English 1A

OHerin
Minimum Wage Argument

Going from Brainstorming and Notes to a Rough Outline for Paper #3

Step #1: Brainstorming/ Pro-con notes
Try to create a master list of all the major reasons for raising minimum wage
PRO, and all the major reasons against raising minimum wage (CON).
To do this, look back over Pro-Con Articles #1 - #4, your discussion boards
for Unit 3, and the Evaluation and Afterword sections in Nickel and
Dimed.
Put PRO at the top of one sheet of paper, and list all the reasons (warrants)
from the Pro articles
Be sure to make a reference (sources last name) as you add points from
outside sources to your list.
Now get a clean sheet of paper and write CON at the top. List all the
reasons (warrants) from the Con articles, making a reference (sources last
name) as you add points from outside sources to your list.
Last of all, add reasons (to either the Pro or Con side) that youve thought
about, but were not covered in any of the materials we read.
This list can be messy, and it doesnt need to be typed, but you should be
able to read it. It should EXHAUST all the reasons you can possibly think
of on either side of the issue.
Your goal on this list is to have a complete and fair account from both sides
of the issue. Try to stay away from arguing your point of view at this stage.
Step #2: Consolidating pro-con notes
Look over your list of reasons on the PRO side:
Consolidate any reasons that are pretty much saying the same thing, or
you could group them together under one heading.

 Try to whittle down the list to three MAIN reasons that get across the
best arguments made by the PRO side.
Look over your list of reasons on the CON side:
Consolidate any reasons that are pretty much saying the same thing, or
you could group them together under one heading.
Try to whittle down the list to three MAIN reasons that get across the
best arguments made by the CON side.
You should have a list of the three best reasons for raising the minimum
wage (PRO), and a list of the three best reasons against raising the minimum
wage (CON).
Why is this list important? These are the basic components you need to
construct a rough outline (regardless of which side you take in the debate).
Step #3: Rough Outline
In the Paper 3 Assignment, you previewed two basic organizational patterns
for argument: Refutation-Proof and Pro-Con. In each of these patterns, you
will need to address and counter the best arguments made by the side you
disagree with, AND you will have to provide the best reasons that support
your position, so it is important that you have a good PRO-CON list like the
one you completed in Step #1 and Step #2!
Lets look at the Refutation-Proof model first. Here is an outline:
Title
Introduction should (in no particular order):
Establish credibility (A2-c) and Common Ground (A2g)
Provide a general summary of the overall issue
Present your Claim (thesis): Be sure to clearly assert your position on the issue of
whether minimum wage should be increased or not AND present your overall
reasoning (warrant) for taking this position. For instance: I believe minimum wage
must be increased because The because leads into your overall warrant.

I
Refutation: Anticipate objections; counter opposing arguments (A2-f)

Summarize oppositions argument (claim and warrant)

This is where you would summarize the 3 best reasons from the side you disagree with
(using your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
Refute oppositions argument (examine the reasoning and data used to support the
oppositions claim and show how/why it is faulty) (A2f)
Some of these reasons you may be refuting in your Proof section; if so, you only need
to counter those reasons that will not be covered in another section of your argument.

The Refutation section can be one or two body paragraphs.

II
Proof: Back your thesis with persuasive line of argument (A2d):

Reason #1 that supports YOUR claim (This is one of the reasons from the three
BEST ones that you came up with in your brainstorming Pro-Con list. Each one
of these will be one body paragraph. )
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)
Reason #2 that supports YOUR claim (another of the reasons from the three
BEST ones that you came up with in your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)
Reason #3 that supports YOUR claim (the last of the reasons from the three
BEST ones that you came up with in your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)

Organization: You can begin with either Refutation (I) or Proof (II)
whichever you think will work best with your arguments. Sometimes it
works best to start with your side, then counter the opposition, sometimes
its better to counter the opposition right off the bat, then present your side.)
Conclusion should:

Neatly connect your evaluation from the body paragraphs to your evaluation of the
issue as a whole (your thesis).
Fairly comment on good points from the other side, but emphasize your position.
Emphasize common ground with the other side. Be sure to come across as fair, as
someone who has carefully analyzed the thinking and evidence on both sides of the
issue and has come to a logical conclusion about the issue.

Now lets look at the Pro-Con model.

just the same as the Refutation-Proof model.)

(The Introduction and Conclusion are

Pro-Con Outline Model

Title
Introduction should (in no particular order):
Establish credibility (A2-c) and Common Ground (A2g)
Provide a general summary of the overall issue
Present your Claim (thesis): Be sure to clearly assert your position on the issue of
whether minimum wage should be increased or not AND present your overall
reasoning (warrant) for taking this position. For instance: I believe minimum wage
must be increased because The because leads into your overall warrant.

I
A brief summary of one of the oppositions main reasons (This is where
you would summarize one of the best reasons from the side you disagree
with --using your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
Refute oppositions argument by showing its flaws and countering it with
one of your main arguments (This is one of the three BEST reasons that
you came up with in your brainstorming Pro-Con list.)
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)
II
A brief summary of another one of the oppositions main reasons (This is
where you would summarize one of the best reasons from the side you
disagree with --using your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
Refute oppositions argument by countering it with one of your main
arguments (This is one of the three BEST reasons that you came up with
in your brainstorming Pro-Con list.)
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)
III
A brief summary of another one of the oppositions main arguments
(This is where you would summarize one of the best reasons from the side
you disagree with --using your brainstorming Pro-Con list)
Refute oppositions argument by countering it with one of your main
arguments (This is one of the three BEST reasons that you came up with
in your brainstorming Pro-Con list.)
o Supporting Data (1-3 pieces of evidence that support this reason)

(You can make each of these bullet points a separate paragraph; however,
your summary of the oppositions points should be about half the size of
your refutation. This will give you six body paragraphs, but three of them

will be short summaries. Your other option is to group the summary and
refutation in a single paragraph. This will give you three long body
paragraphs.
Conclusion should:

Neatly connect your evaluation from the body paragraphs to your evaluation of the
issue as a whole (your thesis).
Fairly comment on good points from the other side, but emphasize your position.
Emphasize common ground with the other side. Be sure to come across as fair, as
someone who has carefully analyzed the thinking and evidence on both sides of the
issue and has come to a logical conclusion about the issue.

SO, you have two patterns to choose from for your outline. How do you
choose which is best?
If you look at your Pro-Con list and realize you can counter each one of the
oppositions arguments and data, then the Pro-Con structure is probably best
for you because your focus is on whats wrong with the other sides
reasoning.
If you feel there are very good arguments for the side you agree with (better
than the other sides arguments), you should probably choose RefutationProof, because youll be able to focus on developing and arguing the reasons
that support your position in the argument.
If you feel the pattern youve chosen isnt working once you start outlining,
just switch to the other model.
The main idea is to get the pattern to fit YOUR argument. The only hard
and fast rule is that you MUST address the oppositions best arguments at
some point in the paper. Because your audience is a group of people who
have read the exact same information and may disagree with you, you cant
get away with only addressing one of the oppositions arguments or
misrepresenting their position.
IMPORTANT:
Data (evidence) is very important in an argument, so even at the outline
stage, try to jot down specific evidence you will use to back your point.

 Cut and paste or summarize the data and put it under the section of the
outline it will support. ALWAYS put the AUTHORs last name in
parenthesis after the data. For information from Ehrenreich, you
should put the page number as well. (Youll eventually need this for
your in-text citations)
Example:
A 15 percent increase in the minimum wage nation wide would destroy about
290,000 to 590,000 young peoples jobs, and about 400,000 to 800,000 jobs overall
(Henderson) Note: online articles do not have original page numbers, so page numbers
are not included in reference. See Hacker, MLA4a for more information on this.
Or
For low wage workers in general the trajectory has tended downwards, as
employers have found ever more diabolical ways to suppress the earnings of their
already underpaid workers (Ehrenreich 228).

Getting data together and finding the place where it will fit in your outline
can make writing the draft a breeze. Keep in mind that you can always add
to or change supporting data as you revise and edit, but its a good idea to
have a starting point and to be certain there IS some data to back your
outlines warrant.
Last point about data:
Just as we discussed in Unit 2, it is important to have a variety of evidence
(statistics, expert opinion, and example) supporting a point whenever
possible. Examples can be very helpful with an argument paper because
they bring the logical points to life for your reader. You may use examples
from any of the Pro-Con articles, Ehrenreichs book, and/or your own
experience.
After you have your outline typed up, please save it as:
Your Last Name_Your First Name_OutlinePaper3_Eng1a (.doc, .docx, .rtf)
You will post the outline on a class discussion board (no groups this time),
and you should get one or two peer responses on your work. You will also

be able to look at other students outlines and see how they are developing
their arguments.