“We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know” –Carl Rogers
Outline Due: Sunday, 4/07
Final Draft Due: Sunday, 4/21
Assignment: Write a Rogerian argument about a topic raised in one of the following pieces or another idea related to the theme of “Family and Identity”:
-“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
-“Separating” by John Updike
-“The Storm” by Kate Chopin
-“The Sleepover Question” by Amy Schalet
-“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
-Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
-“The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake” by David Brooks
Length: At least four pages (excluding works cited page).
Example material: Overview, outline, and Sample Rogerian argument: 66-77.
Video: Traditional Vs Rogerian Argumentation StyleLinks to an external site.
Sources: This paper should include references to at least four outside sources (see Cypress College Databases).
Notes: Your essay should be comprised of the following elements (67):
I. An introduction that:
Engages the reader.
Provides a concise synopsis of the central issue you will be discussing.
Poses the issue in the form of a question (as opposed to a statement) to create a sense of fairmindedness and openness to ideas.
II. Multiple body paragraphs that:
Discuss/explore one “side” of the issue (e.g., The European side of the argument presented in “The Sleepover Question” states that young people should have more autonomy within the family home…)
III. A clear transition to the other side: Conversely, On the other hand, While that may be the case, etc.
IV. Multiple body paragraphs that:
Discuss/explore the other side of the issue (e.g., The other side of “The Sleepover Question,” which can be identified as the American side, believes that young people should be protected from their “raging” hormones…) )
V. Conclusion paragraph(s) that:
Provide a fair, neutrally worded summation of the key points on both sides of the issue
Reveal where the two sides’ views overlap and share common ground
Offer a “middle ground” position (compromise) on the issue that is acceptable to “reasonable” people on both sides
Example Rogerian strategy in action: Use of Rogerian strategy in Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: Refuting the notion that his activities in Birmingham are extreme, King points out that he is “in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community” (230). One force has become complacent and “used” to enduring the indignities of segregation, accepting them as their destiny. The other group represents “bitterness and hatred” and comes “perilously close to advocating violence.” Employing a voice of reason, King notes that he has tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need to emulate neither the “do-nothingism” of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. He then states that his method civil of disobedience offers a creative, middle-ground approach to dealing with the problem of segregation.
The following content is
