ACE Series Part III: Good Evidence Must ACE the BS Test—It’s the Law!Posted on August 6, 2013 by Richard NewtonWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…Some of my students think that they are Thomas Jefferson. They will write paragraphs with assertions they hold to be self-evident. And while I laud their desire to write revolutionary words, they must first learn that no one, not even the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, can get away with offering evidence-less assertions.Mock academic politics all you want, but higher education at least claims the democratic notion of fair criticism. It’s a place where anyone should be able to call BS on an unsupported assertion at any time. And its participants should get the opportunity to challenge a point’s validity and qualify it with amendments—the 13th, 14, 15th, and 19th in Mr. Jefferson’s case….
ACE Series Part II: Asserting ACE Arguments One Paragraph at a TimePosted on August 1, 2013 by Richard NewtonThe assertion is an endangered species. With stunning regularity, I read student papers where paragraphs are flush with facts but lacking in authorial opinion. And if my conclaves with other teachers are any indication, you’ve noticed this too.I hear ya’. What can possibly be confusing about the assertion? You take a topic. You take a stance on it. Bada bing, bada boom, you’ve written a assertion.Nothing to it, right? But if you want students to bulk up their anemic arguments, then it’s worth looking at why many struggle with assertions….
ACE Series Part I: Your Students Can ACE Critical WritingPosted on July 23, 2013 by Richard NewtonYep, we asked for it. The classroom has never been more diverse. Students are coming from both sides of the poverty line, from all walks of life, and from everywhere on the map. Slowly but surely our ivory tower’s doors are widening to more of the world. And we professors have the opportunity of a lifetime. We get to guide students on the path to informed global citizenship, the dream of a university education.But that also means we can no longer pass the buck. You know what I’m talking about, and you’ve seen what I’ve seen.