Think about an argument you had with someone this summer. Briefly write what the argument was about.

Did you “win” the argument?

Write a definition of what you think an argument is.

Quick Write

An Introduction to Argument

To get a person to acknowledge that your side is valid and deserves

consideration as another point of view.(NOT necessarily to WIN!)

What is an Argument?

• An argument is not a fight or a debate!

• When we think of an argument we might imagine a disagreement between people, when in fact, an argument may not imply discord at all.

An argument can be creative, productive and educational.

It involves reasonable minds seeking the best solution to a problem or conflict.

An argument is a search for truth and a desire to resolve unnecessary messes.

What is the difference between argument and persuasion?

• An Argumentative Essay

Makes claims based on factual evidence.

Makes counter-claims. The author takes opposing views into account.

Neutralizes or “defeats” serious opposing ideas.

Often compares texts or ideas to establish a position.

Logic-based

• A Persuasive Essay

May make claims based on opinion

May not take opposing ideas into account

Persuades by appealing to audience’s emotion or relying on the character of credentials of the writer – less on the merits of his or her reasons and evidence.

Emotion-based

• the writer

• –

• less on the merits of

Elements of Argument

• Claim: states your position on the issue you have chosen to write about.

• Evidence: the data you cite to support your claim.

• Warrant: interprets the data and shows how it supports your claim

• Counter arguments or rebuttals that refute (prove to be wrong or false) competing claims

Elements of ArgumentToulmin’s Theory of Argument

Evidence/Facts (probably) Claim/Conclusion

WarrantCounter Argument/ Rebuttal

Rick has fair skin, red hair and freckles, and he sunbathed all day yesterday.

Rick will probably get seriously sunburnt.

People with fair skin, red hair and freckles usually get sunburnt easily.

Those people have little melanin in their skin. Melanin protects against sunburn.

Rick’s parents both have fair skin, red hair and freckles, and they never seem to get sunburnt however much they sit outside.

Key Terms for Argument

Claim/Premise/Thesis/Conclusion

• A good claim is debatable. Why bother proving a point nobody could disagree with?

• A good claim is engaging. Consider your audience’s attention span and make claims which point out new ideas: teach the reader something new.

• A good claim is not overly vague. Attacking enormous issues leads only to generalizations and vague assertions; keep it manageable.

• A good claim is logical; it emerges from a reasonable consideration of the evidence. However, this does not mean that evidence has only one logical interpretation.

Key Terms for Argument

Evidence

• Facts or statistics: Objectively determined data about your topic. (Note: “objective” may be open to debate.)

• Expert opinion: Learned opinion, theory, and analysis that you should cite frequently, both to support your argument and to disagree with. Sources must be quoted, paraphrased, and cited appropriately.

• Primary research: An explanation and discussion of your own research findings and how they relate to your topic.

• Personal anecdotes: The most difficult kind of data to use well because doing so requires a persuasive argument that your own experience is relevant and can be objectively grasped by your reader. Personal experience can, however, bring an argument to life.

Key Terms for ArgumentWarrants: the warrant explains why and how the

evidence/data proves the claim.

• A good warrant will be a reasonable interpretation and analysis of the facts

• A good warrant will not make illogical interpretive leaps.

• A good warrant will not assume more than the evidence supports.

Example

• Claim: Joe Smith killed John Doe• Evidence: Mr. Smith’s fingerprints were

on the gun that was used to kill Mr. Doe.• Warrant: Fingerprints at a crime scene

may lead to an arrest of the person to whom those prints belong because any given person’s prints are unique, and therefore indicate the presence of that person at the scene.

Another Example• Claim: John Doe has been dead for approximately two days.

• Evidence: The body had fly larva on it.

• Warrant: One frequently visited kind of warrant in one program has to do with studies of the development of flies (or other insects) on corpses. This is used as the warrant for assertions or claims concerning the length of time a corpse has been dead. Sometimes we see the criminalist studying the development of insects from larva to adult to establish a time line for the development of the insect through its various stages. This study will be the warrant for the claims about how long acorpse has been deceased.

• Counter Argument/Claim or Rebuttal – a solid and reasonable argument that opposes or disagrees with your claim. The object of the rebuttal is to take into account the ideas presented in the counterclaim and explain why they aren’t persuasive enough, valid enough, or important enough to outweigh your own claim.

Key Terms for Argument

Elements of ArgumentToulmin’s Theory of Argument

Evidence/Facts (probably) Claim/Conclusion

WarrantCounter Argument/ Rebuttal

Rick has fair skin, red hair and freckles, and he sunbathed all day yesterday.

Rick will probably get seriously sunburnt.

People with fair skin, red hair and freckles usually get sunburnt easily.

Those people have little melanin in their skin. Melanin protects against sunburn.

Rick’s parents both have fair skin, red hair and freckles, and they never seem to get sunburnt however much they sit outside.

The Importance of Argument

• In everyday life . . . Appealing a grade, asking for a raise, applying for a job, negotiating the price of a new car, arguing in traffic court

• In academic life . . . Defending your ideas, engaging intellectual debate

• On the job . . . Getting people to listen to your ideas

• In writing . . . Irrefutably making your point, writing to be read

• In reading and listening . . . Critically evaluating other’s arguments, protecting yourself from unethical persuasive tactics, recognizing faulty reasoning when you see it.

So…what exactly is an argument?

• For the purpose of this class, an argument is defined as follows:– An argument is a reasoned, logical way of

demonstrating that the writer’s position, belief, or conclusion is valid.

• Pick an issue that is open to debate

• State a claim

• Based on evidence of some sort

• Supported by warrants that explain how the evidence supports the claim

• Addressing counter arguments or rebuttals that refute (prove to be wrong or false) competing claims

The Essential Ingredients of an Argument

Let’s Try It!

“Slip or Trip”