Writing Argument
To focus and refine the topic
• 議題(issue)與主題(topic)的不同
• 找出議題
• 找出與議題相關的問題，區分問題的面
向
• 思考並寫下個人的論點(thesis)
• Issue: any topic of concern and
controversy
• The question at issue
• Focus on one clear and precise question
at issue
• 一個議題可能包含幾個不同面向的問題，
混淆問題的面向可能使文章缺乏組織。
• A single issue may contain any number
of separate and distinct questions as
issue. Your task as a writer is to isolate
a particular question at issue and stay
focused on it.
The Thesis
• The thesis states the writer’s position, her
response to the question at issue, the
conclusion of her argument, the primary
claim she is making.
• Your thesis takes central stage in both the
final paper your write and the thinking you do
as you conduct your research and prepare
drafts. It controls the evidence you gather
and clarifies the stand you want to take.
• Sometimes when we begin exploring a topic
for a paper, we may not know our position.
We may need to learn more about the
question at issue through research before
arriving at a conclusion.
• We don’t necessarily have to arrive at a
completely yes or no response to the
question at issue.
• Keep in mind that argument don’t always
have to be adversarial.
• In essays by professional writers, the
thesis is sometimes indirectly stated; it
may be implicit rather than explicit. In
general, the more experienced the
writer, the more she is able to write a
focused essay without an explicit thesis.
In sum
• Select an issue that is debatable, an issue on
which you can argue more than one position.
• Narrow that issue to a focused question at
issue.
• Write a “working” thesis that makes an
assertion about this question at issue; your
thesis states your opinion on the question at
issue.
Two kinds of thesis statements
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Open thesis and complete thesis
A compromise （three examples of p.91）
Which thesis statement is preferable?
The complexity of the topic, the length of the
paper, the needs of your audience, and the
purpose of your project
• A thesis is not necessarily restricted to one
sentence.
Exercise: identifying the issue,
question at issue, and thesis
• 討論〈當電子毒浪來襲〉，《人籟論辯
月刊》，第六期，September, 2006
• 找出文章之主題(topic) ，議題(issue) ，
與議題相關之問題(questions) ，以及作
者的論點(thesis)
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主題：
議題：
問題(議題的不同面向) ：
論點：
Writing Process
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WLTC, Ch.1: 11-25
VR, Ch. 1: 11-30
Class exercise: 1. your writing process
2. checklist for critiquing personal
writing
• To find a source of information
• Clarify the writing goal
• Writing from personal experience
• The first thing to remember is that you are
unique.
• Things happen in the world that affect you,
but they affect you in a specific way because
you are yourself and not someone else.
• The interplay of personal uniqueness and
outside events can supply raw material for
informative, worthwhile, and interesting
essays.
• Brainstorming
• Free writing
• Issue tress (課堂練習)
Peer feedback
• 交換閱讀每個人的書寫計劃說明以及
issues tress
• 盡量問問題
• 給提問者的回饋
Peer critiquing
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Checking lists of pp.17-18
What did I find interesting?
What does it look like I can learn from this?
What insights caught my attention?
What sentence or section seemed best?
What sentence or section seemed weakest?
What parts would I like to see explained
more?
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What
What
What
What
What
What
What
What
parts should be omitted?
parts seemed real?
part seemed phony?
parts did the author really care about?
part seemed worth writing an essay about?
idea held the whole piece together?
was the most important idea?
idea might tie the different points together?
Drafting the essay
• A draft is an attempt to impose
structure on the ideas that you have
been generating.
• To create a first draft, study the
comments that your peers have made
in order to find a topic that is both
interesting and productive.
shaping a written argument—
rhetorical strategies
• Rhetoric: “ The art of using language to
good effect, to prove, to convince, to
persuade.” (Aristotle)
• 修辭學
• The introduction
• The development of your argument
• The conclusion
The Introduction
• Background information
• Relevant narrative that illustrates your
question at issue,
--euthanasia: a day in the life of a terminally ill
patient
--a relevant quotation
--to open with an opposing view and build your
argument on a refutation of what is often the
prevailing wisdom on an issue
• State your thesis somewhere in the
introductory paragraphs so that your
reader is clear about the purpose of the
essay
The development of your
argument
• Thesis have to be elaborated, explained, and
defended with as much specific detail,
example, and illustration as your can provide.
• You may draw on personal experience,
research, and respected authorities to
support your position.
• Called the confirmation of your position, this
support should be connected explicitly to your
thesis unless the logical ties are self-evident.
• A single premise paragraph (p.94)
• A multipremise paragraph (p.95)
• How many premises should an
argument have?
The Conclusion
• No simple rule of thumb
• If your paper is long and complex, you need
to help your reader by briefly summarizing
where you have been and what your propose.
• If you present only a tentative or partial
thesis in the introduction, then you need to
be sure that your final position is clear in the
conclusion.
• If you think that further investigation is still
needed before you can arrive at a responsible
“conclusion” on the issue, then recommend
what direction you think such investigation
should take.
• If, as a result of your argument, you have
definite recommendations for action, your
conclusion can carry such suggestions.
• 其他…
• Every discourse, like a living creature,
should be so put together that it has its
own body and lacks neither head nor
feet, middle nor extremities, all
composed in such a way that they suit
both each other and the whole. (Plato,
Phaedrus)
The Dialectical Approach to
Argument
• Effective argument is more than the
straightforward presentation of a thesis,
premises, and their support. Most
issues worth arguing today are complex,
with evidence sometimes contradictory
or ambiguous.
• Interplay of conflict; interweaving
premises and counterarguments
• What we agree with leaves us inactive, but
contradiction makes us productive (Goethe)
• To argue the to her side with a friend until
you have found the answer to every point
which might be brought up to against you
(Roosevelt)
• One mark of a maturing mind is the ability to
take another’s point of view and thus be
capable of considering two conflicting views
on the same issue. (Piaget)
Addressing counterarguments
• Pay careful attention to opposing views
• How such strategies strengthen your
own position (p.97)
• How much counterargument?
• In any case, a writer cannot ignore the
most compelling opposing premises
even if they provide the greatest
challenge to the writer’s own view.
Refutation and concession
• 反駁與認可的例子，頁98-99。
• Rogerian strategy
• Empathy—the ability to see the expressed
idea and attitude from the other person’s
point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to
achieve his frame of reference in regard to
the thing he is talking about
Essential triad in argument:
Logos, ethos, and pathos
(Aristotle)
• Logos: the argument itself
• Ethos: the disposition of the writer to
present herself well
• Pathos: empathy with the audience
Logos
• Logos refers to logical appeal, and in fact the term
logic evolves from it. Logos normally implies numbers,
polls, and other mathematical or scientific data.
• Logos has many advantages:
• Data is hard to manipulate, meaning that it is harder
to argue against a logos argument.
• For the same reason, it may sway cynical listeners to
the speaker's opinion.
• Logos enhances ethos by making the speaker look
prepared and knowledgeable to the audience.
• Logos also has many disadvantages:
• Numbers may not be obvious to many listeners, so
the argument may pass unheeded.
• Logos asks the question, "But why should I care?"
because they are not as involving as emotional
appeal.
• Logos can be downright confusing in some instances.
• The best way to present an argument is to combine
logos with the other forms of appeal.
Ethos
• Ethos (ήθος) is a Greek word originally
meaning 'the place of living' that can be
translated into English in different ways.
Some possibilities are 'starting point', 'to
appear', 'disposition' and from there,
'character'. From the same Greek root
originates the word ethikos (ηθικός), meaning
'theory of living', and from there, the modern
English word ‘ethics’ is derived.
• At first speakers must establish ethos. On the
one hand, this can mean merely "moral
competence", but Aristotle broadens this
word to encompass expertise and knowledge.
He expressedly remarks that ethos should be
achieved only by what the speaker says, not
by what people think of his character before
he begins to speak. This position is often
disputed and other writers on rhetoric state
that ethos is connected to the overall moral
character and history of the speaker.
Pathos
• Pathos is from πάσχειν paschein, the Greek
word meaning "to suffer" or "emotion." Pathos
appeals to the audience's emotions.
• Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude
of ways:
• by metaphor or story telling, common as a hook,
• by a general passion in the delivery and an overall
amount of emotional items in the text of the speech,
• and as a closing device, where pathos can be
particularly powerful.
• The essential bond between writer and
reader that leads to meaningful
communication
• To write convincing argument, you, the
writer, must present yourself as a
reasonable, sympathetic person at the
same time that you convey respect for
your readers.
For an effective argument
• Express your thesis clearly
• Support your own position a thoroughly
as possible
• Present relevant opposing views
• Provide appropriate concessions and
refutations
• Develop empathy with your audience
Application to Writing
• Logical joining of contrasting and
concessive ideas
• Exercise, p.103
More on Coherence
• To develop rhetorical patterns of coherence
throughout paper
• To hold the different parts together by an
almost invisible glue
• Your thesis should guide you as you build
paragraphs and create a thread that weaves
its way from opening sentence to conclusion,
each paragraph relating back to the thesis.
• Every sentence should follow from the
sentence before it; each paragraph must
follow logically from the one preceding it.
• As a writer, you take your reader’s hand,
never letting your reader stray from the flow
of your argument.
• If you were to cut your paper into individual
paragraphs, shake them up, and throw them
in the air, a stranger should have no difficulty
putting them together in the original order.
• To arrange points in a logical sequence, select
joining conjunctions and major transitions
carefully, and repeat or echo key words to
keep your reader focused on your train of
thought.
• A caution: coherent devices should not be
heavy-handed or too obvious. Remember to
go lightly on the major transitions. It is the
logical progression of your ideas that is
important, not the deployment of
conjunctions alone.
討論: identifying coherent
strategies
• Identifying the ways in which the writer
has achieved coherence, both between
sentences and between paragraphs.
Explain the precise way in which each
example works to create these links.
Identifying rhetorical features of
argument
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Thesis
Premises
Counterarguments
Concession and refutations used to
address the counter arguments
• Rogerian strategy
Four approaches to writing
arguments
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Arguing both sides of an issue
Taking a stand
Exploring on argument in depth
Collaborating on a complex issue
Arguing both sides of an issue
• 政府應立法禁止生殖罹患罕見遺傳性疾
病胎兒
• 政府不應立法強制基因篩檢禁止罹患罕
見遺傳性疾病胎兒出生
Taking a stand
• A clear thesis to guide you as a writer and
prepare your reader
• Support for this thesis—plenty of wellreasoned premises supported with examples,
explanation, and analysis
• Counterarguments with appropriate
concessions and refutations
• Sentences logically joined for contrast and
concession, cause and effect, and coherence
Exploring an Argument in Depth
• An introduction that presents the
question at issue with appropriate
background, acknowledges its
complexity, and suggests your thesis
even though you may not be taking a
clear stand either pro or con
• A detailed discussion of arguments for
as many positions as possible
• Refutations and concessions as appropriate
for a thoughtful examination of alternatives
• Your personal recommendation on the issue,
based on an evaluation in which you weigh
the strengths and weaknesses of the
positions you have presented, a synthesis of
them, a call for further investigation, or a
summary of possible alternatives.