Author Archives: davidbdale

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About davidbdale

My name honors my mother Beatrice (Bea) and my father Dale. I am the author of 299 Very Short Novels and several plays and the Artistic Director of Must See Theater company.

Agenda WED APR 08

Posted on April 8, 2015 by davidbdale

Open My Notes Riddle: Hidden Premise Demonstration: Grade Levels 2 Lecture/Demo: How to Start Demo/Exercise: Eliminating If/Then Review “Just Passed Scenic Views” Copy and Paste as a Reply one of your own paragraphs that contains a quote or citation.

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How to Start

Posted on April 8, 2015 by davidbdale

Lecture Text Readers can bail on us after any word: this one, or the next. Their time is precious; the world is lively with distractions; and increasingly the page where we meet them is studded with seductive links. Re-read the … Continue reading →

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Eliminating If/Then

Posted on April 8, 2015 by davidbdale

Get rid of those that can go. Most of them can go. One popular way to complicate a simple expression is to add unnamed people and place them into a confusing and unnecessary cause/effect situation. Readers can be misled into … Continue reading →

Posted in David Hodges, davidbdale, Professor Post, Writing Lessons | 19 Comments

Grade Levels 2

Posted on April 8, 2015 by davidbdale

I wrote two sentences recently that contain a paragraph of material each. They’re not perfect sentences, but their advantages over the paragraphs they represent make them fit models of writing that earns better grades. The magazine Mother Jones publishes a … Continue reading →

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Riddle: Hidden Premise

Posted on April 8, 2015 by davidbdale

While you’re working on revisions for your research paper (largely dependent on stating and proving your premises), I want to offer this illustration of an argument that fails because it suppresses an essential premise. This ad from the ACLU (American … Continue reading →

Posted in David Hodges, davidbdale, Professor Post, Riddles, Writing Lessons | 9 Comments

Agenda MON APR 06

Posted on April 6, 2015 by davidbdale

Open your My Notes Post the comment: “Attended Class.” Close your My Notes Welcome Professor Jude Miller Lecture “My Counterintuitive Weekend” Make running notes as a Reply to the post. Lecture “The Opposite of a Black Sneaker” Make running notes … Continue reading →

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Scenic Views

Posted on April 6, 2015 by davidbdale

The Right Time to Quote Suppose we have an argument that’s difficult to prove, and evidence is scarce, but we do have one good quote that clearly demonstrates the validity of our position. Suppose also that the quote isn’t entirely … Continue reading →

Posted in David Hodges, davidbdale, Professor Post, Writing Lessons | 25 Comments

The Opposite of a Black Sneaker

Posted on April 6, 2015 by davidbdale

In Favor of Outrageous Thinking The goal of all our arguments is not to join a black-or-white debate, but to create a color, or a set of fancy footwear, not the comfortable shoes that “go with everything,” but a pair … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterintuitive Topics, David Hodges, davidbdale, Professor Post, Writing Lessons | 17 Comments

My Counterintuitive Weekend

Posted on April 6, 2015 by davidbdale

Counterintuitive Weekend Now that we’ve passed the halfway point of the course and you’ve completed your short arguments, you’ll be trying to find a way to massage all your material into a fresh and compelling—with any luck counterintuitive!—argument. This feels … Continue reading →

Posted in David Hodges, davidbdale, Professor Post, Riddles | 15 Comments

Agenda WED APR 01

Posted on April 1, 2015 by davidbdale

Open your My Notes Professor’s Reply to the Card Puzzle Professor’s Reply to Intuitive Predictions Lecture/Exercise Types of Causal Argument Assignment A09: Causal Argument

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