Taking a Stand…

Choosing an Issue Choose an issue that is important and interesting to you. It should be one you have a strong belief or curiosity about. Make sure it’s a real issue, not just your personal preference. Be sure that your issue is arguable and that many people can and will disagree about it.

Identifying Your Research Question To begin, you must not only choose a topic but then narrow it down to a research question. Example research question: Should schools abolish grades as a way of judging performance?

Formulating Your Thesis The thesis for this essay is called a proposition or position statement. Sometimes you may not have completely decided what your position is when you pick a topic. You must research and gain facts which will help you decide. Example position statement: Schools should abolish grades as a way of judging performance.

Developing Support Next, you must read, research your topic to find support for your argument. Think about purpose, tone, and your audience as you begin to plan your outline. Who are you trying to convince? What tone will be most effective? Why is it important to convince them?

Using Logical Appeals Supporting information can be given using logical appeals or logos. Logical appeal can be used in your essay by giving facts or statistics. Anecdotes, or brief stories based on personal experiences, also may be used as factual evidence.

Using Emotional Appeals Since people tend to make decisions with their hearts as well as their minds, writers should use logical appeal mixed with emotional appeal or pathos. Anecdotes, or personal experience can also represent emotional appeal. Writers should also look at use of language and word choice which have connotative meanings and evoke feelings and attitudes.

Using Ethical Appeals Establishing credibility and character is also important when trying to make an effective argument. These are ethical appeals or ethos. You should back up your opinion with those who are considered experts in their field. Remember: Effective argumentation will use all three of these appeals.

Identifying Opposition In addition to using these appeals for your position, argumentation must also have the opposition’s points mentioned. You then must be able to counterpoint or refute their side. Remember: Ignoring that there is another side will weaken your argument. You must be able to show or prove that your position is stronger.

Organizing Support You may want to consider which of the following methods to use when organizing your support. Order of Importance: Begin or end with your strongest appeal – strongest in the eyes of your audience, that is. Chronological Order: A cause/effect chain may work best for you to propose or attack a course of action.

Organizing Support Logical Order: Comparison/contrast may also be used to present opposing positions and refutations. You may present all objections first and then your refutations, or you may prefer to present and refute positions one by one.

Basic Elements Introduction: Presents background necessary for understanding the issue and presents opinion or position. Body: Uses logical, emotional and ethical appeals to support position and presents opposing position with refutation. Conclusion: Reemphasizes opinion by summing up important ideas and gives a call to action – something you want your audience to do. Let’s Review:

Avoiding Fallacies Sometimes when writing argumentation, writers will using examples that look like reasoning but are not. Your reasoning must be sound. Critical readers will see through opinions that are not supported well. Here are a few fallacies you will want to avoid when writing your argumentative essay.

Hasty Generalization This is a conclusion based on insufficient evidence or one that ignores exceptions. For example: Hasty generalization: Television game shows exploit contestants by appealing to greed. Acceptable: Many television shows exploit contestants by appealing to greed.

Attacking the Person The latin word is ad hominem which is also known as “name-calling.” Attacking the Person: The only people who want television cameras in the courtroom are thrill-seeking busybodies. Facing the Issue: Some people support cameras in the courtroom because they believe that the public has a right to view all public trials.

False Authority Expert testimony is valuable only when it comes from someone who is knowledgeable about the topic in question. Michelle Van, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, says the proposed museum will not interfere with traffic flow. City traffic engineers report that traffic surrounding the proposed site is below maximum levels set in the city plan.

Circular Reasoning This occurs when the reason offered for an opinion is merely the opinion stated in different words. Circular Reasoning: No one should control the world’s oceans because the oceans belong to all countries. Acceptable: International treaties guarantee all nations their fair share of the oceans’ resources.

Either-Or Reasoning This fallacy assumes that every issue has only two possibilities. Either-Or Reasoning: Either we limit the population growth or we starve. Acceptable: Unchecked population growth threatens the world’s ability to adequately feed future generations.

Non Sequitur In Latin, non sequitur means “it does not follow.” Non Sequitur: Our increasingly mobile society demands a higher speed limit. Acceptable: A higher speed limit will aid commerce by allowing truckers to shorten delivery times and increase total deliveries.

Red Herring Drawing its name from a method of throwing a bloodhound off the scent, the red herring fallacy consists of introducing an element into an argument that has nothing to do with the issue. An example of a red herring is when a lawyer blames a guilty verdict on the “media circus.”

Begging the Question An argument begs the question when it assumes that part of what has to be proven is true. For example, if a politician claims that she could not have given contracts to her friends because she is honest, she may need to prove her record of honesty.