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Name: _________________Date: ___________________Period: _________________When Do Kids Become Adults?Read #1: Trace and Evaluate an ArgumentArgument: Speaking or writing that expresses a claim.Claim: a position on a problem or issue.*The argument’s title often gives readers a good idea of what an author’s claim will be, or his or her position on a particular issue.1. Review the titles of the five arguments. Circle the titles of those that seem to indicate claims the authors might make. Place a star next to the titles that do not give readers a clear sense of what the author’s position on a topic or issue might be.What the Brain Says about Maturity by Laurence SteinbergLeave the Voting Age Alone by Jenny Diamond ChengBetter Training for New Drivers by Jamie Lincoln KitmanA Parent’s Role in the Path to Adulthood by Barbara HoferMandatory Service to Become an Adult by Michael Thompson2. Reread lines 12-14. Identify the writer’s claim. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. Why might the writer have presented his claim in question and answer form? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Reread lines 27-31. How does the author use examples to support his claim that scientific information about brain maturity is not the primary way our society decides when maturity occurs?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. Reread lines 44-45. In your own words, summarize the author’s claim.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6. Reread lines 44-58. Identify examples the author uses to support her claim. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Usually an author will focus on one main claim in a text, but sometimes an author will include multiple claims.7. Reread lines 75-81. Identify a second claim the author presents. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8. How does the author support this claim? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To trace an argument, you need to follow its reasoning. First identify the claim and then locate evidence that supports it.9. Reread lines 98-110. Identify the sentence in which the author develops the key ideas in his claim. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A reader can also trace an argument by identifying counterarguments, statements that address opposing viewpoints. A good argument anticipates opposing views and disproves them.10. Review lines 115-120. Explain how the author uses a counterargument. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When readers evaluate an argument, they examine it carefully and judge its value or worth. One way to evaluate an argument is to weigh the evidence an author presents. Evidence is relevant if it supports the claim in a logical way.It is irrelevant if the connection to the claim is not clear.11. Note the author’s claim in lines 135-136 that “individuals are taking longer to recognize themselves as adults.” Reread lines 136-145. Evaluate whether each piece is relevant or irrelevant._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________12. Examine the bar graph that follows line 178. Is the bar graph relevant? Does it help readers understand the author’s claim?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Other ways readers can evaluate an argument include determining whether the evidence an author presents is accurate and sufficient and whether opposing viewpoints have been addressed.13. Reread lines 198-205. Identify the claim. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________14. Evaluate whether the author presents evidence that is accurate and sufficient and whether he has addressed opposing viewpoints.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ................
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