Argumentation
How to form a persuasive
ARGUMENT
What do we believe in, and why?
• “I can’t believe the news today.
I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.”
• Bono
• Cite examples of events in the news that you
would like to be able to help, change, fix, or in
general make better.
• Discuss why people cannot “close [their] eyes and
make it go away.”
• Do our beliefs reflect the way we analyze and
react to information?
Why Persuasion?
• Authors are trying to convince you to believe
or act a certain way.
• Audiences are most likely to agree with
writers whose ideas seem credible and whose
evidence seems valid.
• Structure and tone of an argument also
influence how you act.
Writer’s Intent
• The intent is to convince you to think or act a
certain way.
• It might be to change the way you think, call
you to action, or ask you to go out and do
something.
• Intent is communicated either objectively or
subjectively.
Objective vs. Subjective
• Objective uses provable facts. (strongest
approach)
• Subjective focuses on a writer’s experiences,
feelings, and opinions.
• Sometimes writers will use both.
Credibility and Evidence
• How credible or believable is an author?
• Credibility depends on qualifications and
quality of evidence presented
• Qualifications might include expert status or
experience in the topic under discussion.
Evidence
• Evaluate the person’s argument carefully. Make
sure it is supported through evidence or proof!
(“Because I said so” is not proof!)
• Logical Appeals: facts, statistics, and examples to
speak to a reader’s reason and common sense.
• Emotional appeals: speak to a reader’s emotions
(e.g. fear, sympathy, anger)
– May include loaded words (strong connotations) or
anecdotes (personal accounts of an event).
Analyze the Credibility of an Argument
Yes
Is the author’s intent clear?
Is the author qualified to
write about this subject?
Is the author unfairly
biased or prejudiced
regarding this subject?
Does the author use
enough logical or objective
evidence?
No
Structure/Organization
• A good argument should be organized carefully
and logically.
• May be organized by cause/effect,
problem/solution, chronological order, or
question/answer.
• Readers generally remember the most about the
beginning and end of a piece. Many arguments
are structured so it moves from the least
important to most important or from a general
idea to a specific call to action.
Try this…
• What organizational structure does Martin
Luther King, Jr. use to begin his speech to the
First Montgomery Improvement Association?
– “We are here in a general sense because first and
foremost we are American citizens, and we are
determined to apply our citizenship to the fullness
of its meaning.”
• From “There Comes a Time When People get Tired” by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Answer
• Starts with general ideas and ends with a
specific call to action.
– “We are here in a general sense because first and
foremost we are American citizens, and we are
determined to apply our citizenship to the fullness
of its meaning.”
• From “There Comes a Time When People get Tired” by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tone
• A writer’s tone reflects his or her attitude
toward the subject or audience and is closely
related to intent.
• Identifying the tone of a text can help you
evaluate the credibility of an argument. For
example, if a writer uses a highly emotional
tone for an argument that is meant to be
objective, the argument might lack evidence
and credibility.
Compare the two TONES
• “The countryside was, in
fact, famous for the
abundance and variety of
its bird life, and when the
flood of migrants was
pouring through in spring
and fall people traveled
from great distances to
observe them.”
• Rachel Carson,
Silent Spring
• What a treat it was not to
strike terror into the
hearts of other living
things! I could spend
hours regarding rubbery
black marine iguanas
sunning in sloppy,
chummy piles like
discarded dime-store
dinosaurs; instead of
bolting, they simply
grinned and dozed.”
• Judith Stone
“Kiss and Tell”
Two Tones Compared
• Rachel Carson creates a
serious tone with
formal sentence
structure and word
choice. How does it
affect your perception
of the reading?
• Judith Stone creates an
informal, yet sincere,
tone through
lighthearted language
and imagery.
Now rewrite the excerpts from Silent Spring and “Kiss and Tell,” using
word choice to change the tone of the passage. A few volunteers will
read your revised passages to the class. The class will identify the tone of
each revised passage and support your assessment with references to
word choice.
Analyze Argumentation
• “For those of you who are
black and are tempted to be
filled with hatred and
distrust at the injustice of
such an act, against all
white people, I can only say
that I feel in my own heart
the same kind of feeling. I
had a member of my family
killed, but he was killed by a
white man.”
– From “Eulogy for Martin
Luther King, Jr.,” by Robert F.
Kennedy
1. What is the speaker’s
intent?
2. What is the tone of this
passage?
3. Is the author appealing to
logic or emotion, or both?
Explain.
With a Partner:
Define the following words from our
notes today
– Objective
– Subjective
– Evidence
– Logical
– Emotional
– Connotations
– Anecdotes
Definitions:
• Factual, like an object
• Based on the speaker’s or
subject’s thoughts and
opinions
• What is evident or can be seen
or understood
• Appeals to the brain
• Appeals to feelings
• Feelings, thoughts, or ideas
associated with words
• Personal stories