As with the other chapters in Part One, we recommend working through the rhetorical concepts in Chapter Three during the early part of the semester.
You might provide a brief, in-class definition of facts and opinions as they are used in the book to help orient students to the ideas covered in the chapter. Though the concepts are not hard to comprehend, they are probably alien to many students who have, to some extent, been taught to devalue any opinion, especially their own. Besides reinforcing the material, covering the basic concepts early will help them concentrate on what's important about finding an arguable position.
Though we sketch out a very workable definition of argument and go on to explain how different situations require different types of writing, you might want to supplement the chapter with an explanation of the stasis claims of argumentation (definition, causality, evaluation, and policy). In general we suggest that you highlight the kinds of writing and projects that you'll be asking your students to do throughout the term.
Choose a current, local controversy, one that your students are familiar with or could get acquainted with quickly in the newspaper, and have groups of students identify the different sides in the discussion. Their object should be to find areas of common ground that exist between these positions. Remember that the common ground can be vague and abstract depending on the type of controversy you're dealing with, and that those sides most diametrically opposed will have only the narrowest of common grounds from which to work. You might also have your class evaluate how well the participants are trying to meet each other on their common ground (or, more likely, how little they emphasize what they share in common with their opponents).
Exercise 3.1 Determining Arguable Positions
Time: This can easily be done in class, though you might not be able to discuss all of the items.
Suggestions: Students often approach this assignment like it's one of the Fact or Opinion exercises they've had in high school. They usually discover fairly quickly, though, that all is not as it seems. For almost all of these statements, you can easily imagine a situation where the position is arguable. Often, the discussion comes down to a matter of definition (what do you mean by "should"?) or audience (are you saying this to a group of Puerto Rican political activists or to a geographer?). You may then want to have your students concentrate on what the likely audience of the statement believesdo most of us agree that aerosol sprays are harmful for the environment (or, if you want to concentrate on definition, are there other types of aerosol sprays that aren't harmful). What's important is that your students understand what makes the statements arguable in different situations. If you are discussing these exercises in class, be aware that you will have to share your thought process on these assignments with your students and that they will probably come up with situations that you haven't anticipated.