Argumentative Writing and The SimpsonsEd Teall The basis of this assignment is a simple question: what is the state of residence of the characters of the television show The Simpsons? The setting for the show is a city named Springfield, but the writers have never stated the name of the state that Springfield is located. However, there are many "clues" that have been revealed in different episodes. Many of these clues point to different states, but by selecting specific information from particular episodes it is possible to provide students with enough information to develop and write an argumentative essay supporting the conclusion about what state a student thinks Springfield is in. To complete the assignment, the students have access to specific video clips for The Simpsons. Each clip provides a piece of information that students can use to develop their argument. The clips include pictures of the Springfield nuclear plant and the local train station, the names of local radio stations, comments about specific states, travel locations of Simpsons family members, and a map of locations of a specific landmark. The students can view the video clips in a computer lab, but they also have access to the pertinent information through an assignment web page. The clips from the show are only part of the information provided to the students. Since the information students can glean from the clips is insufficient to support any conclusion, the students also have information about what states have localities named Springfield and links to Internet resources. The Internet resources include the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Amtrak, and the Federal Communications Commission. Using the clips, list of states, and Internet resources, the students are required to develop and write an argument that supports their conclusion. This argument must be valid (impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false), sound (be valid and have all true premises), and not commit any logical fallacies. The following items are the materials provided to the students for completing the assignment. The items include a description of the assignment, a list of video clips (summaries are provided), a list of Internet resources, and a grading rubric. Reflections on teaching the assignment are also provided. |
Assignment Materials |