Argumentation II DS 014 Writing Weston Fall 2010

Today's Agenda Sign-In Review from Monday Tone Errors in Logic Emphatic Order Assignment Coming Up...

Review Argumentation isn't fighting, it's presenting your point of view and supporting it in a way that makes an appeal to the reader to change their opinion or take an action. The topic sentence should not only introduce the subject but also make it clear what your stance is. Transitions are used to flow from support point to support point. Page 120 of your text has some examples.

Review (cont.) Valid evidence—accurate and truthful Sufficient evidence—enough support to allow a reader to see your point of view Facts—verifiable truths (stronger than opinion) Opinion—reasonings based on fact Personal feelings and attitudes—generally lack a valid basis of support

Review (cont.) Aristotle's Triange  Logos, Ethos, Pathos  Or  Subject, Author, Audience

Using a Reasonable and Convincing Tone Stay away from sarcasm, haughtiness, and being patronizing. Try to be sincere and respectful of your audience. Try to stay away from absolute terms—all, always, every, and never—and instead use terms such as most, frequently, many, and rarely.

Avoiding Errors in Logic 2 primary ways of thinking  Induction-- “Bottom Up” Thinking  Deduction-- “Top Down” Thinking

Logical Fallacies Argument ad hominem— Objecting to the person, not their argument Bandwagon—Everyone thinks it, so you should too Begging the question— assuming as fact something that needs to be proven Red herring—shifting attention to another part of the argument to get it away from the main argument Either/or reasoning—seeing things as right or wrong when there may be other dimensions at play Hasty generalization—jumping to a conclusion with too little support Non sequitur-- “it does not follow”-- coming to a conclusion that does not mesh with the support you've given Oversimplification—ignoring crucial information about a subject, thus reducing its complexity Post hoc, ergo prompter hoc-- “after this, therefore because of this”--assuming that just because one thing occurred before another, it caused the second.

Using Emphatic Order Emphatic order uses the most important support first, followed by the next most important and so on. Some writers will start with their second strongest, then come in at the end with another strong point to “seal their argument.” Emphatic order is usually used because it “hooks” the reader early on, making him/her interested enough to read further and potentially change his/her point of view.

Assignment Get into groups of 3-4. Come up with at least one example of each type of logical fallacy we discussed. Turn it in before you leave.

Coming Up... Friday  Start on the Essay (Chapter 14) Monday  Continue on the Essay