SAMPLE OF "WHICH ONE IS BEST?" PROJECT FOR TECH WRITING

Here is a sample of the project we are doing.  Go to this link.SAMPLE PROJECT

Fallacies in Reasoning

FALLACIES IN REASONING                                    Name:________

YOU CANNOT USE ARGUMENTS LIKE THESE IN A DEBATE.

They are __ reasoning!

What is a Fallacy?   Fallacy =   A statement or an argument based on false or invalid _________________.

   

#1 - AD HOMINEM ATTACK:

Ad hominem = “_”

Criticizing the  -- rather than his/her arguments.  (-- -- or character assassination)

What do you know about gun ownership?  You’re only 16 years old!!

Don’t vote for the negative team.  They have terrible -- in math, so you can’t trust the statistics they come up with!

#2 – FALSE CAUSE:

“ergo propter hoc”  therefore ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­-- of this

Assuming one thing caused another.  (False ---- relationship)

The 10^th grade attendance in 2012-2013 has improved. That’s because of the -- initiative.

Driving a Cadillac will help your child do better in school.  Studies show that children whose parents drive Cadillacs have higher test scores than those whose parents drive Fords.

#3 – HASTY GENERALIZATION:

-- to a conclusion or making an assumption too quickly, based upon very-- evidence.

Both Julie and Carrie have had car accidents this year.  Women are terrible drivers!

Our English teacher made us ready read some poetry, and it was really boring. I know now that I will-- like poetry.

You can’t trust what you read on the internet.

#4 - “EITHER/OR FALLACY:

Suggesting that only-- alternatives exist when there are ----solutions.

Either you develop good computer skills, or you won’t be able to get a decent job.

If your nose is running, you either have a cold or the --.

We have --choices:  get iPads for all students or stick with pencils and paper.

#5 – CIRCULAR REASONING/ BEGGING THE QUESTION:

Instead of using evidence, the speaker simply -- -- in other language.

Students should not be allowed to park in lots now reserved for -- because those lots should be for faculty only.

If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be -- by the law.

Mike was the best candidate for president, because he was totally -- than any of the others.

#6 – FALSE ANALOGY/ BAD COMPARISON:

Comparing two things that really -- be compared because they are -- similar.

If we can land on the moon, we should be able to find a cure for the common --.

A school is like a --.  Balancing the budget is its first priority.

Children are like --  Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must children be spanked.

#7 – SLIPPERY SLOPE:

Assuming a small first step will lead to a terrible -- --.

If we let the government ban assault rifles, pretty soon they will be taking -- our guns away from us.

If teens smoke pot, eventually they will be addicted to-- drugs.

Which fallacy is it? Assignment – Put in the number of the fallacy that matches the example.

___1.  You can’t believe any of the evidence Susie brought up.  Everyone knows she’s a liar.  She lies about everything!

___2.  Driving over the speed limit is illegal because speeding is against the law.

___3.  I saw 3 teachers wearing blue jeans the other day.  That’s all those teachers ever wear now! 

___4.  We have only two choices.  Either we attack North Korea now and destroy their nuclear weapons, or we wait until they bomb us and millions of lives are lost.

___5. People are like apples.  You just bump them a little bit and they get bruised and pretty soon they are rotten to the core. 

___6. Have you ever noticed that during football season, the grades of many football players go down?  This must mean that playing football lowers your IQ. 

___7.  If we let kids wear head bands in school, the next thing they’ll want is to wear is hats, and then they’ll want to wear really short shorts, and pretty soon they’ll show up in bathing suits!  We have to stop these head bands  NOW.

WRITING CROSS EXAM QUESTIONS

3 Purposes of Cross Exam

     1. To get the other team to admit flaws in their case.

     2. To make your side of the arguments look stronger than theirs.

     3. To make your opponents look unprepared, unsure of themselves, and uninformed.

How to Write the Questions

1. Try to use “yes” or “no” questions.  You don’t want the other team to take too much of your time answering your question.

2. Refer to your evidence and say “Did you know that…” 

Consider a “what if” question.  (What if you can’t type and you have to use an iPad?  3. What if you are in an abusive relationship and you can’t have a gun to protect yourself?)

Assignment:

Your team must write 5-7 good cross exam questions and turn in one copy from your team. 

DEBATE PREPARATION

Flow Chart of Debate – List your main points in your own words.  Use evidence & logical reasons. Go to procon.org to find info on your topic.

Proposition: 

Affirmative Case  (Affirmative team does this.)

1.

2. 

3.

4. 

5. 

6.

7. 

8. 

9.

Negative Points (Negative team does this.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9.

MSDPD Sample Debate - Watch & Answer Questions

MSDPD Sample Debate            Name: _____________________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv1S9QPblv0

1.  What is this debate about?

     What is the age of the students who are participating in the debate?

     How many students are on each team?

     What is the topic being debated?

2. List 4 of the main points the First Proposition (Affirmative) speaker makes.

     a. 

     b.

     c.

     d.

     e.

3.  What do the opposition (negative) team members do when they want to ask a question of the first affirmative speaker?

     How many questions does the first affirmative speaker answer?

4.  How many arguments did the First Opposition (Negative) speaker argue against or refute?  [You can tell by counting how many times he says, “They said that…..but___.”]

5.  List 3 of the main points the First Opposition (Negative) speaker made after he finished refuting the First Proposition’s (Affirmative’s) arguments.

          a.

          b.

          c.

6. How do debate speakers know how much time they have left to speak?

7.  What’s the pounding on the table supposed to be about?  Why do they do it?

8.  When it’s the Second Proposition/Affirmative speaker’s turn, she does three things: 1.) Rebuilds their case by restating their team’s main ideas, 2.) Refutes what the Negative Team said, and 3.) Adds some new information to support their case. 

What is some new info or arguments she adds to the debate?  Name at least one thing. 

9.  What were the Opposition/Negative team members doing while the Second Affirmative  speaker talked?

10.  What was one thing that the Second Proposition/Affirmative speaker refuted?  (One thing she brought up and argued against that the previous speaker said.)

11.  Next, the Second Opposition/Negative speaker talks.  What does she begin talking about?

     Does she refute the Affirmative team’s arguments?

     When an affirmative team member asks a question, how does this speaker handle her or treat her?

     What is one good point that this Second Opposition/Negative speaker makes about watching TV?

12.  Next, the Third Opposition/Negative speaker gives her team’s summary.  Usually, the team’s BEST/STRONGEST speaker goes last.  Do you think she is the best?  Why or why not?

13.  Finally, the Third Proposition/Affirmative speaker does her summary.  What, if anything, is surprising about this little girl’s speech?  Do you think she is the strongest speaker on the team?  Why or why not?

         

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14.  In your opinion, which team, Affirmative Proposition or Negative Opposition, won the debate? Why?  (Base your decision on debating skill, not on what you think about children watching TV.)

    

    

REVIEW OF QUOTATION MARKS

QUOTATION MARKS RULES REVIEW              Name:____________________
Assignment:  Add and fix quotation marks, commas, capitalization, italics, and other punctuation in the sentences below.  PRINT

1. Do you know Dorothy Porter's poem The Ninth Hour?

2. “Of all the poems in my latest book she said this is the best. It's very dramatic she added

3. Lee's lecturer asked him why he hadn’t handed in his assignment.

4. Who said To be or not to be, that is the question asked Dr Meehan.

5. In his article Punctuation Tips Smith discusses the importance of commas 

6. Turning towards his student, he said Don’t leave yet He was frowning and clearly disapproved of something

7. Why haven’t you referenced that book he asked

8. I forgot where I got the quote she answered

9.  Have you ever seen the Statue of Liberty? Jerry asked.

10.  “I’m not going to the movie Hunger Games,” Tom said, Because I don’t have any money.”

11.  Mom is watching reruns of I Love Lucy on TV, the little girl said to the man at the door.

12.  Why don’t you go over to Kim’s house after school? Sally asked.

13.  Did Kara say, I can’t figure out problem # 9”

14.  Mrs. Curtiss said “Quotation marks can be complicated.

15.  I hope this wasn’t a test said Bryce.

Literary Elements #5 When the Legends Die

Literary Elements #5 When the Legends Die   Chapters 28-31    Name:

1.  What does PURSES refer to in this passage? p116R, 160W  “When they found a town with free money, the bettors were suspicious of Red or of Tom.  When betting money was tight and Tom rode for purses, the purses were small. 

2. What’s going wrong with Red’s plan to make money? p116R, 160W “Red wouldn’t admit it but Tom had outgrown the look of a country boy, an awkward Indian kid…once in the saddle his skill and experience couldn’t be hidden.”

3. What does this colloquialism / idiom mean? p117R, 161W “Now we’re getting’ into God’s country, my old stompin’ ground….Now we’ll be eatin’ high on the hog.”

4. What does this implied metaphor mean? p118R, 163W “Then he saw another boy, in the corral at Red Dillon’s place, learning to be a bronc rider.  Learning how a bucking horse acted, how to ride clean and how to ride dirty…”

5. Why is this passage ironic? p118R, 163W “Back in his memory he saw a boy he once knew, a boy called Bear’s Brother…Then he saw another boy, in the corral at Red Dillon’s place, learning to be a bronc rider…He had known those boys.  He remembered them.  But he wasn’t Bear’s Brother and he wasn’t Thomas Black Bull.”

6. Can you tell from what point of view this passage is written? (First person, second person, third person?) p119R, 164W “…tensing every muscle as you let yourself down into the saddle…The feel of the horse you got through the rein, taut in your left hand.”

7. Can you find a simile that refers to the jolt Tom felt through the horse’s legs as it tried to throw him off? p119R, 164W

8. On p120R, 166W how does Red Dillon react when Tom says he is won’t lose on purpose anymore?
Why do you think Tom decided to stand up to Red?

9. On p121R, 166W how is Tom introduced when it is his turn to ride?
What does this symbolize?

10. On p121R, 167W what does Tom do that might seem surprising?  (Remember what Frank No Deer and Blue Elk did to him and his family.)
Do you think Tom justified in doing this?  Why or why not?

11. On p122R, 168W what does this passage reveal about Tom after he changed his appearance?
“He found a pool hall, went in, and chose a stool opposite a big wall mirror.  He sat there for an hour, vaguely watching the players, but mostly looking at himself in the mirror.  He went to a restaurant.  The waitress smiled at him.  He couldn’t understand why.”

12. On p123R, 169W a waitress is described.  What does this passage mean?
“Then he saw the crow’s-feet around her eyes, the slight pouchiness under her chin, the little blotches beneath the makeup on her face.”
What literary element is crow’s-feet?

13. On p123R, 169W what was the only thing that mattered to Tom now?
Why do you think this is so?

14. On p124R, 171-172W  Tom rides with “a cold viciousness and superb skill” …till the horse was “…snorting bloody foam.”  An old-timer said, “You’ve got a crawful of cockleburs, son.  What are you trying to do?  Kill  yourself, or kill every horse you straddle?”  What does the underlined part mean?   What literary element is it?

15. On p125R, 172W  The old-timer says, “You could be a champion…but if you keep on the way you’re going, you won’t live to see the day.”  Tom replies, “Does it matter?”
Why do you think Tom said that?  What did he mean?

16. On p125R, 172W  Tom trades the old pickup truck for a black Buick convertible.
Why do you think Tom did that?  What is he trying to do?

17. On p126-7R, 174-5W  Red Dillon says, “I never could save a dime. Somebody always took it off me.”  Who were the people who stole from Red since he was a child? 
Why do you think the author keeps bringing up the issue of stealing?

18. On p130R, 179W  Red Dillon is dying.  He says, “Take me home.  Don’t let me die in this rathole” and then he snarls saying, “Leave me alone, I don’t need you or anybody else.”  Then, “I didn’t mean that, Tom.”  Why does he go back and forth like that?  What lit element is it?

19. On p132R, 181-182W,  what kind of person is Doc Wilson?  What evidence shows he is not like the stereotypical doctor? 
What evidence shows he is a good man?

20. On p133R, 183W,  the doctor quotes George Herbert when he is talking to Tom: “Time is the rider that breaks youth.”  What does this rodeo metaphor mean?

21. On p134R, 185W, Tom thinks to himself, “Nobody else can live your life for you.  You have to ride your own furies.”  In Greek mythology, Furies were 3 avenging spirits who punished and tormented evildoers, never giving them any rest or peace.  What does this allusion mean?