essay 2 definition argument

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Essay # 2 (Definition Argument, 1, 000 words ) Read chapter 11. Follow the directions on page 238 (Writing Assignment: A Definition Argument) Responsible students will have their rough drafts reviewed by the instructor through email or by a tutor through Smarthinking. If you want me to review it, send the rough draft through my work email michaels@csmd.edu (not as attachment, though). Do not expect me to check between 4 p.m. Friday and 2:00 p.m. Monday.

In a Definition Argument you argue whether something belongs

or doesn’t belong to a certain category.

First, establish the criteria for the category. This means you must define the category. For example, give the definition of art, and point out the main features that define it. You might also have to argue the relevance and suitability of the criteria.

Second, you must convince your audience that the particular case in question meets or doesn’t meet the criteria. Use sources to support your reasoning. Your audience should be convinced that Graffiti has these characteristics; therefore, by definition, that it is art.

Assignment Description – DEFINITION Argument

  • This essay will be 1,000 words including Works Cited page. That is about 3-4 pages double spaced.
  • It will be worth 200 points
  • Refer to at least three credible sources, one of which is the book by Elijah Anderson
  • Topic: Cosmopolitan Canopies

Topic info

REVIEW: “Cosmopolitan canopies” are defined as neutral settings shared by diverse peoples as a respite from the racial, ethnic, and social tensions of urban life. As an African American participant observer, Anderson (sociology, Yale U.) presents an ethnographic study of such public spaces as models of civility in tours of several of Philadelphia’s de facto segregated neighborhoods. The book includes a schematic map of the city’s cosmopolitan canopy

According to Elijah Anderson, the cosmopolitan canopy is a place where people of all races gather in the public square and collectively adhere to a higher standard of civility — all without prompting.

“These are islands of civility in a sea of segregated living,” says Anderson, the William K. Lanman Jr. professor of sociology and author of “The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life.”

“You can take a person’s measure. You can see their humanity. That’s what people do under the canopy,” Anderson explains. “Without these spaces, we’d be even more isolated.”

A canopy: “where diverse people converge, defining the setting as belonging to everyone and deemphasizing race and other particularities. No one group claims priority.” Here are two sources to help you understand Anderson’s definition:

  1. Read this chapter from Anderson’s book:

https://citythroughthebody.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/cosmopolitancanopy.pdf

  1. Listen to the Talk of the Nation story: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135116342/bridging-racial-divides-in-cosmopolitan-canopies
  • Illustrate an example of cosmopolitan canopy that you have experienced.

Consider race, gender, age, physical characteristics/body type, lifestyle, personality traits, values/morals, ethnicity, customs/traditions, social class, position of hierarchy (father-son, employer-employee, professor-student), economic status, and any other trait that makes human beings different from each other. Where do these differences vanish?

Steps to completing your assignment:

The first step is to understand the assignment. If you are unclear, ask me immediately. If you do Not understand the assignment, read the chapter in your book about DEFINITION AND RESEMBLANCE ARGUMENTS (Ch.11).

The next step is to read articles/reviews regarding the topic: Cosmopolitan Canopies.

We have provided three links for you already (the chapter from Anderson’s book, the review of Anderson’s book, and the interview on NPR. You may want to find additional sources if necessary.)

After that, think of your experiences. Choose a place where you have visited that fits this definition. What place do you think belongs to this category? Follow Anderson’s model. He describes the cosmopolitan canopy as “a densely populated bounded public space.” It must be a place that one can visit. So do not say “A community college fits Anderson’s definition of a cosmopolitan canopy.” Narrow your focus: “The café at the LaPlata campus of The College of Southern Maryland fits Anderson’s definition of a cosmopolitan canopy.”

Then, invent a thesis, make a claim. Follow the following format:

_______ is a cosmopolitan canopy because A, B, C.

NOTE the Types of Categorical Arguments as defined in your textbook. Which one of the four you will be writing?

  1. Simple categorical Argument
  2. Definition Argument
  3. Resemblance Argument
  4. Resemblance Argument by Precedent

After you have written the essay, determine which of the four above you have written. Let me know right after your title. I will be checking to see if what you wrote is actually what you have claimed to have written. In other words, if you have written A simple categorical argument but you wrote “This is a Resemblance Argument by Precedent” I will take off a few points.

Lastly, begin writing. Make an outline if it helps you. Be sure to use sentence templates at least four times in your essay.

SENTENCE TEMPLATES

Use at least 4 of the following 8 sentence templates. If possible, highlight these sentence starters in your essay :

  1. (Insert author’s name here)……..asserts that……….
  2. One expert on this issue is ………., who says this: ……….
  3. I agree with/ disagree with (insert author’s name) when he says………….because……….
  4. Though I concede………, I must insist that ……………….
  5. Some readers may challenge my view by asserting that……….My response is this: ………
  6. This issue is important because…………….
  7. I agree with…………. and will make the additional point that….
  8. The future of this issue is this: ………….

Sample of a Definition Argument Grading Rubric (Total of 200 possible points) // Your rubric may be a bit different, but here is the basic outline:

60 – Grammar and Mechanics

10 – Establish Kairos

10 – Establish Exigence (“What’s at Stake in your Claim?”)

20 – Arrangement/Organization (The entire essay is arranged in support of the central idea. Paragraphs are focused and are well connected to the body.)

20 – Your narrative is persuasive/Your three sources are used in a responsible way (Well-selected, introduced, and documented). Your source material tells us something interesting about the canopy you are describing (again, in that respect it will be following Anderson’s model. )

10 – Faithfully follow the assignment description

10 – Your evidence shows that your contested case meets the criteria of the defined category and so belongs to it (Criteria-match). Your essay shows that you clearly understand what Anderson is doing, and your essay successfully copies his model.

10 – Your essay uses four sentence templates as described by the handout in the back of your textbook.

20 – Define the category and specify its features/criteria

10 – Point of View (Use “I” when appropriate. Do not address the reader )

10 – Conclusion ( “Do more than simply summarize” )

10 – Works Cited page

 
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