ENGL1A Exam 1 Study Guide
Exam date: Wednesday, 09-23
Argument: Occasions for
• Past (forensic)
• Future (deliberative)
• Present (epideictic)
Argument: Past (forensic)
• Debate about what happened in the past
• Common in business, government, academia
• Rely on evidence and testimony to re-create what
can be known about past events
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKnNUYkns
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Argument: Future (deliberative)
• Debate about what will or should happen in the
future
• Often establishes policies for the future
• Can be speculative
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgdDzT7LOU
Argument: Present (epideictic)
• Usually about contemporary values
– Widely held beliefs/assumptions debated within
society.
• Who/what deserves praise/blame?
• Eulogies, graduation speeches, inaugural
addresses, roasts
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY7PHXkXO
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Argument: Kinds
• Stasis theory: Used by ancient Greeks & Romans
to examine legal cases
• Based on 4 questions:
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Did something happen?
What is its (the thing that happened’s) nature?
What is its quality or cause?
What actions should be taken?
Q1: Did something happen?
• Argument of fact
• Involves statement that can be proved or disproved
with evidence or testimony.
• Ask questions about the “facts”:
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Where did the facts come from?
Are they reliable?
Is there a problem with the facts?
Where did the problem begin and what caused it?
Q2: What is its nature?
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Argument of definition
“Are avocados delicious?”
“Is baseball the most boring sport in the world?
Definition: x = what x “is”
– Avocados are disgusting.
– Baseball is the most boring sport in the world (and
thus, I would rather poke my eyes out than watch a
game).
Q3: What is its quality/cause?
• Argument of evaluation
• Present criteria and then measure individual
people, ideas, or things against those standards
• “The Lakers were one of the worst teams in the
NBA last season.”
– What constitutes “one of the worst”?
– Certain criteria lead to the judgment of “one of
the worst.”
Q4: What action should be taken?
• Argument proposing something
• Present an issue/problem so vividly that readers
say What can we do?
• A solution to the problem is proposed.
Argument: Audiences
• Intended audience: Those the writer wants to address
• Invoked readers: Those represented in the text itself
– Allure magazine writes about the young, fashionconscious woman, and…
– …That same type of woman reads the magazine.
• “Real” readers: Those whom the writer did not intend
to read the text
– Your e-mail to your manager gets forwarded to all staff at
the company.
Argument: Contexts
• What is context?
• The situation/circumstances within which a text is
received.
• Article: “Federal government to slash Social Security
benefits”
– Response of a 78-year-old single woman with no
other source of income
– Response of a 58-year-old married couple on the
verge of retirement
– Response of an 18-year-old single Chaffey College
student who still lives with his parents
Argument: Contexts
• Don’t assume that your reader
thinks/feels/acts/believes the same as you do.
• Consider the age, culture, linguistic background,
political & religious beliefs, etc. of your audience.
– Just because someone disagrees with you, that
doesn’t mean they are stupid, bigoted, backward,
etc.