Faculty of Economic and Management

Sciences, Stellenbosch University

26 Feb 2024
Formative writing assignment [FAF]
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

— Industrial Psychology 224 is a writing-intensive module. In

preparation for the submission of a summative writing assignment
(AF), you will submit a formative writing assignment (FAF).

— The argumentative writing style required of the writing

assignments will briefly explained during class today (26 Feb
2024).

— The topic for the FAF assignment will be provided today.

— The formative writing assignment is to be handed in during class

on 11 March 2024.
Aim of the session
To help you with:

— Externalizing your thinking

— Thinking critically

— Creating an argument

— Practical steps to assist you with familiarizing yourself

with the golden ‘thread’
Ways of communicating: Academic
discourse and creating context
— Discourse refers to ‘language in action’/ meaningful debate
on an issue.

— In order to create meaning and to communicate views,

ideas and opinions, it is important to create context.

— Context is the circumstance that forms a setting for a

statement or idea so that it can be fully understood and
assessed. Context provides meaning and it sets the scene –
usually this is achieved in the Introduction of the
assignment.
 Genre
‘Genre’ is defined as ‘a
recognized type of
communicative event’.
(Swales & Feak 2000: 7)

‘Genres … are a means

of getting jobs done
when language is used
to accomplish them .’
(Swales & Feak 2000: 26)

common movie
genres
Academic & research genres
practice-
or research
learning- -focused
focused

l og ay al rt per l
b s s rn o na
p
e
jo
u re e pa ion our
a l rch nc tat sis d
j
ion s ea fere ser the d ite
es
s re on d is al re
of c tor a cc
pr oc
an
e in d
in
ticl cl e
ar ti
ar
Structure of the essay
Use a funnel approach:

— Introduction

— Body

— Conclusion
Sieves vs sponges: Thinking critically
Start with your
own opinion:
Whether vague
or wrong
Achieve reasoned
judgment

Then you read:

Your opinion may sifting through what
change OR it might is important fact and
inform your opinion that which is not
Critical thinking and argument in
academic writing
— Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the
true value of statements and seeking errors. Lateral
thinking is more concerned with the movement value of
statements and ideas. A person uses lateral thinking to
move from one known idea to creating new ideas.

— And so, we incorporate the process of

argumentation in essay writing.
Making the moves in
academic argument
— Simply defined: argument is taking the thinking in your head,
and putting it into language.

— Students who do well in the (higher) education system are not

only those who know their subject, but who can also argue it
well.

— It is not about arguing in a destructive sense, but seen more as a

conversation.

— Therefore, academic writing is more than just making a lot of

statements. Conversations don’t appear from nowhere, they are
usually motivated by some statement.
Argument as a conversation
— For example, if I say "South Africa is currently in a
recession" you may respond with "so what?" or "boring…"?
It is very different if you say "The Minister of Finance
recently denied that the country has entered into a
recession. However, the data shows that we were in
recession even six months before his pronouncement."

— Now there is a reason for your argument, and there is

direction on how to construct the argument.
Basic Argument Structure

Claim (the point)

Argument

Grounds (support)
Also known as reasons,
evidence proof
Data or justification

Pia Lamberti Centre for Professional Academic

Staff Development, UJ, 2011
Basic Argument Example
Creating jobs is a
priority

Argument
because
25% of working age
South Africans are
unemployed

Pia Lamberti Centre for Professional Academic

Staff Development, UJ, 2011
Research writing: a recursive process
generating

refining focusing &

developing

evaluating

connecting
structuring
& surfacing
 Structure of an argument
— Toulmin model
Claim (This must be contestable)
C
(Need to
qualify)
(Rebuttal is a counter Q
argument. You need
to resolve it) Warrant Data (Information to support your
claim, theory, previous
Rebuttal D àC D research) – the
~C evidence/grounds
~(DàC)
~D

The warrant is the assumption on which the claim and the evidence
depend. Another way of saying this would be that the warrant explains why
the data support the claim.
Elements of argument
South African Youth Unemployment Rate (2017-2019 Data)

Youth Unemployment Rate in South Africa decreased to 58.10% in the

fourth quarter of 2019 from 58.20% in the third quarter of 2019.
Updated February 2020 from its official source STATS SA.
Elements of argument
— Higher education institutions (HEIs) do not prepare
graduates to become employable.

— The youth unemployment rate is 58% (Statistics SA,

2020). Higher education institutions (HEIs) do not
prepare graduates to become employable.

— The youth unemployment rate is 58% (Statistics SA,

2020). A quarter of these young people have studied
towards a qualification at a higher education
institution. Higher education institutions (HEIs) do
not prepare graduates to become employable.
Creating Flow
— Write the essay with flow in mind.

— The way you start an essay, will determine the flow

throughout.

— Case study: Will China overtake the USA as the world’s

economic super power by 2030?
Basic strategy in creating flow
— Who has an imaginary friend?

— It is quite simple…. Have an imagined conversation to

generate your claims

— Place the claims in a logical sequence

— Link the claims to each other

— This is how……….
Developing your essay while still creating flow….
Always having a conversation in your head
— You are going to make a claim:
— China will not overtake the USA

— Your imaginary friend will ask an open ended question

— Why do you say that?

— You will think of reasons

— China cannot continue to grow fast if the USA stagnates
— The USA is much larger than China
— There are many factors that will constrain China’s growth
 China will not overtake the USA as the
world’s economic superpower by 2030

China cannot grow The US is still much Factors will constrain

fast if US stagnates larger than China China’s growth

These sub-claims could possibly form your headings

So, you see, you grow the essay/ assignment/thesis from the claim
Develop the sub-claims
— Sub-claim: China cannot continue to grow fast if the USA
stagnates

— If someone stated this, what would you ask?

— Why do you say that?

— Think of reasons
— The US is the most important buyer of Chinese goods
— China remains dependent on US technology
 China will not overtake the USA as the
world’s economic superpower by 2030

China cannot grow The US is still much Factors will constrain

fast if US stagnates larger than China China’s growth

China needs US China needs US

to buy from it technology

You see, you are growing the thesis assignment from the sub-claims
Develop the sub-claims
— Sub-claim: The USA is still many times larger than China

— If someone stated this, what would you ask?

— Why does that even matter?

— Think of reasons
— The USA has a large GDP, so only a small growth rate is
needed to stay ahead
— Projections show China still behind the USA in 2050
 China will not overtake the USA as the
world’s economic superpower by 2030

China cannot The US is still much Factors will constrain

grow fast if US larger than China China’s growth
stagnates

China needs US China needs

to buy from it US technology

Small growth
Projections
from a large
agree
base is still big
Develop the sub-claims
— Sub-claim: There are many factors that will soon constrain
China’s growth

— If someone stated this, what would you ask?

— Like what?

— Provide some important factors

— Lack of economic freedom will constrain China’s growth
— China is running into capacity constraints
 China will not overtake the USA as the
world’s economic superpower by 2030

China cannot The US is still much Factors will constrain

grow fast if US larger than China China’s growth
stagnates

Lack of
China needs US China needs Capacity
economic
to buy from it US technology constraints
freedom

Small growth
Projections
from a large
agree
base is still big
 Develop smaller sub-claims
— Lack of economic freedom will constrain China
— Why do you say that?

— Studies have shown positive correlation between economic

freedom and growth
— Provide observations: China’s economic freedom ranks 93rd in
the world
— Provide explanations: Low economic freedom harms
entrepreneurship and promotes corruption
— Evaluate: Yet, despite this China still grows so it could be an
exception
— Make concession: Maybe in the short run but not in long run
Develop smaller sub-claims
— China is already running into capacity constraints
— Like what?

— Natural resources (identify specific ones and explain)

— Electricity (describe and explain)
— Japan in the 1980s (example and compare)
— But there is a way around these constraints… (evaluate)
Put it in order
— You have the material

— Now weave it together into a story

— Flow:
— One section leads to next section
— One paragraph leads to next paragraph

— Make connections clear to the reader, too

— How would you order the following?

China cannot grow The US is still much Factors will constrain
fast if US stagnates larger than China China’s growth
 China will not overtake the USA as the
world’s economic superpower by 2030

there
fore

The US is still much Factors will constrain China cannot

larger than China China’s growth grow fast if US
stagnates
But even if China …and the ultimate
could grow faster it constraint is US
cannot continue this economic growth
for long because… itself, so…
 China will not overtake the USA as
the world’s economic superpower by It must link back to
your initial claim
2030 t heref
o re

The US is still Factors will constrain China cannot grow

much larger than China’s growth fast if US stagnates
China …and the ultimate
But even if China could grow constraint is US economic
faster it cannot continue this growth itself, so…
for long because…

Small growth
Lack of China
from a large Capacity China needs
economic needs US
base is still big constraints the USA’s
freedom to buy
technology
from it
Projections
agree
Writing should be a conversation
— It starts with a claim, you read up on the situation and
your thinking may change

— Ask yourself open-ended questions all the time

— This enables you to flesh out the claim and grow your
essay – everything flows from the claim

— Remember, 3 levels are sufficient

Categorising makes memory easier
— You create flow by helping the reader remember what
you’ve written before

— You achieve this by breaking things up into smaller parts

therefore the importance of
PARAGRAPHS

— Breaking up helps the writer and the reader stay focused on

a discussion point

— When do you move onto your next paragraph?

— A paragraph is one idea at a time

Pulling it all together with moves
— REFER TO THE DOCUMENT CALLED
ARGUMENTATIVE MOVES

— Language helps to weave the differences

— Moves
— I say
— They say
— You see (meta-commentary, signals, connections)

— Best arguments use all three

What differences?
Logos
(knowledge)

say

Is
ay
ey
Th

Pathos Ethos
(audience) (self )

You see
 OPINION

FOR AGAINST
“They say” moves
— When writing, you should state your position as quickly
as possible

— Summarise other opinions to motivate your

argument

— At the beginning of the paper, try to give readers a sense

of where your argument comes from

— REFER TO READING MATERIAL ON SUNLearn FOR

GUIDELINES
“I say” moves…
— Meaningful if an extension of what “they say”

— After you’ve looked at a ‘they say’ move, you have to come

back to an ‘I say’ move
— Position
— Agree with a difference... Yes and It is important to
— Agree with objections… Yes but signal your own voice:
See pp. 8 & 9
— Undecided with reasons… It depends
in the making
— Disagree with concessions….. No but argumentative moves
— Disagree with reasons….. No and doc

— Anticipate and deal with responses

— Name the naysayers and entertain objections
— Answer objections and make concessions
Refer back to the funnel approach!
Formative writing assignment [FAF]
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
— Industrial Psychology 224 is a writing-intensive module. In preparation for
the submission of a summative writing assignment (AF), you will submit a
formative writing assignment (FAF).
— Input of AI language tools (e.g., ChatGPT/OpenAI) not permitted for FAF.
— Body of the FAF assignment = 1 Page!!
— The topic for the FAF assignment will be provided now.
— The formative writing assignment will be handed in, 3 pages, hard copy
format, during class on 11 March 2024.

1st page: Title page: module, assignment title, student name & student number, lecturer, date.
[1st page: To reduce the physical number of pages handed in, include (for this FAF assignment
only) your Plagiarism Declaration as well as your Table Of Contents (which will be short, in this
case) on your Title page. (Typically, these two entries are placed on the second and third pages
of an assignment/report.)]
2nd page: Text – only one single page of argumentative text.
3rd page: References (APA7th/SU style).
Summative writing assignment [AF]
— A topic will be posted on the SUNLearn platform, with the brief.

— Additional documentation as well as the rubric will also be available on

SUNLearn.

— All writing assignments that are submitted must meet the specific
specifications.

— The summative writing assignment will be submitted via Turnitin on

SUNLearn.
— Input of AI tools such as ChatGPT/Open AI is permitted for the AF,
within specified parameters.

— Submission date: Wednesday 10 April 2024 by 23H59.

— The AF writing assignment will contribute a weight of 5 towards your

Final Mark for CB224.
FAF - Brief
— Hand in hard copy, in class, on 11 March 2024

— 1st page: Title page: title, student number, plagiarism declaration, TOC
— 2nd page: Text – only one single page of argumentative text
— 3rd page: References

— Arial, 11 font, single (1.0) line spacing, narrow margins, block justified,
APA7th/SU style

— Take a stance and defend:

Relying on celebrity endorsement is a risky marketing strategy.