assessment of critical thinking in third-year efl students' writings at hanam teachers' training college = đánh giá tư duy phê phán thể hiện trong bài viết của sinh viên năm thứ 3 ngành tiếng anh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES - ĐOÀN THANH HƯỜNG ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING IN THIRD-YEAR EFL STUDENTS’ WRITINGS AT HANAM TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE (Đánh giá tư phê phán thể viết sinh viên năm thứ ngành tiếng Anh trường Cao đẳng sư phạm Hà Nam) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 HANOI – 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY ÒF POST GRADUATE STUDIES - ĐOÀN THANH HƯỜNG ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING IN THIRD-YEAR EFL STUDENTS’ WRITINGS AT HANAM TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE (Đánh giá tư phê phán thể viết sinh viên năm thứ ngành tiếng Anh trường Cao đẳng sư phạm Hà Nam) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Supervisor: Phùng Hà Thanh, M.A HANOI – 2010 v TABLE OF CONTENT Page ACCEPTANCE i DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENT v LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem 1.2 Research problems 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Design of the study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Conceptions of critical thinking 2.1.1 Critical thinking and logic 2.1.2 Critical thinking and cognitive psychology 2.1.3 Critical thinking and tool to gain desirable outcome 2.1.4 Critical thinking and critical inquiry 2.1.5 Critical thinking and universal intellectual standards 2.2 Critical thinking instruction 11 2.3 Argumentative writing and critical thinking 14 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 17 vi 3.1 Samples and Sampling 17 3.1.1 Samples 17 3.1.2 Sampling 17 3.1.1.1 Participants 17 3.1.1.2 Topics 17 3.1.1.3 Raters 17 3.2 Data Collection 18 3.2.1 Instrument 18 3.2.2 Procedures 18 3.2.2.1 Design of the writing tasks 18 3.2.2.2 Essay tests administered and collected 19 3.3 Data analysis 20 3.3.1 Criteria of assessment 20 3.3.2 Procedures of assessment 21 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 4.1 Reliability and validity of the assessment 22 4.1.1 Inter-rater reliability 22 4.1.2 Validity 23 4.2 The results of the assessment of critical thinking 23 4.2.1 The display of critical thinking in students’ argumentative writings 23 4.2.2 The numbers of arguments, evidence, refutations, and fallacies in 36 24 students’ argumentative writings 4.2.3 The differences of critical thinking elements found in two groups of 25 writings 4.2.4 Types of arguments, evidence and fallacies found in each group of 26 argumentative writings 4.2.4.1 Types of arguments 26 4.2.4.2 Types of evidence 27 4.2.4.3 Opposition recognition and refutation 27 4.2.4.4 Types of fallacies 28 vii 4.3 Discussions 30 4.3.1 Types of arguments and evidence and the reflection of the influence of 30 familiarity on the quality of students’ critical thought 4.3.2 Opposition recognition and refutation and the reflection of the influence 32 of familiarity on the quality of students’ critical thought 4.3.3 Types of fallacies and the reflection of the influence of familiarity on the 32 quality of students’ critical thought 4.3.4 Other remarks 33 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 35 5.1 Summary of findings 35 5.2 Implications and recommendations 35 5.3 Limitations 37 5.4 Suggestions for further research 37 REFERENCES 39 APPENDICES Appendix A: Collection of students’ essays I Appendix B: Rubrics for critical thinking elements XXIV Appendix B1: Types of arguments XXVI Appendix B2: Types of evidence XXIX Appendix B3: Opposition recognition and refutation XXXIV Appendix B4: Types of fallacies XXXV Appendix C: Rating guide XXXIX Appendix D: Holistic rating scale to mark an argumentative essay XXXL viii LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES Page Figure Bloom’s Taxonomy Table Correlation of scores given by rater and rater on all 36 writing samples 22 Table Correlation of scores given by rater and rater on writing samples on 22 familiar topic Table Correlation of scores given by rater and rater on writing samples on 23 unfamiliar topic Table Average score (Median) and score with highest frequency of appearance 24 (Mode) of all 36 writings given by each rater Table Average scores (Median) and scores with highest frequency of appearance 24 (Mode) of each group of writing pieces regarding topic given Table Total number and average number of each element of critical thinking 25 Table Total numbers and differences of elements of critical thinking in writing 25 samples on familiar and unfamiliar topics CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the statement of the problem, research problems, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, and design of the study 1.1 Statement of the problem From Socratic time, the ability to reason well has been regarded an important outcome of education and training, and since 1980s, ‗critical thinking‘ has become a ‗buzzword‘ in the intellectual circles (Fisher, 2001) Critical thinking is essential for everyone to perform well not only in educational systems, but also in future workplaces, and social and interpersonal contexts Dewey (1933) pointed out learning to think is the central purpose of education Scriven (1985) acknowledged training in critical thinking should be the primary task of education They are among those who recognize human beings not innately possess the ability of thinking critically but acquire it through education Although ‗critical thinking‘ is universally accepted as a goal of education as it refers to quality thinking, there remains a controversy around the ‗critical thinking‘ concept across borders As many scholars have claimed, critical thinking took roots in Western societies, especially from the Greek culture with its related schools of academic thoughts and their renowned philosophers Atkinson (1997) believed that critical thinking is a tacit, indefinable, socio-cultural practice and behavior that individuals in the U.S or Western society subconsciously and naturally acquire Nevertheless, many others have argued that the social structures and values that developed in the East represented a different value system from the West have created different conceptions of critical thinking There is ‗individualism‘ in the West that inspires public debate, logical science with the focus on objective observation; and there also is ‗collectivism‘ in the East leads to the individuality suppression, more holistic view of reality with the focus on the group (Nisbett, 2003; Davidson, 1998) These differences have put the ‗critical thinking‘ concept within the matter of ‗culture specific‘ The students from the East may not apparently show up the ability to reason well, but those claimed they lack critical thinking should reconsider the cultural aspects Gieve (1998) introduced the notions of monological critical thinking and dialogical thinking, which pointed out the influences of education background and cultural traits on the way Western and Eastern students exhibit their critical thinking skills With this approach, Gieve (1998) stated that critical thinking is hardly irrelevant or ill-suited to non-Western ESL students and it has a significant and far-reaching value for students in any society and culture With his opinion, we return to the consensus among discussions related, that human thinking is flawed and has to be improved with the support of education Thus, Western or non-Western students all have to undergo a learning process before claiming themselves ‗critical thinkers‘ As the central target of education in general, the development of critical thinking skills has also become a key goal for educators in first and second language education in particular Teachers of English in EFL (English as Foreign Language) contexts, however, are often constrained by the linguistic skills of their students in Asian countries like China, Japan, Vietnam, etc For example of writing skill, the learners‘ writing pieces always seem to disappoint the instructors, especially when it comes to argumentative essays Vietnamese students, even at tertiary level, have been claimed to lack critical thinking since Eastern learners of English are often characterized as lacking critical thinking characteristics due to those perceptions mentioned above Since both native speakers and non-native speakers have to exert great effort to become ‗critical thinkers of English‘, this claim should be examined carefully Courses on argumentative writings and critical thinking share the focus on arguments and argumentation In most English language curriculums in Vietnam, there is always a part for argumentative writing practice that integrated background of Western arguments and critical thinking skills To find out if Vietnamese students can reason well the way native learners or not, it is recommended to study their argumentative writings As an EFL teacher from Hanam Teachers‘ Training College, the researcher of this paper understand the importance of critical thinking to third year students majoring in English since they are about to finish their study with much paper work to be done and communication to be set Thus, while assessing the students‘ skills of analyzing and reasoning in a case study, the researcher wanted to explore whether third year EFL students here displayed features of critical thinking in their English compositions and then, whether content familiarity an influential factor on students‘ thinking process 1.2 Research problems This study focused on investigating and assessing the display of critical thinking in the argumentative compositions of third year EFL students at Hanam Teachers‘ Training College Based on the evaluative views of both Western and non-Western raters, it would reveal the extent to which Vietnamese students in their native culture context display their critical thoughts Then, the study would also examine the influence of familiarity on the quality of those students‘ critical thought 1.3 Research questions Based on the statement of the problem, this study sought to answer the following two major questions with the subdivided ones To what extent third year EFL students at Hanam Teachers’ Training College display critical thinking in their argumentative essays? a How well the students reason in their argumentative writings according to the raters‟ assessments? b How many arguments, pieces of evidence, refutations, and fallacies are there in 36 collected argumentative writings? To what extent does familiarity affect the quality of critical thinking in those students’ writings? a What are the differences of the critical thinking elements found in two groups of writings? b What are the types of arguments, evidence and fallacies found in each group of argumentative writings? c How the results reflect the influence of familiarity on the quality of students‟ critical thought? 1.4 Scope of the study Within the scope of this study, the researcher wanted to explore the well-know Western concept of critical thinking Since the knowledge related to this concept is boundlessly varied, the researcher‘s attention only rested on the aspect that critical thinking refers to reasoning ability in argumentation That led to her choice of the argumentative writings as the key samples for the study among many other types of writing tasks taught in the Hanam Teachers‘ Training College‘s writing curriculum The reason was that argumentative writings get students involved directly and actively in argumentation process by forming reasons, making inductions, drawing conclusions, and applying them to the discussed issues Accordingly, the study investigated the argumentative writings by 36 Vietnamese college students from a same classroom All the students are in the first semester of their third year studying They were all participating in a course called ―English Writing 5‖, which introducing writing skills for their fifth semester The samples were the participants‘ compulsory writing tasks, which were told be part of their performance evaluation, assigned by the instructor of the course 1.5 Significance of the study Through this study, the researcher hoped to gather and present useful knowledge about critical thinking for those who have keen interest People who come across this research might gain some knowledge about the nature of critical thinking with different conceptions across disciplines and insights which they might find helpful It is hopefully that the research results would be practical for students, lecturers, and researchers For the students, the study might generally raise their awareness of the importance of critical thinking and its influence on such specific linguistic skill as writing For the teachers, it may provide original understandings of critical thinking and some suggestions on the employment of critical thinking in teaching argumentative essays For the researchers, the paper would be a referential case for further studies on the related issues 1.6 Design of the study This study collected 36 argumentative essays written by third-year EFL students at Hanam Teachers‘ Training College Those writings were then analyzed based on criteria informed by the research problems and research questions mentioned above The correlative statistics provided the correlation coefficients to check the inter-rater reliability in assessing students‘ argumentative writings quality in general as well as on each given topic in particular The descriptive statistics provided quantitative analysis to support the overall assessment on students‘ reasoning ability displayed in their argumentative writings They also presented the raters‘ qualitative assessment on numbers, types and differences of critical thinking elements in two groups of essays on two different topics XXVI APPENDIX B1 Types of Argument Familiar Topic Agree A The danger of smoking It was said that smoking causes lots of dangerous diseases B The irresponsibility of tobacco companies Everyone knows that smoking is addictive and so all tobacco companies The tobacco companies know all about that but they actually ignore these information Disagree A Individual choice accompanies individual responsibility Smokers are fully aware that smoking is bad for their health but they still get addicted to it Smokers know smoking is very dangerous for their health We knew that smoking is harmful to people’s health but many people still smoke and get addicted People who smoke choose to smoke Smokers are not forced either to start or having started, to continue smoking Although many smokers are aware of certain risks involved in smoking, they keep smoking still All smokers know but they still smoke Before smoking, they knew smoking is harmful and they continue, why don’t they just give up They know about all of the health risks of smoking and they must be responsible for their own actions 10 Smokers voluntarily smoke 11 Smoking is a voluntary action of smokers 12 Everybody knows about the harm of cigarettes B The dangerous effects of smoking are well known XXVII The harm caused by tobacco had been known and openly discussed It has been known that there are serious dangers with smoking The damage caused by smoking is not hidden Now, on TV, internet, radio, there are a lot of information about the harmful cigarettes It has been known for many years that smoking is harmful C Tobacco industry is permitted by law Cigarettes are not yet been banned by the law It is the legal business The tobacco companies are doing business as others on other fields D Tobacco companies bring benefits to countries Tobacco brings about high benefit for every country Tobacco industry makes big profit for the society Tobacco industry also contributes to national budget The tobacco companies make big profit for the society We can’t negate economic benefits of tobacco companies Every year, tobacco companies pay a huge tax to the government E Tobacco companies warn smokers about the danger of smoking The tobacco companies gives out information about the dangers All the tobacco companies warn about the damage of smoking Tobacco companies work actively to discourage young smokers The tobacco companies give out information about the dangers and try to discourage young people from smoking Tobacco companies print on the cigarettes pack the line “Cigarettes is harmful to people’s health” The tobacco companies always encourage people who smoke to give up smoking F The rule of demand and supply All companies that produce cigarettes just try to meet the demand of their customers Tobacco companies produce to meet the demand Tobacco companies don’t force anyone to smoke or continue smoking What tobacco companies are doing is just responding to smokers’ demand XXVIII Another aspect is that what the companies doing is to meet the smokers’ demand All the tobacco companies were doing was responding to a demand from smokers Unfamiliar Topic Agree Financial benefits Legalizing prostitution will not only save a lot of money in dealing with illegal prostitution but also collect a great amount for national budget When the sex industry is legalized, people in this industry will pay tax and the prostitutes can share and be shared their income as any tax payers Disagree A Degrade the human society Legalizing prostitution will decrease social development Legalizing prostitution will affect moral value of human Legalization of prostitution makes family and moral values go down Seldom anyone can have happiness maintained if prostitution is legalized B Threaten the women’s lives Legalizing prostitution will increase women trafficking rate in many countries and it has a bad effect on the women’s human right Legalization of prostitution will damage women virtuous characteristics and virginity is one of their most valuable dignities Legalization of prostitution does not promote women’s health; women cannot protect themselves from HIV/AIDS or STDs Legalization of prostitution does not protect women in this industry especially their health Finally, legalization of prostitution reduces the women’s roles and positions Legalization of prostitution cannot protect women in prostitution When the women take this job, they are not protected C Cause other social evils and serious diseases Prostitution is the threat of increasing child prostitution Legalization of prostitution increases social evils and causes many serious diseases Legalization of prostitution and the sex industry promotes sex trafficking XXIX APPENDIX B2 Types of Evidence Familiar Topic Agree A Research studies By research, people who just smell smoke will get times more poisonous chemical elements than those smoke directly According to the publication of the report by Royal College of Physicians in 1962, there are serious dangers with smoking-products from tobacco are in facts cause many diseases such as lung cancer, cirrhosis According to a research, non-smokers inhale 70% of poisonous elements in the smoke B Consequences Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer and other diseases involved lung There are millions of deaths yearly in the world They were deserved compensation from the tobacco companies who withheld information C Facts Tobacco consists of 33 poisonous chemical, and some additive substance Non-smokers inhale the poisons from the smoke exhaled by smokers These poisons damage people’s health They cause many diseases such as lung cancer, brain cancer, heart attack It can cause many diseases such as lung cancer, cough, heart disease, etc There are many serious diseases and a lot of people died because of smoking Disagree A Experiences My brother, for example, told me that when he was sad and had nothing to do, smoking helps him relax It also helps him to concentrate on his work even if he is stressful B Citation XXX “People have known now for at least 50 years of the risks involved with smoking,” said Mr Donald, Imperial Tobacco’s head of public affairs C Consequences When they still have customers, they will still produce them They can’t stop smoking and keep destroying their lungs If smokers smoke too much, they will be dependant on it Many smokers become addictive and when they smoke, they feel better They even can smoke a pack of cigarettes a day in a long time Tobacco companies pay the highest taxes, and the Government gives them permission They cannot control themselves and cannot resist smoking The only thing they is just continue smoking Therefore, they have to be responsible for their own actions They know what cigarettes cause if they continue smoking Thus, when they get cancer, it is their own fault and they should be responsible for any adverse effects they received from smoking D Facts On packets of cigarettes, there are warnings of the manufacturers Government banned smoking at public places, from schools to offices, everywhere we can see the sign “No smoking” They only have duty to produce the goods The tobacco companies give advice for people On the cigarettes packet, there is the warning “Smoking is harmful for health” Smokers can understand clearly about harmful effects of smoking via mass media, TV or newspaper These companies have to pay high tax and give jobs to many people The message “Smoking is harmful to health” is printed on the package of cigarettes They also show the ingredients in each cigarette 10 Manufacturers are responsible when they give warnings on tobacco’s cover that “Tobacco is harmful to your health” 11 Manufacturing cigarettes is one of many industries It is also a business field It brings profit for the tobacco company and contributes huge tax to the budget of government XXXI 12 The damage caused by smoking is not hidden, there is the line “Smoking is harmful to your health” on each cigarettes packet There are even images of the dangerous diseases clearly printed 13 Their family don’t want them to smoke, they advise smokers not to smoke but they still go on 14 Every year, the tobacco companies have contributed huge tax to the budget E Explanation Many people like smoking because of the relaxation it brings, others smoke because of being provoked Unfamiliar Topic Agree A Facts  In fact, the city of Los Angeles alone spends close to 100 millions dollars annually dealing with illegal prostitution B Consequences  When the sex industry is legalized, people in this industry will pay tax and the prostitutes can share and be shared their income as any tax payers That means they can improve their life and have more responsibility with the society Disagree A Consequences If we legalized prostitution, it means we had accepted a new moral value standard, which oppose with traditional one Consequently, it causes the increase in the rate of divorce Women can have sex with men just for money while men buy women for their sex desire This can affect faith or happiness in love and marriage When people are fully attracted by it, men will work ineffectively, women will be lazy They will give up all attempts to choose an easy way to earn money, sell their own body All of these will lead to an undeveloped society If prostitution is legalized, the dignity of women will be lost Women will be thought little of in the society XXXII Because basis of prostitution is violent and inhuman, this damages the images of women in men’s attitude about sex equality So how would the role of women in the society be if prostitution were considered a job for women to earn money In many countries where prostitution is legalized, there are almost no rules to protect the women from abuse They are only considered the secondary or no importance When the women has clients and alone in the room with them, if the clients aren’t satisfied, they can be battered When they this job, they are exposed to HIV/AIDS or any STDs They have been transmitted diseases from their clients Although nowadays, there are a lot of condoms in the markets, men still like trying to have sex without them B Facts There are many children and orphans who are kidnapped They were sold in clubs, brothels, and massage parlors According to the Budapest Group showed that 80% of women in the brothels in the Netherlands are trafficked from other countries (Statistics) In reality, many children was abused sexually and child prostitution in every country has increase It was in statistics that increase was 4,000 children in 1996 to 15,000 in 2001 (Statistics) US women in prostitution interviewed reported the following: 47% expected sex without a condom, 73% reported that men offered to pay more for sex without condoms, 45% of women said they were abused is they insisted that men use condoms Thus, women can easily get such diseases as HIV/HIV, etc In Newark, New Jersey the estimate is that close to 60% of all prostitutes carry the AIDS virus (Statistics) C Research studies The Amsterdam-based Child right organization estimates that the number has gone from 4,000 children in 1996 to 15,000 in 2001 Children prostitution has dramatically risen in Victoria compared to other Australian states where prostitution has not been legalized In a 1998 study undertaken by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) who conducted research for the Australian Nation Inquiry on Child Prostitution, there was increases evidence of organized commercial exploitation of children XXXIII In many studies, women in prostitution indicated that prostitution establishments did little to protect them, regardless of whether they were in legal or illegal ones And the only time they protect anyone is to protect the customers The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW) has conducted two major studies on sex trafficking and prostitution, interviewing almost 200 victims of indicated that prostitution establishments did little to protect them regardless of whether they were in legal or illegal establishments In a study, 67 % of law enforcement officials that CATW interviewed expressed the opinion that women did not join prostitution voluntarily, 72% of the social service providers interviewed did not believe that women voluntarily choose to enter the sex industry In a CATW’s five-country study that interviewed 146 victims of international trafficking and local prostitution, 80% of all women interviewed suffer physical violence from pimps and buyers and endured similar and multiple health effects from the violence and sexual exploitation XXXIV APPENDIX B3 Opposition Recognition and Refutation Familiar Topic Non-existent Unfamiliar Topic According to a survey with another argument for legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands, it would help ending the child prostitution In reality, however, child prostitution in the Netherlands has increased dramatically during the 1990s Many people believe that we should legalize prostitution because they think that prostitution can be controlled In my opinion, we cannot that once we legalize prostitution XXXV APPENDIX B4 Types of Fallacies Familiar Topic A Slippery slope If smokers can get compensation from tobacco companies, what comes next? Lawsuits against drinks manufactures over cirrhosis of the liver? If smokers can get compensation from tobacco companies, what comes next? An action against the dairy industry by heart-disease sufferers? It is true if smokers can get compensation from the tobacco companies on the ground they said, there will be more smokers in the world B Irrelevancy The tobacco companies not only make big profit but also produce important item on the market It is useful in festivals, weddings, funerals, etc In recent time, the tobacco companies have produced a new range of cigarettes to decrease the nicotine amount As an traditional features in Vietnam tradition, cigarettes are used in some important occasions like wedding ceremonies, funerals or festivals Nowadays, not only men but also women smoke cigarettes They all said that they only smoke to relax, they not care about dangerous effects In the past, we have the cigarettes smokers who smoked for a long time They were deserved compensation from the tobacco companies who withheld information and even if the companies did not know, they should still be responsible for compensations for smokers whose health was damaged by their products In this case, I think that the tobacco companies bear the sole responsibility of cause cancer Unfamiliar Topic A Irrelevancy Benefit from it is high and its work is to satisfy sexual demand XXXVI It is a way to attract many workers in rural areas where average income is quite low This led to labor shortages in agriculture It also attracted many workers who don’t want to move their hands and brain They are so lazy and dependent on others Each individual owns their bodies and labor services, they have absolute right to decide how these services should be used, and there is no justification for government interference This is more immoral than any excuses against prostitutions Currently it is assumed that as much as one half of a typical urban city’s prison female population are prostitutes reported in Vietnam, there are 40 thousand people practising prostitution and prostitution related jobs, increases by 1.9% compared with 2008, if there is no positive effect in prohibiting why don’t legalizing and put it under government’s control Violence was used to initiate some women into prostitution and to break them down so that they would the sexual acts The legalization of prostitution increases clandestine, hidden, illegal and street prostitution If a women or a man choose to sell their own bodies to strangers, legalizing prostitution would provide prostitutes with licenses Those licenses need regular testing and minimize the possibility of transmitting disease Ordinary people believe that in calling for legalization of prostitution, they are dignifying and professionalizing the women in prostitution and finally, the women have to bear much misery In many rural areas, life is poor and difficult and children have to enter the sex industry, which help them earn a lot of money for their families and themselves Child prostitution has been increasing dramatically B False analogy Legalizing prostitution is a gift to pimps, traffickers and the sex industry Like all other professions, prostitution also brought diseases and bad consequences to human bodies The reason why the government should legalize prostitution is that it is like a business As their jobs are legalized with a license, prostitutes can their jobs as a really normal career, they will have their own office, have working time and get salary as normal people XXXVII There is no pimp anymore, all the prostitutes will be provided with drug tests, medical checks and health education When the person accept to this kind of job, that means they accept to take risks to their health and their body However, if there is a law to protect them, they will receive health care rights and get more respect C Hasty generalization It boosts the motivation of men to buy women for sex in much wider and more permissible range of socially acceptable settings We don’t have any reason to consider it illegal, both sides agree with what they trade It is really dangerous if women in prostitution don’t agree with them, the pimps will not pay the money or have brutal actions When legalizing prostitution, people who work in prostitution industry will have organizations and put under the government’s control, so the society will be safe and more stable D Slippery slope Take the old-age streets in Hanoi as example We cannot accept the image of girls in sexy outfit, standing by the roads to “invite” clients passing by How would the foreigners think about Vietnamese women in particular and Vietnamese in general? We have to be aware of an obvious thing that women would be devalued; they could be bought or sold Traffickers organize many brothels, sex clubs, and massage parlors to gain profit Besides, they expand business with foreign partners and women prostitution can be sold everywhere Legalization of prostitution increases the demand for prostitution It could make our families broken because some people (either wife or husband) couldn’t bear a fact that their spouse has another person They would be very sad and negative things When the families are broken, the children lose their father or mother and lack the care from their parents They are too hurt to develop normally as other children They would lack the confidence and not believe in good things in their life E Straw man A legalized system of prostitution that mandates health checks and certification only for women and not for clients is blatantly discriminatory to women and not protect XXXVIII them from HIV/AIDS since male “clients” can and originally transmit diseases to women Pimps and traffickers are transformed into third party business and legitimate sexual entrepreneurs F Oversimplication People who are sex workers can directly and easily get diseases without any means of protection, because a legalized system of prostitution that mandates health checks and certification for only women and not for their male “clients” The women can get disease from these men, especially HIV/AIDS- a fatal disease One more reason should be mentioned here is the women choice Prostitutes really don’t want to work in sex industry, they simply have few options Many said that they take the job as the last option or as an involuntary way of making ends meet Prostitution is the voluntary sale or rental of labor service and prostitutes are simply trying to make money in the way they choose They are not exploiting anyone but themselves, it is not bad, in some way, there is a victimless job, no one was injured or hurt or put in danger, so why it is illegal Prostitution detrimentally affects society in the form of broken marriages, divorce rate will increase because men are usually flirtatious so it is easy for women in prostitution industry to seduce them Legalization was supposed to get prostitution women out to the street Many women don’t want to register and undergo health checks as required by law in certain countries which legalizing prostitution, thus doing so could drive them into street It means that governments cannot control the sex industry Legalization of prostitution make governments lose control of the sex industry If there are policies from the governments to prevent the women from harm in the brothels, they would be better protected XXXIX APPENDIX C Rating Guide for Raters (use with Rubrics for Elements of Critical Thinking in Argumentative Essays) Arguments: Raters first evaluate and count the number of argument in each paper Arguments are claims supported by reasons; unsupported claims are merely opinion If the reason supporting a claim was deem inadequate, then the argument was considered flawed If an essay simply restated an argument from the passage using the same reasons, this was not scored as an argument Evidence: Raters evaluate and count each piece of evidence to support a reason This can come in many forms, including personal experience, research studies, statistics, citing authorities, analogies, pointing our consequences, and precisely defining words Raters isolate these pieces of evidence and categorize them according to the list above Raters write the number that indicate the evidence from the Rubrics Example: = personal experience Recognition of opposition and Refutation: Raters look for the participants’ recognition of the multisided nature of the issues in question They evaluate and count each time an opposing view was recognized, as well as each time the participant went on to refute the opposition Fallacies: Raters count and classify the fallacies in participants’ writing Raters write the initial letters and the number that indicate the fallacy from the Rubrics Example: EF1 = appeal to false authorities XL APPENDIX D Holistic Rating Scale to Mark an Argumentative Essay 9-8 Argument is original, persuasive, and insightful, with clearly defined terms and a sense of its own significance; it presents a well-phrased and compelling argument early on and develops it over the course of the paper Reason for argument is thorough and convincing, chosen from respected and current sources, analyzed insightfully, and cited correctly; counter-arguments are refuted and objections rebutted efficiently; vocabulary is proper and well-suited; it may be refined; infrequent mechanical errors 7-6 Argument is clear and mostly convincing, though perhaps unoriginal or general; it is maintained over the course of the paper, and supported with solid though possibly underdeveloped examples and competent reasoning Con arguments are present, although somewhat weak Citations are competent Style and organization are coherent, with appropriate transitions and topic/concluding sentences Sentences are nearly error-free, although not as sophisticated and articulate as they might be 6-5 Argument is adequate, perhaps barely convincing; it may be entirely obvious, initially unclear, and/or move in and out of focus, but it does appear somewhere in the paper Con arguments are ineffective or absent Argument is supported with sufficient evidence requiring further development and analysis to be fully convincing; minor errors in citations may occur Organization of paragraphs and sentences is adequate, although both may lack flow or transitions, and ideas may be repeated rather than developed Topic sentences may not relate to paragraph body, and concluding sentences may be weak or missing Grammar errors may be present but not interfere with the clarity of the paper; language may be dull and immature 4-3 Argument is vague, missing, or unclear, although attempts have been made to formulate one Argument and support contain vagueness or fluff Examples are present, yet they are not developed, not focused, or not appropriate and thus not adequately support the thesis; also, examples may be generalized and/or lack analysis Paper's organization may mimic that of the text under discussion rather than work to promote its argument; paragraphs lack required structure, and sentences are simplistic, vague, choppy, or occasionally incoherent Patterns of grammar errors (fragments, fused sentences, comma splices, agreement issues), may be present Citations are missing or incorrect 2-1 Argument is not present; ideas are unclear, incomprehensible, or contradictory Examples are not present or are entirely undeveloped Organization is incomprehensible Grammar errors are pervasive and greatly obscure the content, suggesting basic fluency issues Sentences are basic, vocabulary is at elementary level, and citations are nonexistent ... conceptions of critical thinking; critical thinking instruction, and argumentative writing and critical thinking 2.1 Conceptions of critical thinking Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been... STUDENTS’ WRITINGS AT HANAM TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE (Đánh giá tư phê phán thể viết sinh viên năm thứ ngành tiếng Anh trường Cao đẳng sư phạm Hà Nam) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics... critical thinking 2.1.1 Critical thinking and logic 2.1.2 Critical thinking and cognitive psychology 2.1 .3 Critical thinking and tool to gain desirable outcome 2.1.4 Critical thinking and critical inquiry