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Reading Argument

Reading Argument. Chapter 1 Notes. Argument. The act of asserting, supporting, and defending a claim. The primary motive behind academic argument is to make others see the wisdom of a position or perspective. Rhetoric.

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Reading Argument

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  1. Reading Argument Chapter 1 Notes

  2. Argument • The act of asserting, supporting, and defending a claim. • The primary motive behind academic argument is to make others see the wisdom of a position or perspective

  3. Rhetoric • The process of recognizing and using the most effective strategies for influencing thought. • A study of how people are persuaded into their beliefs • A study of the ways in which different uses of language impact people in a variety of situations

  4. Argument Structure • CLAIM: The main argumentative position (thesis) being put forward • Support: comes in various forms and gives substance and legitimacy to the claim. The support convinces the audience to accept the claim.

  5. Reading an Argument • Noticing and then evaluating claims and their support • Some claims are easy to spot. Others are subtle. • Reading an argument requires looking for claims • What is the essay up to? • What is it trying to persuade me of? • What is the author’s purpose?

  6. Types of Claims • Claims of fact: a condition exists, has existed, or will exist • Claims of Value: something reflects a particular quality (good, bad, unfair, etc). It may assert approval or disapproval. • Claims of policy: argue that some action should be taken or some change made. A change in behavior, policy, approach, attitude

  7. Revelatory Claims • Attempts to do more that argue an opinion • Tries to reveal an unfamiliar topic or reveal a new layer of a familiar topic • Change readers’ thinking because they show something new.

  8. Support • Evidence: authorities, testimony, facts, stats • Examples: allusions, anecdotes, illustrations, scenarios • Appeals: to logic, emotions, character, value, need

  9. Evidence • A type of support that already exists • Must explain the relevance of the evidence • Authorities: experts who offer specialized knowledge • Support your own claims • Show opposing claims • Help to explain a topic • Help to give history or context to the argument

  10. Testimony • An eyewitness or 1st hand account • Gives a personal angle to the issue • Invites reader/audience in to the writer’s vision of the world

  11. Facts • Agreed upon bits of knowledge that do not require further support in an argument • Verified claims • Usually formally cited

  12. Stats • Figures drawn from surveys, experimentation, and date analysis • Stats can be used dishonestly • Origins should be revealed

  13. Examples: specific occurrences of a phenomenon • Allusions: references to some public knowledge from history, current events, pop culture, religion, or lit • Used to support ideas • By making connections to the culturally shared bit of knowledge, allusions link an argument to the world beyond it

  14. Anecdote • Short accounts of a particular event or incident • Given in the form of a brief story that supports a point • Draw a audience into a particular scene

  15. Illustrations • Graphic description or representations of an idea

  16. Scenarios • Fictional or hypothetical example • Help audience envision an abstract point • Signal the audience that they are in a hypothetical

  17. Counterargument • Refute claims or positions opposed to those of the writer/speaker • Must explain how the opposition is wrong

  18. Concession • Involves acknowledging or granting value to an opposing claim • Can actually strengthen an argument • Anticipates an opposing claim • Show that writer/speaker has a reasonable understanding of the situation

  19. Qualifiers • Focus on the arguer’s claims • Acknowledge the limits of those claims • Prevent arguers from making claims that are to extreme • Perhaps, maybe, seems, could • Be careful not to over-qualify

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