Argument Analysis Assignment
Follow the instructions outlined here to complete the article analysis and discussion board posts.
*Introductory note about debate articles. Please be aware that journal articles come in two forms. There are primary source articles and secondary source articles. Primary source articles are original, empirical articles written by researchers for the purpose of describing specific research that they conducted. These articles include methods and results sections (e.g., actual data). Secondary source articles or chapters come in two general forms²the meta- analysis or the literature review article. Here, a researcher will describe a specific area of research conducted by him or herself in the past and/or by other researchers. Literature review articles do not contain data. Instead they contain descriptions of data. A meta-analysis may also be described as a secondary source article because a meta-analysis is a mathematical and descriptive summary of a broad range of findings.
The important point is that debate articles take both forms. Sometimes an author will make claims in a primary source article (by discussing his or her own data collection and results), and sometimes an author will make a claim and support it via the use of previous research conducted on the topic. One source type is not inherently better or worse than the other. An author who describes his or her own data collection may be just a flawed in his or her reasoning (or as brilliant) as an author who describe progress through the semester.
Step 1: Summarize both articles
Before you are able to analyze an argument you must be able to summarize it. Good summaries include a description of the author¶s ideas including any claims made by the author. Good summaries also review evidence used to advance the argument.
To prepare to summarize the text, read it to get a general idea about the points. Then, reread the text and mark it up by circling key terms and underlining claims. Finally, chart individual paragraphs or sections and examine the overall structure of the text. As you read, take note of:
x What is this section about? What is the author saying in this section?
x What is the author doing in this paragraph or section (use verbs like introducing, reviewing, interpreting, challenging, asserting, illustrating)?
x Does the author make a claim? What does he or she argue? Make note of central claims.
x What evidence is provided to advance the argument?
Be aware of your own biases and avoid inaccurate interpretations. Keep this portion for yourself. Do not turn it in.
Step 2: Analyze both articles
Choose one or two central claims made by the author(s) and describe and analyze the evidence that is used to support it (i.e., for the assignment discuss at three pieces of evidence). Finally, evaluate the evidence used by the authors. The questions below should serve as a guide to help you evaluate evidence. Some questions will not be relevant to the article that you are reading.
A. Use the questions below to evaluate the evidence. First decide what type of evidence the author using. Then, describe the evidence and then analyze it. The questions below will help you analyze and evaluate the argument.
x Is the evidence based on generalization?
x Is the evidence based on analogy, specific cases, personal experience or anecdote?
x Is the evidence based on authority?
o The author uses an authority figure (another author, a doctor, an academic) or an institutional authority to support claims
x Does the author provide empirical evidence? Is the evidence based on experimental data?
Observational data? Survey data? To evaluate empirical evidence consider the questions below.
o Is a causal claims made (recall that only true experiments allow for causal inferences)? If yes, is a causal claim possible? Was random assignment used? Was an experiment used?
o Is a correlational claim made (recall these are claims about the strength and/or direction of a relationship between two or more variables)? If yes, are there other potential explanations for the data (e.g., potential third variables)?
o Decide if the evidence/data is generalizable (e.g., is the data externally valid) Is the data robust? Can it replicate in a number of settings with different samples (e.g., is there overreliance a specific sample)? Is it ecologically valid? Would it happen in real life, outside of the lab?
Is it relevant? Does it matter? Are the findings useful for solving problems or improving the quality of life?
B. Why is the author using this evidence? Is it convincing?
C. To write an argument analysis, describe the main claims and explain how the author supports each claim.
x What are the main claims? Æ(describe the main claims)
x How does the author support and/or advance the argument? Æ (describe the evidence)
x What kind of evidence is used to support the claim? Æ (evaluate the evidence)
x Based on your evaluation of the evidence, how convincing is the evidence used to support the (what are your conclusions)
