Text Structure
Why was the Great Chicago Fire so disastrous? After all, Chicago had fire departments and fire alarms. One reason for the terrible fire is that the alarm malfunctioned. The local fire company noticed the fire by accident as it was returning from another fire. As another problem, a watchman who saw the flames directed other fire companies to a location that was nearly a mile away from the fire. Because of these two problems, a fire that could have been controlled rapidly spread across the city.
What is cause and effect?
When reading a persuasive text, it's helpful to identify this aka who the author is talking to.
Who is the audience?
This is a debatable statement that the author is trying to prove. Example: Dogs are better pets than cats.
What is a claim?
This type of argument makes a broad conclusion based on a single observation. For example, one study found that 60% of teens have experience bullying. Therefore, most teens have been bullied.
What is inductive reasoning?
This is the definition of a fallacy.
What is an error/flaw in the author's logic or reasoning?
After the fire, thousands of people were left homeless. Many escaped the fire with nothing except the clothes on their backs. Providing all of these people with food, clean water, and shelter was a huge task. Luckily, the city quickly formed a Relief and Aid Society. This group started giving out the food donations that were pouring in from other cities. The society built places for people to live, gathered the tools that people needed to rebuild their houses, and even vaccinated 64,000 people against smallpox.
What is problem-solution?
If reading a speech, it is most likely to have this type of author's purpose.
What is to persuade/convince/argue?
This is the information the author uses to support their claim. It may include facts, anecdotes, lists, examples, etc. Without it, you have a weak argument.
What is evidence?
This type of reasoning supports an argument by making a conclusion that is most likely true because it's based on facts.
What is deductive reasoning?
Ad hominem is a type of logical fallacy where the person attacks their opponent instead of attacking their argument. Give an example of ad hominem (BE NICE, OR YOU WILL LOSE ALL OF YOUR POINTS).
Example: You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a kid.
Daniel Sullivan was the first to notice the flames coming from the O Leary barn at around 8:30 pm on October 8. A problem with the alarm box made it impossible for the people in the area to call for the fire department. By 9:30 pm, the entire block was blazing. In another 3 hours, there were fires all over Chicago. The heavy wind coming from the lake only made the fire bigger. It would be another day before the fire would be completely out. By that time, 17,500 buildings had been burned.
What is chronological/sequential?
I saw the power of cultural norms around education in March, when I visited China. As I traveled the country, whether I was talking to kids or adults, whether I was in big cities or rural areas, I was struck by the strength and depth of people's commitment to education.
WHAT TYPE OF EVIDENCE IS THIS?
What is anecdotal evidence?
In addition to evidence, this should also be used to support an argument. It's when you use logic to draw a conclusion.
What is reasoning?
This type of argument proposes the likeliest explanation based on the provided clues/evidence.
What is abductive reasoning?
Example: All teenagers are addicted to their phones.
Chicago changed in many ways after the fire. Before the fire, most of the buildings were less than five stories high. The buildings that were constructed after the fire, however, were some of the first skyscrapers in the country. Before the fire, most of the houses were made of wood. After the fire, people chose to build their houses out of stone or brick. There were changes in where people lived, as well. The poor people in the city lived close to the center of the city before the fire. After the fire, they moved into neighborhoods that were farther away from the downtown area.
What is compare and contrast?
A generation ago, America had the highest percentage of college graduates in the world. But today, we've dropped all the way to 12th in terms of young adults.
WHAT KIND OF EVIDENCE IS THIS?What is a fact/statistic?
Claim: Cats make better pets than dogs. FIND SOME REASONING OR EVIDENCE THAT COULD SUPPORT THIS CLAIM.
All cats have fur, Mittens is a cat, therefore Mittens has fur. WHAT TYPE OF REASONING IS THIS?
What is deductive reasoning?
A red herring fallacy is when the arguer brings up something that is irrelevant to their argument to distract the audience. Come up with an example of a red herring fallacy that you could use if your parents point out that you didn't clean your room like you were supposed to.
That's true, but I'm such a good student! Also, look at this pretty picture I drew you!
The flames spread very quickly,” he wrote. “A stream of fire rose up through the elevators to the uppermost floors. In the blink of an eye, fire appeared in all the windows and tongues of flame climbed higher and higher up the walls....
What is description?
My message to these young people is that while all of us adults - teachers, administrators, and policymakers - have to do a better job of giving them the best schools and opportunities for their future. At the end of the day, they also need to step up and take responsibility for their education themselves.
WHAT IS THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE FOR WRITING THIS SPEECH?
What is to convince young people and adults to support education?
Make a claim about the best snack and support it with strong evidence/reasoning.
Hot Cheetos are the best snack because they are packed with flavor. In fact, 80% of middle school students prefer Hot Cheetos to other snacks.
Give your own example of deductive, inductive, or abductive reasoning.
i.e. All dolphins have large brains. Flipper is a dolphin, therefore Flipper has a large brain.
Slippery slope fallacy is an argument that suggests an initial event will inevitably cause another bad event. Give an example of slippery slope.
Example: If I don't get enough sleep tonight, then I won't do well on my math test. If I don't do well on my math test, I will fail the class. If I fail the class, I'll also fail my other classes and have to drop out.