DEBATE-ABILITY
DEBATE-ABILITY 2
SOURCES & SUMMARIES
WRITING FASHION
KEEPING IT TOGETHER
100
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Your main argument is very vague"
Add an "although" and "because" clause to your argument.
100
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I don't understand this claim that you're making. Could you clarify this a bit more, elaborate?"
Metacommentary.
100
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Are these your own arguments or your source's arguments?"
"Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say"
100
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Your paper is incoherent. It rambles."
Making sure that you have a main argument.
100
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I don't see the connections between your sentences"
Use transitions (THEY SAY I SAY)
200
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I don't understand the significance of your argument"
Add a "so what" template.
200
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "This paper seems more like a description than a persuasive essay."
Make sure topic sentences are argumentative and specific.
200
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I understand the bigger idea you're trying to get at, but you need to focus your paper on a single thing--writing about all of nineteenth century British literature is too broad."
Research object.
200
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "The way that you write tends to be very vague"
Use more concrete verbs and nouns, write with nouns and verbs rather than, prefer active voice to passive voice.
200
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I don't understand the relationship between your main argument and this subpoint. Could you clarify this a bit?"
Metacommentary: Provide a roadmap for your argument or indicate an elaboration of a previous idea.
300
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "How is your argument different from what others have argued? How does it challenge conventional wisdom?"
Align your "they say" with your "I say," use templates to clarify the relationship between the two.
300
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I understand the claim you're making and the reason that you're using to support it, but I don't see the connection between the two."
Warrant.
300
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "You're just not giving the argument you're summarizing its due credit. Even if you disagree with it, you have to give it the best shot."
Playing the "believing game."
300
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Your paragraphs are all over the place. I can't tell what the focus of your sentences are."
Express crucial action in the verb and place main character in the subject.
300
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Your main argument is very vague"
Use the opposite of your main argument and test whether it's trivial or un-debatable.
400
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I'm not convinced by your argument. It seems like an over-generalization. What about this problem that I see with this argument?"
Add a naysayer or acknowledgment.
400
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I understand your claim here, and I'm convinced by the reasons, but I'm just not convinced by how you're supporting the reasons."
Using more or different evidence to support your reasons.
400
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "How is this quotation relevant to your argument in this paper?"
Use signal phrases and attribution tags; frame your quotation.
400
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Try to use a more academic tone"
Thicken your argumentation (ETHOS)
400
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Make your argument clearer from the outset, and especially the reasons you're using to support this argument"
Roadmap. Templates for indicating agreement or disagreement.
500
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: Your instructor thinks that you're making one argument, when in fact you're trying to make another. Which TSIS template which would you use to clarify this?
Metacommentary: "This is not to say _______ , but rather ________."
500
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "I still don't understand what your main argument is. Where is it?"
State your I Say in relation to your They Say in your first or second paragraphs.
500
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "Your summary just seems like a list"
Make sure that your "they say" is connected to your "I say," make sure your summary is thesis driven.
500
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "The way that you structure your paragraphs can get really confusing, especially when you begin sentences with something I don't know about"
Moving from familiar to unfamiliar.
500
Name at least one way to improve your work based on this comment: "You need a better introduction."
Making sure you have an attention-getter, one that introduces your idea and connects the attention getter seamlessly to your main argument.
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