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ain groove when writing their essays. The activities below may work as a corrective:
Activities
Give students an essay title. Ask them to compile as many different arguments as possible which could be advanced in response.
Students get into groups and are provided with a range of essay titles. They choose one and create a large spider diagram (say, on sugar paper) covering as many answers as possible.
The teacher writes different perspectives, viewpoints or positions on a series of cards (for example, in Sociology this could be Marxist, feminist, pluralist, functionalist, postmodernist, and social-constructivist). The cards are handed out at random along with an essay question. Students must develop their arguments from the perspective, position or viewpoint indicated on their card.
Critiquing Arguments
Arguments are there to be critiqued. Most things can be rebutted. Little is irrefutable. An essay is more persuasive when taking account of this reality. Dogmatic browbeating wins few followers; it makes the proponent appear naive and simplistic. The following activities centre on critique of arguments:
Activities
Students write an essay. The teacher takes the work in and redistributes it. Students go through the essay they have been given with the express intention of challenging each argument they find. Challenges are noted with coloured pen. Students then get together and discuss their critiques.
Take a newspaper article, a comment piece, or an politicians speech. Give out to students. Ask them to work through the text and identify as many challenges to the argument as they can. This can include issues such as reliability, credibility, logic, accuracy, validity, the evidence called upon, the relationship between reasons and