The Art of Argument

1. The Art of Argument Reading and Understanding Arguments

2. If you have your computer or mobile device with you the following may be useful. • Go to http://iwp.iweb.bsu.edu/profdev/tech13.htm • Download and save The Art of Argument PowerPoint • Please click or copy and paste: https://docs.google.com/a/libertyperry.org/forms/d/1fYfSqaQoTLUNYNjuQosrD_cPFpcUvOn__d3C2D5HEHE/viewform Getting Started

3. Feel free to take notes in any way that you prefer,however if you have your computer or mobile device with you and have downloaded this PowerPoint presentation please let me recommend an option: Use the notes section beneath each slide.

4. "Carefully read the following passage by Susan Sontag. Then write an essay in which you support, refute, or qualify Sontag's claim that photography limits our understanding of the world. Use appropriate evidence to develop your argument." There followed a provocative and somewhat cryptic three-paragraph excerpt from On Photography. From an AP Test Reader

5. Perhaps the single most important key to success on an AP Exam is the student's ability to see that the prompt identifies a task to be performed. Students who were successful on Question Three recognized key words in the prompt and were able to determine the task they were being asked to do. Key to Success

6. This question was not merely an invitation to write discursively on the subject of photography. The word "claim" in the prompt should have alerted students to the need for writing in argumentative form. This point was reinforced by the explicit mention of "argument" in the last sentence. The question requires that students understand what an argument is and know how to construct one. Claim and Argument

7. The words "support, refute, or qualify" are technical terms that were not decoded in the question. Students need to know and need to have practiced these forms of argument during the term. (Some students misunderstood "qualify"; for example, "Sontag is not qualified to talk about photography.") In addition, these three words should signal to students that taking a position, even if a qualified one, is essential. Support, Refute, or Qualify

8. The word "evidence" is also important. Students need to know not only what constitutes evidence, but the difference between evidence and example. Even "develop" conveyed important signals -- their argument needed to move forward; they couldn't just make one little point and assume they were developing it by adding six redundant illustrations. Evidence and Develop

9. Can an argument really be any text that expresses a point of view? • What kinds of argument – if any – might be made by the following items? • a Red Sox cap • the health warning on a packet of cigarettes • a Rolex watch What do we mean by argument?

10. To win – politics, business, law (to convience [agreement] or persuade [actin]) • Invitational arguments – mutual exploration based on respect. • To find common ground – Rogerian arguments (both/and or win/win) Why do we make argument?

11. Winning • Convincing • Persuading • Inform • Explore • Make Decisions • Reflect • Meditate • Pray Reasons to Argue

12. Activity What are your reasons for making arguments. Keep notes for two days about every single argument you make, using our broad definition to guide you. Then identify your reasons: How many times did you aim to pursuade? To convince? To explain or inform? To explore? To decide? To medtate?

13. While writing a classical argument may seem daunting at first, it is mainly common sense. • From arrangement to fallacies, we encounter these principles routinely. • We will be studying formally concepts and strategies we observe and use in daily life. Argumentation

14. Two Types of Logical Appeals Induction and Deduction

15. The compiling of evidence to support an argument • The amassing of reasons • The more evidence, the better, but often three good ones will do • What lawyers do Induction

16. When arguing inductively, ask yourself these three questions: • Are the examples sufficient in number? (Do you have enough?) • Are the examples truly representative of the issue? (Are they relevant?) • Do the examples come from a reliable authority or from logic? Induction

18. General Specific

19. Involves premises—statements upon which all parties agree, which, when considered logically, lead to a strong conclusion • Getting all parties to agree on the premise is often the cause of the debate. Deduction

20. When arguing deductively, ask yourself these questions: • Are the premises themselves valid or resulting from strong inductive evidence? • Does the conclusion follow logically? Deduction

22. Specific General

23. More on this later . . .

24. The Five Cannons of Rhetoric

25. The ancient Romans called the formal study of argumentation “rhetoric.” • By the time of the great Roman orator Cicero, five parts of discourse had been named. The Five Cannons of Rhetoric

26. Inventio • Dispositio • Elocutio • Memoria • Pronuntatio • The pattern is more important than the actual terms The Five Cannons of Rhetoric

27. Discovery or invention • Given a topic, the orator had to find arguments to support his point of view. • Inventio is a system for finding those arguments, coming up with something to say • He had to make some carefully thought out choices such as the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos). • There were others that we’ll discuss later, but for now we are interested in the basics. Inventio

28. Arrangement or organization • Romans had six parts: • Exordim—introduction • Narratio—statement of the case under discussion (thesis) • Divisio—outline of points to be covered (usually omitted now unless book length) • Confirmatio—the proof of the argument • Confutatio—refute the opponent’s argument • Peroratio—conclusion • These provide a set of simple, definite principles to follow. Dispositio

29. Style—same things we look at today • Levels of style—informal vs. formal; vary by purpose • Diction—word choice; simple vs. ornate, clarity, etc. • Syntax—the arrangement of words; sentence structure, patterns of words; tropes and schemes Elocutio

30. Memorization; had specific techniques • We are not especially concerned with this today, especially since we will be writing not speaking. • However, what we can recall from memory about an issue or topic can help in responding to writing prompts. Memoria

31. Delivery; the use of the voice • Today, this refers to the medium in which the argument is delivered: spoken, written, visual, etc. • A final word of warning—don’t use these Latin terms on the exam, especially if you can’t spell them correctly; you will look pretentious. Pronuntatio

32. RogerianApproach

33. Carl Rogers—a renowned therapist • The goal of therapy is often the same as argumentation—attitude change • This approach tries to bring about that change by rational argument • “Each person can speak up for himself only after he has first restated the ideas and feeling of the previous speaker, and to that speaker’s satisfaction.” Rogerian Approach

34. Introduction • Summary of Opposing Views • Statement of Understanding • Statement of Your Position • Statement of Contexts • Statement of Benefits Rogerian Approach

35. Exordium—the introduction; introduces the reader to the subject (ethos) • Narratio—the narration; provides factual information and background material; begins the developmental paragraphs or establishes why there is a problem that needs addressing (pathos) Classical Model

36. Confirmatio—the body (confirmation); the main part of the text; includes the proof to make the writer’s case (logos) • Refutatio—the refutation; addresses the counterargument; classically just before the conclusion, but if opposing views are well known or valued by the audience may be before the confirmatio (logos) Classical Model

37. Peroratio—the conclusion; brings the essay to a satisfying close; answers the question “so what” (pathos and reminds of ethos) • Classic rhetoricians believed the last words and ideas are the ones remembered the most Classical Model

38. Arrangement is based on purpose • Include a range of logical ways to organize an entire text or (more likely) individual paragraphs • The way we will study different types of writing Patterns of Development