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Lesson 1

We will study a model argument in order to see how a historical scholar developed a research-based case for her position. Working from the Delineating Arguments Tools we drafted for our arguments, we will develop a final set of claims and counterclaims and an approach to reasoning that will organize our final arguments.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I delineate and explain the structure of a research-based model argument?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “The False Promise of Homeownership,” Marissa Chappell, The Washington Post, 2017

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

In preparation for reading the essay “The False Promise Of Homeownership,” we will preview and discuss key words, terms, and phrases used by the author to convey her ideas.

Step 1

Access the Vocabulary List for "The False Promise of Homeownership," an essay by Marissa Chappell. In pairs, read through the list and identify words and phrases that you think you understand and those that you are uncertain about. Pay particular attention to phrases used by the author to discuss issues of homeownership that we have studied in this unit.

  • exacerbate inequality

  • sacrosanct status of homeownership

  • profound implications for inequality

  • political juggernaut

  • robust public housing

  • triumph of free enterprise

  • expansive political support

  • incentive for homeownership

  • highly exploitative contract deeds

  • antidote to the "culture of poverty"

  • free-market enthusiasts

  • regulatory shackles

  • tepid regulatory changes

  • substantial government subsidy

Step 2

As a class, discuss what these phrases might refer to, considering what you have studied and learned in this unit. Identify phrases for which you will need context clues from the article to help decipher their meaning. You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate.

Individually, list the words and phrases in your Vocabulary Journal you will define during or after your reading of the essay in the next activity.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will read, annotate, and delineate a model argument written by a history professor about how homeownership has been a false promise for many people in the United States. We will consider the purpose and audience of the argument.

In preparation for a class discussion of a model argument, read and annotate "The False Promise of Homeownership," written by an Oregon State University history professor as a contribution to The Washington Post.

Use a copy of the Delineating Arguments Tool to delineate the argument in the essay, identify the major claims used by the author to develop the argument.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

As a class, we will study the structure of the model argument. We will also study how the model argument incorporates researched evidence to set up, explain, and support its positions and claims.

In a class discussion, review the elements you have delineated in the argument "The False Promise of Homeownership."

Identify the major claims presented by the author. Using the information presented on the second page of the Delineating Arguments Tool Guide, consider which of the argumentation models most closely reflects the organization and reasoning used by the author in this argument.

Compare and discuss your analyses of the argument’s structure. Consider how the argument might be different if written from a different reasoning approach.

Activity 4: Read

We will explore approaches to sequence the claims we will each be using as premises in the defense of our argumentative positions, including at least one specific counterclaim.

Thinking about the model argument and other arguments from the unit, determine which of the approaches to organization and reasoning might work best for your argument. Refer back to the Delineating Arguments Tool you developed for the Section 3 Diagnostic. Consider whether to use Chappell’s model argument or another you have read as an organizational model for your work.

Activity 5: Write

We will determine the order in which we want to develop our claims. We will consider deductive and inductive organizational models as well as arguments that are built as counterarguments to an existing argument.

Based on your decision on the best approach to reasoning and organization for your argument, determine a final sequence for the claims and counterclaims you intend to develop. Identify which claims are more informational or analytical in nature and which claims are the actual building blocks, or premises, of the argument that will prove your position correct.