Writing Arguments

Preface

Acknowledgments



Part 1 Overview of Argument



1 Argument: An Introduction

What Do We Mean by Argument?

Argument Is Not a Fight or a Quarrel

Argument Is Not Pro-Con Debate

Arguments Can Be Explicit or Implicit

*Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Let the Facts Decide, Not Fear

The Defining Features of Argument

Argument Requires Justification of Its Claims

Argument Is Both a Process and a Product

Argument Combines Truth Seeking and Persuasion

Argument and the Problem of Truth

A Successful Process of Argumentation: The Well-Functioning Committee

Gordon Adams (student),"Petition to Waive the University Mathematics Requirement"

Conclusion



2 Argument as Inquiry: Reading and Exploring

Finding Issues to Explore

Do Some Initial Brainstorming

Be Open to the Issues All Around You

Explore Ideas by Freewriting

Explore Ideas by Idea-Mapping

Explore Ideas by Playing the Believing and Doubting Game

Placing Texts in a Rhetorical Context

Genres of Argument

Cultural Contexts: Who Writes Arguments and Why?

Analyzing Rhetorical Context and Genre

Reading to Believe an Argument's Claims

*John Kavanaugh, Amnesty?

Summary Writing as a Way of Reading to Believe

Practicing Believing: Willing Your Own Belief in the Writer's Views

Reading to Doubt

Thinking Dialectically

Questions to Stimulate Dialectic Thinking

*Fred Reed, Why Blame Mexico?

Three Ways to Foster Dialectic Thinking

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: An Argument Summary or Formal Exploratory Essay

Reading

*Michael Banks (student), Should the United States Grant Legal Status to Undocumented Immigrant Workers?



Part 2 Writing a Classical Argument



3 The Core of an Argument: A Claim with Reasons

The Structure of a Classical Argument

Classical Appeals and the Rhetorical Triangle

Issue Questions as the Origins of Argument

Difference between an Issue Question and an Information Question

How to Identify an Issue Question

Difference between a Genuine Argument and a Pseudo-Argument

Frame of an Argument: A Claim Supported by Reasons

What Is a Reason?

Expressing Reasons in Because Clauses

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: An Issue Question and Working Thesis Statements



4 The Logical Structure of Arguments

An Overview of Logos: What Do We Mean by the "Logical Structure" of an Argument?

Formal Logic Versus Real World Logic

The Role of Assumptions

The Enthymeme: The Core of an Argument

Adopting a Language for Describing Arguments: The Toulmin System

Using Toulmin's Schema to Determine a Strategy of Support

The Power of Audience-Based Reasons

Difference between Writer-Based and Audience-Based Reasons

Finding Audience-Based Reasons: Asking Questions about Your Audience

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: Plan for the Details of an Argument



5 Using Evidence Effectively

The Persuasive Use of Evidence

Apply the STAR Criteria to Evidence

Use Sources That Your Reader Trusts

Rhetorical Understanding of Evidence

Kinds of Evidence

Angle of Vision and the Selection and Framing of Evidence

Examining Visual Arguments: Mosh Pit Photographs

Rhetorical Strategies for Framing Evidence

Special Strategies for Framing Statistical Evidence

Gathering Evidence

Creating a Plan for Gathering Evidence

Gathering Data from Interviews

Gathering Data from Surveys or Questionnaires

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: A Microtheme or "Supporting Reasons" Argument

Reading

*Carmen Tieu (student), Why Violent Video Games Are Good for Girls



6 Moving Your Audience: Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos

Ethos and Pathos as Persuasive Appeals: An Overview

How to Create an Effective Ethos: The Appeal to Credibility

How to Create Pathos: The Appeal to Belief and Emotions

Use Concrete Language

Use Specific Examples and Illustrations

Use Narratives

Choose Words, Metaphors, and Analogies with Appropriate Connotations

Using Images for Emotional Appeal

Examining Visual Arguments: Toyota Prius Ad

Kairos: The Timeliness and Fitness of Arguments

How Audience-Based Reasons Enhance Logos, Ethos, and Pathos

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: Revising a Draft for Ethos, Pathos, and Audience-Based Reasons



7 Responding to Objections and Alternative Views

One-Sided, Multisided, and Dialogic Arguments

Determining Your Audience's Resistance to Your Views

Appealing to a Supportive Audience: One-Sided Argument

Appealing to a Neutral or Undecided Audience: Classical Argument

Summarizing Opposing Views

Refuting Opposing Views

Strategies for Rebutting Evidence

Conceding to Opposing Views

Example of a Student Essay Using Refutation Strategy

Marybeth Hamilton (student), From "First Place: A Healing School for Homeless Children"

Appealing to a Resistant Audience: Dialogic Argument

Delayed-Thesis Argument

Ellen Goodman, Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance

Rogerian Argument

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: A Classical Argument or a Dialogic Argument Aimed at Conciliation

Readings

David Langley (student), "Half-Criminals" or Urban Athletes: A Plea for Fair Treatment of Skateboarders (A Classical Argument)

Rebekah Taylor (student), A Letter to Jim (A Rogerian Argument)



Part 3 Analyzing Arguments



8 Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically

Questions for Rhetorical Analysis

An Illustration of Rhetorical Analysis

*Kathryn Jean Lopez, Egg Heads

A Rhetorical Analysis of "Egg Heads"

Writing Assignment: A Rhetorical Analysis

Generating Ideas for Your Rhetorical Analysis

Organizing Your Rhetorical Analysis

Readings

*Ellen Goodman, Womb for Rent-for a Price

*Zachary Stumps (student), A Rhetorical Analysis of Ellen Goodman's "Wombs for Rent-for a Price"



9 Analyzing Visual Arguments

Understanding Design Elements in Visual Argument

Use of Type

Use of Space or Layout

An Analysis of a Visual Argument Using Type and Spatial Elements

Drug Enforcement Administration, "A Single Hit of Ecstasy ..." (advocacy advertisement)

Common Sense for Drug Policy, "What We Know About Ecstasy" (advocacy advertisement)

Use of Color

Use of Images and Graphics

An Analysis of a Visual Argument Using All the Design Components

Save the Children, "She's the Best Qualified Teacher for Her Children" (advocacy advertisement)

The Compositional Features of Photographs and Drawings

An Analysis of a Visual Argument Using Images

General Motors, "Introducing the Saturn VUE" (consumer advertisement)

The Genres of Visual Argument

Posters and Fliers

Public Affairs Advocacy Advertisements

Cartoons

Web Pages

Constructing Your Own Visual Argument

Leah Johnson (student), "Drink and Then Drive? Jeopardize My Future?" (poster)

Using Information Graphics in Arguments

How Tables Contain a Variety of Stories

Using a Graph to Tell a Story

Bar Graphs

Pie Charts

Line Graphs

Incorporating Graphics into Your Argument

Designing the Graphic

Numbering, Labeling, and Titling the Graphic

Referencing the Graphic in Your Text

Conclusion

Writing Assignment: A Visual Argument Rhetorical Analysis, a Poster Argument, or a Microtheme Using Quantitative Graphics



Part 4 Arguments in Depth: Six Types of Claims



10 An Introduction to the Types of Claims

An Overview of the Types of Claims

Using Claim Types to Focus an Argument and Generate Ideas: An Example

Making the Lasik Argument to Parents

Making the Lasik Argument to Insurance Companies

Hybrid Arguments: How Claim Types Work Together in Arguments

Some Examples of Hybrid Arguments

An Extended Example of a Hybrid Argument

Reading

Aaron Friedman, All That Noise for Nothing



11 Definitional Arguments

An Overview of Arguments about Definition

The Rule of Justice: Things in the Same Category Should Be Treated the Same Way

Types of Definitional Arguments

Simple Categorical Arguments

Definitional Arguments

Examining Visual Arguments: Fascism Poster

The Criteria-Match Structure of Definitional Arguments

Developing the Criteria-Match Structure for a Definitional Argument

Toulmin Framework for a Definitional Argument

Kinds of Definitions

Aristotelian Definitions

Operational Definitions

Conducting the Criteria Part of a Definitional Argument

Approach 1: Research How Others Have Defined the Term

Approach 2: Create Your Own Extended Definition

Conducting the Match Part of a Definitional Argument

Writing Assignment: A Definitional Argument

Exploring Ideas

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake

Organizing a Definitional Argument

Revising Your Draft

Questioning and Critiquing a Definitional Argument

Readings

*Jenefer Domingo (student), Protecting Our Homes Can Lead to Animal Cruelty

Kathy Sullivan (student), Oncore, Obscenity, and the Liquor Control Board

*David Andriesen, What Defines a Sport?



12 Causal Arguments

An Overview of Causal Arguments

Kinds of Causal Arguments

Toulmin Framework for a Causal Argument

Examining Visual Arguments: Fast Food Spoof Ad

Two Methods for Arguing That One Event Causes Another

First Method: Explain the Causal Mechanism Directly

Second Method: Infer Causal Links Using Inductive Reasoning

Three Ways of Thinking Inductively

Beware of Common Inductive Fallacies That Can Lead to Wrong Conclusions

Glossary of Terms Encountered in Causal Arguments

Writing Assignment: A Causal Argument

Exploring Ideas

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake

Organizing a Causal Argument

Questioning and Critiquing a Causal Argument

Readings

*Julie Christianson (student), Why Lawrence Summers Was Wrong

Olivia Judson, Different but (Probably) Equal



13 Resemblance Arguments

An Overview of Resemblance Arguments

Toulmin Framework for a Resemblance Argument

Arguments by Analogy

Using Undeveloped Analogies

Using Extended Analogies

Arguments by Precedent

Writing Assignment: A Resemblance Argument

Exploring Ideas

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake

Organizing a Resemblance Argument

Questioning and Critiquing a Resemblance Argument

Readings

Megan Matthews (student), Whales Need Silence

*Clay Bennett, Just Emancipated (editorial cartoon)

*Beth Reis, Toon Offensive

*American Association of University Professors, Football Coach Salaries

Susan Brownmiller, From Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape



14 Evaluation and Ethical Arguments

An Overview of Evaluation Arguments

Criteria-Match Structure of Categorical Evaluations

Toulmin Framework for an Evaluation Argument

Conducting a Categorical Evaluation Argument

Developing Your Criteria

Making Your Match Argument

Examining Visual Arguments: Photo of The Daily Show Cast

An Overview of Ethical Arguments

Major Ethical Systems

Consequences as the Base of Ethics

Principles as the Base of Ethics

Conducting an Ethical Argument

Constructing a Principles-Based Argument

Constructing a Consequences-Based Argument

Common Problems in Making Evaluation Arguments

Writing Assignment: An Evaluation or Ethical Argument

Exploring Ideas

Organizing an Evaluation Argument

Revising Your Draft

Questioning and Critiquing an Evaluation Argument

Critiquing an Ethical Argument

Readings

Sam Isaacson (student), Would Legalization of Gay Marriage Be Good for the Gay Community?

Tiffany Anderson (student), A Woman's View of Hip-Hop

Mike Luckovich, The Military's Raising the Recruitment Age (editorial cartoon)

David Holcberg, Human Organs for Sale?



15 Proposal Arguments

An Overview of Proposal Arguments

The Structure of Proposal Arguments

Toulmin Framework for a Proposal Argument

Special Concerns for Proposal Arguments

Developing a Proposal Argument

Convincing Your Readers That a Problem Exists

Showing the Specifics of Your Proposal

The Justification: Convincing Your Readers That Your Proposal Should Be Enacted

Proposal Arguments as Advocacy Posters or Advertisements

Examining Visual Arguments: An Advocacy Ad

Using the Claim-Type Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument

Using the "Stock Issues" Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument

Writing Assignment: A Proposal Argument

Exploring Ideas

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake

Organizing a Proposal Argument

Designing a One-Page Advocacy Advertisement

Questioning and Critiquing a Proposal Argument

Readings

Laurel Wilson (student), A Proposal to Provide Tips for Hosts at Stone's End

*Juan Vazquez (student), Why the United States Should Adopt Nuclear Power" (MLA-style research paper)

Center for Children's Health and the Environment, "More Kids Are Getting Brain Cancer. Why?" (advocacy advertisement)

*Donald Shoup, "Gone Parkin'"



Part 5 The Researched Argument



16 Finding and Evaluating Sources

Formulating a Research Question

Understanding Differences in the Kinds of Sources

Books versus Periodicals versus Web Sites

Scholarly Books versus Trade Books

Scholarly Journals versus Magazines

Print Sources versus Cyberspace Sources

Finding Books: Searching Your Library's Online Catalog

Finding Articles: Searching a Licensed Database

What Is a Licensed Database?

Keyword Searching

Illustration of a Database Search

Finding Cyberspace Sources: Searching the World Wide Web

The Logic of the Internet

Using Web Search Engines

Determining Where You Are on the Web

Reading Your Sources Rhetorically

Reading with Your Own Goals in Mind

Reading with Rhetorical Awareness

Taking Effective Notes

Evaluating Sources

Angle of Vision

Degree of Advocacy

Reliability

Credibility

Understanding the Rhetoric of Web Sites

The Web as a Unique Rhetorical Environment

Analyzing the Purpose of a Site and Your Own Research Purpose

Sorting Sites by Domain Type

Evaluating a Web Site

Conclusion



17 Using, Citing, and Documenting Sources

Using Sources for Your Own Purposes

Creating Rhetorically Effective Attributive Tags

Using Attributive Tags to Separate Your Ideas from Your Source's

Creating Attributive Tags to Shape Reader Response

Working Sources into Your Own Prose

Summarizing

Paraphrasing

Quoting

Avoiding Plagiarism

Understanding Parenthetical Citation Systems with Bibliographies

Understanding MLA Style

The MLA Method of In-Text Citation

MLA Format for the "Works Cited" List

MLA "Works Cited" Citations

Student Example of an MLA-Style Research Paper

Understanding APA Style

APA Method of In-Text Citation

APA Format for the "References" List

APA "References" Citations

Conclusion

Student Example of an APA-Style Research Paper

Megan Matthews (student), "Sounding the Alarm: Navy Sonar and the Survival of Whales"



Appendixes



One Informal Fallacies

The Problem of Conclusiveness in an Argument

An Overview of Informal Fallacies

Fallacies of Pathos

Fallacies of Ethos

Fallacies of Logos



Two The Writing Community: Working in Groups

From Conflict to Consensus: How to Get the Most Out of the Writing Community

Avoiding Bad Habits of Group Behavior

The Value of Group Work for Writers

Forming Writing Communities: Skills and Roles

Working in Groups of Five to Seven People

Working in Pairs

Group Project: Holding a "Norming Session" to Define "Good Argumentative Writing"

"Bloody Ice"

"RSS Should Not Provide Dorm Room Carpets"

"Sterling Hall Dorm Food"

"ROTC Courses Should Not Get College Credit"

"Legalization of Prostitution"



Part 6 An Anthology of Arguments



An Overview of the Anthology

Guide Questions for the Analysis and Evaluation of Arguments

List 1: Questions for Analyzing and Evaluating a Conversation

List 2: Questions for Rhetorically Analyzing and Evaluating an Individual Argument

List 3: Questions for Responding to a Reading and Forming Your Own Views



*Web 2.0 and Online Identity

*Bronwyn T. Williams, "Tomorrow Will Not Be Like Today":Literacy and Identity in a World of Multiliteracies

*Jeff Chu, You Wanna Take This Online?

*John Seigenthaler, Sr., A False Wikipedia Biography

*Alice Mathias, The Fakebook Generation

*Paul Noth, I Can't Wait... (cartoon)

*Dana L Fleming, Youthful Indiscretions: Should Colleges Protect Social Network Users from Themselves and Others?

*Adam Sternbergh, Hey There, Lonelygirl

*The Creators, A Message from the Creators

*Yasuhide Fumoto, The Thinker, Reimagined (photograph)



*Video Games and Their Influence

*Iowa State University News Service, ISU Psychologists Publish Three New Studies on Violent Video Game Effects on Youth

*Henry Jenkins, Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked

*Malcolm Gladwell, Brain Candy: Is Pop Culture Dumbing Us Down or Smartening Us Up?

*Michael Humphrey, For a Virtual Dose of Reality, a Different Kind of Video Game

*ICED (I Can End Deportation) (video game screen capture)

*William Lugo, Violent Video Games Recruit American Youth



The News Media: Responsible Production, Responsible Consumption

William Powers,"The Massless Media"

*Yahoo! (Web page)

*Dan Kennedy, Plugged In, Tuned Out: Young Americans are Embracing New Media but Failing to Develop an Appetite for News

*Chris Shaw, Should Killers Be Given Air Time?

*Daryl Cagle, Those Terrible Virginia Tech Cartoons

Sydney H. Schanberg,Not a Pretty Picture



*Immigration in the Twenty-First Century: Accommodation and Change

*Francisco X. Gaytan, Avary Carhill, and Carola Suarez-Orozco, Understanding and *Responding to the Needs of Newcomer Immigrant Youth and Families

*Mitali Perkins, A Note to Young Immigrants

*Maileen Hamto, Being American

*Scarf Ace, Miss or Diss?

*Fatemeh Fakhraie, "Scarfing It Down"

*Immigrant Youth: Changing a Nation (Web site)

*Jay Nordlinger, Bassackwards: Construction Spanish and Other Signs of the Times



*Women in Math and Science

*Linda Chavez, Harvard prez's admission: Men and women are different

*Brian McFadden, Amazing Facts About the Fairer, Yet Equal, Sex (comic strip)

*Nature Neuroscience, Separating Science from Stereotype

*Deborah Blum, Solving for X

*Steven Pinker, The Science of Difference: Sex Ed

*Ben A. Barres, Does Gender Matter?

*David Malakoff, Girls = Boys at Math



Finding Soldiers: The Volunteer Army, Recruitment, and the Draft

Donald Rumsfeld, New Model Army

Phillip Carter and Paul Glastris, The Case for the Draft

*Selective Service System, How the Draft Has Changed (Web page)

LawrenceJ. Korb and Sean E. Duggan, An All-Volunteer Army? Recruitment and its Problems

*U.S. Department of Defense, "Heroes" (Web page)

Louis Caldera,"Military Service"

*(Army)Wife, "Stop-loss"

Matt Carmody,"I Need You" (political cartoon)



Wal-Mart and the Public Good

*Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Barry Eidlin, A Downward Push: The Impact of Wal-Mart Stores on Retail Wages and Benefits

*Dan Piraro, Bizarro, Greeter Gone Wild (political cartoon)

Robert B. Reich, Don't Blame Wal-Mart

*Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (movie advertisement)

Steve Maich, Why Wal-Mart Is Good

*John Tierney, Shopping for a Nobel

David Horsey,"A New World to Conquer" (political cartoon)



*Energy: The Search for Sustainability

*Nicholas Kristof, Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives

*Andrew C. Revkin, Carbon-Neutral Is Hip, but Is It Green?

*Gwyneth Cravens, Better Energy

*Charles Krauthammer, Drill Locally, and Save the Planet

*David Tilman and Jason Hill, Fuel for thought: All biofuels are not created equal

*Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Two Ways to Show You Care About Our Forests (advocacy ad)

*Iain Murray, Time to Recycle Recycling?

*Al Gore, Nobel Lecture



Biotech Agriculture and the Ethics of Food Production

Jonathan Rauch,Will Frankenfood Save the Planet?

Council for Biotechnology Information,Would It Surprise You to Know that Growing Soybeans Can Help the Environment? (advocacy ad)

Miguel A. Altieri and Peter Rosset,Ten Reasons Why Biotechnology Will Not Ensure Food Security, Protect the Environment, and Reduce Poverty in the Developing World

"Monsantoland" (poster)

Gregory A. Jaffe,"Lessen the Fear of Genetically Engineered Crops"

Froma Harrop,"Food Industry Should Modify Its Stance on Altered Food"

Sustainusa.org,"What Is the FDA Trying to Feed Us?" (poster)

Gerald D. Coleman,"Is Genetic Engineering the Answer to Hunger?"



*Argument Classics

*Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail

*Garrett Hardin, Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Aid that Does Harm

*Pablo Picasso, Guernica (painting)

*Rachel Carson, The Obligation to Endure

*Stanley Milgram, The Perils of Obedience



Credits

Index

*new reading or anthology unit