ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND including

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES specific

QUARTER 2 – LEARNING ACTIVITY examples
SHEET quotes,
ideas from
Analyzes the arguments used by the writer/s in other
manifestoes scholars,
Every now and then, we come to a point statistics,
wherein we need to take a stand or determine a data,
position in a particular issue. Pronouncing our testimonies,
side on a matter is not that easy, considering narratives,
that we need to scrutinize every aspect of that and facts.
concern for us to be able come up with a THREE MAJOR WAYS AUTHORS CAN PRESENT
decision. AN ARGUMENT:
A position paper is a document that 1. Reasoning – giving a logical explanation
contains statements about a one-sided of the argument.
arguable opinion on a certain subject or 2. Evidence – presenting statistics, facts,
issue. It is sometimes called a point-of- and studies
view paper since it presents your claims 3. Appeal – stimulate the reader's
provided with rationale and valid emotions
evidence. It is a debate in written form TYPES OF ARGUMENTS
with the goal of convincing your 1. Deductive Arguments- proceeds from
audience of your belief or judgment. general ideas/facts to specific inferences
Hence, the principle of writing in an Example:
argumentative way should be followed. Premise 1: All men are mortal (major
MANIFESTO premise/very general statement)
Manifesto is defined as a written statement Premise 2: Railey is a man. (minor
declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or premise/more specific)
views of its issuer. Conclusion: Railey is a mortal. (very specific
ARGUMENT statement)
An argument is a set of ideas put together to 2. Inductive Arguments-derives from specific
prove a point. It is different from the “real observations lead to a general conclusion
world’ meaning where an argument denotes Example:
“fight” or “conflict”. Premise: The past Marvel movies have been
A writer’s argument is a group of statements or incredibly successful at the box office.
reasons used to persuade the readers that what Conclusion: Therefore, the next Marvel movie
he/she believes is true. It may cause the will probably be successful.
audience to act differently or change their mind
completely. IDENTIFYING THE ARGUMENTS
As for the audience, it is essential that you could When reading, you need to identify the
develop the skill to evaluate whether an arguments to understand the main points. In
argument used by the author is good or bad; paragraphs, a topic sentence identifies the main
whether it supports the assertion sensibly, or claim or main idea. To find it, follow these
whether it is presented in a confusing and steps:
illogical way. 1. Read the paragraph
TWO PARTS OF AN ARGUMENT 2. Ask, “What is the paragraph about?
1. What do It 3. Summarize the content in your own words
Claim/Conclusion you want summarizes 4. Find the sentence within the paragraph that
the the main best matches the summary. This is the stated
reader to idea. It is not claim of the paragraph.
believe? just your Let us look at this example:
opinion. It is The story of Disney's "The Lion King" draws
what you direct inspiration from Shakespeare's
think is true "Hamlet". Simba represents Hamlet, the
about a successor of the King/Mufasa, who swears
topic. revenge on his evil uncle Scar/Claudius.
2. Why It is the Likewise, Simba's best friend Nala represents
Reasons/Premises should importance both Ophelia, a love interest, and Horatio, a
the of your best friend. Take a minute and follow the
reader claim. four-step process to determine the stated
accept It includes claim.
your evidence
claim? that comes
in various
forms,
After reading the paragraph, it seems clear that
the author is comparing "The Lion King" to
"Hamlet". More specifically, it is saying that the
similarities between the two are too great to be
only coincidences. As a result, it would appear
as though the best 'sentence' match to this
summary would be the first sentence. This is
likely the stated claim.
ANALYZING THE ARGUMENTS
Analyzing an argument means breaking it down
into its components in order to determine
whether or not it is strong or weak, effective or
not.
In order to begin analyzing an argument, you
must first look at the evidence presented to
you, then ask questions based on that evidence.
Ask questions like,
• "Based on the evidence, is there a different
explanation or claim possible?"
• "Is the evidence convincing and sound?"
• "How does the argument/evidence compare
with others you've read?"
You will likely find two authors who make
different claims on the same topic.
How do they each support their claims with
reasons and evidence?
Let's look at an example.
Every citizen should have access to a free,
universal health care system. This would
allow medical professionals to concentrate
on healing their patients rather than dealing
with insurance procedures and liability
concerns. Each person has a right to be cared
for and having access to free medical services
provides patients with the opportunity for
regular checkups when otherwise they may
not be able to afford them
Universal health care is an impractical system
where total costs end up being much higher
compared to privatized care. Doctor flexibility
is decreased due to government policy and
those that are healthy are forced to subsidize
the health benefits for smokers and those
that are obese. Everyone should be given
access to health care, but not in a publicly
controlled system.
These two passages each reflect an opinion
about a universal health care system. Although
each paragraph discusses the same topic, they
both claim very different things.
The upper paragraph argues that universal
health care gives doctors the opportunity to
focus on care over insurance concerns while the
bottom argues that doctor flexibility is
decreased in such a system due to intrusive
government policy.
The upper paragraph argues that universal
health care gives everyone the opportunity for
regular checkups, no matter the cost while the
bottom argues that such a system forces the
healthy to subsidize benefits for those needing
care due to smoking or obesity.
Ultimately, each author supports his claim with
effective reasoning. As you read, make sure you
understand the claims that the author is trying
to make.
Activity 1: True or False. Write T if the
statement is true and F if it’s false. (1/4)
1. An argument should 6. Examples don’t
block reasonable provide specifics
disagreement. and details in
2. Your argument is a support of a claim.
summary of a topic. 7. An argument
3. An argument should should question a
be debatable. reader’s
4. Statistics is a reliable viewpoints.
support for an 8. An argument
argument. takes a stand on an
5. Expert opinions are issue.
based on factual 9. An expert’s
evidences and are credentials are not
interpretations of important.
facts. 10. Statistics are
not factual.
Activity 2
Directions: Write “YES” if the following is an
example of an argument and “NO” if it is not.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. Justine is angry with me, so she probably
won’t accompany me to the party.
2. Are you serious? Stop doing that!
3. Animal abuse laws in most countries are so
lenient that offenders face almost no
punishment, so stronger, stricter laws must be
imposed to protect animals.
4. As a generation of students enter college, it is
time for higher education to use gaming to
appeal to students and make learning more
engaging.
5. First, I watched Netflix, and then I ate lunch.
At noon, I decided to go out with my friends. I
missed them.
6. Divorce should be legalized in our country.
There are many women suffering from abusive
relationships.
7. Elena showed me her artwork, and I was very
surprised to see how talented she is.
8. Obesity has become a problem for many
women because obesity rates have risen over
the past years.
9. If the floor wasn’t slippery, she wouldn’t have
fallen into an accident.
10. Here you go again. Please, stop complaining.