Argumentation
Essential Questions
• What is justice?
• What issues resonate across
cultures?
• How are arguments are
developed?
Unpacking EA 2B
Prompt: Develop an argument about an issue that
resonates across cultures. Choose a position, a
target audience, and effective structure to convey
your argument.
DO NOW: Deconstruct the above prompt. What
skills and knowledge do you need to have to
complete this prompt?
Develop an argument about an issue that resonates
across cultures. Choose a position, a target audience,
and effective structure to convey your argument.
Skills
Knowledge
Rhetorical Appeals (Persuasive Language)
• Pathos – emotional appeal
Describes the writer’s appeal to an audience's
emotions.
• Logos – logical appeal
Describes the writer’s appeal to the reader’s
logic/reason by making a reasonable claim and
offering proof in support of that claim, whether the
reader agrees or not.
• Ethos – ethical appeal
Describes the writer’s appeal that relies on the
credibility of the author. The reader asks themselves,
"What does this person know about this topic?" and
"Why should I trust this person?"
"50% of marriages end in divorce"
"My mother was diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis when I was twelve. I saw her pain and
suffering which is why I want to support MS
research."
"Before I was president, I was the governor
of New York."
"As your doctor, I have to tell you that if
you don't stop smoking, you're going to
die."
Analyze Rhetorical Appeals
• “On Surrender at Bear Paw Mountain, 1877”
(150)
• “On Women’s Right to Vote” (151-152)
Elements of Argument
• Claim – the thesis of the argument
• Evidence - support for the claim/thesis
Commentary- explanation of why and how the evidence
supports the claim
• Counterclaims – a position taken by someone with an
opposing viewpoints or evidence that disagrees with your
thesis
Concession – admission that the opposing side has valid
points
• Refutations – Evidence or reasoning that negates the
counterclaims
• Conclusion – concluding statement that pulls the claim and
evidence together to create a call to action
Forms of Evidence
• Evidence - used to support a thesis/claim in an
argument
• Empirical evidence – based on experience and
direct observation through research
• Logical evidence – based on facts and a clear
rationale
• Anecdotal evidence – based on personal accounts
Identifying Elements of an
Argument
Read “Time to Assert American Values” (142)
• Identify the claim.
• Identify the evidence.
• What types of evidence are used?
• Identify the concessions.
• Identify the refutation.
• Identify the call to action.
• How did the write signal the conclusion?
Reasoning & Evidence
To evaluate an argument:
• Determine whether a writer’s reasoning is
valid
• Determine if the evidence provided
sufficiently supports the claim
• Be aware of the use of common fallacies
Analyzing an Argument
Read from Mohandas Ghandi’s “On Civil
Disobedience” (148)
• Identify intended audience.
• Identify claim.
• Identify supporting evidence.
• Identify the organization of the argument.
Common Fallacies
• Hasty Generalizations – a conclusion based on
insufficient or biased evidence; rushing to a
conclusion
• Either/Or – a conclusion that oversimplifies the
argument by reducing it to only two choices
• Ad Populum – an emotional appeal that speaks to
positive or negative feelings rather than the real
issue
• Moral Equivalence – a comparison of minor
misdeeds with major atrocities
• Red Herring – a diversionary tactic that avoids the
key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments
Evaluating Reasoning
• Look back at from “On Civil
Disobedience”
• Identify examples of fallacious
reasoning (common fallacies)
Unpacking EA 2B
Prompt: Develop an argument about an issue that
resonates across cultures. Choose a position, a
target audience, and effective structure to convey
your argument.
DO NOW: Deconstruct the above prompt. What
skills and knowledge do you need to have to
complete this prompt?