“Oh, that pesky DNA”: Using murder-mystery narratives to identify, evaluate, and organize arguments

Utilizing popular murder-mystery texts that transcend boundaries of race, class, age, and sex, students apply Toulmin’s 1958 concept of claim, data, warrant (Toulmin, S. E. 2003. The uses of argument. Cambridge University Press). Ultimately, students engage in an activity that demonstrates how argumentation plays a role outside of the college classroom writing assignment. Courses: Introduction to Communication, Argumentation and Debate, Rhetorical Theory, Critical Analysis, and Communication writing courses. It is also applicable to secondary K-12 courses. Objective: The aim of this activity is to introduce concepts of argumentation, including organization of information within written work, evaluation of argumentative data/evidence, and articulation of a well-supported claim. It is designed to help students recognize (1) how they analyze argumentative messages in their daily lives, specifically by focusing on a popular culture text, and (2) how organization of an argument is structured, with the goal of clearly communicating a message to the audience.