composition

1
compositionoral proficiency
camelia elias

• Session 4

2
missing coherence

• The ancient Egyptians were masters of preserving
  dead people's bodies by making mummies of them.
  Mummies several thousand years old have been
  discovered nearly intact. The skin, hair, teeth,
  fingernails and toenails, and facial features of
  the mummies were evident. It is possible to
  diagnose the disease they suffered in life, such
  as smallpox, arthritis, and nutritional
  deficiencies. The process was remarkably
  effective. Sometimes apparent were the fatal
  afflictions of the dead people a middle-aged
  king died from a blow on the head, and polio
  killed a child king. Mummification consisted of
  removing the internal organs, applying natural
  preservatives inside and out, and then wrapping
  the body in layers of bandages.

3
improved coherence

• The ancient Egyptians were masters of preserving
  dead people's bodies by making mummies of them.
  In short, mummification consisted of removing the
  internal organs, applying natural preservatives
  inside and out, and then wrapping the body in
  layers of bandages. And the process was
  remarkably effective. Indeed, mummies several
  thousand years old have been discovered nearly
  intact. Their skin, hair, teeth, fingernails and
  toenails, and facial features are still evident.
  Their diseases in life, such as smallpox,
  arthritis, and nutritional deficiencies, are
  still diagnosable. Even their fatal afflictions
  are still apparent a middle-aged king died from
  a blow on the head a child king died from polio.
  

4
logical structures

• make an outline before sitting down to write.
• It's difficult to give any more specific advise
  since the best logical structure for your essay
  will depend on the particularities of your
  argument.
• there are two obvious points that you should be
  aware of
• (1) make sure you explicate a view or argument,
  clearly and charitably, before criticizing it and
  
• (2) explain key terms, concepts, and examples
  before employing them.

5
principles of compositionargumentation

• Proposition --
• You cannot determine the truth or falsity of a
  proposition if it stands alone. It has to be part
  of an argument.
• Can be a premise or conclusion.
• Is not equal to a sentence.
• Premise --
• Proposition used as evidence in an argument.
• Conclusion --
• Proposition used as a thesis in an argument.
• Argument --
• A group of propositions of which one is claimed
  to follow from the others.
• Induction --
• A process through which the premises provide some
  basis for the conclusion
• Deduction --
• A process through which the premises provide
  conclusive proof for the conclusion.

6
(No Transcript)
7
Universities are full of knowledge. The freshmen
bring a little in, and the seniors take none
away, and knowledge accumulates.- Harvard
President A. L. Lowell

• Premise 1Freshmen bring a little (knowledge) in
• Premise 2Seniors take none away
• Premise 3Knowledge accumulates
• Conclusion Universities are full of knowledge

8

• Even though there may be a deceiver of some sort,
  very powerful and very tricky, who bends all his
  efforts to keep me perpetually deceived, there
  can be no slightest doubt that I exist, since he
  deceives me and let him deceive me as much as he
  will, he can never make me be nothing as long as
  I think I am something. Thus, after having
  thought well on this matter, and after examining
  all things with care, I must finally conclude and
  maintain that this proposition I am, I exist, is
  necessarily true every time that I pronounce it
  or conceive it in my mind.
• - Rene Descartes, Meditations

9

• Argument 1 Premise 1
• Conclusion of Argument 1Argument 2 Premise 1
• Conclusion

• To be deceived ... I must exist
• When I think that I exist I cannot be deceived
  about that
• I am, I exist, is necessarily true ... .

10
fallacies of relevance

• 1. Argumentum ad Bacculum (appeal to force) --
• "Pay back the loan and 10 daily interest by
  Thursday, or be sure that you have your hospital
  insurance paid up."
• 2. Argumentum ad Hominem (abusive) --
• "Don't believe anything John says he's a nerd."
• 3. Argumentum ad Hominem (circumstantial)
• "Of course he thinks fraternities are great. He's
  a Phi Delta."
• 4. Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (argument from
  ignorance) --
• There is no proof that witches exist therefore,
  they do not.
• 5. Argumentum ad Misericordiam (appeal to pity)
  --
• "Your honor, how can the prosecution dare try to
  send this poor, defenseless child to jail for the
  murder of his father and mother. Have a heart
  the boy is now an orphan."
• 6. Argumentum ad Populum --
• "Don't be left out! Buy your own Corvette today!"
• 7. Argumentum ad Vericundiam (appeal to
  authority) --
• Joe Namath selling pantyhose Joe DiMaggio
  selling Mr. Coffee.
• 8. Accident --
• "What you bought yesterday, you eat today you
  bought raw meat yesterday therefore, you eat raw
  meat today."
• 9. Converse Accident (hasty generalization) --
• "That man is an alcoholic. Liquor should be
  banned."

11
fallacies of relevance 2

• 10. False cause (Post hoc ergo propter hoc) (Many
  of our superstitions stem from use of this
  fallacy.) --
• "a black cat crossed Joe's path yesterday, and he
  died last night." or "Put your money where your
  mouth is. Whiter teeth and fresh breath will win
  Susie."
• 11. Petitio Principii (begging the question) --
• "It's time to come in the house now, Billy."
  "Why?""Because I said so!""Why?""Because it's
  time, and I said so."
• 12. Complex Question --
• "Have you given up cheating on exams?"
• 13. Ignoratio Elenchi (irrelevant conclusion) --
• In a law court, in attempt to prove that the
  accused is guilty of theft, the prosecution may
  argue that theft is a horrible crime for anyone
  to commit.

12
concluding paragraphs

• your conclusion is your opportunity to wrap up
  your essay in a tidy package and bring it home
  for your reader.
• it is a good idea to recapitulate what you said
  in your Thesis Statement in order to suggest to
  your reader that you have accomplished what you
  set out to accomplish.
• dont just restate your thesis statement

13
the conclusion

• should contain a definite, positive statement or
  call to action, but that statement needs to be
  based on what we have provided in the essay.
• is no place to bring up new ideas.
• If a brilliant idea tries to sneak into our final
  paragraph, pluck it out and let it have its own
  paragraph earlier in the essay.

14
the conclusion

• Never apologize for or otherwise undercut the
  argument you've made or leave your readers with
  the sense that "this is just little ol' me
  talking."
• show the reader that you know what youre doing
• if you promised in the introduction that you were
  going to cover four points and you covered only
  two (because you couldn't find enough information
  or you took too long with the first two or you
  got tired), don't try to cram those last two
  points into your final paragraph.

15
suggestions for conclusions

• include a brief summary of the paper's main
  points
• ask a provocative question
• use a quotation
• evoke a vivid image
• call for some sort of action
• end with a warning
• universalize (compare to other situations)
• suggest results or consequences
• for the sake of style, end with a punch line

16
quoting sources

• you quote ad verbatim when a passage is essential
  to the advancement of your argument
• or you need it to illustrate exactly what you
  need to demonstrate
• you dont want to quote uninspired and
  unintelligent writing
• you dont quote just for the sake of dropping
  names
• if your quotation is less than 4 lines, than you
  may place it along your own writing (still in
  quotation marks and with a parenthetical source
  of reference)
• summary and paraphrase also need to be accredited
• dont italicize your quotes

17
plagiarism

• is the use of a direct quotation without
  indicating the source
• copying a table, chart or other data
• summarizing and paraphrasing in your own words
  without mentioning what texts inspired you
• read more here
• http//www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/pages/plagiarism.html
  

18
references

• use the author/date system (the Harvard Style or
  the APA style)
• see a webpage with examples here
• http//www.ccc.commnet.edu/apa/
• EX
• in-text citations
• (Garner, 2003 33)
• in your bibliography list
• Garner, B. A. (2003). Garner's Modern American
  Usage. New York Oxford University Press.