January 25, 2011
Dear Students:
I hope this year is off to a bang, as in pots and pans and sparkle and excitement! This semester is going to whiz by I have that much prepared for you (smile). You will not be bored. English 5/211? What is this course all about and why bother?
I love rhetoric or the art of argumentation. I think the mastery of critical thinking and argumentation is an invaluable skill which translates into every aspect of one’s life. I used to teach argument in my developmental courses. We analyzed arguments, practiced drawing Venn diagrams, and became quite adept at identifying deductive and inductive arguments and noting whether they were claims of fact, policy, or value.
Audience is key when preparing a brief and we learned how to both identify our audiences and figure out how to address them, that is, identify concepts we both agree on. Agreement is a good place to start when dealing with controversy—which is another name for argument.
We learned that there were no absolutes and to think so was alienating to one’s audience who might be that exception one excludes.
I guess this is the attorney/lawyer wannabe talking. I actually took LSAT and applied to Stanford and to New School many years ago. I even got letters back from both, but decided to go to the University of San Francisco and get my masters in writing instead, a choice I do not regret.
Funny it was in a Teaching Writing course that I learned about thesis sentences and how to structure an argument. This was back in 1995-’97. Another reason why I wanted to go to USF was sentimental. My dad used to work there when I was a child. He’d tell me stories about drunken priests—too much communion wine and how much he liked working there. I think the Jesuits liked my dad too.
I grew up in San Francisco at a time when BART was an idea whose tracks were laid when I was admitted into UC Berkeley under Affirmative Action, and MUNI was on strike. I used to walk past San Francisco City College to the Geneva Station. We lived on Holloway at Granada Avenue (a street we lived on as well).
Prior to this, my family lived in Visitation Valley –we're from New Orleans. When my father was released from Angola State Prison, he sent a bus ticket to the welfare office which kicked my mother off aide and so my young mother, baby brother and I caught the Greyhound bus to Northern California where we lived first in San Francisco's Fillmore District in a rooming house—the bathroom and kitchen were shared.
Then we moved to the projects on Brookdale. I attended John McLaren Elementary School. My mother would comb my hair while I slept, breakfast set on the table before she left. My job was to get my bad brother up—he was five, feed him and get the two of us to class each morning. After school I’d go to the lower yard and grab his hand and we’d walk home. Our deaf neighbor Kathy would watch us for Mama. I remember her dog and her bright red hair. On paydays, my mother would treat us to warm cashews from Sears or Woolworth's. She also bring home fruit candy slices and around Thanksgiving and Christmas, fruit cake which she’d soak in rum. I have really delicious memories of that time. On New Year's Eve she'd let us smell the bubbles in her champagne. They tasted like tickles.
My mother worked at the Naval Shipyard in Hunter’s Point. She was a keypunch operator. Later she was transferred to Mare Island and to Treasure Island. (Treasure Island was beautiful.) My dad was unemployed a lot and absent the rest of the time. But when he was employed he worked as counselor at Bayview Mental Health Agency and as a house painter and a custodian for the San Francisco public school system.
My mom and dad had an on again, off again relationship—more off than on, and then more on than off.
Yes, it was kind of dysfunctional, but I have had therapy around co-dependence and trust issues developed in my formative years and I think I am getting better, even if not completely well yet (smile). Let’s just say, I’m functional (smile).
No seriously, I had a great childhood as childhoods go. I had art classes at the deYoung Museum. I went to symphonies, the opera and dance performances at the San Francisco Opera House. My mother took us to see Michael Jackson and James Brown. I sculpted and drew and dreamed of being an artist or an architect or a medical illustrator. What I really wanted to do was paint signs over the freeway, but my mentor told me girls couldn’t paint those kinds of signs. I didn't know the word sexist then.
I came of age during at the height and demise of the Nation of Islam and at the same time, the Black Panther Party. Black Power was swirling overhead and I think the magic dust settled within me, because those movements have shaped a world view, which for a few tweaks and tucks I still hold today.
I have always loved to write. I remember having a poem: Life is Nature, Nature is Life, published in the sixth grade journal. Writing was my entre into the gifted and talented courses in junior high where I wrote original plays which my classmates performed for the school. I attended Visitation Valley Jr. High until I transferred to Muhammad University of Islam where I graduated at fifteen and a half, class valedictorian.
I was a young mother, 20, though not as young as my mother, 15. I have two daughters and an ex-husband (smile). I also have a lovely granddaughter who is eight, as of January 22.
I enjoy what I do, teach people to write. I am very good at what I do. All students need to do is invest the time and good results are guaranteed. Seriously, writing is magical, but the skill is not magic—anyone can learn to be a good writer.
I have had a few careers: property management for HUD subsidized properties, family daycare owner, preschool teacher, elementary school teacher, high school teacher, site director for YMCA after school program, AIDS prevention educator and volunteer recruiter, housewife (smile), mother, and now college professor. I currently serve on just one board: California Coalition for Women Prisoners. My hobbies are: writing and poetry, dancing, camping, cycling and travel.
What else? I just returned from West Africa, last week, and have had a stomach ache for most of it. I hope at this reading I am feeling better. I am still waking up at 12 midnight. The time difference is eight hours. I visited Senegal and Mali. I attended the World Festival of Black Art and Culture in Dakar and the Festival in the Desert in Timbuktu. It was an annual trek I have been making since 2009. Last year I went to Haiti twice as well.
I have an Internet Radio show and an on-line journal www.wandaspicks.com, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks I am also a contributor to the Women’s Magazine program on KPFA 94.1 FM I write for a community newspaper, the San Francisco Bay View, where I am arts editor. I have been a journalist for about 20 years now. Publications I have written for are: the Oakland Tribune (Good News), the San Francisco Chronicle (Pink section), the Examiner (Arts), the Montclarion, The Berkeley Voice, Black Issues in Higher Education, the Berkeley Daily Planet.
If students aren't too busy, perhaps we can attend a play together. I highly recommend Don Reed's E-14th Street at the Marsh in Berkeley.
Peace and Blessings,
Professor Wanda Sabir
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Argument Forms: Classical, Toulmin, Rogerian
Post your arguments re: The Known World here. Freewrite: Include a Rogerian version as well (extra credit). Students might have to post the essays in more than one post.
Discuss the difficulties or ease in composing these essays based on the models. Did the topic influence the form? Was this topic easier to discuss using one form over another? Do the forms overlap and if so, how?
Rogerian
What issue am I going to investigate?
What is my thesis?
What common ground exists between my views and those whose views differ from mine?
What are the challenging views on the matter that I need to discuss?
How can I most judiciously highlight the limitation of the challenging views and suggest a mutually agreeable way of overcoming these limitations?
Based on shared views about my thesis, what can I add in the way of evidence that would be compatible with challenging views?
What are my own concluding reflections in light of the above?
Using the above information, what can I say in my opening paragraph that would best introduce my argument and engage my reader’s attention?
Checklist
1. Do I find common ground with those whose views differ from my own?
2. Do I carefully consider the weaknesses of limitations of my point o view as well as those of others? Do I share these with my readers?
3. Is my tone cooperative rather than confrontational?
4. Do I encourage multiple [perspectives rather than a singular one toward the issue?
5. Do I treat views with which I disagree respectfully? Do I give more emphasis to the point of agreement than the points of disagreement?
Discuss the difficulties or ease in composing these essays based on the models. Did the topic influence the form? Was this topic easier to discuss using one form over another? Do the forms overlap and if so, how?
Rogerian
What issue am I going to investigate?
What is my thesis?
What common ground exists between my views and those whose views differ from mine?
What are the challenging views on the matter that I need to discuss?
How can I most judiciously highlight the limitation of the challenging views and suggest a mutually agreeable way of overcoming these limitations?
Based on shared views about my thesis, what can I add in the way of evidence that would be compatible with challenging views?
What are my own concluding reflections in light of the above?
Using the above information, what can I say in my opening paragraph that would best introduce my argument and engage my reader’s attention?
Checklist
1. Do I find common ground with those whose views differ from my own?
2. Do I carefully consider the weaknesses of limitations of my point o view as well as those of others? Do I share these with my readers?
3. Is my tone cooperative rather than confrontational?
4. Do I encourage multiple [perspectives rather than a singular one toward the issue?
5. Do I treat views with which I disagree respectfully? Do I give more emphasis to the point of agreement than the points of disagreement?
Finals
Congratulations! You did it-that is, completed the term. Now for final details: Portfolios are due no later than Sunday afternoon, August 1, 12 noon. I need to file my grades by Monday, August 2.
Final Essay
The portfolio checklist includes all the WLTC assignments completed. If they were completed in the book, just include the score. Freewrites, reading logs, essays--all graded drafts and narratives (completed/revised). The only new essay is the Black Like Me essay which can use any one of the argument models discussed: Classical, Toulmin, or Rogerian.
I'd also like a brief note on why you chose this model over another, include an Initial Planning Sheet, plus an Outline.
Narratives or Introduction to the Portfolio
Each narrative is about 250 words and they are the introduction to the portfolio.
Narrative 1 talks about the six week course: what you learned about writing and logic and thinking critically that you will carry forth into your lifelong pursuit of learning. You can talk about books and other instruction materials and the instructor.
The second narrative will talk about your revision process and what specifically you have learned about yourself as a writer that makes you a better writer at the end of the course than you were at the start. Use two graded essays as evidence.
Portfolio
The portfolio documents is a word document. Do not send items separately. Attach the document and on the cover sheet include: Name, address, phone number, course name and code.
The assignments can be grouped and this forms your table of contents:
Narratives 1 & 2
WLTC Assignments
Freewrites
Cyber-Assignments
Tim Wise related assignments
From the Bottom of the Heap Assignments
The Known World Assignments
Black Like Me Assignments
Anything Else, such as extra credit assignments (graded assignments)
Final Essay
The portfolio checklist includes all the WLTC assignments completed. If they were completed in the book, just include the score. Freewrites, reading logs, essays--all graded drafts and narratives (completed/revised). The only new essay is the Black Like Me essay which can use any one of the argument models discussed: Classical, Toulmin, or Rogerian.
I'd also like a brief note on why you chose this model over another, include an Initial Planning Sheet, plus an Outline.
Narratives or Introduction to the Portfolio
Each narrative is about 250 words and they are the introduction to the portfolio.
Narrative 1 talks about the six week course: what you learned about writing and logic and thinking critically that you will carry forth into your lifelong pursuit of learning. You can talk about books and other instruction materials and the instructor.
The second narrative will talk about your revision process and what specifically you have learned about yourself as a writer that makes you a better writer at the end of the course than you were at the start. Use two graded essays as evidence.
Portfolio
The portfolio documents is a word document. Do not send items separately. Attach the document and on the cover sheet include: Name, address, phone number, course name and code.
The assignments can be grouped and this forms your table of contents:
Narratives 1 & 2
WLTC Assignments
Freewrites
Cyber-Assignments
Tim Wise related assignments
From the Bottom of the Heap Assignments
The Known World Assignments
Black Like Me Assignments
Anything Else, such as extra credit assignments (graded assignments)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Terms in a Toulmin Argument
Many writers of arguments look to terminology developed by philosopher Stephen Toulmin to describe the elements of an argumentative essay. You can use these to check that your argument has all the key ingredients it needs to be successful.
A claim (proposition, thesis): answers the questions "What point will your paper will try to make?" or "What belief or opinion is the author defending?" To be credible to an audience, claims must usually be supported with specific evidence. For instance, a writer may claim that "Standardized tests are biased against female and minority students." In a Toulmin argument, readers ask, "How do you know that is true?" or "What is that based on?" Such questions are challenging the writer to prove the claim with support. In order to defuse an audience’s potential challenges, some writers use qualifiers to clarify their claims and protect their credibility. Acknowledging that the claim may not be absolute protects them from proving that their claim is true in every case. Qualifiers are usually adverbs that modify the verb in the claim or adjectives that modify a key noun; some common ones are typically, usually, for the most part, some, several, few, and sometimes. Qualified versions of the first claim might be "Many standardized tests are biased against female and minority students" or "Standardized tests are sometimes biased against female and minority students." Either of these, because of the limiting qualifiers, are easier to prove than the unqualified claim.
Support (evidence, backing) is the examples, facts and data that aid in proving the claim's validity. Depending on who your audience is, this evidence could also include emotional appeals, quotations from famous people or recognized experts, or statements based on the writer’s personal credibility. In the argument on test bias, readers might expect to see statistics that prove the test questions are biased, samples of misleading questions, quotations from educators and testing experts, and testimony from students who have taken such tests. All of these might be good kinds of support, depending on the identity of the audience.
Underlying the claims in Toulmin arguments are warrants, the inferences or assumptions that are taken for granted by the writer (and sometimes by the argument). Warrants connect (conspicuously or inconspicuously) the claim and the support; they derive from our cultural experiences and personal observations. For instance, if over the last five years, girls at Madison High have received higher grades than boys in every subject and yet the Madison boys consistently score higher on the SAT than the girls do, someone might claim that the SAT was biased against girls. The warrant for this claim is the belief that something must be preventing the girls from showing their academic excellence on the SAT.
Finally, a key point in Toulmin arguments is the concession, which brings differing opinions together by acknowledging a part of the opposing argument that cannot be refuted. Conceding that an opposing point is valid and then building upon it to further one's own claim allows a writer to make the audience feel appreciated without giving up her or his own position. For instance, in the SAT argument, the writer might concede that other reasons, like test anxiety or fewer math courses, lower girls’ scores on the test, but go on to provide evidence that even when these factors are considered, the questions are written in such a way as to favor boys. If the writer can discredit the opposition’s counter-arguments by proving their logic is faulty, their support is weak or their warrants are invalid, he or she has created a rebuttal that supports his or her own original position and furthers his or her claim.
THIS HANDOUT WAS CREATED BY TUTORS MEREDITH REYNOLDS AND SCOTT GILBERT.
A claim (proposition, thesis): answers the questions "What point will your paper will try to make?" or "What belief or opinion is the author defending?" To be credible to an audience, claims must usually be supported with specific evidence. For instance, a writer may claim that "Standardized tests are biased against female and minority students." In a Toulmin argument, readers ask, "How do you know that is true?" or "What is that based on?" Such questions are challenging the writer to prove the claim with support. In order to defuse an audience’s potential challenges, some writers use qualifiers to clarify their claims and protect their credibility. Acknowledging that the claim may not be absolute protects them from proving that their claim is true in every case. Qualifiers are usually adverbs that modify the verb in the claim or adjectives that modify a key noun; some common ones are typically, usually, for the most part, some, several, few, and sometimes. Qualified versions of the first claim might be "Many standardized tests are biased against female and minority students" or "Standardized tests are sometimes biased against female and minority students." Either of these, because of the limiting qualifiers, are easier to prove than the unqualified claim.
Support (evidence, backing) is the examples, facts and data that aid in proving the claim's validity. Depending on who your audience is, this evidence could also include emotional appeals, quotations from famous people or recognized experts, or statements based on the writer’s personal credibility. In the argument on test bias, readers might expect to see statistics that prove the test questions are biased, samples of misleading questions, quotations from educators and testing experts, and testimony from students who have taken such tests. All of these might be good kinds of support, depending on the identity of the audience.
Underlying the claims in Toulmin arguments are warrants, the inferences or assumptions that are taken for granted by the writer (and sometimes by the argument). Warrants connect (conspicuously or inconspicuously) the claim and the support; they derive from our cultural experiences and personal observations. For instance, if over the last five years, girls at Madison High have received higher grades than boys in every subject and yet the Madison boys consistently score higher on the SAT than the girls do, someone might claim that the SAT was biased against girls. The warrant for this claim is the belief that something must be preventing the girls from showing their academic excellence on the SAT.
Finally, a key point in Toulmin arguments is the concession, which brings differing opinions together by acknowledging a part of the opposing argument that cannot be refuted. Conceding that an opposing point is valid and then building upon it to further one's own claim allows a writer to make the audience feel appreciated without giving up her or his own position. For instance, in the SAT argument, the writer might concede that other reasons, like test anxiety or fewer math courses, lower girls’ scores on the test, but go on to provide evidence that even when these factors are considered, the questions are written in such a way as to favor boys. If the writer can discredit the opposition’s counter-arguments by proving their logic is faulty, their support is weak or their warrants are invalid, he or she has created a rebuttal that supports his or her own original position and furthers his or her claim.
THIS HANDOUT WAS CREATED BY TUTORS MEREDITH REYNOLDS AND SCOTT GILBERT.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Final Week 6
Today in class we completed the exercises in WLTC analyzing arguments as we talked first about our last book, White Like Me, specifically a character who seemingly is sympathetic to the inequality in the south between races yet makes a remark to his friend that is in agreement with all he says he is against, white supremacy and white privilege (Griffin 79 first paragraph).
After completing the analysis of the arguments Exercise 6A (145-149), we reviewed deductive and inductive argument 7F (179-180). Homework is Exercise 7G (180-182), 7H (182-183); 7I (193-194), 7j (194-195). (I might have added an exercise not given in class, if I did excuse me and do it anyway (smile).
We then shifted to the handout re: Toulmin and we read a a couple of pages of the Virginia Woolf essay (handout). Students are to complete the Woolf essay as well as read the student essay. We will work in groups tomorrow on the exercises and talk about the structure of the Toulmin essay and how to recast the question explored in the classical essay model here.
Students will write another argument and present it on Wednesday. We'll practice it together using Black Like Me tomorrow.
Homework
Besides the essay, homework for July 27 is Exercise 7K (195). Be prepared to present it on July 28, in class, reduce to standard form and draw a diagram on the board. We will try to get to Writing Assignment 13 and 14 as freewrites in class 7/28). We will also do exercise 8D.
Read chapter 8 again for Wednesday, July 28, 2010. We will talk about all the argument forms: Classical, Toulmin and Rogerian.
Portfolios
I will give students a portfolio checklist before Wednesday. Portfolios are due, electronically by Friday, July 30, 12 noon. Email to: coasabirenglish5@gmail.com
If there are essays without grades, get them in before Wednesday. A C- is not a passing grade. If the essay says NC or no credit that is not a passing grade.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Great Debaters
Respond to the film. Use you knowledge of argument and two forms: classical and Rogerian to analyze the debater's strategy similar to the way we analyzed student essays yesterday in class. Talk about the type of argument and the appeals. Reduce at least one argument to its standard form and talk about the validity or soundness of the elements. Talk about the role of humor, the drama of the moment --it was theatre. Talk about the presenatation and the material helped the team command the attention of the audience (even those persons listening on radio) and elsewhere, and ultimately win the final match at Harvard.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Presentations
Today students will present their classical arguments from themes addressed in Edward P. Jones's The Known World. We might have time to look at the closing scenes from the film: The Great Debaters.
Homework was to complete the essay (250 words min.) and the exercises in WLTC chapter 8.
Post reflections here on the process of preparing to present the argument and the difference between oral and written arguments per today's exercise. Also reflect on what you did well and where you would like to improve. A part of good oratory skills is enunciation and projection. It's not cute to mumble or make your audience strain to hear you. Practice projecting your voice. For the next presentation, students will lose points if we can't hear you.
Homework was to complete the essay (250 words min.) and the exercises in WLTC chapter 8.
Post reflections here on the process of preparing to present the argument and the difference between oral and written arguments per today's exercise. Also reflect on what you did well and where you would like to improve. A part of good oratory skills is enunciation and projection. It's not cute to mumble or make your audience strain to hear you. Practice projecting your voice. For the next presentation, students will lose points if we can't hear you.
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