Non Fiction Vocabulary MLA & Toulmin’s Argumentation February 2014

Argument  The reasons that you give to support your opinion about something  A position a.k.a (Thesis) 3-prong: Specify your 3 points of support in order to prove your argument, one of which is the counterargument. Each prong corresponds to a Body Paragraph. Interchangeable term for CLAIM MUST be debatable, defensible, and insight- yielding.

Concise  Giving a lot of information in a few words; brief

Terminology for CLAIMS  Since  Considering how  Because  Due to the fact that  In light of  This proves that  Thus,  However,  Consequently,  This shows that  If_____, then_____

The Formula  Take a position on an issue ----or---- state your viewpoint  Explain why you think this to be the case  Show how the evidence supports you  What might the “other side” argue?

Source  A place, person, or thing (book, article, magazine, interview, etc.) where information is obtained

Credible  That which you can believe  Credibility: the quality that makes people trust or believe that what they say/present is in fact true  Ie. A scholar is credible because he/she is highly educated and knowledgeable in their field of expertise

Evaluating Resources  Assess the quality of any work  Is it reliable?  AUTHORITY, ACCURACY & CURRENCY  Authority: Who wrote it? Are they an expert or scholar on this subject? What are their credentials? Who is the publisher?  University Press, Academic Publication  Accuracy: What sources did the author use to compile this text? Is this biased?  Currency: When was this published?  Use the last 5-6 years.

Citation  The actual evidence or data, from the source, given in order to support what you are saying  This is the PROOF that what you CLAIM is in fact acceptable and/or correct  The quote in parenthetical citation form

MLA  Modern Language Association  MLA style is commonly used to format papers, make citations within a paper, and properly use the English language in writing. 

What did all of these terms have in common?  Non Fiction  Elements of non fiction writing  Things considered in expository writing  Essays, Articles, and Research Papers  Cause and Effect  Problem and Solution  Comparison  Argumentation