Argumentation

Case Study 9

This case study is about a strike that took place in the early 20th century, the Bread and Roses

strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Your text this week is a podcast. The speaker, Randi

Hensley, is not just a historian but also a political activist and organizer. Her audience is not a

classroom of students but a political organization. She is not just a story teller; she is an arguer.

Hensley’s argument is posted on D2L or available here: https://wearemany.org/a/2012/06/bread-and-roses-lawrence-strike-of-1912

Listen to Hensley’s argument. You may need to listen to the audio more than once; an initial

listening to take it all in then a more focused listen, take notes, remember details you’ll want to

go back to later.

Written Questions:

1) Start with the basics: Who is arguing? What is the claim? What are some assumptions you can make about the setting of the argument?

2) Describe Hensley’s narrative in terms of its extrinsic dimensions. 3) Describe Hensley’s narrative in terms of its intrinsic dimensions 4) Evaluate Hensley’s argument with respect to the narrative’s coherence.

Writing Assignment:

Read the articles above. Notice that all have embedded links and specific information. You

may find it useful or necessary to follow up or do some additional reading.

After reading the argument text(s) above, answer the following questions. Your answers

should be written and submitted to the appropriate dropbox/assignment folder in either a

MSWord or pdf format.

This is formal, academic writing. Things like grammar, spelling, and formatting count.

Students who are not confident in their writing skills should take advantage of the MSU

Writing Center. Some things you should keep in mind:

1) You need a cover page, properly formatted

2) Header. Page number in the upper right-hand corner.

3) Each answer is expected to be 1 - 2 paragraphs; about 1/2 page

4) In college level/upper level writing, assume you are citing at least one source

approximately once every paragraph

5) You need a reference page

6) In the Department of Communication Studies, the standard is APA. Unless told

otherwise, write in APA.

This is a major assignment. The expectation is that you’ll be spending five or six hours

on this assignment:

1 – 2 hours of reading

1 – 2 hours of analysis/reviewing theory

2 – 3 hours of writing and proofreading