The Purposeful Argument

Part I: HOW TO APPROACH ARGUMENT IN REAL LIFE. 1. Argue with a Purpose. What Argument Is and What Argument Is Not. Excerpt from 'The Price of Admission,' by Thomas Frank. Recognize Where Argument Is Appropriate in Real Life. Establish Local Context via the Research Process. Determine Your Audience. Establish Local Context for Your Issue. Connect Local and Global Contexts. Recognize Why Arguments Break Down. Arguments Break Down When They Do Not Persuade an Audience. Arguments Break Down When There Is a Lack of Balance in the Support. Arguments Break Down When the Audience Is Poorly Defined. Arguments Break Down When They Contain Fallacies. Arguments Break Down When They Do Not Fairly Represent Opposing Views. Match Argument with Purpose. Toulmin-Based Argument. Middle Ground Argument. Rogerian Argument. Argument Based on a Microhistory. 2. Explore an Issue that Matters to You. Determine What Matters to You and Why. School/Academic. Workplace. Family/Household. Neighborhood. Social/Cultural. Consumer. Concerned Citizen. Choose an Issue within a Topic. Pre-Think about Your Issue. Brainstorming. Freewriting. Mapping. Move from Boring to Interesting. Define and Target Your Audience. Stake, Defend, and Justify Your Claim. Develop a Claim, Reasons, and Qualifiers. Argue with a Purpose. Vary the Types of Support You Bring to an Argument. Support Based on Fact. Support Based on Your Character. Support Based on the Emotions of an Audience. Working with a Target Audience: Two Examples. Argue at the Right Moment. Getting Started. Part II: HOW TO ESTABLISH CONTEXT THROUGH RESEARCH. 3. Develop a Research Plan. Use Reference Works, Encyclopedias, and Topic Overviews Profitably. List Search Terms and Vocabulary Appropriate Search Terms to Be Used in Database and Internet Research. Identify Reliable Internet and Print Sources to Find Information for a Research Project. Perform Keyword Queries When Searching Databases and Internet Sources. Find News Sites. Find and Use Databases in Libraries Gather Research through Library Database. Find Examples of Primary, Government, and Multimedia Sources. Find and Use Government Sources. Find and Use Multimedia Sources Find Books Locating Books and eBooks in Libraries and Online. [pb1] 4. Evaluate and Engage with Your Sources. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Internet Sites. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Articles. Take Notes on Print Articles. Take Notes and Read Books Critically. Take Notes and Evaluate Primary Sources. Introduce and Comment on Sources. Quote and Cite Quotations. Summarize and Cite Summaries. Paraphrase and Cite Paraphrases. Avoid Plagiarism. Documentation: Works Cited Page. [pb2] 5. Read Critically and Avoid Fallacies. Define Fallacies. Identify and Avoid Fallacies, Avoid Fallacies of Choice. [pb3] Avoid Fallacies of Support. Avoid Fallacies of Emotion. Avoid Fallacies of Inconsistency. 6. Work Fairly with the Opposition. Why the Opposition Matters. Resist Easy Generalizations. Listen to Local Voices. Summarize Other Voices Fairly. Value Expertise over Advocacy. Avoid Bias When You Summarize. Find Points of Overlap. Identify Common Ground with the Opposition. Respond to Other Views. Part III: HOW TO PLAN, STRUCTURE, AND DELIVER AN ARGUMENT. 7. Explore an Issue. Use Definitions. Discover Causes or Consequences. Present Comparisons. Propose a Solution. Evaluate Your Claim. Write an Exploratory Essay. [pb4] 8. Consider Toulmin-Based Argument. Construct an Argument to Fit Your Purpose. Terms of Toulmin-Based Argument. Claim. Reasons. Support. Warrant. Backing. Rebuttal. Qualifiers. Map a Toulmin-Based Argument. Student-Authored Toulmin-Based Argument. 9. Consider Middle Ground Argument, Rogerian Argument, and Argument Based on a Microhistory. Middle Ground Argument. Make a Middle-Ground Position Practical. Recognize Where Middle Ground Arguments Are Possible. Map a Middle Ground Argument. Student-Authored Middle Ground Argument. Rogerian Argument. Listen Closely to the Opposition. Identify Common