• Program Areas
• About CSTW
• Donors & Partners
• Calendar
• Jobs
• Newsletter
• Research
• Contact Us

The Second-Level Writing Handbook // Creating and Implementing Effective Writing Assignments // Responding to Student Writing // In-Class Writing Activities // Peer Response // Preventing Plagiarism // OSU Resources.

Download Developing and Analyzing Arguments as a Microsoft Word file.

In learning to write in a discipline, students are ultimately learning how to persuade a particular community of scholars to accept their knowledge claims. By having students analyze discipline-specific argumentative strategies in their readings and in their writings, you can help them gain academic authority.

This exercise helps students to see the other sides of arguments. It works best when you've chosen a particularly volatile reading or when students' work has been tending toward too "black-and-white." First, identify the thesis of the reading and then ask students to move to either the "agree" side of the room or the "disagree." (This aspect of the activity is great for encouraging every student's participation. They have to move.) Facilitate a discussion as to why students have chosen the side that they have chosen and remind them that they need to move to the other side of the room if their opinion on the thesis changes at any point in the debate. (Ask them why). If you're feeling particularly adventurous, midway through the debate, ask particularly resolute advocates of one side to move to the other side of the room and argue for that position. Time allotment: 1 hour.

When discussing a particular reading due that day for class, have students pull out what they believe to be the author's thesis statement(s) and discuss why he or she chose that sentence/those sentences. Based upon this example from their reading, what elements do good thesis statements contain? What should such statements do in a paper, what is their purpose? Also, have students conduct the same activity on their own drafts of a thesis-driven writing assignment. Students could exchange papers and read their peers' drafts looking for the thesis statement and focus of the paper. What is the focus of the paper and does the paper stick to that focus? Time allotment: 15-45 minutes.

For this activity, have students bring in a draft of their proposed thesis typed on the top of an otherwise blank page. After a short introduction about what you expect from their thesis statements, post questions on the board for other students to answer about their colleagues' statements. Begin swapping (the easiest way is to collect them all, hand them out in a different order, and then just facilitate their rotation; this way you get to check up on their comments and help direct them if necessary). Students should only keep each draft for about five minutes max. Time allotment: Variable.

Every academic discipline (or sub-discipline) constitutes a "discourse community" which has distinct ways of writing and standards of evidence. Thus, when teaching students to write in your discipline, you must introduce them to the particular conventions of writing in your field. To do this, I suggest having students read some (relatively accessible) academic research articles in the field. In small or whole group discussion, have students generate a list of discursive conventions (writing style, organization patterns, specialized terminologies) and standards of evidence (what counts as knowledge) in these articles. Time allotment: 30-45 minutes.