Elements and Literary Devices used of Argumentation

Elements of an Argument Claim: The argument or point you are trying to prove Reasons: Ideas you have that support your claim- these would be sub-claims. In an essay, they become the topics of the body paragraphs. Evidence: examples/data used to support a claim/reason (can be facts, statistics, anecdotes, etc.) Warrant: Explanation of why or how the data supports the claim; the underlying assumption that connects your data to your claim. Concession: acknowledging a point made by the opposing side Refutation: proving the opposing side’s evidence wrong or weak

Sample Argument Claim: School start times should be later. Reason 1: Students are too tired to pay attention in their morning classes when they start very early. Evidence for Reason 1: Biologically, it is difficult for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 p.m. and wake up before 8 a.m. Warrant: When schools begin at 7:30 a.m., students are going to be too tired. For many of them, their bodies are not biologically ready to be awake at that time. Concession: Some school administrators argue that busing would be an issue, since early high school start times allow the buses to be freed up to drive elementary students later in the morning. Refutation: Simply flip-flopping elementary and high school schedules would solve this problem. Younger children are more likely to go to bed early and wake up early, so an early start time would not be an issue for them.

Allusion Definition:  A reference to a well-known historical, cultural, or literary event. Example:  Referring to The Bible in a speech.

Imagery Definition:  Words and phrases that appeal to our senses, and help paint a mental picture for the reader. Example:  The gushing brook stole its way down the lush green mountains, dotted with tiny flowers in a riot of colors and trees coming alive with gaily chirping birds.

Parallel Structure Definition: Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Parallelism examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations. Example: Parallel: Give me liberty, or give me death. Non-parallel: Give me liberty, or I will die.

Repetition Definition: Repetition is the repeating of a word, a phrase, or an idea for emphasis or for rhythmic effect   Example: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Rhetorical Question Definition: A rhetorical question is asked just for effect or to lay emphasis on some point discussed when no real answer is expected. A rhetorical question may have an obvious answer and leads the audience to a certain thought. Example: “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

Call to Action Definition: Calling upon the audience to make a choice or change behavior in regards to the argument being made Example: Vote for…. because that person will see our country through this economic downturn.

Loaded Terms Definition: Loaded terms are words with strongly negative or positive connotations (feelings associated with a word) Examples: dangerous= negative Protected= positive

Tone Definition: A writer or speaker’s attitude towards the subject and/or his/her audience. Example: I cannot believe that adults actually think it’s okay for students to get up before 8 a.m. every day! Tone is informal Diction and syntax is consistent with teenagers today