We all have our own ways of thinking and areas of life to
which we attach particular importance. For students, a
corollary of this is that they can get stuck in a certain groove
when writing their essays. The activities below may work as a
corrective:
Activities
i) Give students an essay title. Ask them to compile as
many different arguments as possible which could be
advanced in response.
ii) Students get into groups and are provided with a range
of essay titles. They choose one and create a large spider
diagram (say, on sugar paper) covering as many answers
as possible.
iii) The teacher writes different perspectives, viewpoints or
positions on a series of cards (for example, in Sociology
this could be Marxist, feminist, pluralist, functionalist,
postmodernist, and social-constructivist). The cards are
handed out at random along with an essay question.
Students must develop their arguments from the
perspective, position or viewpoint indicated on their
card.

Critiquing Arguments
Arguments are there to be critiqued. Most things can be rebutted.
Little is irrefutable. An essay is more persuasive when taking account of
this reality. Dogmatic browbeating wins few followers; it makes the
proponent appear naive and simplistic. The following activities centre
on critique of arguments:

Activities
i) Students write an essay. The teacher takes the work in and
redistributes it. Students go through the essay they have been
given with the express intention of challenging each argument
they find. Challenges are noted with coloured pen. Students then
get together and discuss their critiques.
ii) Take a newspaper article, a comment piece, or an politician’s
speech. Give out to students. Ask them to work through the text
and identify as many challenges to the argument as they can. This
can include issues such as reliability, credibility, logic, accuracy,
validity, the evidence called upon, the relationship between
reasons and conclusion, and so on.
iii) Use the issues noted above as lenses. Write them on separate
pieces of card and hand them out at random. Students must look
at an argument, piece of evidence or essay and produce a critique
through their lens. These are then shared and used as a basis for
discussion.