Understanding Arguments
By Adam Wade
This is a summary of Chapters 1-4 in Faigley and Selzer’s book. It talks about
why argue, how to read arguments, how to find arguments, and how to draft and revise
your own arguments.
Why Argue?
In this first chapter it talks about the different reasons why people argue, what are
the goals of arguing, why some succeed and some fail, and how to succeed in an
argument.
People write arguments for many different reasons, but usually it’s to get
something changed. For example Faigley and Selzer talk about a marine biologist who
wanted the view of pesticides changed. She wrote an argumentative book of the facts to
prove pesticides were harmful.
Arguments can fail horribly or they can be a huge hit depending on many factors.
For example, in the Faigley and Selzer book they use Carson the Biologist ,from above,
and Murray Bookchin both wrote argumetive books. The difference was that Carson’s
book was a hit and Bookchin’s book only a few scientists read. The difference in
Carson’s book was that she knew her purpose and the audience she was writing to. The
authors also go into detail about how to appeal to the Pathos or the emotions of the
audience, the Ethos or the trustworthiness of the writer, and the Logos or logic used to
support and argument.
There are two argument types you can use to get across your point or goals of
your argument. One is Position Arguments, which you state the problem. You first must
identify the issue, take a clear position, and make an convincing argument while
acknowledging opposing views. Second is a proposal argument, which in this you state
the problem and a possible solution to the problem. You again must state the problem,
propose solution(s), and finally you must make sure those solutions are possible.
The first chapter really helps you focus on how to make a clear and concise argument.
This will help you when reading arguments, so you can better understand them.
Reading Arguments
Chapter two is about reading arguments and how to determine whether they are
right or wrong. Also they talk about how to recognize fallacies of logic and emotions.
How to read arguments, first you must read critically, you need to ask yourself many
questions to understand the author and his point of view.
Next, you need to know where did the argument come from? why is he/she writing this?
where did it appear what else has been written about this topic?
Second, What is the argument about? What is the writers thesis or overall point?
What is in the evidence? Who is the reader of this article?
Third, can you trust the writer? Does he/she have the necessary knowledge? Do you
detect a bias in the writer’s position? Are the facts correct?
Finally, How does the argument work? How is the piece of writing organized? How does
the writer conclude his or her argument? How does the writer represent herself or
himself?
Another way to help you understand the argument and where it is coming from is
by annotating what you read. Mark major points and concepts, connect it with experience
and passages, and ask questions. Another crucial item of understanding arguments are
fallacies.
Fallacies are a way of getting around telling the truth. Here are some examples of
logic Fallacies
 Begging the question, the claim is restated and passed off as evidence
 Either-or, there is only 2 choices either we do this or this will happen
 False analogies- Analogies always depend on the degree of resemblance of
one situation to another
 Hasty generalization is a broad claim made on the basis of a few
occurrences
Those were a few of the logic fallacies, the next list is some of emotion and language.
 Bandwagon appeals, this suggest that everyone is doing it so you should
to.
 Polarization, this exaggerates positions and groups by representing them
as extreme.
 Straw man, this sets up a persons position in a way that can be easily
rejected.
A few other ways to understand the argument better, is making notes and writing
a summary. This will help you remember the different argument points and evidence.
This chapter really helps you understand arguments by helping you read them easily. This
chapter also helps you pick out fallacies which would hurt any document and help you
make your own opinion not letting the author just persuade you.
Finding Arguments
Chapter three is about how to find different arguments or generate arguments for
papers. It also shows how to give your arguments facts to help out your argument.
First you must know what makes certain articles arguments and others just persuasion. A
basic argument needs because clauses. Because clauses are just that, they start off with
because, for example we need to stop global warming because it hurts the world. A way
to get the harder readers to see your side is by stating a claim, at least one good reason,
some evidence that backs the good reason, and some opposing views and limitations of
the claim. This will help the readers see your view and consider the facts.
Students Should have health insurance
Claim
Because
Link
It is right.
Reason
There are many ways to make your arguments successful. One of the ways is by reading
your assignment. This is something small that will help you, by having the full
knowledge of the assignment. Another way, is by picking something that interests you or
by finding points that interest you. Creating lists help you by picking out the interesting
facts and figures to support your claims. You also need to know how to narrow your list
by finding out who is most interested in this issue, who it affects, what are the pros and
cons, and what has been written about this issue?
This chapter really helps you find out how to write your arguments to make them
persuasive and true. After researching and picking out what your argument will be, the
next step is to start writing and revising.
Drafting and Revising Arguments
In chapter 4 it talks about the ways to write your arguments. It also shows how to
create your thesis, organize your argument, write an engaging title and introduction and
how to evaluate your draft.
To write a successful argument one of the best ways to set it up is by creating a
strong thesis. You do this by focusing your thesis, you do not want to make it to narrow
or to general. To do this, you must evaluate your thesis, you can do this by asking
yourself certain questions.
You also must think about your readers. You must know how much they know
and do not know. This way you can help them read your argument and understand it
easier. Also, you must connect with the readers or have a dialogue with your readers, for
example knowing what questions they will have, or how you might address any potential
objections. You also have to take into consideration about the readers attitudes toward
what you are writing about.
Another key to success to writing any good paper is organization. You need
organization to keep the flow of your argument going. This will keep the readers
interested.
If you are writing and engaging title and introduction this will make your readers
want to read it and also help them know what is coming, or why they should read your
argument. Also you should write a strong conclusion so that you can go over your points
to leave them in your readers minds.
After these steps you must evaluate your draft. You must do many things such as
proofread and see how strong your argument is. This will help you decide what you need
to change to create something that will be a strong argument. It will also help get all the
grammatical errors out, so it does not look like you’re not qualify to speak on this topic.
Conclusion
The first four chapters of this book really give you a good foundation on how to
read, write, and understand arguments. The first chapter really helps you understand what
you need to do to create an argument that will get people to listen. It talks about the
different ways to structure your argument, and to make them successful. Also in the first
chapter, they tell you the different reasons why you should argue and what is an
argument.
In the second chapter they talk about how you should read different types of
arguments. It talks about the different questions you should ask yourself while reading
the arguments. They also give examples on fallacies and why you should look out for
them. This chapter is all about how to read them and understand them, it really gives you
the information you need. This helps because the next time you can make your own
opinion on the argument.
In chapter three they show you the different ways of finding arguments or putting
your arguments together. This can really help people mold what they want to argue about
into a real argument.
In chapter four, they talk about writing and revising your argument. In the writing
portion of the argument they talk about a few key ways to writing it successfully. They
also go over ways to organize your paper in a way that your readers can understand. All
of these chapters are important to understanding fully how arguments work, how to
understand them, and how to write a correct argument.