| Questions that Lead to Creative Agreement | How to Engage Creative Agreement in Your Writing |
|---|---|
| What new situations might a source's claim cover? |
Apply a claim more widely: Smith has shown that medical students learn physiological processes better when they are explained with many metaphors rather than just one. The same appears to be true for engineers learning physical processes. |
| What new insights can a source's claim provide? |
Confirm unsupported claims: Smith recommends visualization to improve sports performance, but a study of mental activities of athletes shows why that is good advice. |
| Is there other confirming evidence your source has not covered? |
Offer additional support: Smith uses anecdotal evidence to show that the Alamo story had mythic status beyond Texas, but a study of big -city newspapers offers better evidence. |
| Questions that Lead to Creative Disagreement |
How to Engage Creative Disagreement in Your Writing |
|---|---|
| Does your source claim something is one kind of thing, but maybe it is another kind? |
Contradictions of Kind: Smith says that certain religious groups are considered "cults" because of their strange beliefs, but those beliefs are no different in kind from standard religions. |
| Does your source make mistakes in how parts of something are related? |
Part-Whole Contradictions: Smith has argued that sports are crucial to an educated person, but in fact athletics have no place in college. |
|
Does your source make mistakes in the source and development of a topic? |
Development of Historical Contradictions: Smith argues that the world population will continue to rise, but it will not. |
| Does your source mistake a causal relationship? |
External Cause-Effect Contradictions: Smith claims that juveniles can be stopped from becoming criminals by "boot camps." But evidence shows that it makes them more likely to become criminals. |
| Does your source (or do you) contradict a standard view? |
Contradictions of Perspective: Smith assumes that advertising is a purely economic function, but it also serves a laboratory for new art forms. |
Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style of Students & Researchers, 8th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2010. 38-41.