Activity Sheet

in
English for Academic
and Professional
Purposes
Quarter 2:
Analyzes the arguments used by the writer/s in
manifestoes

CS_EN11/12A-EAPPIIa-d-3
LET US KNOW

In the previous learning activity sheet, we discussed how to write concept

papers. This time you will analyze the construction of arguments. Do not forget to
honestly answer the activities that follow on blank sheets of paper.

Getting Ready Activity

Say the following words loudly:
- Argument
- Position
- Analysis
- Evidence
- Idea
1. What is the meaning of the word ​Argument?​
2. What does ​Position mean?
3. What is the meaning of ​Analysis?
4. How do you understand the word ​Evidence?
5. In your own words, what is an ​Idea?

LET US REVIEW
In less than 50 words, explain what a concept paper is and how are its parts
useful in achieving its purpose?
LET US STUDY
One way to analyze an argument/manifesto effectively is to understand
what it consists of.
Arguments vs Assertions
• Assertion
- something that is stated as true, without enough analysis to demonstrate
that it is reasonable to believe that the statement is likely to be true.
The Anatomy of an Argument
• IDEA
• ANALYSIS equals one ​argument
• EVIDENCE

IDEA
• The point you are trying to make.
• The headline or title of the argument. The topic sentence.
Examples:
1. Banning smoking will improve the profits of the businesses involved.
2. The government has an obligation to provide free education.
3. The death penalty is an effective deterrent for crime.

ANALYSIS
• why the IDEA is likely to be true – why it is logical and reasonable to believe
that it’s true.
Example:
• IDEA
 - It will attract more customers.
• ANALYSIS
At present many potential customers are put off going out to pubs and clubs,
or cut short their visits ​because t​ hey are put off by cigarette smoke, which they
know is dangerous to them… (and so on.)

EVIDENCE
- statistics, survey, case study, or analogy to strengthen the idea and the
analysis
Example:
One survey conducted by ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) demonstrates
how a significant number of people would spend more time in smoke-free
pubs and clubs.

HOW TO DESTROY AN ARGUMENT

• By knowing the anatomy of an argument, one knows how an individual can
destroy the counterclaim in a position paper or any argumentative essay.

LET US PRACTICE
Analyze the following arguments. Reflect on whether they follow the structure
of idea, analysis, and evidence.

1. The death penalty can also help provide closure for the victim's family and
friends, who will no longer have to fear the return of this criminal into
society. They will not have to worry about parole or the chance of escape,
 and will thus be able to achieve a greater degree of closure. Mary
Heidcamp, a Chicago woman whose mother's killer faced the death penalty
before the State Governor commuted the sentences to life in prison, stated
'we were looking forward to the death penalty. I'm just so disappointed in
the system'. Other victims' families deemed the decision a 'mockery', that
'justice is not done.
2. The state has a responsibility to protect the lives of innocent citizens, and
enacting the death penalty may save lives by reducing the rate of violent
crime. The reasoning here is simple- fear of execution can play a powerful
motivating role in convincing potential murderers not to carry out their
acts. While the prospect of life in prison may be frightening, surely death is
a more daunting prospect. Thus, the risk of execution can change the
cost-benefit calculus in the mind of murderers-to be so that the act is no
longer worthwhile for them. Numerous studies support the deterrent effect
of the death penalty. A 1985 study by Stephen K. Layson at the University of
North Carolina showed that a single execution deters 18 murders. Another
influential study, which looked at over 3,054 counties over two decades,
further found support for the claim that murder rates tend to fall as
executions rise. On top of this, there are ways to make the death penalty an
even more effective deterrent than it is today. For instance, reducing the
wait time on death row prior to execution can dramatically increase its
deterrent effect in the United States. In short, the death penalty can- and
does- save the lives of innocent people.
3. The death penalty is the only way to ensure that criminals do not escape
back into society or commit further crimes while in prison. While in prison,
 it is not uncommon for those receiving life in jail sentences to commit
homicide, suicide, or other crimes while in jail, since there is no worse
punishment they can receive. Putting dangerous murderers in prison
endangers other prisoners and the guards who must watch them. The other
advantage of execution is that it prevents the possibly of an escape from
prison. Even the highest security detention facilities can have escapees.
Thus, the only way to be absolutely certain that a convicted murder can no
longer hurt others is to execute them.
Arguments lifted from
https://idebate.org/debatabase/law-crime-policing-punishment-philosophy-ethics-life/house-supports-death-
penalty

LET US APPRECIATE
What is the practical importance knowing how to analyze arguments?
Aside from academic and professional purposes, how can argumentation help
us in our daily lives? Write your answer on a blank sheet of paper.
LET US REMEMBER
An argument has three parts, namely:
1. Idea-the head or topic sentence of the argument
2. Analysis-the explanation on why or how the idea is true
3. Evidence-data or facts supporting the analysis and idea
Knowing the structure of an argument can vastly help in destroying it part
by part.

LET US PRACTICE MORE

 Tell what is missing about the following arguments. Why do they fail to
argue properly?
1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
2. According to the Code of Ethics of Professional Teachers, they must
achieve the highest standards of quality education so regardless of their
salaries, teachers should not complain about what they are getting
because it is their duty to do it.
3. Why make arguments when we are all going to die anyway? All efforts
are meaningless because one day, we will not even exist anymore.
4. 1 in 5 children are victims of domestic abuse in the Philippines.
Therefore, it is highly encouraged for us to issue a system where parents
need to have licenses before having children.
5. Homework should not be given to students because there is no function
for these kinds of tasks. When you consider these types of tasks, they
are already a burden because a student has to do many things at home
aside from studying. Examples of these are doing household chores,
relaxation from stress from school, and some students even have part
time jobs so they really need to rest.

EVALUATION
Write a two to three paragraph output of the following excerpt from Paulo
Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” The output should contain what you
understood, whether you agree with it or not, and why you agree or disagree with
Freire.
Excerpt from Pedagogy of the Oppressed:

Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen,
but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of
the vocation of becoming more fully human. This distortion occurs within
history; but it is not an historical vocation. Indeed, to admit of dehumanization
as an historical vocation would lead either to cynicism or total despair. The
struggle for humanization, for the emancipation of labor, for the overcoming of
alienation, for the affirmation of men and women as persons would be
meaningless. This struggle is possible only because dehumanization, although a
concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order
that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the
oppressed. Because it is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later
being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made
them so. In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in
seeking to regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn
oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both.
This, then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to
liberate themselves and their oppressors as well. The oppressors, who oppress,
exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the
strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves. Only power that
springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free
both. Any attempt to "soften" the power of the oppressor in deference to the
weakness of the oppressed almost always manifests itself in the form of false
generosity; indeed, the attempt never goes beyond this. In order to have the
 continued opportunity to express their "generosity," the oppressors must
perpetuate injustice as well. An unjust social order is the permanent fount of
this "generosity," which is nourished by death, despair, and poverty. That is
why the dispensers of false generosity become desperate at the slightest threat
to its source.

ANALYZING ARGUMENTS RUBRIC

Score Description
30-25 The student has clearly summarized the material based on their
understanding, provided a clear and strong position, and has given at least
2 sets of evidence as to why they have taken such position.
24-20 The student has clearly summarized the material based on their
understanding, provided a somewhat clear yet weak position, and has
given 1 evidence as to why they have taken such position.
19-15 The student has missed some key points in their understanding, provided
a weak position, without giving any evidence.
14 and The student has misinterpreted the material, thereby invalidating their
below position and evidence.

Prepared by:

John Lester A. Zamora

Teacher II
MHPNHS-SHS