Seeing Both Sides of an Argument

It's important to be able to see both sides of an issue, even if you cannot imagine sympathizing with your opposition's viewpoint. This may be easier or harder based on how you feel about an issue. It’s relatively easy to understand someone’s position if you are dispassionate about an issue, but take a topic you are passionate about and it gets exponentially harder. Yet it’s important to understand both sides of an issue for conflict resolution or to support your position more effectively.

• Using a conflict from your own life, first provide your reader some background on the situation you are discussing
• Second, state your position on an argument you have with someone. (thesis)
• Then, list three of the best points you have that support why your position is correct or valid.
• Next, think of three points your opposition would make on why he is right in the matter.
• Last, refute your opposition’s points.

You will likely need to brainstorm for this assignment! This can be presented as a "list" or outline; it is not an essay!

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass

Here is the reading schedule The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. You will come in to class on that day, prepared for discussion with TSR Journals in hand.

• April 17:  Preface + chapters 1-3
• April 24: Chapters 4-8
• May 3: Chapters 9-11

At right, you will notice that I added a new section to our blog called PDF Library. I will post any links to PDFs you will need for the course here and you can print them at your leisure. There is a study guide posted for the book, but you can certainly avail yourself of other online sources as well. 

Transitional words and phrases

• First, using the transitional words and phrases handout, add at least 4 transitional words and phrases to the following paragraph and repost:

One reason people lie is to achieve personal power. Achieving personal power is helpful for someone who pretends to be more confident than he really is. One of my friends threw a party at his house last month. He asked me to come to his party and bring a date. I didn’t have a girlfriend. One of my other friends, who had a date to go to the party with, asked me about my date. I didn’t want to be embarrassed, so I claimed that I had a lot of work to do. I said I could easily find a date even better than his if I wanted to. I also told him that his date was ugly. I achieved power to help me feel confident. I embarrassed my friend and his date. This lie helped me at the time, since then it has made me look down on myself.

• Next, also using the handout, write one paragraph on the topic of your choice of at least 6 sentences that incorperates 4 transitional phrases and/or words and post online.
• Last, when you are finished, look at your essay and incorperate some of these phrases and words into it in preparation for draft 3 to make your ideas flow more smoothly into each other.

Some suggestions for your paragraph topics:

• Registering for classes
• Getting to school in the morning
• Any "how to" instructions: ex: How to ask for a date or How to ask for a raise

Caveat: Using first, next and last should be avoided for this assignment. Also, please do not take any "shortcuts" such as modifying existing writing unless it is your own as this will not have the same impact upon your writing skills.