According to our syllabus, you are
expected to hand in a 2pp. precis with an attached Toulmin schema (hence, the
assignment will likely be just 2-3pp. total) at the beginning of our next class together, Tuesday, October 15.
As we discussed at length in class last week, a precis is simply the concise recapitulation of a complex argument. You are expected to summarize what you take to be the argument and its essential elements for any one of the texts assigned in class from the first day to the day on which the precis is handed in. The purpose of the precis is not to argue for an interpretation of the work you choose, but to capture what you take to be the argument of the work you choose. (Needless to say, this too requires a form of interpretation, but I do hope the distinction still makes sense as far as it goes.)
Since so many of these elements are also at the heart of the Toulmin analysis of argument we workshopped in class last week, I am asking that you attach to your precis a simple Toulmin Schema identifying as many elements in your chosen argument as seems useful (do not worry if not all of the elements of the Schema we discussed appear to be in evidence in your chosen text, that happens all the time). In highly simplified terms, the Toulmin schema models an argument in terms familiar from the adversarial way arguments play out in courtrooms and similar settings, but useful for understanding all sorts of argumentative discourse as well. The Toulmin schema distinguishes three basic functions in an effective argument:
a. Thesis
II. The Support (of the Claim)
a. Reasons
III. The Refutation (of anticipated objections to the Claim and its Support)
a. Anticipation of Objections
I hope the Schema will be a useful guide to organize and clarify your precis. Good luck and remember to ask me any questions that might occur to you!
As we discussed at length in class last week, a precis is simply the concise recapitulation of a complex argument. You are expected to summarize what you take to be the argument and its essential elements for any one of the texts assigned in class from the first day to the day on which the precis is handed in. The purpose of the precis is not to argue for an interpretation of the work you choose, but to capture what you take to be the argument of the work you choose. (Needless to say, this too requires a form of interpretation, but I do hope the distinction still makes sense as far as it goes.)
Reproducing your chosen text's argument will involve identifying what
you take to be
its thesis, any qualification or exceptions to that thesis, definitions
of terms, supportive reasons and data, implicit warrants, and efforts to
anticipate and circumvent
objections. You may also want to discuss the illustrative force of
metaphors
and other figures, or address stylistic effects (use of pronouns, voice,
etc.).
Since so many of these elements are also at the heart of the Toulmin analysis of argument we workshopped in class last week, I am asking that you attach to your precis a simple Toulmin Schema identifying as many elements in your chosen argument as seems useful (do not worry if not all of the elements of the Schema we discussed appear to be in evidence in your chosen text, that happens all the time). In highly simplified terms, the Toulmin schema models an argument in terms familiar from the adversarial way arguments play out in courtrooms and similar settings, but useful for understanding all sorts of argumentative discourse as well. The Toulmin schema distinguishes three basic functions in an effective argument:
I. The Claim
a. Thesis
b. Qualification of the thesis
c. Exceptions to the thesis?
II. The Support (of the Claim)
a. Reasons
b. Data/Evidence
c. Warrants (implicit general assumptions on which explicit reasons and conclusions depend)
III. The Refutation (of anticipated objections to the Claim and its Support)
a. Anticipation of Objections
b. Efforts to Rebut these Objections
c. Efforts to Circumvent these Objections
(Note: these are not YOUR objections to the argument, but the author's effort to respond to objections they anticipate.)
I hope the Schema will be a useful guide to organize and clarify your precis. Good luck and remember to ask me any questions that might occur to you!
