rebuttal+activity

COMM 111 Rebuttal Activity

__Overview:__ Rebutting or refuting opposing arguments is an essential aspect of persuasion. To examine your ability to present an organized rebuttal, each student has been given a controversial editorial about some aspect of the American college experience. Some editorials are about the costs of college; others take up the question of what students should have to learn in college. Pick your editorial apart in order to refute some or all of it: a. Examine the author’s basic claims. b. Examine the author’s use of evidence. Where is it weak or insufficient? c. Examine the author’s reasoning. Does the author make an illogical leap from one conclusion to the next? Is the author guilty of any logical fallacies? d. Has the author fully considered the consequences of their recommendations? Does the author present an unrealistic picture of his/her solutions?

__Your task__: 1. Regardless of how you personally feel about this editorial, deliver a **3-minute response to your editorial.** Organize your case using the structure we have learned in class: Introduction, 2-4 main points, conclusion. Organize your speech to achieve maximum coherence and impact on your audience. 2. Since everyone has a different article, it is critical that you summarize the editorial that you have been given before you refute it. Give us a sense of the arguments you are answering. 3. If you are tearing down some or all of the editorial, give us a sense of your alternative. If the editorial writer has us going the wrong way, then what is the right way? 4. Incorporate whatever research/resources you can find in order to answer your editorial.