Careful Consideration Figuring Out How to Deal with Disagreement

Arguing a Position This genre asks you to acknowledge that “Everything we say or do presents some kind of argument [and this means] tak[ing] some kind of position” (119). At this point you have generated an arguable position on a topic of your choosing, you have considered the rhetorical situation as noted before, and begun developing the introduction, background information, reasons and evidence to your argument as well.

Providing Supporting Evidence A critical part in both developing one’s argument (idea) and building it up with support. This does pose a logical question: Why do I need support at all? Why will be people not just believe what I have to say? Well, living in the skeptical world we live in today its more important than ever to be able to not only back up one’s arguments with reason, fact, support of some kind (because without it what you have is mere opinion), but demonstrate to our audience that we have a strong understanding and grasp of the topic we are arguing.

To put it another way… In order to make an argument work, one needs to be able to gain the trust of the audience. One wants to build up their ethos, or credibility with the audience, in order to help them put faith and trust that what you are telling them is truthful. However, if one is not an “expert” in what they are talking about, how then does one demonstrate their knowledge to the audience? Answer: Using appropriate sources and properly citing them to help build your ethos via demonstrated awareness of the arguments surrounding your position.

Framing Sources Introduce, with your own words, to lead in to the quotation Provide the quotation with citation. The attempt to connect what is said in the quotation, either through further explanation or elaboration, to the argument that YOU are making. You should do this before moving on. All of this above serves a purpose.

Framing Sources: the why Introducing a quotation: you are making this material part of your own paper now, therefore it is good to indicate to the audience that this is someone else’s words as well as make those words fit within the context of your argument Properly quoting the source and citing it correctly: Make sure you are fairly and accurately representing the material. You also want to make sure that whatever you are quoting is relevant to what you are discussing. Explaining, Elaborating, Connecting the quotation: You want to make sure what is said in the quotation is explained, talked about, expounded upon, and ideally connected to your argument so you audience can clearly understand why you used it.

Example According to theorist Kenneth Burke, in his work Language as Symbolic Action, human beings are “symbol-using animals” (3). What Burke means by this is that human beings have since their earliest existence relied on the creation of symbols to communicate. By understanding this idea, one can begin to understand just how important the way we communicate things is as important to how we do it.

The Purpose Keep in mind at all times who and for what reasons are you making the argument you are making. Always consider that the sources you are using are meant to further your argument (idea) and try to win over an audience to what it is you are saying

Audience When using sources, remember that everything from the Works Cited entry to the in-text citation is designed to help the reader quickly understand where your information is coming from. You never want to leave your audience guessing as to why you used a quotation or what it means or who words they are (this is why we frame them).

Considering Other Positions This represents one of the key features of the Arguing a Position genre. It is also a feature many of you may not be familiar with compared to the others. As the book states: “No matter how reasoned and careful we are in arguing our positions, others may disagree or offer counterarguments. We need to consider those other views and to acknowledge and, if possible, refute them in our written arguments” (137).

Countering and Refuting What does it mean to form a Counterargument? The counterargument is the point when you imagine or try to anticipate the arguments that might be made against your argument, your thesis What does it mean to Refute? To refute is when, after you have brought up a counterargument, you then attempt in some form to prove the counterarguments are wrong, incorrect, misguided, etc.

This can be scary Now, the idea of having to take on the counterargument can be daunting. One might think: How can I refute someone else’s argument? How can I do it without overexposing myself? How can I even begin to refute something completely? What if I cannot refute the other argument?

Concession One way, a really good way, to help you refute another argument and avoid some of the previous questions, is to make use of concession or to concede aspects of opposing arguments you might actually agree with. Concession comes from the Latin word concessio meaning “to yield” This does not mean you surrender your position and fully concede, but where possible you concede any points that you agree with. This helps because it makes one appear more reasonable and can help an audience be more inclined to see your position and you as reasonable.

Observations and Examples According to Edward Corbett in his Classical Rhetoric of the Modern Student, the use of concession can help by letting: "The audience gets the impression that the person capable of making frank concessions and generous concessions is not only a good person but a person so confident of the strength of his or her position that he or she can afford to concede points to the opposition” An example: When having a debate with a friend, one states that gun violence is on the rise and we need to have stricter gun control laws to lower it. You might agree that gun violence is on the rise, but decide that the solution is to lessen gun laws so we can defend ourselves What is at work here is the fact that one has agreed with the situation but not with how to fix it.

When to Use Concession? Jay Heinrichs in his book Thank You For Arguing attempts to make the ideas of persuasion very accessible to everyone. In Ch. 24 of his text he is discussing using the right tools in an argument. He states that “Concession makes an even better response [to a challenge to your argument], especially if your challenger and the audience are [or might be on the same side]” (269).

An Excellent Example

Some Follow-Up Now, the examples Heinrichs is specifically more focused on a oral/verbal exchange, however, the information is valuable. Your written argument is meant to be part of a larger conversation Also, the example shows how one can take a position that is weak or under attack and shift it to their advantage. This can be useful to those who’s arguments face strong opposition.

Questions to Consider When thinking about anticipating objections, in developing one’s own Concession and Refutation, here are some questions to keep in mind: What are the most important opposing arguments? What concessions can I make and still support my thesis adequately? How can I refute opposing arguments or minimize their significance? What are the possible objections to my own position? What are the possible ways someone can misunderstand my own position? How can I best deal with these objections and misunderstandings?

Getting Started Once you have considered the approach to your Counter-argument, I want you to note that there is a pattern, similar to integrating quotations, I want you to apply: State the opposing position. Name any authors, naysayers (people or groups who might object), and introduce their stance. [Like introducing a quotation in your argument] When possible, clearly and fairly state the position of the opposing argument. You can summarize, paraphrase, or quote from opposing sources if it helps. [Like providing source material you cite in your argument] The attempt to refute the opposing argument. You can do this via concession or other methods, but your aim is to weaken the opposing argument while enhancing your own. [Like connecting your cited source to your thesis, elaborating and expanding on it]