Argument That Works
Rhetoric at Its Best!
DO NOT Fall into a Fallacy
 Logical
Fallacies are BAD NEWS!
– Avoid them at all costs!
– They will make the audience not
believe you.
We learned 20 Fallacies!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Appeal to Ignorance
Appeal to Pity
Bandwagon
Broad Generalization
Circular Thinking
Either-Or Thinking
Half Truths
Oversimplification
Slanted Language
Testimonial
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Hasty Generalization
Begging the Question
Fallacies of Association
Non Sequitor
Red Herring
Post Hoc, Ergo propter
hoc
Poisoning the Well
False Analogy
Contradictory Premises
Hypothesis Contrary to
Fact
Argument is a… HOUSE
When You Argue-
You have an opinion and you make it
known. State your claim!
– Knock the reader’s socks off
– Use the BEST information you can find

You show the other side of the issue
(counterargument) and how it is less
desirable than your side.
Use Rhetorical Appeals

From the days of Aristotle (think way, way
back)

3 Rhetorical Appeals
– Logos
– Ethos
– Pathos
Logic
Ethics
Emotion
Appeal to Reason
Show Your Credibility
Evoke Emotions
LOGIC is the FOUNDATION!
IT’S

REAL!
Based in reality
– Facts
• Statistics
• Historical accounts
– Reasons
– Opinions based on reality
– Guarantee
7 Logical Proofs
S
I
C
D
A
D
S

 Sign
 Induction
 Cause
 Deduction
 Analogies
 Definition
 Statistics
Sign

Definition:
– Specific, visible fact

Used to prove with certainty

Example:
– Child may have been exposed
– Child breaks out with the chicken pox
(SIGN)
Induction

Definition:
– Reasoning using examples that lead to a conclusion

Gives a number of examples, then forms a
conclusion based on them.

Example:
–
–
–
–
–
Person A goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged.
Person B goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged.
Person C goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged.
Person D goes to Rip-Off Repair and is over-charged.
Therefore, someone else who goes to Rip-Off Repair will likely be
over-charged.
– Beware to avoid hasty generalization and broad generalization!
Cause

Definition:
– Subject is placed in a cause/effect relationship to show that it
is either the cause of a particular effect or an effect of a
particular cause

Reasoning by Cause/Effect relationships.
– There must be solid reasoning behind this!
– Must show/have a direct correlation

Example:
– Carmen has a sore throat and hangs out with Lucy.
– Lucy gets a sore throat.
– Lucy most likely got the sore throat from Carmen’s germs.
Deduction

Definition:
– Argument from principle (warrant is general)

Deals with probabilities rather than certainties.

Example:
– Most uneven footprints are left by people who limp.
– These footprints are uneven.
– The person who left these footprints walked with a limp.
– Claim, then proof….the opposite of INDUCTION.
Analogies
(Comparisons/Metaphors/Similes)

Definition:
– Explores similarities and differences between
items in a general category.

Types:
– Historical (look at now in terms of the past)
• Economy of today and the Great Depression
– Literal (same categories)
• Education spending in Arizona and education spending
in California
– Figurative (completely different categories—
metaphor)
• Reading a book and digesting a meal take time
Definition

Definition:
– Acceptance of the meaning of key terms present
in a claim

The audience must accept the definitions of
key terms to be able to accept the argument.

Example:
– Marriage is defined as a union of a man and a
woman.
– Two people of the same sex are not a man and a
woman.
– Two people of the same sex cannot marry.
Statistics

Definition:
– Describe relationships among data, people,
occurrences, and events in the REAL world by
giving them a quantitative value (countable,
numerical value).

Example:
– It is reported that 51% of American women live
without a spouse. Therefore, this represents a
majority.
Build Credibility: Ethos

Be careful…
– Don’t get preachy. The reader will quit
reading and no longer care about what you
have to say.
Build Credibility: Ethos

Use examples with authority:
– Find people with some authority (expertise)
and use their information.
– Example:
• Earthquakes—Who are the experts?
• Professors, scientists, and geologists claim that
California will have another earthquake.
Build Credibility: Ethos

Claim & support:
– Look for references to the author’s:
•
•
•
•
•
Training
Education
Professional position
Background
Experience
– You want to use information from people
who know what they are talking about.
Build Emotion: Pathos

Be careful…
– Some people believe that emotion clouds
logical judgment .
– It’s like salt:
• None tastes bland.
• Too much tastes nasty.
• Just enough tastes great.
Build Emotion: Pathos

Try to motivate
– What would stir the emotions of the audience and
motivate them?
• HINT: Dissatisfaction motivates people!

Find common values and ideals
– How do most people feel about:
• Hunger?
• Cold?
• Fear?
Make your language POWERFUL

Use rhetorical devices that work:
– Rhetorical question
• A question that doesn’t require a reply
– Antithesis
• Contrasting ideas are presented in a grammatically balanced
statement
– Repetition
• The same word or phrase is used repeatedly for emphasis
– Parallelism (Parallel structure)
• A form of repetition where the grammatical pattern is repeated

Information from:
– Nancy V. Wood, Perspectives on
Argument—6th Edition
– McDougal Littell, American Literature
– Miss Laughlin