writing the argumentative essay
DESCRIPTION
Writing the Argumentative Essay. By Caryl Bishop. Argumentation. “. . . the art of influencing others, through the medium of reasoned discourse , to believe or act as we wish them to believe or act.”. Structure of Argument. Claim Proposition Support Evidence Motivational Appeals - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Writing the Argumentative Essay
By Caryl Bishop
Argumentation “. . . the art of influencing others,
through the medium of reasoned discourse, to believe or act as we wish them to believe or act.”
Structure of Argument Claim
– Proposition Support
– Evidence– Motivational Appeals
Warrant– Assumption(s) that have been taken
for granted
Features of Argumentation Writer
– Develop your own ETHOS or borrow from established authority
Audience– Know your audience and be sensitive to
their views Text
– Use the language to make your point, but be careful not to misuse language
The Writer Ethos
Your own You must look like you know what you’re
talking about Educate yourself on the issue(s) before
writingBorrow from authority
Be sure to give appropriate credit where due
The Audience Who is your audience? Qualities you should presume of your
audience:– Assume they are as knowledgeable about
your topic as you are.– Assume they are aware of common
knowledge.– Assume they could be fundamentally
opposed to your argument and be sensitive to their prejudices –
Don’t Alienate Your Audience
The Text Argue from logic and reason
– Do NOT base your entire argument on:
Emotion Religious Conviction Tradition
Avoid fallacious logic– There are a multitude of formal
errors in logic, known as FALLACIES
Some Common Fallacies Hasty
Generalization Faulty Use of
Authority Post Hoc, Ergo
Propter Hoc False Analogy Ad Hominem False Dilemma Slippery Slope
Hasty Generalization Black or White thinking Prejudice Drawing Hasty Conclusions Insufficient Evidence
Faulty Use of Authority Misuse of a source Misquoting Fitting the quotation to your own
needs– If four out of five dentists prefer
Colgate, don’t use the one dentist who prefers Crest as your authority!
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc “After this, therefore because of
this”– Faulty Cause and Effect Reasoning
False Analogy Faulty Connection Between Two
Things Being Compared
Ad Hominem “Against the Man” Attacking the person rather than
attacking an issue.– If you don’t like this administration’s
policies, and want to see them changed, don’t attack the President, address the issues you want changed.
False Dilemma “Black or White Fallacy”
– There are only two alternatives, no room for compromise and no grey areas.
Nearly every issue has at least two sides, and somewhere, someone has determined that the OTHER side is the only legitimate approach.
Nothing is black and white; there are shades of grey everywhere!
Slippery Slope
The assumption that “A” will inevitably lead to “B” Then “B” will inevitably lead to “C”
And so on… And so on…
More Common Fallacies
Begging the Question
The Straw Man Fallacy
“Two Wrongs Make a Right”
Non-Sequitur Ad Populum Appeal to Tradition Faulty Emotional
Appeal
Begging the Question The statement
being argued actually assumes the issue has already been proven true.
An argument that assumes itself
Straw Man Fallacy Set up a slightly different problem
and attack it, rather than the problem at issue– Diverts attention away from the real
issue “Wag the Dog”
“Two Wrongs Make A Right” “But all my friends are doing it…”
– Diverts attention away from the question at issue
Non-Sequitur
“It does not follow”– Erroneous Cause and Effect
Reasoning– Uses irrelevant information to back
of a claim
Ad Populum Appeals to the prejudices of the
people Appeals to popular opinion Appeals to what you believe your
teacher wants to hear
Appeal to Tradition “But we’ve always done it that
way before…”– Just because it has always been that
way doesn’t make it right
Faulty Emotional Appeals Don’t base your whole claim on
an appeal to emotion Don’t use emotional appeals that
are– Irrelevant to the argument– Draw attention away from the real
issue– Appear to conceal another purpose