How Arguments Work takes students through the techniques they will need to respond to readings and make sophisticated arguments in any college class.This is a practical guide to argumentation with strategies and templates for the kinds of assignments students will commonly encounter. It covers rhetorical concepts in everyday language and explores how arguments can build trust and move readers.
Type of Material:
Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:
Instructors can assign chapters to read, and then do the chapter exercises as homework, which can then be discussed in class.
Technical Requirements:
Can be downloaded and viewed using a pdf reader
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Analyze and assess rhetorical arguments.
Write a summary of another writer's argument.
Form an argument.
Respond to an argument.
Idenntify appears that go beyond logic.
Target Student Population:
College General Ed, College Lower Division, Communication Studies majors
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
basic reading and reasoning skills, basic ICT literacy skills
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This book is a well organized, practical treatment of rhetorical argument development and analysis, written by community college English teachers. The content appears accurate, and examples help readers to understand the concepts, and the exercises offer opportunities to practice the skills. Some of the examples are quite contemporary, such as border-crossings. The textbook is self-contained, and may be used in several academic domains. Links are minimally attributed, and most links work.
Concerns:
When downloaded, the link for an audio does not seem to work.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The learning objectives are clear, and reflect the ICT standards of information evaluation and communication. The text provides a progression of concepts to build knowledge and skills. Writing is clear and to the point, to facilitate efficient learning. With the extended examples and chapter exercises, instructors can easily create assignments, drawing from the text. The information is applicable across academic disciplines, and supports useful lifelong skills.
Concerns:
Prerequisite knowledge is not identified, although it is not necessarily required to effectively use this resource.
A humanities emphasis results in less STEM applications.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The textbooks is generally to navigate independently, and needs little technology skills. However, if downloaded, some links do not work. The book is text-heavy, but the layout is clear and appears to be ADA-compliant. Interaction consists of the chapter exercises, although feedback is not provided. No help feature is apparent except for an email address.
Concerns:
When downloaded, the audio version and some hyperlinks do not operate.
Creative Commons:
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