ANALYSIS AS ARGUMENTMichele Griegel-McCordUniversity of Cincinnati

OCTELA Spring ConferenceMarch 25, 2013

CONTENT GROUNDED IN ARGUMENT BUT EMPHASIZES STUDENTS’ OWN THINKING

Still Making Claims Just about the

debate/research instead of for a position on the issue

Still Providing Evidence to support those claims

Addressing Significance and So What?

Entire content of essay CANNOT be cut and pasted from other sites.

Students have to use sources purposefully

COGNITIVE SKILLS REQUIRED

Identification must identify the major stakeholders or research sources or

voices in the debate

Analysis / Synthesis / Evaluation Find similarities / differences Draw conclusions about significance Draw attention to surprising factors Assess relationships between factors

ANALOGY: Sports Announcers

VARIOUS WAYS TO FOCUS A DEBATE ANALYSIS

Stakeholder Analysis Rhetorical Analysis Discourse Analysis Research Process Analysis Personal Reflection

These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Can make the essay as broad or focused as you choose. Offer low-stakes writing opportunities for early analyses

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS PROMPTS

Who are the various stakeholder groups involved in your debate What positions do the various stakeholder groups advocate? Who has the power to impact your issue directly or indirectly (key

stakeholders)? Who will decide the debate?

What does each group have to gain or lose in a potential resolution to the debate?

Do of the goals and desires of the stakeholder groups overlap? Look for areas of common ground among stakeholders, as well as points

of differentiation. Who are the stakeholders with the most authority or influence in your

debate? Why is this? Are there any stakeholders or positions that you feel are being

overlooked in the overall debate? Why?

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS PROMPTS

What are some of the main reasons that stakeholder groups offer to support their positions on the debate issue?

Do you see any overlap or common ground among these rationales? Which ideas seem to be in direct opposition to each other? What reasons/rationales have resonance (are popular) with different

audiences? Are these reasons more emotionally based or logically based? Was there more advocacy for one position as opposed to another? Why

do you think that is and what impact do you see in having on the potential resolution of the debate?

Are there any stakeholder positions that are universally accepted? Why is that?

What positions/arguments might have more sway over the key stakeholders responsible for resolving the debate? Why?

RESEARCH/SOURCES ANALYSIS PROMPTS

What did you know and what did you learn from researching your topic?

How and where did you find the strongest and most relevant sources?

What surprised you about the research process?

How did the research confirm, enhance, develop, change, or even refute your original perspective on the topic?

Which parts of the research process did you consider successes and which were failures or challenges?

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS PROMPTS

What modes of communication/advocacy do the various stakeholders employ (websites, blogs, print media, etc.)?

Which modes have the most influence on the public or decision makers?

Which modes have the most authority or credibility with specific audiences?

Which stakeholder groups do you think most effectively communicate their message to their target audiences? Why?

Which stakeholder or advocacy groups do NOT effectively promote their cause? Why not?

PERSONAL ANALYSIS PROMPTS

What information has had the most influence on your own thinking about this issue?

Did your research alter your views in any way or confirm your initial ideas? Why?

When I embarked on understanding this debate I was focused on preschool-aged boys who sometimes wanted to try out the skirts, dresses, high heels or jangly bracelets that may be found in many dramatic play areas in preschools or in the dress up box at a friend’s house. During my research I discovered there are boys who want to do this on a couple occasions and there are boys who want to do this quite often. Based on what I found while researching this debate, I believe that the question of whether boys should ever be permitted to try out dress wearing is fueled by those who are afraid, if the boy tries it once, perhaps he will continue. Until I researched this topic I did not realize that the debate concerns much more than preschool aged children. Much of this argument concerns boys in kindergarten through high school years and I believe this is why there is debate over preschoolers playing dress up.

VARIOUS WAYS TO FOCUS A DEBATE ANALYSIS

Stakeholder Analysis Rhetorical Analysis Discourse Analysis Research Process Analysis Personal Reflection

These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Can make the essay as broad or focused as you choose. Give students prompts for analysis Offer low-stakes writing opportunities for early analyses

STUDENT SAMPLE – CROSS GENDER PLAY

Overlap is seen in this debate in the concern of the families. The parents, whether they are supportive of this pretend play or completely against it, express the desire to help their child grow in a healthy manner and be accepted in society. Cheryl Kilodavis, author of “My Princess Boy”, says that while it is important to understand why children cross-dress; it is more important that they are happy and know that they are loved however they dress (Kilodavis). Psychologists also overlap in the same way. Their goal is to help the child develop in a mentally & emotionally stable manner, and to help the families handle this issue, regardless of which tactic they support. This is also where you will find direct opposition with the two sides of the issue. One side wishes to support healthy development by allowing experimentation and free expression while the opposing view supports healthy development by encouraging the child to stay within the margins set by society and the current trends. In the article “When Boys Won’t be Boys”, Dr.’s Fitzgibbons and Nicolosi state that a little boy needs to recognize that he is male and will grow up to be a man, he needs to feel good about being a boy and feel accepted as a boy by other boys in order to develop healthy psychologically (Fitzgibbons). The authors do not believe allowing boys to wear dresses will accomplish this.

STUDENT SAMPLE – MUSICAL PIRACY

However, the entertainment industry appears to be lacking in advocating its position to the general public as well as having a very small presence on the internet except for the websites of their trade organizations and businesses. The lack of advocacy to the public is a result of this stakeholder’s position being in opposition to the general public whom has become complicit in online piracy. A study by Envisional Ltd, a company specializing in brand protection as well as piracy and counterfeit prevention over the internet, released a report that “In the United States, 17.53% of internet traffic was estimated to be infringing” of current laws and that “Peer to peer networks were 20.0% of all internet traffic with BitTorrent responsible for 14.3%. The transfer of infringing content located on these networks comprised 13.8% of all internet traffic” (Technical). This huge percentage of internet traffic demonstrates how large intellectual property theft is over the internet. From this data it can be concluded that American internet users infringe on intellectual property protections without second thoughts. For the entertainment industry advocating to the general public is a losing battle; their best bet is to appeal to Congress instead.

ESSAY STRUCTURE: FORMULA VS. DELIBERATE CHOICES

Rely on 5 paragraph format

Content not determined wholly by research

Structure is looser

Must have deliberate and conscious organization

Content derived ONLY from the research

Paragraphs determined only after multiple perspectives are considered and compared

Traditional Essay Analysis Essay

COMPANION ASSIGNMENTS

Persuasive Texts

EVALUATION RUBRIC

A Passing (C- level) Debate Analysis Essay must have:

An existing public debate that is focused and narrow enough to fully analyze it.

An effective balance between reporting necessary information about the debate and the writer’s own analysis and assessment of that information.

Effective introductions and use of sources to set the foundation of the debate and back up any analytical claims made by the writer.

A logical organization, paragraphs that are focused on one main idea, and purposeful transitions

Correct citation of any outside sources (in the essay and in the works cited)

Control over basic sentence level issues (grammar and syntax)

STUDENT SAMPLE – DISCOURSE ANALYSISI have discovered that most pro-family advocates like to support

political campaigns to gain support for their cause while gay marriage advocates tend to use the media to gain support for gay marriage. The pro-family organizations like NOM are more likely to be seen in political campaigns. This is most likely because there are already enough people who don’t like gay marriage and do not want things to change. Marriage has always been between a man and a woman in America and there are plenty of people who do not want this to change. Because of this, NOM benefits the most from working directly with political campaigns. The way they do this is by raising funds from supporters and then using that money to support a campaign that has the same views as NOM. By using this money towards the campaign, NOM’s message is heard through the mouth of someone important that others are listening to and Americans are more likely to react and agree with the politician than they would if they were watching a commercial on TV. Organizations like GLAAD and MEUSA use the media to spread the word about gay marriage and to gain support for their side of the debate. GLAAD works very hard to get negative publicity out of the media, just like the organization gained support to get Sin Censura’s anti-gay talk show off the air. GLAAD supports shows like Glee because these shows allow Americans to see what gay couples are like and lets Americans grow more used to the idea of gays getting married.

STUDENT SAMPLES – STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Undoubtedly, the major stakeholders in this debate are the children. It is their welfare and well-being that is the main concern in this debate. But, because they are children, their voice is only heard through anecdotes told by family members and professionals such as psychologists. Children only know what they want or like. They do not debate whether it is right or wrong that they want to dress up, until society’s expectations are thrust upon them. Children have the most to lose and the most to gain in this debate. The issue, for the children, goes beyond whether they may wear a piece of clothing. Their standing in their family and in society, as well as the child’s emotional and mental stability are at stake in this debate.

STUDENT SAMPLE – DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Due to the different concerns of the two main stakeholders in this debate, their methods of advocating for their positions are immensely different. The entertainment industries have primarily focused on lobbying for support in Congress. Through their large and well-funded trade organizations, such as the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), they have been able to centralize their efforts and resources and apply them to a common goal. As reported by businessweek.com, “The Recording Industry Association of America spent $2.1 million in the first quarter to lobby the federal government on protecting intellectual property rights in various countries” as well as other issues pertinent the industry (RIAA). They provide relevant research about the issues of intellectual property theft to Congress as well as funding the campaigns of Congressional members who support the protection of intellectual property. For example, in their 2012 Economic Contribution report, the MPAA’s research claimed that “The production and distribution of motion pictures and television programs is one of the nation’s most valuable cultural and economic resources. The industry is a major private sector employer, supporting 2.1 million jobs, and nearly $143 billion in total wages in 2010” (Economic). With the large amounts of money hinging on the outcome of the debate, the entertainment industry has to do everything it can to stop piracy in a world where technology is evolving faster than the legislation designed to regulate it.