Being Concise and Improving your Argument - Post #4

Being Concise and Improving your Argument - Post #4

Austin Freeman
Period 4 - Honors English
Independent Reading Project - Quarter 2

As I continue to get farther into my non-fiction text, I am now in the chapter about argumentative essays and revision. I have established a basic argument, and now I want to make sure that it is well-defended. I want to get my point across, and I am polishing my argument in any way that I can. 

In chapter 9 and the first Appendix of this book by Anthony Weston, it discussed how in arguments, you want to be short and jump right in. Argumentation is different from other styles of writing. In learning about writing and argumentation from a "standpoint" of rules and how to make your arguments flow, one thing that I have learned is you do not want to be very detailed in your arguing. A specific piece of text from my book is "Launch straight into the real work. No windy windups or rhetorical padding. Get to your point." (Weston 59). This specifically is from arguments rule #34, which is "jump right in." By reading about using this rule in the case I am creating, I am able to use this text from my non-fiction book to make sure that I keep my argument short, so that I can be concise and use this argument as an oral argument or when I am possibly debating about this topic. In regular arguments and normal conversations, you want to jump right on in and not be exquisitely accurate or list out your reasons. I have read my argument and changed some of the structure so that I can be concrete and concise, be persuasive and that I am building on the substance that I already have. 

Another strategy is to address your audience and present the argument effectively. Sometimes you may end up genuinely arguing and discussing an issue with a friend, or you could be debating in front of a class. To adequately convey my argument, I want to reach out to the audience. When I am having an energetic discussion or making an oral argument, I am asking to be heard and to be listened by. I want to reach out through my passion about this topic and bring my own interests and knowledge to this topic that I am arguing about. (67). This text from the book affects my activity (writing and argumentation) because it allows me to actually introduce myself and reach out to the audience to help establish and convey my argument persuasively. By incorporating these rules and ideas in my writing, I am able to learn how to communicate more persuasively by reaching out to my audience, to establish my presence as the speaker and to present my premise concisely. 

My Argument (In-Progress):

I appreciate the chance to talk to you today, I want to persuade you to think about how high school is more than friendships and social media. High school is an important part of your life, and you want to develop good learning opportunities to establish college and career readiness.

In high school, your study habits and actions really do matter and skills such as good time management, studying in new locations, and identifying how you learn all will enable you to be successful. You will use these skills all of the time in many different settings, such as college, your career, in social gatherings with other people, etc.

In High, School, you should develop skills such as planning and effective time management. A lot of students improve planning and learn how to manage their time and activities, which allows them to be successful students. Specifically, if Cornell University, says that many students that come to college are unprepared because they do not develop proper study and management skills, then it is true that you should develop skills such as planning and effective time management to you can be successful,

Colleges such as the University of Washington, want to see continued intellectual growth and that you care about your education. Identifying how you learn, establish good study skills where you can concentrate on your academics and not being distracted, and learning to manage your time so that you can get all of your homework and academics done, are good skills to have and will help you with your intellectual growth. Therefore, establish good study skills, identifying how you learn, and completing your homework are things that will help you get into college and prepare you for life.

High school is an important part of your life, and you want to develop excellent learning opportunities to establish college and career readiness, so make the most of your education.

Question:
How can you jump right in and get straight to your point in an essay or argument? It is good to include some background information before you make your thesis/claim in an essay, but how can you include background information and also get straight yo your point or claim that you want to make??

Sources used for My Argument:

"Freshman Students." Freshman Students Admissions| UW. University of Washington, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2017.

Selco, Helene. "Programs." Strategies for College Success: Critical Thinking and Effective Learning / Cornell Summer College Programs for High School Students. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2017

MLA Citation:
Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2009. Print.