An Argument Structure

For each Project Period, students will be asked to complete an “Argument Structure” for each of the Project Period Questions. This is Step 2 after the Question Analysis that has already been completed. The goal of the Argument Structure assignment is to explore and establish a draft outline structure for each of the project period questions. The goal is to have a skeleton of how you think you will organize your answer AT THIS TIME (it could and will likely change upon further investigation).

Now that we have figured out what the question is asking us to do (activities) and have begun gathering evidence (from readings), we need to think about how we will present the structure of our answer. In what order will you address the parts of the question? What activities must be addressed within the parts? In essence, this is creating the first levels of your outline that will be due at the end of the Project Period (examples below)

When the Argument Structure Assignment is complete, students will also gain specific feedback towards their progress in completing their Question Outlines.

Demonstration Video
Video is not an accurate representation of the questions you are working on, but is an effective demonstration.

Format
Your Argument Structure should essentially be a skeletal outline where the conceptual main points asked for in the question and activities are indicated with numbered headings, while the proposed sub-points are enumerated/bulleted underneath the relevant main points that demonstrate the activities that will be completed with each main point.

A template is provided for guidance: Argument Structure Template

An example is provided for demonstration purposes: Argument Structure Example

A completed example of this assignment will be available upon request.

⚠️WARNING: Importantly, I DO NOT want you to attempt to answer the question at all or provide any specific evidence. The point is for you to begin to hypothesize the logic of answering the Exam Questions and begin planning your argument with conceptual placeholders.

Thought Process to Complete:
Begin with what activities the question is asking you to do. (refer back to your Question Analysis)

Then explore how you would answer the question by brainstorming what goes first, second, third, etc.

Then establish what the conceptual main points would be (is the activity asking for topics, events, people, changes, etc) and what activities/questions will need to be addressed under each main point (what are you to do with the events, people, changes, etc).

This assignment can be completed with nothing more than the question itself and some thought. No reading is required. If you find yourself trying to read the text to complete this assignment, you are misunderstanding the assignment.

Submissions
PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, and RTF are all acceptable formats. In addition, you may submit a “Share Link” if you are using a service like Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online.

Grading
This assignment is graded by credit/no credit. If you make a good faith attempt at the assignment, full credit will be given. Missing required elements will result in no credit.

Direction 2…

For each Project Period, students will be asked to complete a “Draft Outline Element” for each of the Project Period Questions. This is Step 3 after the Draft Argument Structure assignment that has already been completed. The goal of the Draft Outline Element is to practice connecting evidence to question activities.

When this step is complete, students will also gain specific feedback towards their progress in completing their Project Period Outlines. Now that we know what the questions are asking, how we are planning on answering them, and having gathered some evidence to do so, now is a great time to get some feedback on ONE particular element of EACH of your draft outlines. In particular, feedback will be focused on how clear your argument element is in outline form and how effectively you have selected evidence to demonstrate your argument.

Format
Your Draft Outline Element should essentially be a single snippet of each outline that you are building right now. Each snippet should clearly state the Project Period Question, what activity you are outlining of the given Project Period Question, and several pieces of evidence to demonstrate your claim (answer) to the specific activity. You are not required to do multiple elements per question, just ONE. Pick an activity and start outlining your argument.

A template is provided for guidance: Outline Element Template

An example is provided for demonstration purposes: Example Outline Element

Completion Process
1. Identify the Project Period Question Activity that you want to address (one for each question).

2. Then dig into the evidence you have been gathering that will help you answer the activity. Pay particular attention to HOW the evidence helps you answer the activity.

3. Then build a bullet point outline snippet that makes a claim to answer the activity and demonstrates that claim by presenting evidence and explaining how it advances your claim..

Submissions
PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, and RTF are all acceptable formats. In addition, you may submit a “Share Link” if you are using a service like Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online

Grading
This assignment is graded by credit/no credit. If you make a good faith attempt at the assignment, full credit will be given. Missing required elements will result in no credit.