Elements of Argumentation

Purpose Reasons for the writing What the readers have to gain by reading the essay

Possible Purposes Support a cause Promote a change Refute a theory Stimulate interest Win agreement Arouse sympathy Provoke anger

Audience Targeted readers Consider the kind of information, language, and overall approach that will appeal to a specific audience.

Appeals Logical appeals (logos) Emotional appeals (pathos) Ethical appeal (ethos)

Fallacies Errors in reasoning that render an argument invalid

Ad hominem “to the individual” Attacks person’s characteristics instead of attacking the argument Nick Jacobson is not a worthy candidate for vice president of the senior class because he is short and frowns too much.

Ad populum “to the crowd” A misconception that a widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make an idea true or right The parents of Sylvia’s friends allow their daughters to stay out until 2:00 a.m. on a school night, so Sylvia’s parents should allow her to stay out until 2:00, as well.

Begging the question Taking for granted something that really needs proving Free all political prisoners. Begs the question of whether some of those concerned have committed an actual crime like blowing up the chemistry building in a political protest

Circular reasoning Trying to prove one idea with another idea that is too similar to the first idea A writer is a person who writes.

Either / or See an issue as having only two sides The possession of firearms should be completely banned or completely legal.

Hasty generalization Premature conclusion on the basis of only one or two cases Dallas Police Chief Christopher Michaels suggested that all dogs be muzzled because two Golden Retrievers have been disturbing the peace in Fritz Park.

Non sequitur “it does not follow” Conclusion that does not follow established premises He is certainly sincere; he must be right.

pedantry Arbitrary adherence to rules and forms Mary prides herself in knowing so much about grammar, but she never earns high grades on essays because she cannot think of – let alone organize – insightful ideas.

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc “after this, therefore because of this” Assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident Antonietta worked on her written argument longer than she had for any other essay; therefore, she felt she must earn an “A”.

propaganda Persuade through emotional appeal rather than through logical proof Using highly connotative words or images without justification Roger’s infatuation with the model’s ruby red lips, beautiful teeth, sparkling eyes, and streaming hair made him believe that Optident is the best toothpaste.

Modes of Discourse Description Narration Exposition Argumentation

Description Depicts images verbally in space and time and arranges those images in a logical pattern

narration Tells a story or relates an event

Exposition Comparison-a subject may be shown more clearly by pointing out ways it is similar to something else Contrast-a subject may be shown more clearly by pointing out ways in which it is unlike another subject Cause and effect-arguing from the presence or absence of the cause to the existence or nonexistence of the effect or result

Exposition cont. Classification-identifies the subject as a part of a larger group with shared features Division-breaking the subject into smaller segments Definition-places a subject into an appropriate group and then differentiates the subject from the other sections of the group

Argumentation / Persuasion Induction-moving from observations about particular things to generalizations Deduction-moving from generalizations to valid inferences about particulars

SMELL S sender-receiver relationship M message E emotional strategies L logical strategies L language

Sender-receiver relationship What is the sender-receiver relationship? Who are the images and language meant to attract? Describe the speaker of the text.

Message What is the message? Summarize the statements made in the text. (This should be as brief as possible.)

Emotional Strategies What is the desired effect?

Logical Strategies What logic is operating? How does it (or its absence) affect the message? Consider the logic of the images as well as the words.

Language What does the language of the text describe? How does it affect the meaning and effectiveness of the writing? Consider the language of the images as well as the words.