Everything’s
an Argument
Andrea A. Lunsford
John J. Ruszkiewicz
Keith Walters
Argument vs. Persuasion
Argument (discover a truth)conviction
•
•
•
To discover some version of truth, using evidence and reasons.
Leads audience towards conviction, an agreement that the claim is true
or reasonable or that the course of action is desirable
Writers argue to discover some truth.
Persuasion (know a truth) action
•
•
•
Aims to change a point of view or to move others from conviction to
action.
Aggressively designed to change opinions through the use of both
reason and other appropriate techniques.
Writers persuade when they think they already know it.
What Is the Purpose of
Argument?
• All language has an argumentative edge that
aims to make a point.
• Argument seeks “…to invite others to enter
a space of mutual regard and exploration”
(7).
• While arguments are aimed at winning, they
also may also intend to inform, to convince,
to explore, and to make decisions.
Arguments to Inform
Arguments to Inform
This is a woman who in 1939 could advise her admirers that
they were missing the point, that their appreciation of
her famous flowers was merely sentimental. “When I
paint a red hill,” she observed coolly in the catalogue for
an exhibition that year, “you say it is too bad that I don’t
always paint flowers. A flower touches almost everyone’s
heart. A red hill doesn’t touch everyone’s heart.”
--Joan Didion, “Georgia O’Keeffe”
What is the argument here? Didion argues that readers
should pay closer attention to all the work of this artist.
Arguments to Convince
Among employed 19-to 31-year-old high school graduates
who did not go to college, more than 30 percent had not
been in their position for even a year. Another 12 percent
had only one year of tenure. The pattern was much the
same for women who had remained in the labor force for
the four years prior to the survey. These are adults who,
for a variety of reasons—a lack of skills, training, or
disposition—have not managed to secure “adult” jobs.
--Paul Osterman, “Getting Started”
What is the argument? The current job situation is NOT
tolerable and it is worthy of concern.
Arguments to Explore
The planners at Ground Zero have treated the sacred and
everyday as two distinct spheres. The answer isn’t to split
the site into a memorial sector and a business sector but,
rather, to find ways to honor the dead while rejuvenating
the city, to acknowledge the past while looking toward
the future. Ground Zero is the first great urban-design
challenge of the twenty-first century, and the noblest way
to honor what happened her is to rebuild the site with the
complexity and vitality that characterizes the best of
Manhattan.
--Paul Goldberger, “Eyes on the Prize”
Arguments to Make Decisions
Early in the spring of last year a classified ad ran for two
weeks in the Yale Daily News: “EGG DONOR NEEDED.”
The couple that placed the ad was picky, and for that
reason was offering $25, 000 for an egg from the right
donor…I kept dreaming about all the things I could do
with $25, 000. I had gone into the correspondence on a
whim. But soon, despite the casual tone and the
optimistic attitude of all the classifieds and information I
read, I decided this process was something I didn’t want
to be part of. ..
--Jessica Cohen
CONSIDER THE STATUS OF THE ARGUMENT
Questions in Sequence
1.
2.
3.
4.
Did something happen?
What is its nature?
What is its quality?
What actions should be taken?
Consider a Crime
1. Did something happen?
Yes, a male student gestured inappropriately
to a female student during biology class. The
gesture was witnessed by the teacher and
several students. The facts suggest clearly
that something happened.
Consider a Crime
2. What is the nature of the thing?
The act might be viewed as sexual harassment
(unwanted sexual attention). The student’s
gesture was sexual in nature and meets the
definition of “sexual harassment.”
Consider a Crime
3. What is the quality of the thing?
Both students are in the ninth grade and in a
biology lab class. The boy didn’t realize the girl
would be offended since he has seen this same
gesture in school many times with no negative
reactions or consequences. The male student
did not realize this would considered “sexual
harassment.”
Consider a Crime
4. What actions should be taken?
The case has raised an uproar among female
students, parents, and feminist school clubs.
The consensus seems to be that the school has
not taken a hard enough stance on this
behavior and should crack down on these
incidents. Consequently, the boy was
disciplined and a faculty meeting was set to
inform teachers of the policy and enforcement.
Rhetorical
Devices
Appeal to Emotions
Appeal to Logic
Appeal to Ethics
Appeal to Emotion
• Appeals to the heart
• Uses descriptive language
• Uses figurative language
Appeal to Logic
• Facts
• Statistics
• Examples
Appeal to Ethics
• Credibility and trustworthiness
• Authority on subject
• Shared values
What is the argument?
What is the appeal?
What’s the argument? The appeal?
What’s the argument?
The appeal?
What’s the argument? The appeal?
What’s the argument?
What’s the argument?
What’s the argument?
The Rhetorical Triangle
Topic/Message
(Logical Appeals)
Content
Audience/Readers
Speaker/Writer
(Emotional Appeals)
(Ethical Appeals)
Can an argument
be ANY text that
expresses a point
of view?
What kinds of
arguments---if any—
might be made by
the following items?
What is the argument?
What is the argument?
What is the argument?
What is the argument?
What is the argument?
Pick a Partner
Develop three
arguments based
on the picture
you are given