Principles for selecting argumentative sentences

1
Principles for selecting argumentative sentences

• Jerry Andriessen
• Educational Sciences, Utrecht University
• Pierre Coirier
• Language Communication Lab., Un. Of Poitiers

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Difficulties of argumentative text production

• Ill-defined and ill-structured knowledge
  (opinions judgements)
• Linearization of complex cognitive plans
• Referential planning
• Strategies

3
The alpha-omega paradigm

• Write a text
• starting with (alpha) A city is a pleasant place
  to live in.....
• ending with (omega) A village is a pleasant
  place to live in.

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Specific characteristics

• Conflicting but not mutually exclusive claims
• No  idea generation  process choose 6
  arguments among a pool of 24
• Available arguments strictly controlled
• 6 alpha (theme A city), argumentative
  orientation in favour of city
• 6 alpha - (theme A city), argumentative
  orientation against city
• 6 omega (theme ? village), argumentative
  orientation in favour of villlage)
• 6 omega - (theme ? village), argumentative
  orientation against village

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Global requirements

• 1. Recognizing the existence of a conflict
  between two positions A and ?
• (Stein Miller, 1993 van Eemeren
  Grootendorst, 1984).
• Then ? ( or -) and A ( or -)
• 2. Taking a claim ? is superior to A
• (Stein Miller, 1993 van Eemeren
  Grootendorst, 1984 Oostdam, 1990 Golder
  Coirier, 1994)
• Then Pro-? ( ? ?-) gt pro-A (? ?-)
• 3. Supporting the claim (claim backing)
• (Adam, 1992 Antaki Leudar, 1990, 1992
  Apotheloz Mieville, 1989 Coirier Golder,
  1993 Grize, 1982 Van Eemeren, De Glopper,
  Grootendorst Oostdam, 1994 Stein and Miller,
  1990).
• Then ? (and ?-)
• 4. Assigning a minimal value to the opposite
  claim
• (Grize, 1982 Brassart, 1987 Stein Miller,
  1993).
• Then ? (and ?-)
• 5. Restrictions to both opposing claims Z, but
  z-, and A, but a-
• (Marchand, 1993).
• Then (?-) (?)

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Then ? gt ?- gt ?gt ?-

• 578 protocols
• Alpha 10.7
• Alpha - 25.5
• Omega 52.4
• Omega - 11.4

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Local requirements

• 1. To ensure argumentative coherence into the
  textual sequence
• co-orientation ? coordination ( and  or
  equivalents) a and a a and z- z and z z-
  and a
• anti-orientation ? opposition or concession (but,
  even if, ...) a but a- z even if z- a but
  z etc
• 2. To ensure thematic continuity
• If starting with alpha, then maintain theme A A
  ? a ( or -), a ( or -) , a.( or -)...
• If ending with omega, then develop theme ? ? ?
  ? ( or -), ? ( or -) , ?.( or -)...

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Complying to both global and local requirements

• ALPHA
• /because/ ?, ?...
• /but/ ?-, ?-... /moreover/ ?, ?...
• /then/ /even if/ ?-, ?-...
• /however/ ?, ?...
• /so/
• OMEGA

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Complying to both global and local requirements

• Expert argumentative text at the level of
  conceptualization if
• Recognizing the validity of both claims
• Counter-argumentation
• Main problem in argumentative text writing
• Dealing simultaneously with conceptual content
  and textual general
• constraints
• Solution
• Helping (not imposing!) to take into account the
  opposite claim
• Clear separation between the conceptualizing and
  the linearizing processes

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Assignments
It is difficult to manage simultaneously
thematization and argumentative
orientation The best conditions for doing that
are proposing from the beginning the two
opposite claims a strategic separation between
conceptualization and linearization