The Art of Arguing…

How to use Language and Logic to write in a purposely persuasive

manner

What do we mean by________?

• A _______ or discussion – Any time you express an _____________and

give your ____________for it, you are engaging in argument

– It is important to argue______________– In Argumentative/Persuasive writing, your

goal is to ________ the reader to ________ your views on a debatable subject

– This requires skillful ____________________

Step 1…Prewriting

• Consider the _____ (letter, essay, article)

• Consider the ________ (this will dictate the diction, reasons, and evidence you use)

• Consider the _______ and determine your _________ (pro or con)

• Express your ___________ in a single sentence…known as a _______________

• Build your argument– Choose your reasons for your opinion

• Make sure your reasons are __________…clearly different from each other

• Make sure your reasons are __________…clearly relates to the thesis statement

• Make sure you have __________ reasons…clearly enough reasons to convince your reader

• Refuting the Opposing Viewpoint– Consider the opposing position and be

prepared to _________ (strong response) it– Analyze both the _____________for the topic– Create a BRIEF response to the position

opposing your chosen position– Be sure to include _________ to support your

refutation

• Gather Evidence to support each reason– Use specific __________________

• Facts• Statistics• Examples• Incidents• Quotations

Evidence MUST be____________________

• Outline your thoughts to create an effective _____________________– Formal outline– Jotlist– Web

Be sure you plan to conclude with a _________ ___________________ you want your reader to agree with you, so you need to end by getting some type of “commitment” from the reader

Step 2…Writing the Draft

• The Introduction– Must present the ___________– Should present your __________________– MUST capture the _________ of the reader– Should present some _______________

• Be sure your topic and thesis are ____________• Assess whether your intro is ________________

• The Body– Each reason and its evidence MUST be its

own paragraph– Your refutation of the opposing viewpoint can

be the first or last body paragraph

• Be SURE your reasons and evidence are specific and detailed…have you included the “_________________________________________________________________”

• The Conclusion– Should __________ the position OR

summarize the argument– May ask ____________ to take action…write

a letter, make a donation, support a cause, etc

– May present your conclusions based on the reasons and evidence

BE SURE NOT TO ________ THE INTRODUCTION

Step 3…Draft Evaluation

• Re-read– Objectively evaluate how well you have

_________________________________• Evaluate reasons and evidence• Evaluate organization of ideas• Evaluate your style…diction, sentence structure,

tone• Evaluate whether you have fully considered the

topic and your intended audience

• Analyze Effectiveness of Reasons and Evidence– Eliminate Logical Fallacies

• Hasty Generalization …insufficient evidence• Stereotype …prejudging individuals based on their

group identity• Cause-Effect Fallacy …error in assuming that

because an event precedes a second event, the 1st caused the 2nd

• Only Cause Fallacy …a complex situation is seen as the result of a single cause

• False Analogy …a weak or far-fetched comparison• Attacking the Person (ad hominem) …attacking a

person’s character rather than addressing the argument

• Either-Or Fallacy …thinking of a problem or a solution as having only two possible extremes (causes, courses of action, etc.) is either-or thinking…seeing situations as good-bad, right-wrong, black-white…ignoring all other possibilities

• Non Sequitur …a conclusion does not logically follow the premise

• Circular Reasoning …no distinct reason is given in support of your opinion…simply restating/rephrasing the position statement

• Begging the Question …assuming a judgment or opinion is true and accepted by your reader

• Analyze for appropriate use of Propaganda…– Appeals to Emotion

• Loaded Words …words with strong emotional associations (connotations…whether positive or negative)

• Glittering Generalities …strongly positive emotional content…oversimplification into a slogan

• Bandwagon …”everyone is doing it”…appeals to human need to belong…to be “cool”

• “Plain-Folks” Appeal …uses average, everyday “common man/average woman” to tempt agreement

• Snob Appeal …”jet set/privileged people” …appeals to desire to be glamorous/special or unique

• Testimonial …use of non-expert to promote position

• Analyze for and eliminate mechanical errors– Evaluate sentence structure

• Complete?• Variety?• Clearly communicates an idea?• Properly punctuated?

– End marks?– Internal?

– Check for correct word use…esp. homophones

– Check for correct spelling– Check for paragraphing indentation– Check for use of quotation marks with quoted

material– Check to be sure quotes are INTEGRATED

and CITED (or attributed in the text of the paper)

– Check for correct use of apostrophes

Step 4…Revision

• Use the results of your evaluation to REWRITE your draft as a revised copy

Step 5…EDIT

• Re-read the revised copy for any additional changes in content or organization

• Re-read the revised copy for additional corrections in mechanics

• MAKE the changes/corrections

Step 6…FINAL COPY

• Type your final copy for submission– Incorporate ALL changes/corrections– Arial 12 pt– Double-spaced– One inch margins…all sides– Correct use of header– Correct format of page one– Submit to TurnItIn.com and print receipt