This assignment provides an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you developed in the thinkARGUMENTS course. First, you will map the argument below (Part A) and, then, you will evaluate

This assignment provides an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you developed in the

thinkARGUMENTS course. First, you will map the argument below (Part A) and, then, you will evaluate the

quality of the argument (Part B).

NOTE: You will combine your argument map and your answers to the evaluation questions into ONE PDF and

submit it via iCollege. DO NOT submit a link; you must submit the file itself.

Part A: Map the Argument

Locate the conclusion and premises of the following argument and map the argument in MindMup. See the

rubric at the end of this document for how your map (Part A) and evaluation (Part B) will be evaluated.

Argument: Plastic Bags

In 1965 the modern plastic shopping bag was invented by engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin, and patented by the

Swedish company Celloplast. By 1979 plastic bags made up 80% of the bag market in Europe, and were beginning

to spread across the world. By 2011, the world consumed one million plastic shopping bags every minute.

So, plastic bags should be banned in the United States. First of all, these bags are a significant source of

environmental pollution because they frequently find their way into aquatic ecosystems where they cause harm

to birds and aquatic creatures. Plastic bags cause harm to aquatic creatures through consumption, and they cause

harm to aquatic creatures through entanglement too. Plastic bags also contribute to environmental pollution

because producing them requires a heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

Banning plastic bags has the added effect of saving money for municipalities which enact the policy, since a ban

on plastic bags means that they will spend less money on litter collection and disposal efforts. This is because the

amount of plastic waste will be drastically reduced, and reduced plastic waste means less money needs to be

spent on cleanup.

Be sure to check over the accuracy of your argument map before submitting it. Here is a checklist of

considerations:

❏ Does every box in your map contain a single complete statement? (No sentence fragments, compound

statements, etc.)

❏ Does every statement in your argument map follow the Reason Rule? (Does every statement give a

reason to believe that the statement above it is true? As opposed to a merely related idea, background

information etc.)

❏ Are all of the argument structures in your map logically correct? (i.e., independent premises, sub-

premises, and co-premises) Hint: if you’re feeling shaky about these logical structures, go back and work

through more practice exercises in Lessons 5 and 6!

❏ Does your map include all of the reasons to believe the main claim that were given in the argument text,

while omitting other text such as background information and rhetorical flourishes?

❏ Does your map include a full statement in each box? (i.e., no vague pronouns such as “it” or “they”)

Keep scrolling…Part B: Evaluate the Argument

Now that you have mapped the argument, evaluate whether the argument is good or bad. Remember that a

successful evaluation focuses on key premises and inferences in the argument and should give enough

information to determine whether the argument is good or bad overall.

1. 2. 3. Choose at least two premises and evaluate them for truth

 For each premise that you choose, on your argument map, change the color to blue if you think it is

true, or orange if you think it is false, or leave it white if you are not sure.

 Answer Evaluation Question #1 on the Argument Evaluation Word document attached to the

assignment.

Choose at least two inferences and evaluate them for strength/weakness

 For each inference that you choose, on your argument map, mark it as thicker/thinner in MindMup

to indicate that it is strong or weak.

 Answer Evaluation Question #2 on the Argument Evaluation Word document attached to the

assignment.

Give a verdict on the argument overall

 Answer Evaluation Question #3 on the Argument Evaluation Word document attached to the

assignment.

How to Submit Your Assignment

First, save your MindMup as a PDF in MindMup (DO NOT use the link method):

1. Click File > Scroll Down to “Download As” > Select PDF.

2. Change the orientation (top dropdown box) to Landscape

3. Click “Export”

4. Click “Download”

a. If this opens a dialog box on your computer asking you to name the file (see instructions below)

and select a location where to save it, follow the prompts to save your PDF.

b. If it opens the PDF in your web browsers:

i. Click the Save icon

ii. This will pull up a dialog box where you can name the file and select where to save it on

your computer.

5. Do NOT include your name anywhere on your map, including the name of your map.

Second, save your evaluation answers as a PDF:

1. 2. Download and complete the evaluation questions document.

Save the document as a PDF.

a. This can typically be done by “printing” it to PDF.

Third, combine the two PDFs (your map and your answers to the evaluation questions)

1. Use Adobe Acrobat or a free online PDF tool to combine your to PDF documents into one document.

Finally, Upload your PDF to the Argument Mapping and Evaluation assignment in iCollege.Rubric – This is how your submissions will be evaluated.

Part A (your map) will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Use MindMup Correctly (10 points total)

❏ MindMup was used to create the argument map (5 points)

❏ all parts of your argument are visible and clearly laid out (3 points)

❏ file is correctly named with “MindMup_PatherID” (2 points)

Argument Structure (38 points total)

❏ accurately identify the main claim of the argument (8 points)

❏ every premise follows the Reason Rule (i.e., provides a reason to believe the claim above it) (10 points)

❏ correctly map any independent premises correctly (5 points)

❏ correctly map any sub-premise(s) correctly (5 points)

❏ correctly map any co-premises correctly (5 points)

❏ omit sentences that aren’t premises in the argument (5 points)

Syntax (10 points total)

❏ one complete statement in each box (no fragments or compound claims) (5 points)

❏ omit indicator words and specify pronouns (no vague pronouns such as “it”, “they” etc.) (5 points)

Part B (your evaluation) will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Choose two premises and evaluate them for truth/reasonableness (15 points total)

 each chosen premise is colored blue or orange to indicate your assessment of whether it is true or false

(2.5 points each, grading for completion)

 for each chosen premise (including any co-premises), you have fully explained at least one reason why

you think that premise is true or false, along with any sources cited that you used. (5 points each;

grading for correctness)

Choose two inferences and evaluate them for strength/weakness (15 points total)

 each chosen inference is marked thicker/thinner in MindMup (2.5 points each; grading just for

completion)

 for each chosen inference, you have fully explained at least one reason why you think that that

inference is strong or weak (5 points each; grading for correctness)

Give a verdict on the argument overall (12 points total)

 state whether the claim is strong or weak, and include at least two very specific reasons supporting

your overall verdict (6 points each for the correctness of the reasons given for your overall evaluation