Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers Chapter Ten: Arguing

Steve WoodTri-County Community College

Introductiono An argument is any attempt to

convince or persuade someone.o All writing is argumentative.

Effective ArgumentsThe Parts of an Effective

Argumento Claim -- the point that the person

making the argument is trying to get across

o Appeal -- the means by which the person making the argument is attempting to prove the claim

Claims

There are four basic types of claims.

o Often, arguments involve combinations of the four types.

o Each type carries with it a different set of issues.

Types of Claimso Claims of Fact -- “X is true.”o Claims of Value -- “X is good.”o Claims of Cause-Effect -- “X

causes/caused Y.”o Claims of Solution-Policy -- “We

should do X.”

Appeals

There are three commonly used types of appeals.o Logical Appealso Emotional Appealso Character Appeals

Logical Appeals

o Logical appeals are appeals based on reason, logical, and factual evidence.

o Evidence might include statistics, individual facts, examples, or authoritative opinion.

o Logic can be either inductive or deductive.

Inductive Logic

Inductive logic is the process by which we proceed from a given set of facts to a generalization based on those facts.For example:

o Fact 1: The Atlanta Braves have been to the World Series five of the last nine seasons.

o Fact 2: The Atlanta Braves went to the World Series last year.o Therefore, the Atlanta Braves will go to the World Series this year.

Inductive Logic 2

This is also the principle behind scientific observation. If a scientist performs a certain experiment 100 times and the results are the same, then he/she uses inductive logic to posit a conclusion.

Deductive Logic

Deductive logic is the application of inductive logic through the formation of a line of reasoning called a syllogism.

For example:o All Greeks are mortal.o Socrates is Greek.o Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Deductive Logic 2

In other words, deductive logic is the application of a generalization (discovered by inductive logic) in a particular circumstance.

For example,o In my opinion, Brian De Palma makes good movies.o Mission to Mars is directed by Brian De Palma.o Therefore, I believe that Mission to Mars will be a good

movie.

Emotional Appeals

o Emotional appeals are when the writer attempts to create an emotional response in the readers to get them to accept an argument.

o Any emotion can be potentially persuasive -- pity, fear, anger, curiosity, horror, love, guilt, etc.

Character Appeals

o A character appeal is an appeal based on the personality of the person making the argument.

o An example would be a celebrity endorsing an product.