Chinese
431-Advanced Conversation
Assignment 7: Presenting or
Refuting a Point of View
Deadline: December 12
(Friday)
The
seventh and last assignment is to present/refute a point of view on a
controversial issue. This assignment
will be treated as the final project in lieu of the final exam.
Some
possible topics are listed in a separate handout already online. You can of course choose other topics not on
the list. But the topic you choose
should be controversial. We really don’t have to have a consensus on any of
the issues. Actually, it would be
better to have disagreement, because then we can argue about them. One issue that is both current and
controversial is the war in Iraq. What
do you think? There are some files
online to get yourself familiar with the issues, the different positions on the
issues and the vocabulary used for discussing these issues.
You will present your view to the class
for feedback. Your presentation should
introduce the issue and introduce the different positions on the issue and then
state your own point of view or your refutation of an existing view and defend
it the best way you can. And then revise your presentation and record it. Clarity and organization will be very important. Try to use words to guide the listener. Also, keep your sentences short; use
understandable words and pronounce them clearly and correctly. If your weakness is in some of the
pronunciation points, work on them!
Some pointers on argumentation:
To
show that someone is wrong on a particular issue, there are several ways to do
it. You can attack their fundamental
assumption, you can fault their evidence, you can also show their way of
reasoning is wrong.
You can attack the assumptions that the
other person was operating under. For
example, if someone says that guns should be outlawed, because they are
dangerous, he/she may be assuming that without guns there would not be any
danger. If you can show that without guns, the world is even more dangerous,
then you have succeeded in your argument.
You can also attack the supporting
evidence. If someone says that free
distribution of condoms to teenagers reduces teen pregnancies, you can perhaps
counter by using statistics that show that due to the permissive attitude of
the society, more teenagers are engaged in sex and actually more people than
before are engaged in unprotected sex.
You can also attack the logic of the other
person's argument. If someone says
that from 'if it rains, then mushrooms grow' we can conclude 'if it does not
rain, then mushrooms won't grow' , you can counter that a logical fallacy has
been committed. The fact is that there
are ways of watering mushrooms other than using rain water.
There will be vocabulary you may not
know. But we will first go over in the
class some special terms having to do with the topics chosen.
Some
expressions you may find useful:
think/feel/advocate/agree/endorse/oppose
: 在我看来,觉得,认为,主张,(不)同意,赞成,反对
Someone
(neg) think/propose/argue: 以为,提出,指出,狡辩说,反驳说
Point
of view/opinion/theory/conclusion: 看法,意见,观点,立场,理论,论点,结论
Assumption
and evidence: 论证,论据,前提,根据,统计,数字,调查,民意测验
Someone's
(neg) saying/words/deeds: 说法,作法,论调,谬论,行为,言行,言论
right/wrong/just/unjust:
正确,错误,(没)有道理,(不)道德,(不)可以接受,(不)公平
wrong(neg)
： 荒谬,虚伪,歪曲事实真相,不近人情,自相矛盾,不合逻辑 ，
maybe:
难题,复杂,两种说法都有道理,得看具体情况,不能一刀切,有例外
on
the contrary:相反,不但不
-反而
further:再说,还有,不但 -而且,至于，一方面-另一方面，
even:
甚至,连-都/也
really/actually:的确, 完全,实际上,其实,事实上
not
really/really not: 并不,不见得,不过是，公然，所谓，毫无，难道
granted
that: 虽然, 却，并，即使/就算 - 也,就是- 也， _是_, 固然,...可是,
rhetorical
question: 难道?