Should Christians Be Vegetarians?

Here's an article that can be used when discussing the importance of anticipating the opposition. (I think author Michael Gilmour overdoes it a bit, to be honest, but at least he's thorough.) It's also an argument that might rile up some of my students here in this Bible-Belt town.

Argument: Fast Food Is Not Cheaper

My students are working on illustration essays right now, and many of them have opted to use the suggested topic of "Home cooking always wins over fast food (or vice-versa)." Although these are illustration essays, many of them have elements of argument. When we discuss argument later in the semester, I might have my students read this article by Mark Bittman. Not only is it a topic that students are interested in, but it is a great example of using counterarguments.

A Story of Ghosts

"In those days, before we surrounded ourselves only with those who already agreed with us, my parents delighted in assembling people of divergent opinions over our dining-room table to argue about the Equal Rights Amendment or the Gary Hart campaign. At a certain point, my father would ding his fork against the side of his glass and command everyone present to begin arguing 'the reverse of their earlier position.'"       

I found this column by Jennifer Finney Boylan very moving. I'm not sure how I would use it in class, but I would use it. I will use it. Not only is it beautifully written, but it offers wisdom that most of us would benefit from hearing from time to time.

Taxing Unhealthy Foods?

An argument by Mark Bittman to tax unhealthy foods ... and a few responses to his article.

Example of Tu Quoque

People with poor track records in the heterosexual marriage department really shouldn't join the fight against gay marriage.

(I must admit, I get annoyed with evangelical activists myself, but that's another story ...)

Food for Thought

Gregory Rodriguez on the (not always unspoken) demand that everyone have an opinion on everything. It's food for thought for those of us who encourage our students to take a stand, make an argument, write with conviction, etc. From the article:

"We seem to be obsessed with opinions because we take them to be a marker of individual independence, distinctiveness and reasoned intelligence. Expressing opinions is how we also express our freedom of conscience and flex our political rights. But when we're obliged to have an opinion on everything, all the time, our expressions of conscience are less about independent thinking than about making stuff up."

Good "Argument Essay"

In this article from the L.A. Times, Science Writer Deborah Blum seeks to "defend and even praise the fascinating, sometimes beautiful and environmentally essential poison ivy plant." I thought it might be a good article to share with a composition class in preparation for an argument/persuasion unit.

Penultimate Day of English 101

Today was our penultimate day of English 101. Students’ argument/persuasion essays are due tomorrow, and they turned in their required outlines at the end of last week. I really wanted to do something fun yet instructional today, so I had them read “A Modest Proposal” over the weekend. For the first hour of class, we walked through the essay, looking at its structure, how he presents his “counterargument,” how he reels the reader in by convincing them of his reasonableness before introducing his shocking solution in paragraph 9.

It was a good class. Of course, we spent a lot of time discussing his use of irony and the use of satire to make a point or an argument. We also stopped here and there so I could answer a student’s question about the meaning of a word, or about certain unclear parts, such as why “getting rid of the Papists” would be considered a benefit of the proposal.

For the second half of class, I passed out a sheet of paper with bits and pieces of students’ outlines—their thesis statements, some topic sentences, and some examples of evidence that they’d planned to use. As a class, we looked at each item and discussed whether it “worked” as a thesis statement, a topic sentence, or evidence—whichever it was purported to be. In the outlines I reviewed over the weekend, students seemed to have trouble differentiating between “evidence” and “opinion,” and I think we cleared that up by looking at the actual student examples.

Tomorrow is the last day of class. I’m going to have them fill out a class evaluation, which I’m crafting now. This class has been a good one; the students were engaged and enthusiastic, and there were several writers with promise.

I’m excited about not having to plan any lessons tonight. I’ll spend some time polishing my syllabus for English 102 (which begins Wednesday). If I have time, I’ll whip up a batch of cookies for my English 101 students.