1. The Important Elements
Argument!
The Important Elements

2. Argument vs. Persuasion… often used interchangeably, but actually different!
A type of persuasion
Purpose: to provide organized, well- supported and well-reasoned conclusions in order to arrive at “a good conclusion”
Methods: Appeals to the audience through logic by establishing claims, evidence, warrants, backing, and rebuttals
The speaker must examine BOTH/MULTIPLE sides of the argument in order to determine the best side.
Persuasion
A broad term
Purpose: to convince the audience to agree with the speaker
Methods: Appeals to the audience in several ways (logic, credibility, emotions, etc…) but focuses mainly on emotional appeals and style
The speaker typically focuses on and cares only about his/her side

3. Argument is NOT…

4. Components of Argument!
The components of argument are:
Claim—a statement of belief that someone else could disagree with (Ex: The Cardinals are the best baseball team ever)
Evidence—the data or grounds that support the claim; Answers “What makes you say so?” (Ex: The Cardinals have won 11 World Series Championships and appeared in many more post season playoff games)
Warrant—explains why the evidence leads to the claim (Ex: Post season appearances/performance is the hallmark of any great baseball team)

5. The hard part…
Constructing your claim is the easy part. The hard part is SUPPORTING your claim through the use of evidence and warrants. Let’s talk about the kinds of support (evidence) you can use…

6. You have a point you want to make (claim), so how to you prove it??
Find evidence to support your claim!
“Because I said so” is not good support
Good support can come in the form of:
Ethos
Pathos
Logos

7. Logos Appeal to people’s logic Argument utilizes logos the most
Ex. 2+2=4
Argument utilizes logos the most
Consist of:
Facts/Statistics
Citations/Quotations from experts & authorities
Informed opinions
Literal and historical analogies

8. Let’s see some logos in action:
First, watch this video:
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Then, in your notebook, answer the following questions:
1) What is the video’s claim?
2) In what piece of evidence is logos being used to support the claim?
3) Why is it effective to use logos in this commercial?

9. Ethos Refers to the sources credibility and authority
Is your evidence from a reliable, credible source?
You wouldn’t want an English teacher teaching you math…they would not be reliable! A math teacher is much better suited to teach math.
YOU also want to come across as credible in your argument by using:
Language appropriate to audience & subject
A restrained, sincere, and fair- minded voice
Correct grammar & vocabulary
Should we trust this mommy? 

10. Let’s see some ethos in action…
First, watch this video:
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Then, answer the following questions in your notebook:
1) What is the video’s claim?
2) In what piece of evidence is ethos being used to support the claim?
3) Why is it effective to use ethos in this commercial?

11. Pathos Consist of: Emotionally loaded language & stories
Appeal to the audience’s emotions
Ex. Drunk driving offenders should receive harsher punishments because my 2 year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver.
Okay in persuasion, but not in argument
Consist of:
Emotionally loaded language & stories
Vivid descriptions
Emotional tone
Figurative language
Connotative meanings

12. Let’s see some pathos in action…
First, watch this video:
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Then, answer the following questions in your notebook:
1) What is the video’s claim?
2) In what piece of evidence is pathos being used to support the claim?
3) Why is it effective to use pathos in this commercial?

13. Let’s whiteboard it up!
Everyone grab a whiteboard and marker. For the following evidence examples, please identify whether the author is using ethos, pathos, or logos to present evidence.

14. What type of appeal is this?
Scenario: You are trying to convince your father to stop smoking.
Evidence #1: Dr. Joe Smith, a cardiac surgeon with 20 years experience says he would never start smoking because of the many health risks associated with it.
Evidence #2: I remember when Grandma died of lung cancer. It was the first time I have ever seen you cry, Dad. I remember that you also made me promise not to start smoking.
Evidence #3: More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are from smoking-related illnesses.
Evidence #4: Smoking greatly increases your risks for lung cancer and many other cancers.
On your whiteboard, write one more piece of evidence you could use to support this argument. Then, have a partner label your evidence as ethos, pathos, or logos.