Progym 3: Fight the Fallacy

Summarize and respond to an opinion piece, whether editorial, syndicated, or letter to the editor. Take your opinion piece from The Stump, which is the Oregonian opinion website. The piece doesn't have to be on the first page.

Of course, your response needs to be persuasive, but remember that summaries need to objectively represent the source's ideas. Make sure to frame the issue, too—provide a complete speech with full intro and conclusion, not just summary and response. Finally, make sure to introduce and to attribute your source in your speech.

Challenge 1

Each speech must have an objective summary and an argumentative response, and there should be a clear distinction between them. The idea is to first give your audience a clear idea of what the source is saying and to then allow in your own opinion of the sources ideas, good or bad.

Challenge 2

I will challenge each speaker's argument with a fallacy (on pages 197-9). To counter the fallacy you can't just say that I am using a fallacy, because I already told you that. You must name the type of fallacy and explain why precisely the fallacy is faulty thinking.

Hard Copy of Your Source

As always, you will be required to provide a speaking outline for your progym, but for your outline to be accepted you must also provide a hard copy of the piece from The Stump you responded to.

Length: 2-4 minutes.

Due: Wednesday 08 February.

The above image is, of course, Darth Vader. Fallacies are powerful, but they are the dark side. Resist the dark side. As Yoda says, the dark side is “easier, more seductive, but not more powerful.”

Short Statement 2: Response to Speech

Each of you will be selected randomly to respond to a speech orally. You say the kind of response you are doing and then explain why you respond in that way. Choose from the following responses:

• Revise: change one of your beliefs. What do you now see differently?
• Endorse: already agreed, but now feel it much more, inspired. What makes you feel more strongly?
• Learn: don’t change beliefs but substantially increased your knowledge. What did you learn?
• Accept: already agreed and/or knew, and haven’t changed. What did you already believe and/or know?
• Consider: withhold judgment; need more processing time. Why do you need more time to think it through?
• Concede: still disagree, but have to allow a substantial point. Why do you disagree, and what do you concede?
• Refute: still disagree, and can point out at least one substantial hole. Why do you disagree, and what do you refute (in a friendly way)?

Your feedback will be evaluated on focus and support. Essentially, answer the appropriate question and support your answer well, with both examples from the speech and your own reasoning.