Week 4 — Notes
Review again Chapters 3 and 4 / I am repeating notes from last week, so you really get it. I have
added info on understanding cultural dynamics. Read carefully.
So let’s review what exigency is all about.
(N.B. – I have added the meaning of the word for you. Please see this as an example of actively
seeking out your dictionary when you should come across a word that you do not know or
understand. Here is one to add to your growing vocabulary.)
ex·i·gen·cy [ek-si-juhn-see, ig-zij-uhn-] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -cies.
1. exigent state or character; urgency.
2. Usually, exigencies. the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition,
etc.: the exigencies of city life.
3. a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency: He promised help in
any exigency.
Also, ex·i·gence.
[Origin: 1575–85; < ML exigentia. See exigent, -ency]
—Synonyms 3. crisis, contingency, plight, strait; predicament, fix, pinch. )
So “exigency” is the unstoppable reason why you choose to do something; it is a crisis even—
something that demands you take prompt action, make a decision, or find a remedy. It could be
something like this. For instance, you are on your way to college. You suddenly have a flat tire,
or you get a call to immediately buy groceries for your ailing sister. How would you change your
course of action? What if you had an exam you could not miss? How would you handle this?
We are prompted by diverse life situations. What values do you call upon to guide you in such
situations?
Something to think about.
Toulmin Style of Argumentation
Here is information on the essential elements of the Toulmin model, named after Steve
Toulmin, a philosopher, who developed a model of argumentation in six parts. Little did he
realize that his work would become a staple for critical reading and writing classes. He outlined
his process in this way: Claim, Support, Warrants, Backing, Rebuttal, and Qualifiers – as
necessary to write an effective argumentation paper.
When you look at it, such questions may arise: where are you coming from? What moves you?
What informs your point of view and opinion? What are your influences? Considering these
questions is the interesting part of the process of
critical thinking — self-evaluation, re-evaluation, and the continuing evaluation of ideas and of
the audience in order to know how to reach out to them. Get this.
As you read these notes, observe your own mental process. What do you notice? Do you start
to reflect on your own thinking?
Also important is self-(re)-evaluation in order to identify and examine your own value formation
and judgments. Opening to this self-knowledge as a writer will aid you in learning the art of
flexibility so you can see another’s point of view (pov), while you also become clear about your
own value foundations and patterns. When you are open to another’s POV, then you are better
able to bring in your audience to consider your POV. It also helps you to develop intellectual
honesty, so that you don’t make excuses for a specific point of view but are better able to
defend it and concede when the other side is stronger and clearer.
Sometimes, in the process of research, you may find that your original POV has changed. There
is nothing wrong with this. On the other hand, this reflects you, the writer’s intellectual
honesty. Was there a time when you simply would not budge on an issue because you just
knew you were right?
You know now what Claim is – the main point of the argument, the purpose of the paper, what
you are trying to prove to be true and valid. Also known as Thesis or controlling idea. Then you
have Support. You must always be able to support your point with evidence, data, reasons,
examples, facts, or explanation, et al. Without this your paper won’t go anywhere.
Warrant: What is it?
A very important element of the Toulmin model is providing Warrants – assumptions and
cultural values of the writers and the readers. Warrants often influence your claims, and when
you find that it is limiting your perspective because there are points of view you have not
considered, then you might review your claim. This is also the most challenging part of the
process. You’ll find that even the data you pick up may be based on the limitations of your own
perception or point of view. Hence, I have often asked my students to begin a paper without an
opinion or bias – this so that they learn about the subject well before jumping to conclusions
hastily and not being able to support their papers.
Well, then you consider backing, rebuttal and qualifiers. Backing is support; rebuttal is refuting
the other side or POV; qualifiers provide a “why” or a condition for a particular POV (this is not
just supporting evidence). I hope this review helps.
FACT/Inference: Review last week’s readings on Fact & Inference ~
You have discovered that facts are changeable. Some can and do change; some might be
skewed; they mean different things to different people depending on circumstance; they can
lead to trouble. Review page 93 on how facts may be clarified.
Review INFERENCES also. Language is so richly nuanced that slight shifts in meaning may occur
and confuse the issue. Therefore, as a critical thinker and writer, you must be absolutely clear
of your INTENT and how you convey your message. This may require layers of self-analysis and
evaluation as well as revision of your paper, warrant, exigency and, finally, again a re-defining
of your own self.
While you read both chapters carefully, look at the differences between fact and inference on
pages 118-123. Not only is language nuanced, but also our perception about something can be
influenced by other factors. How do you then practice being truthful as a critical thinker? What
does it mean to think critically?
Different Kinds of Argument ~ We covered this last week, so I hope you saved the notes. Note
you can write: argument to establish definition; argument to evaluate issues; argument to
persuade an audience. In any, you are still evaluating and offering kinds of evidence.
You have a DISCUSSION on topic of cultural memes. We started this last week; your
participation in this is required. You are asked to evaluate trends and cultural mores as they
change and affect issues. Read more about cultural dynamics and how life changes.
For this week, a study of cultures unfolds as you write your first critical essay. First, consider
what is culture; how it is created or how it emerges through social, economic, and psychic
dynamics. What are the foundations of a cultural identity?
Look at values that influence culture, yours and others. In some ways, cultures have
similarities. All peoples of the world celebrate passages in some way or the other. These include
births, graduations, marriages, and death, et al. We all go through various coming of age
situations in our lives. Some cultures mark events with great fanfare (see Mexico, India...), while
others remain sober or austere (see Ethiopia…you have to find sources to read).
Landscape also affects how cultures develop their expressions of passages and festivals. For
instance, people in Arab lands cover themselves fully – they travel in the desert and it is more
comfortable to be covered in the desert than to wear So Cal beachwear because the winds pick
up the sands into storms in the desert. Why do people in S.E. Asia wear sarongs, and why are
Eskimos covered in fur? Interestingly, Eskimo people have more than 40 words for snow and
ice. We don’t. Landscape certainly influences food and dress, and in so doing also customs,
festivals and, hence, identity.
We live in a rich and diverse world.
When people are displaced from their lands, they have to adjust to another landscape; this,
too, affects a whole new set of cultural conditions, mores, ways of living, eating, dressing, etc.
Such assimilations and appropriations have happened for many centuries; for instance,
pilgrimages people made over 1,000 years ago may be seen as early form of tourism. These
travelers naturally picked up stories and language as they traveled and left theirs for local
cultures, leading to a blending of cultures, which also create anew issues of class, race, and
identity.
Then also came the blight with colonization that destroyed indigenous cultures all over the
world. Assimilation was a natural process leading to some excellent results but not without
complex problems. We, too, who are bicultural or multi-cultural, have undergone a certain kind
of assimilation. The better word is “integration,” for this latter suggests a synthesis, while
assimilation is a loss, which can raise complex issues of identity.
Acculturation is a dynamic process. Be particularly observant of the details when you observe
yourself and people of other cultures—diverse experiences of gaining, losing, recognizing, recreating a new way even as you/they express different conflicts. We grow through conflict. This
you know.
What Is Evidence? ~ You cannot have an argument without evidence. You may use
observations, interviews, surveys, questionnaires, experiments, and personal experience as
evidence. But there is a caveat to all of them. Your observations and experience must be valid
and not skewed to fit one single POV if objective data points otherwise. Study carefully how
different evidence may be used and how you can then develop a convincing argument.
Images are also Persuasive. You just have to look at all aspects contained therein—image and
word, as well as placement, for it is all designed to persuade using appeals to ethos, logos, and
pathos.
As you develop your critical thinking skills, you will find how claims are developed and that
there are various kinds of claims: fact, value, definition, cause, and policy. What you use
depends on the topic of your paper.
Critical Thinking makes you realize you are an intimate part of a community and your
actions/choices have local and global significance. Such thinking process is also known as
“metacognition,” which means “thinking about thinking.”
As always assignments are due Sunday night.
———
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
Why Choose Us
- 100% non-plagiarized Papers
- 24/7 /365 Service Available
- Affordable Prices
- Any Paper, Urgency, and Subject
- Will complete your papers in 6 hours
- On-time Delivery
- Money-back and Privacy guarantees
- Unlimited Amendments upon request
- Satisfaction guarantee
How it Works
- Click on the “Place Order” tab at the top menu or “Order Now” icon at the bottom and a new page will appear with an order form to be filled.
- Fill in your paper’s requirements in the "PAPER DETAILS" section.
- Fill in your paper’s academic level, deadline, and the required number of pages from the drop-down menus.
- Click “CREATE ACCOUNT & SIGN IN” to enter your registration details and get an account with us for record-keeping and then, click on “PROCEED TO CHECKOUT” at the bottom of the page.
- From there, the payment sections will show, follow the guided payment process and your order will be available for our writing team to work on it.