Class 15 EWRT 1B

Agenda

•Presentation: Terms list 3

•Discussion: Essay #3

• In-class writing:Essay #3

•Directed Summary

• Counterargument

• Conclusion

Terms List #3

• Androgyny (also androgynous, bi-gendered, no-

gendered): A person who identifies as both or neither of

the two culturally defined genders, or a person who

expresses merged culturally/stereotypically feminine and

masculine characteristics or neutral characteristics.

• Anti-Semitism: Hostility toward, or prejudice or

discrimination against Jews or Judaism.

• Assigned (Biological) Sex: A social construct referring

to the state of being intersex, female, or male. A concept

that relies on the dichotomous division of various genitive,

biological, chromosomal, hormonal and physiological

differences in human.

• Bisexual: A person who is emotionally, physically, and/or

sexually attracted to both men and women. Some people avoid

this term because of its implications that there are only two

sexes/genders to be sexually attracted to and this reinforces the

binary gender system.

• Cross-Dresser: Someone who enjoys wearing clothing typically

assigned to a gender that the individual has not been socialized

as, or does not identify as. Cross-dressers are of all sexual

orientations and do not necessarily identify as transgender.

“Cross-dresser” is frequently used today in place of the term

“transvestite.” This activity seems more obvious when men as

opposed to women engage in it publicly, because of an inequity

in societal norms concerning attire and other components of

appearance.

• Cultural Humility: A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation

and critique, to redressing the power imbalances in the

[interpersonal relationship] dynamic[s], and to developing

mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic partnerships with

communities on behalf of individuals and defined populations.

• FtM (F2M)/MtF (M2F): Generally, abbreviations used to refer

to specific members of the trans community. FtM stands for

female-to-male, as in moving from a female pole of the

spectrum to the male. MtF stands for male-to-female and refers

to moving from the male pole of the spectrum tot eh female.

FtM is sometimes, not always, synonymous with transman.

Conversely, someone who identifies as MtF, may identify as a

transwoman.

Essay #3

Introduction: Directed Summary

Transition to Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement

Section ABody Paragraph 1Body Paragraph 2

Section BBody Paragraph 3Body Paragraph 4

Section CBody Paragraph 5Body Paragraph 6

Counterargument

Conclusion

The Directed SummaryHow to write one!

Directed Summary

• A directed summary provides readers of your

paper with the information they need to

understand your argument and explanation.

• State the title and author of the literary work

near the beginning of the first paragraph,

perhaps in the first sentence. This is essential

so that the reader knows which work you are

discussing.

• Hook the reader. In the first sentences, write what

is particularly interesting about the work. This

thought-provoking information must also be

relevant to the topic you will discuss in your

essay.

• Assume that the reader is familiar with the work

about which you are writing. Do not include too

much plot summary in the introduction or in the

rest of the essay. Do include the part of the story

that will support your thesis.

• Use transitions throughout the introduction. Because

there are so many aspects of the work that have to be

included, the introduction can end up fragmented

and confusing. Make sure that it makes sense on its

own as a paragraph. Clearly transition from your

introduction into your thesis.

• State the thesis near the end of the introduction

(your introduction might be more than one

paragraph). The thesis should clearly state what the

essay will analyze and should be very specific.

Transition from Introduction to the Thesis Statement:

• In Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg describes the development of protagonist, Jess Goldberg, through a series of moments of resistance to a society that cannot, or will not accept hir. This book shows that social pressure, oppression, and violence act not only as forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of agency; they can inspire people to challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty.

Try writing your introduction

1. Title and author

2. Hook the reader with a thought-provoking aspect of the story, one that connects to your essay.

3. Assuming the reader is familiar with the text, include a brief summary that provides support for your paper.

4. Use transitions to keep the introduction clear and organized.

5. Transition to the thesis.

6. Include your thesis near the end of the introduction.

The Counterargument

• When you write an academic essay, you make an argument: you propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that suggests why the thesis is true. When you counterargue, you consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of your reasoning. This is a good way to test your ideas when drafting, while you still have time to revise them. And in the finished essay, it can be a persuasive and disarming tactic. It allows you to anticipate doubts and pre-empt objections that a skeptical reader might have; it presents you as the kind of person who weighs alternatives before arguing for one, who confronts difficulties instead of sweeping them under the rug, who is more interested in discovering the truth than winning a point.

• Not every objection is worth entertaining, of course, and you shouldn't include one just to include one. But some imagining of other views, or of resistance to one's own, occurs in most good essays.

The Turn Against

A counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out a problem with your demonstration:

1. that a different conclusion could be drawn from the same facts, a key assumption is unwarranted, a key term is used unfairly, certain evidence is ignored or played down

2. one or more disadvantages or practical drawbacks to what you propose 3. an alternative explanation or proposal that makes more sense.

You introduce this turn against with a phrase like one of these

• Some might object here that• It might seem that• It is true that• Admittedly• Of course

The Turn Back

Your return to your own argument—which you announce with a but, yet, however, nevertheless or still—must likewise involve careful reasoning, not a flippant (or nervous) dismissal. In reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may do one of the following:

1. Refute it, showing why it is mistaken—an apparent but not real problem

2. Acknowledge its validity or plausibility, but suggest why on balance it's relatively less important or less likely than what you propose, and thus doesn't overturn it;

3. Concede its force and complicate your idea accordingly—restate your thesis in a more exact, qualified, or nuanced way that takes account of the objection, or start a new section in which you consider your topic in light of it.

Where to Put a Counterargument

A counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay. Try it in several places and see where it fits best:

1. as part of your introduction—before you propose your thesis—where the existence of a different view is the motive for your essay, the reason it needs writing.

2. as a section or paragraph just after your introduction, in which you lay out the expected reaction or standard position before turning away to develop your own.

3. as a quick move within a paragraph, where you imagine a counterargument not to your main idea but to the sub-idea that the paragraph is arguing or is about to argue.

4. as a section or paragraph just before the conclusion of your essay, in which you imagine what someone might object to what you have argued.

But watch that you do not overdo it. A turn into counterargument here and there will sharpen and energize your essay, but too many such turns will have the reverse effect by obscuring your main idea or suggesting that you are ambivalent.

Counterargument:

Of course, there are times when social pressure, oppression, and

violence push people to conform, but these examples generally fall into

one of three main categories: One, people bow to social pressure,

oppression, and violence when they do not have a significant reason to

resist; two, people bow to social pressure, oppression, and violence when

the consequences are life threatening; and three, people bow to social

pressure, oppression, and violence until they can strategize their

resistance. This final response is the one that Feinberg illustrates through

Jess Goldberg.

This book shows that social pressure, oppression, and violence act not only as forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of agency; resistance to these forces can inspire people to challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty.

Do you need a counterargument?

1. Is there an obvious argument against your thesis?2. Is there a different conclusion could be drawn from the

same facts?3. Do you make a key assumption with which others might

disagree?4. Do you use a term that someone else might define a

different way?5. Do you ignore certain evidence that others might believe

you need to address?6. Is there an alternative explanation or proposal that some

might more readily believe?

Conclusions

Strategies for Writing a Conclusion

Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write, and many writers feel that they have nothing left to say after having written the paper. A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. Your conclusion should be the best part of your paper.

A conclusion should• stress the importance of the thesis statement,• give the essay a sense of completeness, and• leave a final impression on the reader.

Create a new meaningDemonstrating how your ideas work together can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.

Stone Butch Blues shows that social

pressures, oppression, and violence are

appropriate ways neither to create harmony

nor to manage cultural diversity

Answer the question "So What?”

Show your readers why this paper was important.

Stone Butch Blues provides knowledge

that can liberate those people who suffer

social oppression by both providing

models of, and encouraging, successful

resistance.

Propose a course of action

Redirect your reader's thought process and help him or her to apply your info and ideas to her own life or to see the broader implications.

Finally, Stone Butch Blues inspires people to

challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty for all

people.

Let’s try writing a couple of conclusions1. Answer the question "So What?”: Show your readers why this

paper was important. 2. Synthesize information: Show how the points you made and

the support and examples you used fit together.3. Challenge the reader: Help readers redirect the information in

the paper, so they may apply it to their own lives.4. Create a new meaning: demonstrating how your ideas work

together can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.

5. Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further study: Redirect your reader's thought process and help him or her to apply your info and ideas to her own life or to see the broader implications.

6. Echo the introduction: If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.

• Post #18: Directed

Summary,

Counterargument,

Conclusion

• Bring three complete

copies (at least 3.5

pages) of your draft to

our next meeting.