Ch 7 and 8 Quiz

My core four will be an argument of fact. In Lunsford it states "many factual arguments begin with people actively looking for a problem or working within a framework that will turn one up" (Pg 183). Because of the experiences I have had leaving high school and entering into a much vigorous college experience I began a search to find out the differences between high school and college writing. My research turned up results that showed mostly a single variable responsible for the differences – standardized testing. Another reason my last paper will be an argument of fact is because all of the research I have found has studies and surveys that bring about “hard evidence” that my argument will rely on. It is important for me to add that most of my research has been done by teachers, and this could lead to biases because they are in the field that they are researching and are part of the results of the testing. They could have already formed an answer before they started their research. In Lunsford it explains spin as a representation of a factual argument. Spin is “the only arguments offered are favorable le to one’s own side and evidence is either made to conform to this pre determined claim or wholly ignored when it doesn’t suit the party line” ( Pg 183 ). Arguments of fact tend to explain to a community new information, which can be at time controversial. My paper is controversial because if it become widely known that the testing that schools are performing on their students is no longer aiding them, but in fact hurting them, it needs to be stopped. Some parties in this argument would like to keep the testing because it helps to keep poor schools with poor grades that way and high schools that get the extra funding stay on top. My factual argument addresses also the broader question of what can be done to fix the consequences that the testing has put the students through. “ It’s especially important to have factual arguments that flesh out or correct what’s narrowly or mistakenly reported – whether by various news media, corporations, or branches of government” (Pg 180 ). Government officials still report that the testing is useful and needed, but it is very clear from the studies and surveys taken that it is bringing about the worst in its results. My paper is not an argument of definition because there is no single word or phrase that needs defining. It is widely known that tests such as the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) are standardized tests because it was created to be one. If there was an argument of definition we would need to research figure out what kind of definition it was, and then how to go about making it an argument. It could not be an argument of definition because research is being done to find out not what standardized testing is, but how it affects students, teachers, and school systems.