to institute the 4 1/2 day week.

Block vs 4 1/2 day

Today Mr. Limoges came in to discuss block scheduling since the school board has been considering implementing it in the school.

Mr. Limoges is against implementing block scheduling for two reasons:

1. He found that block schools tend to perform 4 percent lower on the PAWS test than traditional schools.

2. He found that a student would miss more class time with certain classes on a block schedule than he or she would on a traditional schedule (though the student would also tend to get to more of certain other classes).

The students said they liked the block schedule because they would have less homework since teachers would tend to instruct for 60 minutes and let the class do homework for the remaining 30 minutes.

In response, Mr. Limoges argued that the students would be losing 60 minutes of instruction time each week, which he thought was unacceptable.

The students responded that they would have more access to the teacher during the homework process, which would be of more benefit to them than the extra direct instruction.

Mr. Limoges didn't agree that this facilitated homework time was as educationally effective as direct instruction time. Thus, this is a point we have to gather data on if we want to convince Mr. Limoges.

The class also argued with Mr. Limoges' assertion that block schools had lower PAWS scores. Since block schedule schools tend to have a lower dropout rate, they would tend to keep students that didn't perform well in school. These students would tend to depress their average PAWS scores, whereas traditional schools could get rid of those low performing students and increase their average PAWS scores.

At the end Mr. Limoges proposed the 4 1/2 day school week. In this schedule the student would still take 8 slightly longer classes, but skip two of them each day. They would also get a 20 minutes study hall period. On Friday the students would go to all 8 classes (though they would be shortened) and then leave at 12:30.

A lot of people really liked the 4 1/2 day schedule.