Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to see Kelly Gallagher present in person. (*pausing for fangirl memory*) I’ve practically memorized his books and apply many of his ideas on a daily basis. After hearing him speak about teaching argumentative writing to adolescents, I was not only validated in my own beliefs and practices, but I was inspired to share some of the most engaging writing activities I use. (By the way, if you haven’t checked out his website, you must–http://kellygallagher.org) Even though it has been the expected result of writing instruction where I’ve taught, there’s much more to argumentative writing than the 5-paragraph essay. There are also more topics to argue about than whether a school should adopt school uniforms. (In fact, that topic has been so overdone that the students groan if the subject is even mentioned.) While the ultimate goal is to have students write a coherent, logical, organized argumentative essay, the steps in getting them to adequately defend an opinion do not have to be mind-numbingly boring for either the students or the teacher.
- Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Middle School
- Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Middle School
- Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Book
- Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Oswalt
Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Middle School
I like to build up to a full-blown essay with several smaller practice writing activities. Kelly Gallagher does this too. In his wonderful book, Write Like This, he shares many of the low-stakes writing assignments he uses to practice with his students. I’ve used several of them in my classroom. For example, I enjoy playing “Would You Rather” with the entire class as a verbal and kinesthetic activity in which they move to a side of the room based on their choice and share aloud. My students also respond well to arguing in favor of a specific consumer or entertainment product over another. He also uses mentor texts extensively (as do I) to allow students to “read like a writer.”
Patton said that it was a no-brainer for 'old Alcibiades.' The Athenian general, however, was not interested in attacking the Italian peninsula - he never did - but only was to invade Sicily itself - and he failed failed miserably. This would not have been an inspiring argument for the Allies to invade Sicily in WWII. Step-by-step instructions on how to write an argumentative essay, including how to craft an enticing introduction, how to write a thesis statement, and how to outline your essay. Classical, Rogerian, and Toulmin argument strategies will also be discussed.
Here are some other writing activities I do in class:
1) It’s fun to read the picture book I Wanna Iguana and analyze the techniques Alex used to persuade his parents to buy him an iguana.
2) I teach the meaning of the rhetorical devices Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Then, I teach them hand signals corresponding to each word (hand up as in an oath, hand on heart, and hand to head, respectively) and which Wizard of Oz corresponds to each term as well (Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow, respectively). We then analyze several ads for these techniques and do a word sort into these categories. They attempt to use all three techniques in their writing.
3) As a class, we write a letter to the foundation of a fictional recently deceased billionaire asking for a donation to an organization the class has determined is worthy of the funds. We must use Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in our request.
4) We do a group activity I call “Selling Ice To An Eskimo.” Each group draws one card from each of two piles. In the first pile is a useless junk item such as ½ roll of masking tape, a dead houseplant, or a pack of pink construction paper. In the second pile is a random fictional group such as The Elvis Impersonator Club of Omaha, The Retired Hamster Trainer Association of America, or The Motorcycle Doctors of the U.S. As a group, they determine why that group would want that object, then design and present an ad targeted to them. They love this and it cracks me up.
5) “Dear Customer Service” is a writing activity I designed where each student draws one card from each of four piles. The four piles contain cards with the following:
- an everyday object (such as a hoodie, a binder, or a backpack),
- the problem with the object (such as it is lumpy, it is leaking green fluid, or it smells like it’s burning),
- what happened to them as a result (such as it gave them an electric shock, made their cat angry, or made their foot itch), and
- what they want in restitution from the company (such as rent out a movie theater for a private showing, buy them a plane ticket to Hawaii, or get them a part on a reality TV show).
Their task is to determine the backstory surrounding these cards and write a letter of complaint to company demanding restitution and satisfaction. These are hysterical!
6) In Barry Lane and Gretchen Bernabei’s great book, Why We Must Run With Scissors, they infuse fun into argumentative writing. One of my favorite ideas from the book is an activity the authors call “The Devil’s Advocate.” The students argue in favor of a ridiculous rule, and the list of rules provided is hilarious. It includes everything from “Citizens must marry the first boy/girl they kiss,” to “All cosmetics will become illegal,” to “Walking will require a license.” The kids have a fun time trying to come up with rational reasons to defend these outlandish rules. (This is really a fun book–http://www.discover-writing.com)
I hope you enjoy these and I would love to hear your ideas as well.
On writing in Engineering (for use in syllabi)
Detailed, accurate, and persuasive writing is crucial in all engineering fields. In fact, Aaron Krawitz, who teaches mechanical and aerospace engineering courses at the University of Missouri, notes that 'because of the technical nature of engineering, and the financial and legal consequences, [engineers] might arguably be asked to present more ideas in writing (and verbally) than most graduates of our campus.' (Patton et al. 66). The writing required of engineers is not limited to formal design proposals or descriptive lab reports; they also compile and explore ideas, design sketches, and record observations in laboratory notebooks. Organizing ideas in these ways allows engineers to keep track of ideas and communicate them to others. The record of these ideas may be important not only to research in engineering, but also to the patent process.
Sample syllabi in Engineering
Civil Engineering 4101 | Project Management and Economics
Informal writing, proposals, reflective memos, and contract grading
Mechanical Engineering 4054 | Design Projects
Progress memos, design notebooks, team projects
Mechanical Engineering 4431 | Energy Conversion Systems
Lab notebooks and reports, oral presntations
Sample assignments in Engineering
Mechanical Engineering 2001 | Reflecting on your Index Card Platform
Etudents reflect on their own design solutions and those of their peers
Electrical Engineering 3222 | Course Project
Students design and build a prototype of a machine
Mechanical Engineering 4054 | Design Project Final Report
A broad range of writing considerations (objectives, audience, style, organization, data presentation, collaborative writing)
Civil Engineering / Geology 4301 | Laboratory Assignment
Formal scientific writing (procedure, results, calculations, references), including a cover letter and appendices
Mechanical Engineering 4331 | Informal Lab Report
writing guidelines, instructions, and conventions for informal lab reports
Mechanical Engineering 4331 | Boiling Heat Transfer
specific assignment using informal lab report guidelines
Mechanical Engineering 4331 | Formal Lab Report
writing and content guidelines for writing a formal lab report
Mechanical Engineering 4331 | Natural Convective Heat Transfer from Fins
lab manual assignment that focuses on professional writing
Sample grading rubrics in Engineering
Civil Engineering 4101W | Contract Grading Rubric
Contract rules for students' course grades
Civil Engineering 4101W | Grading Rubrics
Grading rubrics to evaluate individual and collaborative writing
Research strategies in Engineering
Civil Engineering Database (American Society of Civil Engineers)
Resources for Authors (American Society of Civil Engineers)
Additional writing resources for instructors in Engineering
Engineers on Writing (Colorado State U.)
Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Middle School
'Collaboration, English Composition, and the Engineering Student: Constructing Knowledge in the Integrated Engineering Program' (Arizona State University)
Library Support for Instructors
Additional writing resources for students in Engineering
Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students (Penn State)
Related research in Engineering
'Dealing with Resistance to WAC in the Natural and Applied Sciences' (University of Missouri - Columbia)
'Teaching Collaborative Writing and Peer Review Techniques to Engineering and Technology Undergraduates' (California State University)
Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Book
Language and Learning Across the Disciplines (LLAD): Engineering Issue (Colorado State University)
works cited
Argumentative Writing 2 Team Patton Oswalt
Patton, Martha D., Aaron Krawitz, Kay Libbus, Mark Ryan, and Martha A. Townsend. 'Dealing with Resistance to WAC in the Natural and Applied Sciences.' Language and Learning Across the Disciplines. 3:1. University of Missouri. http://wac.colostate.edu/llad/v3n1/patton.pdf.