Discuss
the possibilities for organizing arguments on pages 487-488 in
the PHG. Remind students that the way they organize their
argument should be primarily based on the audience--which way
will be most effective for it?
Design
activities that cover the following:
Using
different Arguing Approaches (from PHG - more traditional vs.
Rogerian)
This
discussion should give students more of a sense of the different
approaches or strategies available to them beyond traditional
argumentative methods. Emphasize to students that their argument
doesn't have to be completely traditional or Rogerian. Instead,
they might use Rogerian techniques for the most sensitive points
in an argument that is otherwise more traditional.
Writing
Narration
Consider
where your argument fits into the larger, ongoing discussion about
your issue. Then, provide some setting to show readers what you're
responding to so that your essay isn't floating in space. The
narration can be personal (a story that you've experienced) cultural
(recent trends in society, or a speech or text that you're responding
to) or political (recent government-supported actions). By connecting
your issue to a something concrete, readers will realize its significance
and see the reason for your argument.
Organizing
Research
Label
and group your notes and sources using one or a combination of
these methods:
- chronological
order
- cause-effect
- beneath
multiple approaches or viewpoints
- compare
and contrast
- strengths
and weaknesses
- problems
and solutions
Brainstorm
connections between your purpose, your claim, your reasons and
your evidence and group these ideas accordingly
Cluster
or create a visual scheme where you sketch out the relationships
between your claim, your reason and your evidence.
Consider
your audience. What reasons and evidence should they hear first?
What reasons and evidence should you save for later? Will they
be able to follow your organization given what they know about
your issue? How much narration or background will they need? What
structure lends itself to the greater focus and coherency?
Write
out a very rough draft and then read through it, drawing lines
between related ideas. Use scissors to cut up your draft and try
rearranging paragraphs in various orders on the floor. Also, try
looking at the argument from the point of view of your readers
and ask, which order seems most logical and fitting to their needs
and interests?
Writing an Argumentative
Brief
One way to show students
that organization is flexible and that we can organize according
to an audience is to have students create an argumentative brief. Your goal here is to help students see that they can block out their arguments
(and play with organization and development) before they draft.
The brief makes an argument visible while also offering high levels
of flexibility for easy revision before whole paragraphs are committed.
Argument briefs are most effective if written in full sentence
form, compelling the writer to assert his or her argument points
(thesis, reasons, and evidence).
Once the brief is written, you can pair up students so that they get feedback
from a potential audience member.
Sample Argumentative
Brief
Essay Title (Working): Return the Right to Forego Treatment of Neonates
to Parents and Their Physicians
Thesis: The decision whether to treat or not treat a neonate
with a serious medical condition, when combined with significant
handicaps and abnormalities, should be left to the parents’ discretion—supplemented
by consultation with a family physician and an ethics board.
I.
Introduction/Background: Neonatology has resulted in
remarkable advances in the care of very ill newborns, but the
costs of such care are not fully recognized.
a. The most significant development in neonatal
care after WWII was the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the
capabilities of which have grown steadily since its inception.
b. Advancements in medical
technology have resulted in babies surviving at ever smaller birth
weights.
c. The costs associated with
care of the very small neonate are often not considered, either
from the point of view of immediate family costs or long-term
society costs.
d. The costs of such care
are also measured in terms of the long-term prognosis of surviving
babies, which in general is not particularly good since care and
illness do not end when sick babies go home.
II. Legalities and Ethics: Both legal and ethical dilemmas
are associated with advances in neonatology.
a. It is illegal to deny treatment
to any infant.
b. However, it is unethical
to require treatment for newborns whose prognosis is poor and
for whom suffering is inevitable and without end.
c. Without reliable data about
the long-term effects of many treatments currently available,
vegetative "new species of human beings" are being created—at
great cost to society, which absorbs the expenses of such care
through increased insurance and medical care costs.
III. Ethics Committees: Ethics committees may offer a reasonable
way for hospitals, parents, and physicians to make logical decisions
about ill neonates’ lives.
a. In many place, ethics committees
have been developed for helping with decisions about ill neonates.
b. Such committees, made up
of religious counselors, physicians, nurses, social workers, and
legal counsel, exist for the sole purpose of informing parents
and usually are without institutional affiliation.
c. There is little data (research)
to suggest how well these committees are working, and many hospitals
do not employ them.
IV. The Courts: Legislation has eroded local decision-making
regarding neonate life decision.
a. The 1982 Baby Doe case
was a landmark Supreme Court ruling in which The National Right
to Life Association petitioned the Courts to allow Baby Doe to
be adopted rather than allowed to forego surgery and die, as requested
by the parents. Baby Doe died before the case reached conclusion.
b. Regulations followed the
Baby Doe petition specifically seeking that parents not be allowed
to deny their children treatment.
c. The receipt of federal
funding would be jeopardized if hospitals failed to comply.
d. The U.S. Court of Appeals
replied saying that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was
"intended to assure the disabled equality such as housing and
employment" and was not intended to address the medical treatment
of newborns.
e. On October 9, 1984, President Reagan signed a Senate bill which amended
the Child Abuse regulations to include non-treatment of neonates
as child abuse and neglect.
V. Physicians and Parents: Both parents of ill neonates
and their physicians are frustrated by current laws that prevent
their decision-making.
a. A survey of pediatricians
showed that most doctors believe that current regulations "encourage
or require the over-treatment of infants."
b. A survey of parents of
ill neonates showed that most believe current regulations cause
unnecessary pain and suffering to both neonates and their families.
VI. Conclusion: Decisions about newborns with poor prognosis should be
returned to families and their physicians. Hospitals should seek
legal protection by instituting ethics boards comprised of persons
without hospital affiliation.
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