Argument That Works Rhetoric at Its Best!

DO NOT DO NOT Fall into a Fallacy BAD NEWS Logical Fallacies are BAD NEWS! –Avoid them at all costs! –They will make the audience not believe you.

We learned 20 Fallacies! 11.Hasty Generalization 12.Begging the Question 13.Fallacies of Association 14.Non Sequitor 15.Red Herring 16.Post Hoc, Ergo propter hoc 17.Poisoning the Well 18.False Analogy 19.Contradictory Premises 20.Hypothesis Contrary to Fact 1.Appeal to Ignorance 2.Appeal to Pity 3.Bandwagon 4.Broad Generalization 5.Circular Thinking 6.Either-Or Thinking 7.Half Truths 8.Oversimplification 9.Slanted Language 10.Testimonial

Argument is a…HOUSE

When You Argue-- State your claim! You have an opinion and you make it known. State your claim! –Knock the reader’s socks off –Use the BEST information you can find You show the other side of the issue (counterargument) and how it is less desirable than your side.

Use Rhetorical Appeals From the days of Aristotle (think way, way back) 3 Rhetorical Appeals –LogosLogicAppeal to Reason –EthosEthicsShow Your Credibility –PathosEmotionEvoke Emotions

LOGIC is the FOUNDATION! IT’S REAL! IT’S REAL! Based in reality –Facts Statistics Historical accounts –Reasons –Opinions based on reality –Guarantee

7 Logical Proofs S I C D A D S  Sign  Induction  Cause  Deduction  Analogies  Definition  Statistics

Sign Definition: –Specific, visible fact Used to prove with certainty Example: –Child may have been exposed –Child breaks out with the chicken pox (SIGN)

Induction Definition: –Reasoning using examples that lead to a conclusion Gives a number of examples, then forms a conclusion based on them. Example: –Person A goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged. –Person B goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged. –Person C goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged. –Person D goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged. –Therefore, someone else who goes to Rip-Off Repair will likely be over-charged. –Beware to avoid hasty generalization and broad generalization!

Cause Definition: –Subject is placed in a cause/effect relationship to show that it is either the cause of a particular effect or an effect of a particular cause Reasoning by Cause/Effect relationships. –There must be solid reasoning behind this! –Must show/have a direct correlation Example: –Carmen has a sore throat and hangs out with Lucy. –Lucy gets a sore throat. –Lucy most likely got the sore throat from Carmen’s germs.

Deduction Definition: –Argument from principle (warrant is general) Deals with probabilities rather than certainties. Example: –Most uneven footprints are left by people who limp. –These footprints are uneven. –The person who left these footprints walked with a limp. –Claim, then proof….the opposite of INDUCTION.

Analogies (Comparisons/Metaphors/Similes) Definition: –Explores similarities and differences between items in a general category. Types: –Historical (look at now in terms of the past) Economy of today and the Great Depression –Literal (same categories) Education spending in Arizona and education spending in California –Figurative (completely different categories— metaphor) Reading a book and digesting a meal take time

Definition Definition: –Acceptance of the meaning of key terms present in a claim The audience must accept the definitions of key terms to be able to accept the argument. Example: –Marriage is defined as a union of a man and a woman. –Two people of the same sex are not a man and a woman. –Two people of the same sex cannot marry.

Statistics Definition: –Describe relationships among data, people, occurrences, and events in the REAL world by giving them a quantitative value (countable, numerical value). Example: –It is reported that 51% of American women live without a spouse. Therefore, this represents a majority.

Build Credibility: Ethos Be careful… –Don’t get preachy. The reader will quit reading and no longer care about what you have to say.

Build Credibility: Ethos Use examples with authority: –Find people with some authority (expertise) and use their information. –Example: Earthquakes—Who are the experts? Professors, scientists, and geologists claim that California will have another earthquake.

Build Credibility: Ethos Claim & support: –Look for references to the author’s: Training Education Professional position Background Experience –You want to use information from people who know what they are talking about.

Build Emotion: Pathos Be careful… –Some people believe that emotion clouds logical judgment. –It’s like salt: None tastes bland. Too much tastes nasty. Just enough tastes great.

Build Emotion: Pathos Try to motivate –What would stir the emotions of the audience and motivate them? HINT: Dissatisfaction motivates people! Find common values and ideals –How do most people feel about: Hunger? Cold? Fear?

POWERFUL Make your language POWERFUL Use rhetorical devices that work: –Rhetorical question A question that doesn’t require a reply –Antithesis Contrasting ideas are presented in a grammatically balanced statement –Repetition The same word or phrase is used repeatedly for emphasis –Parallelism (Parallel structure) A form of repetition where the grammatical pattern is repeated

Information from: –Nancy V. Wood, Perspectives on Argument—6 th Edition –McDougal Littell, American Literature –Miss Laughlin