AP Lang/Comp
Name___________________________
Reviewing the Types of Arguments
Directions: We have just been introduced to the three types of arguments a writer may choose to
construct. Review the three terms below and the goals that each argument seeks to achieve.
1. Judicial: _________________________________________
2. Ceremonial: ______________________________________
3. Forensic: ________________________________________
Now read each of the following excerpts below to determine which type of argument is presented.
Highlight important words that indicate the tone and purpose of each argument. Note that you
may notice a combination of purposes in the excerpts.
1) From Poor Richard’s Redemption, New York Times, Stacy Schiff, January 17, 2006
AMERICAN history is short on 300th birthdays. Which is only one reason to salute Ben Franklin, who had
the foresight to have been born three centuries ago today. It was one of many generous acts for his country.
He makes us feel we have a history.
As a man of science, Franklin lamented that he had been born too soon. (A beautiful woman 40 years his
junior generally elicited the same regret.) But he could not truly quibble with chronology. In America's
seminal story, birth order was on his side. He was already a father - and a thriving publisher - when Adams
and Washington were in swaddling clothes. He retired from the printing business when Jefferson was 4. He
had flown his kite when Madison was an infant; by the time Hamilton was born he had turned to politics,
and proposed a first plan for colonial union. He could have been either man's grandfather.
Purpose of Argument: ___________________________________________
2) From Globalizing King’s Legacy, New York Times, Taylor Branch, January 16, 2006
OFFICIAL celebrations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday turn 20 years old this week.
Like that of Dr. King's late colleague Rosa Parks, the name behind our 10th national holiday carries more
resonance than impact - noble, universal, yet bounded by race and time. The annual King event draws
tributes to the end of legal segregation, reprises of landmark oratory and varied appraisals of problems for
minorities. Yet despite our high-stakes national commitment to advance free government around the world,
we consistently marginalize or ignore Dr. King's commitment to the core values of democracy.
What type of argument does this seem like so far? Why?
Now consider the next excerpt from the same essay:
Only hours before his death, Dr. King startled an aide with a balmy aside from his unpopular movement to
uplift the poor. "In our next campaign," he remarked, "we have to institutionalize nonviolence and take it
international."
The nation would do well to incorporate this goal into our mission abroad, reinforcing the place of
nonviolence among the fundamentals of democracy, along with equal citizenship, self-government and
accountable public trust. We could also restore Dr. King's role in the continuing story of freedom to its
rightful prominence, emphasizing that the best way to safeguard democracy is to practice it. And we must
recognize that the accepted tradeoff between freedom and security is misguided, because our values are the
essence of our strength. If dungeons, brute force and arbitrary rule were the keys to real power, Saudi
Arabia would be a model for the future instead of the past.
Gunfire took Dr. King's life, but we determine his legacy. This holiday, let that inspiration remain our
patriotic challenge.
What is the purpose of the argument now? Explain.
3) From Discrimination is a Virtue, Short Takes, Robert Keith Miller
So as we look around us, we should recognize that “discrimination” is a virtue which we desperately need.
We must try to avoid making unfair and arbitrary distinctions, but we must not go to the other extreme and
pretend that there are no distinctions to be made. The ability to make intelligent judgments is essential both
for the success of one’s personal life and for the functioning of society as a whole. Let us be open-minded
by all means, but no so open-minded that our brains fall out.
Type of Argument: ______________________________________________
4) From Gay Marriages: Make Them Legal, Short Takes, Thomas B. Stoddard
As the case of Sharon Kowalksi and Karen Thompson demonstrates, sanctimonious illusions lead directly
to the suffering of others. Denied the right to marry, these two women are left subject to the whims and
prejudices of others, and of the law.
Depriving millions of gay American adults the marriages of their choice, and the rights that flow from
marriage, denies equal protection of the law. They, their families and friends, together with fair-minded
people everywhere, should demand an end to this monstrous injustice.
Type of Argument: ______________________________________________
5) From America Needs Its Nerds, Short Takes, Leonid Fridman
There is something very wrong with the system of values in a society that has only derogatory terms like
nerd and geek for the intellectually curious and academically serious…
Nerds and geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are. It is high time to face the persecutors who haunt
the bright kid with thick glasses from kindergarten to the grave. For America’s sake, the anti-intellectual
values that pervade our society must be fought.
Type of Argument: ______________________________________________