Watch the debate tryouts scene (10:00-15:34) from The Great Debaters. 

With a partner, identify and explain the lines of reasoning and evidence evaluation that occur in the scene.

Browse the 19 illustrations of bad arguments posted around the room.  Each of the illustrations comes from the book An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments online.

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​You will be responsible for presenting a logical fallacy to the class. Get your assignment here.

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Thou Shall Not Commit Logical Fallacies is a wonderful website that may help you with your research. Use it as needed; HOWEVER, your work and examples must be your own.

Practice exercise 1: Now that we've reviewed an array of logical fallacies, let's see how many you can identify. Work with a partner to complete this exercise on logical fallacies.

AFTER you and your partner have completed the exercise, check your work here.

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​Practice exercise 2: With a partner, read the logical fallacy example paragraph, "The feminist argument that pornography is harmful has no merit..." Every sentence contains a fallacy. See which ones you can identify. (Some fallacies will be repeated.)

AFTER you and your partner have valiantly attempted to identify the logical fallacies on your own, take a look at the explanation of fallacies.

Complete this activity by opening a new window in your browser.

1. Do a quick Google search for the "top ten most populated cities in the world"

2. SKIP the ads, and open the first 4-5 results given IN NEW TABS.

3. What do you notice about the lists - in terms of cities and numbers?

4. Take special note of the cities New York, Istanbul, and São Paulo. Do these cities make the list on each tab you have open?

5. Now do three individual Google searches for the population of New York, Istanbul, and São Paulo.

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What does searching for the population of individual cities do to the numbers? Which cities should make the list, or be added or removed? What are some possible reasons for the discrepancies?

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What do all these discrepancies tell us?

We will be using the RAVEN method to evaluate evidence. When you are

determining the credibility of information or bias of an article, consider the

points of RAVEN.  You have already seen the importance of being critical

of evidence in the previous activity.

When analyzing evidence in your EOC exam, it is essential that you can

identify and explain the points of RAVEN for a given article. If a source

doesn't hold up to the RAVEN evaluation, then you should question it's

reliability as a source. 

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View the RAVEN presentation here!

Watch Jenny McCarthy in an interview on CNN about how she cured her

son's autism. As you watch, consider the elements of RAVEN. Fill out and

discuss the RAVEN analysis document based on what you see in the video.

In May of 2018, the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem. Let's take a look at two different sources reporting the events that ensued.

     1. From the Daily Kos

     2. From the New York Post

Compare and contrast the two texts. How obvious or subtle are the differences? Analyze the validity of the sources by applying RAVEN - use the RAVEN analysis doc to complete the task.

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After you've completed your RAVEN analysis for the two sources above, read about the event from yet a third source:

     3. From NPR

How does this third text compare to the other two articles?

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To help us be aware of media bias, take a look at the Media Bias Chart. How are the news sources categorized? Why is this important?

Let's start with an Edpuzzle video on scholarly sources.

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Though you can find sources on a topic anywhere - in magazines, newspapers, and on the internet - peer-reviewed academic articles are considered the most trust-worthy when looking for valid information. Scholarly sources and peer-reviewed journals tend to be written by experts in their field. A peer-reviewed journal lends an extra sense of validity because the findings and opinion of the author have been "checked" by other experts in the field. Remember, all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly, but not all scholarly sources are peer-reviewed.

Then peruse the two files below. Identify each article as "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed." Be ready to explain how you came to that conclusion.

1. "Police Violence Against Black People Is on the Rise in Brazil"

2. "The Lack of Diversity in Healthcare"

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If you'd like more information about identifying peer-reviewed journals, check out this helpful article from the ASU Library.

When using evidence, it is essential that you give credit to the source of the information that you are using. Follow the APA evidence guide in this presentation to review how to cite evidence in your papers.​

Using scholarly sources is a requirement of your research for Seminar. Using EBSCO (AP students can access via their digital portfolio) or JSTOR, find a peer-reviewed article that addresses that topic of your TSIS 2-1 response.  However, the scholarly source should be more than simply a topical link. It should help answer your question so that you can integrate it into your 2-1 response. Ask yourself, “Can this source support my argument?” If so, use it. If not, continue your search. 

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(Google Scholar is another resource you can use to locate academic journals.)

You have been at work for quite some time with your TSIS 2-1 response. It’s now time to evaluate your work. For Seminar, you must present your findings and analysis to your group in a well-researched and well-written report in which you:

1. Identify an area of investigation and explain its relationship to the overall problem or issue. (Contextualization)

2. Summarize, explain, analyze and evaluate the main ideas and reasoning in the chosen sources.  (Argumentation: thesis and LOR)

3. Demonstrate you have evaluated the credibility of your chosen sources and selected evidence relevant to the inquiry. (RAVENed)

4. Identify, compare and interpret a range of perspectives about the problem or issue. (Multiple perspectives used IN CONVERSATION with each other)

5. Cite all sources that you have used, and include a list of works cited or a bibliography. (APA style - What does APA call its bibliography?)

6. Use correct grammar and a style appropriate to an academic audience. (Style and CUPS)

Ideas to keep in mind:

• POINT 1: Thesis must be on point! Refine your thesis based on evidence. Make sure that it is specific, focused, clear, concise, and debatable.  Take a look at some tips from Duke University's writing program on developing a thesis in order to help you revise your thesis.

• POINT 2: After refining your thesis, identify your claims. Revamp them as necessary in order to improve your LOR. These claims build the argument that proves your thesis. Remember, these claims must also be based on the evidence. DO NOT manipulate evidence to support a claim.

• POINT 3: Make sure you have evidence that supports each claim. This evidence can be statistics, ideas of experts, etc. DO NOT include evidence that does not connect to a claim. ONLY include information that supports your argument. Be sure to briefly RAVEN the source/author within your text. This means quickly validating that the information you are using comes from a reputable source (telling why the source is credible).

REMEMBER: Continue to refer to and apply the ideas from "They Say / I Say" as you work.  It also helps to:

         a. Use quotes sparingly! Use them if the quote is so significant that it would lose meaning if paraphrased, or if the quote is a

term or phrase the author has created.

         b. Always try to summarize or paraphrase the author; this shows and helps your own personal understanding.

         c. NOT just list evidence. EXPLAIN why that evidence is significant (think ICE) and HOW it supports your claim

(reasoning).

         d. ALWAYS cite the source: in-text and bibliographic citations; these MUST align!

         e. ORGANIZE your ideas; using a reverse outline graphic organizer can help improve your organization and LOR.