Introducing COMPLEX Argument (AP Lang Question 3)
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging video, Tim Freitas from 'The Garden of English' dives into the art of argumentation in the classroom. He emphasizes the importance of developing well-structured arguments supported by claims, evidence, and commentary. Tim introduces the concept using a visual analogy of a bridge, explaining that a strong argument requires multiple supporting columns. He also highlights the necessity of defining terms to avoid misunderstandings and to ensure that both parties in a debate are discussing the same concepts. The video uses humorous yet thought-provoking questions about everyday life, such as whether a hot dog is a sandwich or how a cat should wear pants, to illustrate the complexities of argumentation and to encourage critical thinking. Tim shares personal anecdotes about changing his mind when presented with compelling evidence, reinforcing the idea that arguments should be open to revision based on logical reasoning and sound evidence. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and support 'The Garden of English' for more insightful content on argumentation and language.
Takeaways
- 📚 Start with a strong foundation for argument by understanding its structure: claims, supporting claims, evidence, and commentary.
- 🔗 Recognize the importance of warrants, which are the implied connections between evidence and the argument itself.
- 🚫 Avoid getting stuck in a loop of mere claims without engaging with the substance of the argument.
- 🤔 Encourage critical thinking by discussing life's most important questions, which can lead to defining terms and understanding complexity.
- 🧩 Show students how to build a crumble-proof argument by ensuring that evidence and reasoning support the claims.
- 📉 Understand that by dismantling one part of the argument structure, the entire argument can become weaker.
- 🔑 Emphasize the necessity of defining terms in an argument to ensure that all parties are discussing the same concept.
- 🤝 Teach the value of agreeing to disagree when definitions or perspectives significantly differ.
- 💡 Use thought-provoking questions to lead students into deeper analysis and the recognition of complexities in arguments.
- 📈 Encourage students to consider both their own and others' perspectives when providing evidence for their arguments.
- 🌟 Highlight the significance of changing one's mind in the face of better evidence or reasoning as a sign of intellectual growth.
- 🏛 Use everyday topics (e.g., whether a hot dog is a sandwich) to practice building complex and engaging arguments.
- 👍 Reinforce the idea that arguments should be complex, well-supported, and sensitive to the audience's needs.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of the video series?
-The primary focus of the video series is to lay the foundations for engaging with argument in the classroom, aiming to build well-developed arguments and to think critically about producing arguments that are both intellectual and sensitive to the audience's needs.
What are the three main components of an argument as discussed in the video?
-The three main components of an argument are the claim, supporting claims, and evidence and commentary. Some people also refer to the connection between evidence and the claim as a 'warrant', but this is more of a concept to understand how evidence supports the argument rather than a structural component.
Why is it important to define terms when engaging in an argument?
-Defining terms is crucial because it ensures that all parties are discussing the same concept. Misunderstandings often arise from differing definitions of terms, which can lead to arguments that do not address the same issues.
What does the instructor do to help students understand the importance of defining terms in an argument?
-The instructor uses life's most important questions, such as how a cat should wear pants or whether a hot dog is a sandwich, to engage students in discussions that require defining terms. This helps students realize the necessity of clear definitions for effective argumentation.
How does the instructor encourage students to think critically about their own beliefs and arguments?
-The instructor encourages students to think critically by asking them to justify their initial claims with evidence and examples. This process often leads to self-reflection and the possibility of changing one's mind when presented with more reasonable evidence or commentary.
What is the significance of discussing 'life's most important questions' in the context of argumentation?
-Discussing 'life's most important questions' serves as a fun and engaging way to introduce complex elements of argumentation. It helps students to see that arguments can be more nuanced and that understanding different perspectives is key to having a less contentious and more productive discussion.
Why does the instructor ask students to write a paragraph proving their love for justice or their parents?
-The instructor asks students to write a paragraph to help them recognize the elements of complexity in their arguments. By asking for proof, students are encouraged to think beyond their initial gut responses and consider the full spectrum of their actions and beliefs.
What is the role of evidence in supporting an argument?
-Evidence plays a critical role in supporting an argument by providing concrete examples or data that correlate with the claim. Strong evidence can make an argument more compelling and credible, while weak or irrelevant evidence can undermine it.
How does the instructor use the concept of 'crumble proof arguments' in the video?
-The instructor uses the concept of 'crumble proof arguments' to illustrate the importance of having multiple supporting columns of evidence and commentary. Even if one piece of evidence is weakened or disproven, the argument can still stand if it is well-supported by other strong pieces.
What is the conclusion the instructor reaches regarding the questions about cats wearing pants, cereal being soup, and hot dogs being sandwiches?
-The instructor concludes that a cat should wear pants as option B (covering the back part of the legs), cereal is not soup because removing the broth changes its classification, and a hot dog is indeed a sandwich, based on the evidence and reasoning provided by students and a custodian.
How does the instructor plan to further develop the students' argumentation skills?
-The instructor plans to further develop students' argumentation skills by discussing how to produce crumble proof arguments, correlating evidence with claims, and providing commentary. They also plan to break down argument prompts and engage with complex issues, with the help of guests in future videos.
Outlines
📚 Engaging with Argument in the Classroom
Tim Freitas introduces the topic of argument in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of developing well-structured arguments. He discusses the foundational elements of an argument, which include claims supported by evidence and commentary. Tim also touches on the concept of 'warrants' as a way to understand how evidence connects to an argument. He stresses the need to move beyond mere claims and to critically engage with the evidence and reasoning that support arguments. The goal is to create 'crumble proof' arguments that can withstand scrutiny and are sensitive to the audience's needs. Tim uses light-hearted questions about cats wearing pants and hot dogs being sandwiches to illustrate the importance of defining terms and understanding the nuances of argumentation.
🤔 The Importance of Defining Terms in Argumentation
The paragraph delves into the necessity of defining terms when engaging in arguments. Tim explains that disagreements often stem from differing definitions of key terms. He uses examples from his classroom to show how discussions about simple concepts can reveal the need for precise definitions. Tim argues that understanding and agreeing on definitions can lead to more productive and less contentious debates. He also highlights the human tendency to resist changing one's mind, even in the face of compelling evidence, and encourages the acceptance of change as a sign of growth and critical thinking. The paragraph concludes with the idea that arguments should be complex, reflecting the multifaceted nature of the issues being discussed.
🧐 Exploring Complexity in Arguments through Simple Questions
Tim uses straightforward questions about loving justice and one's parents to demonstrate how arguments can become complex. He points out that students often provide evidence related to others when discussing justice but fail to consider their own experiences. This leads to a deeper conversation about the difference between justice and mercy and the need to understand both to form a complete perspective. Similarly, when asked about loving their parents, students tend to focus on positive actions while ignoring negative behaviors. Tim encourages students to consider these complexities and to develop more nuanced theses that reflect a fuller understanding of the subject. He concludes with the revelation that he was convinced by a student's evidence to change his stance on whether cereal is soup, highlighting the power of compelling arguments.
🌟 Embracing Complexity in Argument Construction
In the final paragraph, Tim reflects on the value of using seemingly trivial questions to explore the complexity of arguments. He emphasizes the importance of creating engaging and complex arguments, which are a key focus for his students. Tim also shares his agreement with a custodian's argument that a hot dog is indeed a sandwich, based on the logical comparison with other types of sandwiches. He thanks viewers for their time, encourages them to engage with the content by liking, subscribing, and supporting the channel, and looks forward to future discussions on breaking down argument prompts with the help of guests.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Argument
💡Supporting Claims
💡Evidence
💡Commentary
💡Warrant
💡Definition of Terms
💡Complexity
💡Life's Most Important Questions
💡Changing Minds
💡AP Lang
💡Argument Production
Highlights
The importance of engaging with argument in the classroom to develop well-structured and critical thinking.
The foundational structure of an argument, supported by claims, evidence, and commentary.
The concept of a 'warrant' as an implied understanding connecting evidence to an argument.
The necessity of strong evidence and reasoning to counter or support an argument effectively.
The use of life's most important questions, such as 'Is a hot dog a sandwich?', to introduce argumentation.
The significance of defining terms in an argument to reach a consensus.
The common issue of not agreeing on definitions leading to contentious debates.
The value of changing one's mind when presented with better evidence or reasoning.
Encouraging students to justify their definitions and provide examples to support their arguments.
The role of pride in preventing individuals from changing their minds, even when their stance is unreasonable.
The introduction of complexity in arguments by asking students to write paragraphs proving their love for justice or their parents.
The realization that understanding one concept often requires understanding its counterpart, such as justice and mercy.
Using simple questions to lead to complex discussions and deeper understanding of the subject matter.
The anecdote of a student changing the teacher's mind about cereal not being soup based on compelling evidence.
Accepting the complexity of arguments and the idea that sometimes we need to agree to disagree.
The conclusion that a hot dog is indeed a sandwich, based on logical reasoning and evidence provided by a custodian.
The encouragement for students to create complex and engaging arguments through classroom exercises.
The importance of understanding that arguments should be based on a balance of evidence, reasoning, and sensitivity to the audience's needs.
Transcripts
this is the garden of english i'm tim
freitas and today we are going to engage
with argument in the classroom trying to
lay the foundations for something more
as we build this particular video series
so
stick around
[Applause]
[Music]
okay we are back after a bit of a hiatus
where i was
doing a lot of other work for a lot of
other people but it's good to be back
it's good to be talking about argument
and what we're going to do today is we
are going to talk about once again how
to engage with argument in the classroom
so that we can have well-developed
arguments
uh and really think critically about how
we can
produce arguments that allow us to come
off as being intellectual but also
sensitive towards the needs of our
audience and this is just an
introductory
type of unit for that and so what i want
to do here is this i want to just
give you this visual quickly for the
foundation of an argument it's a popular
visual it's been seen a lot
uh there are different uh ways to um
to depict this right but basically you
have an argument and arguments are
supported by supporting claims
and they're supported by evidence and
commentary uh
some people like to use tolman language
uh which would be uh warrants so
the way that the evidence connects to
the argument itself is this kind of
implied understanding which is known as
a warrant
but that type of language it doesn't
really matter tolman is a way to break
down an argument it's not actually an
argument structure
um where you actually see an argument
presented that way so we're just going
to kind of leave that
out of there i just put a little warrant
there just in case you're familiar with
that type of language
it's here now the only reason why i have
this visual up here for just a minute is
because
uh we need to realize that if we just
argue claims
in arguments then we're really not doing
the right thing
uh because we're not gonna get anywhere
if somebody says hey you're a jerk and
the other person responds no i'm not a
jerk and that's really all they keep
saying to each other yes you are no
you're not
we're gonna have a typical you know
schoolyard
fight or what we would call typical
politics
in our country and the reason why is
because
very often people do not engage with
where argument has to go
and you'll notice that on the screen
here i do have some columns
that support the argument itself the
truth is is that in order to
fight a strong argument or to produce a
strong argument or
produce a strong argument in response to
somebody else you really need to make
sure that you have strong evidence
and commentary that relates it to your
argument or
that if you're actually arguing against
somebody else's claims you can
destroy their evidence and or their
reasoning that correlates their evidence
with their claim
and the reason why is because even if
you can't defeat the entire argument if
you take out one of these columns you'll
notice that this black line on the top
here that is the argument and the claim
as a whole
will not be able to stand without one of
these columns so now imagine an argument
that's well supported with 15 columns
even if one of them will crumble then if
this were actually kind of like a bridge
then at least that section of the bridge
would crumble and it would become weaker
and therefore less effective
so uh over the next few weeks we're
going to talk about how do we produce
these kind of
crumble proof arguments as we correlate
our evidence
with our claims and provide commentary
to do so but
what i want to do is this when i
introduce
uh argument in my classroom one of the
places that i begin is with life's most
important
questions and life's most important
questions can be found
in my cat picture my serial picture
and my is my hot dog a sandwich picture
now you might say these things are
ridiculous however these conversations
are great to have
and i encourage you to think about where
you fit on these
as well and i will actually give you the
answers to these questions
uh before our time is done here today
but the first one up here on the left is
you know how should a cat wear pants
is cereal soup is a hot dog a sandwich
and the reason why i introduce things
here
is because in order to actually answer
these questions right very
i'll ask my students right what's your
initial response yes or no
and so the kids will have a claim but
then i let them kind of argue it out in
my classroom and it's really nice
because
right away they go right into defining
the character
the characteristics of soup or the
characteristics of what a hot dog
is or what a sandwich is or the
characteristics of what pants need to do
in order to be called pants
and that helps kids notice that a lot of
times in argument we need to define our
terms
in fact most of the time when we are
arguing with somebody and we can't come
to a consensus it's because we're not
talking about the same thing
if someone says you don't care about me
and the other person says yes i do
you might be defining care in different
ways
so if you provide evidence that supports
your definition but that does not
support the definition of the other
person that you're arguing with
then you're not actually talking about
the same thing even though you're both
using the word care
so this is a great way to exercise
knowing that uh
in argument the first thing that needs
to be done is that
terms need to be defined because then at
least even if i disagree with the
definition of somebody else's term let's
say
it's an argument about caring for
another person and i'm like no care
isn't when you blank
it's blank if that other person can at
least articulate for me what
his or her definition of care is i can
at least say okay
from your perspective and your
definition of what care is
it is reasonable that you feel the way
that you do
however now i'm going to try to convince
you that my definition for care
is the more appropriate definition and
you can do this with anything
a lot of hotly contentious issues um
that we talk about even in politics
nowaday
do come down to just not defining the
same terms right
what is a human right what is a right to
life
what is the definition of marriage all
of these things need to
be agreed upon in order for people to
figure it out or
we have to at least agree that we have
different definitions
and then say okay we're going to have to
agree to disagree because we don't
define the same terms
the same way and at that point you can
actually have
a less contentious argument because you
could say okay because you define your
terms this way
i can understand your point of view
because i define it this way you can
understand my point of view
and we can realize that we're just not
going to agree on that and that's okay
the problem is is that when we try to
force somebody to agree with our
definition
and then that person does not agree and
cannot or will not agree
we then allow that to then continue our
argument that we're still right and
they're still wrong
we don't want that we want to be able to
say okay let's agree to disagree
and once again we don't really have the
best public models to do that
unfortunately so that's why we have ap
link last to fix that and
these questions right here will help and
like i said i will give you the right
answers
at the end of the day or at the end of
our time here
so what do i do after i deal with life's
most important questions in my classroom
we talk about this i show kids how they
straight
they go straight to defining the
parameters they then offer excellent
evidence
um and at no point did the kids actually
typically then
say after their first claim of yes it's
super no it's not
or cats wear pants as b instead of a or
no the hot dog is not a sandwich
almost never do they fight that with
their peers
what they do is they justify their
definitions and they have examples and
they explain how their examples
relate to the qualities of what a
sandwich actually entails
and that's where the arguments need to
lie and that's why we want to
show these to kids and this is a really
fun way to do this right
define your terms find your examples
that match with your terms
and then move into supporting your
argument even more interestingly enough
a lot of times
in these debates kids also choose not to
change their mind even when they
recognize that their evidence or
commentary is unreasonable
and that's another great moment that's
extremely teachable in class because as
human beings we care so much about our
pride
sometimes even when we notice things are
unreasonable in terms of the evidence or
the commentary
we still don't change why folks change
is a good thing
change means that you're human it's okay
to do so right so if you have this kind
of argument even with yourself or in
your classroom
right um or with your peers please know
it's okay to change your mind if
something is indeed more reasonable with
better evidence and a better correlation
of the evidence with the claim um
so i will even talk to you about how i
changed my mind even this year when a
student gave me
really good evidence so that's that so
that's something
that's one way to engage with audience
to begin your kind of unit here it's
really fun
it sets the parameters and it gets kids
thinking critically
now because we talk about definitions
and because we talk about
evidence and commentary we do want kids
to start thinking about complexity here
and it's interesting because those
questions might seem pretty simple but
as kids start thinking about what makes
a sandwich a sandwich or what makes soup
soup or not soup not soup or how cats
should wear pants
they actually start getting into complex
elements
but i want them to also learn to get
serious with this so that brings me to
the next step of what
i typically do although i did not do
this this year just for the sake of time
but what i'll typically do is i'll go
into then asking these questions here
and i'll just say just write about this
now i have not taught about picking
evidence yet
i've not talked about how to organize
full essays and whatnot
but i will ask for a paragraph that
answers either option one or
option two and the first option is
do you love justice option two is do you
love your
adult right that be your parent or your
guardian right
but the part that's not optional is the
proving it
and the reason why is because i want
kids to start recognizing elements of
complexity
now if you look at question one
typically i tell kids go with your gut
on this one and the answer is typically
yes
and then for option two go with your gut
on this one and the answer is typically
yes
but when i get to the part that's not
optional which is prove it
that's when things get dicey so i let
the kids write this out
and then all of a sudden when we talk
about do you love justice for the kids
that did
i'll say good what's your evidence and
almost always
kids provide evidence that relates to
other people
when my brother got in trouble for blank
or when this kid got in trouble for
blank or when that person was punished
with prison time for blank
and then i typically have to point out
why didn't you talk about yourself
if you love justice when justice is
executed on you
when you have consequence for your
uh misdemeanor and a lot of times
we write i can get kids to recognize
that
they kind of love justice for other
people when they see it
but for themselves they want mercy and
then i ask the question well then why
don't you treat other people that way
if you know that you prefer mercy in
those circumstances
why don't we treat other people more
mercifully but instead we say we love
justice when we see it executed upon
them
and now notice how things become
incredibly complex just with a quick
conversation
because the thesis then turns into
although i as a person
love justice it seems as though it only
happens when i notice
that it works out on other people but
for me
i love mercy more wow that becomes
incredibly complex
and all we had to do was just ask this
quick little question
and i tell kids we need to get arguments
to be complex like this where we realize
that this isn't just about justice that
in order to fully understand justice we
have to understand mercy or in order to
fully understand mercy we have to
understand justice and they kind of are
paired together
if we look at this one about loving your
parent and guardian
the same type of thing shows up because
kids typically talk about the things
that they do for their parents i do my
chores i try to
you know say hi and greet them and be
respectful
but then they don't list out all those
times when they're defiant when they're
consistently defiant or when they're
selfish or when they just expect things
and i'm like guys why didn't you waste
any of that and then i say how much of
that is actually what you do
or talk behind your parents by talk
about your parents behind their back how
much of that is more about what you do
in your life
and yet you only focused on those good
parts to say that you do love them
and now let's look at the complexity
here the kids can produce a new thesis
although not all of my actions
suggest that i love my parents and i'm
fully sacrificial in relation
to how i view them i do love them
uh because the most important elements
of my life dictate that
what a much stronger more complex thesis
but i'm using these quick questions here
and how kids typically quickly
emotionally respond to them to then say
wait a second can we look for more
evidence and then
identify the complexities here and this
allows us to then springboard into the
kind of arguments that we're going to
write in class where we try to say
all right what's our initial response
and then
how are we going to use our evidence and
our want to prove this and define things
to make this a bit more complex because
we do want to have complex arguments in
ap
lang now i did say that i would give you
the answers to those ridiculous
questions that we began with and i'd
like to point out that
a is how a cat should wear pants now uh
i once asked the student
i said you know because the student was
like no that's ridiculous
we cannot um have a cat wear pants
as bee because you know pants are meant
to cover legs
and i was like whoa whoa whoa pants are
a human
a human thing so why can't we say it's b
because we're
putting our human characteristics onto
the cat and if we say covering legs then
b
does that right and uh it's not just the
back
part of those legs and that student
looked at me and said you're absolutely
right
pants are a human thing so we're going
to take all human characteristics with
it
and it's going to be a now i've never
once thought the way cat should wear
pants is b
i was just trying to play devil's
advocate here and that student torched
me
now the student did not change my mind
however i did have a student change my
mind about the soup
i used to argue that cereal was soup it
is no longer the case
particularly because this year i had a
student right as we were arguing in
class and really getting to it
she said i need to make a point with
some evidence if i had a bowl of soup
and i took out the broth
it would no longer be soup it would
actually be
a mix of noodles vegetables and meat and
that's what everybody would call it
however if you took out the milk from a
bowl of cereal
you would still call it cereal and
therefore cereal can't be sued
right the evidence blew my mind away the
commentary was perfect and i was like
yes from now on i am a not super
and a hot dog of course is a sandwich
and the best evidence that i got from
this was from a custodian in my
school and she said it has to be a
sandwich because the only reason why it
wouldn't be considered one is because
the bun
is connected as if it's some sort of
modified taco but it's not
right because when you go to subway and
the bread is connected because they
don't cut all the way through
you still call that a sandwich so if
you're willing to call that a sandwich
because the bread is connected
then why wouldn't you actually also call
a hot dog a sandwich because the bread
is connected
and i was like completely reasonable
although i already agreed with her
and sure enough a hot dog is indeed a
sandwich so
i hope that these ridiculous ways of
accessing argument
um actually come off as a little bit fun
but what i also care is that they can
help you springboard into understanding
that arguments need to be complex and
these are quick fun ways to do so
as we then move into creating those
engaging complex arguments that we want
kids to actually write
or if you're a student that you want to
actually write so
i do thank you for your time as always
if this was helpful for you i'm going to
ask that you click like
and subscribe please remember you can
support the garden of english in many
ways
you can buy some garden of english merch
all uh you can uh just like us
on facebook you can follow us on
and also you can just share the videos
as well so uh please continue to support
the garden of english i really
appreciate your time tuning in
and we'll be back probably by the end of
the week and we'll start talking about
breaking down argument prompts and um
we've got a couple um excellent guests
coming in to actually help with this
over the next few weeks as we deal with
this kind of argument production so
i hope you all have a great day and
we'll see you next time
[Music]
you
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