The following is one of the sessions from our 2018 Conference co-hosted by School of the Ozarks and held at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO. The full collection of presentations can be found at https://theclassicalthistle.com/2018-conference/.

Writing in the Upper School—Refutation                     

Jim Selby, Whitefield Academy

Participants in this workshop will engage in refuting a narrative. This refutation includes finding arguments based on clarity, plausibility, possibility, justice, propriety, and expedience. These exercises begin building the fundamental composition skill of invention. The refutation and its corresponding confirmation exercises develop within students the ability to consider multiple sides of an issue. These exercises trace their classical origins to Aphthonius’ Progymnasmata.