Everything's An Argument with Readings, High School Version

Part 1: Reading and Understanding Arguments

1 Everything Is an Argument

Why We Make Arguments

     Arguments to Convince

     Arguments to Persuade

     Arguments to Inform

     Arguments to Explore

     Arguments to Make Decisions

     Arguments to Meditate or Pray

Occasions for Argument

     Arguments about the Past

     Arguments about the Future

     Arguments about the Present

Kinds of Argument

     Did Something Happen? Arguments of Fact

     What Is the Nature of the Thing? Arguments of Definition

     What Is the Quality or Cause of the Thing? Arguments of Evaluation

     What Actions Should Be Taken? Proposal Arguments

Stasis Questions at Work

Audiences for Arguments

     Considering Contexts

Cultural Contexts for Arguments

Appealing to Audiences

     Emotional Appeals: Pathos

     Ethical Appeals: Ethos

     Logical Appeals: Logos

     Summing Up Argument: Rhetorical Situations

2 Arguments Based on Emotion: Pathos

*Reading critically for pathos

Using Emotions to Build Bridges

Using Emotions to Sustain an Argument

Using Humor

Using Arguments Based on Emotion

e-Page Barack Obama, President Obama on the Death of Osama bin Laden [speech]

3 Arguments Based on Character: Ethos

Understanding How Arguments Based on Character Work

Establishing Trustworthiness and Credibility

Claiming Authority

Cultural Contexts for Argument

Coming Clean about Motives

4 Arguments Based on Facts and Reason: Logos

Providing Hard Evidence

     Is Seeing Believing

     Facts

     Statistics

     Surveys and Polls

     Testimonies and Narratives

Using Reason and Common Sense

Cultural Contexts for Argument

Providing Logical Structures for Argument

     Degree

     Analogies

     Precedent

5 Fallacies of Argument

Fallacies of Emotional Argument

     Scare Tactics

     Either-Or Choices

     Slippery Slope

     Overly Sentimental Appeals

     Bandwagon Appeals

Fallacies of Ethical Argument

     Appeals for False Authority

     Dogmatism

     Ad Hominem Arguments

     Stacking the Deck

Fallacies of Logical Argument

     Hasty Generalization

     Faulty Causality

     Begging the Question

     Equivocation

     Non Sequitur

     Straw Man

     Red Herring

     Faulty Analogy

6 Rhetorical Analysis

Composing a Rhetorical Analysis

Understanding the Purpose of Arguments You Are Analyzing

Understanding Who Makes an Argument

Identifying and Appealing to Audiences

Examining Arguments Based on Emotion: Pathos

Examining Arguments Based on Character: Ethos

Examining Arguments Based on Facts and Reason: Logos

Examining the Arrangement and Media of Arguments

Looking at Style

Examining a Rhetorical Analysis

     David Brooks, It’s Not about You

     Rachel Kolb, Understanding Brooks’ Binaries (student essay)

Guide to Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

Part 2: Writing Arguments

7 Structuring Arguments

The Classical Oration

Rogerian Argument

Toulmin Argument

     Making Claims

     Offering Evidence and Good Reasons

     Determining Warrants

     Offering Evidence: Backing

     Using Qualifiers

     Understanding Conditions of Rebuttal

     Outline of a Toulmin Argument

     A Toulmin Analysis

     Deborah Tannen, Why Is "Compromise" Now a Dirty Word?

     What Toulmin Teaches

Cultural Contexts for Argument

8 Arguments of Fact

Understanding Arguments of Fact

Characterizing Factual Arguments

Developing a Factual Argument

     Identifying an Issue

     Researching Your Hypothesis

     Refining Your Claim

     Deciding Which Evidence to Use

     Presenting Your Evidence

Considering Design and Visuals

Guide to Writing an Argument of Fact

Projects

Two Sample Factual Arguments

Taylor Pearson, Why You Should Fear Your Toaster More than Nuclear Power (student essay)

Brooks Jackson, Democrats Deny Social Security’s Red Ink

9 Arguments of Definition

Understanding Arguments of Definition

Kinds of Definition

     Formal Definitions

     Operational Definitions

     Definitions by Example

Developing a Definitional Argument

     Formulating Claims

     Crafting Definitions

     Matching Claims to Definitions

     Considering Design and Visuals

Guide to Writing an Argument of Definition

Projects

Two Sample Definitional Arguments

Jennifer Pier, The Reprehensibility of the White Lie (student essay)

Alex Pattakos, The Meaning of Friendship in a Social Networked World

10 Evaluations

Understanding Evaluations

Criteria of Evaluation

Characterizing Evaluation

     Quantitative Evaluations

     Qualitative Evaluations

Developing an Evaluative Argument

     Formulating Criteria

     Making Claims

     Presenting Evidence

     Considering Design and Visuals

Guide to Writing an Evaluation

Projects

Two Sample Evaluations

Sean Kamperman, The Wikipedia Game: Boring, Pointless, or Neither? (student essay)

Virginia Postrel, Why We Prize that Magical Mystery Pad

11 Causal Arguments

Understanding Causal Arguments

Characterizing Causal Arguments

Developing Causal Arguments

     Exploring Possible Claims

     Defining the Causal Relationships

     Supporting Your Point

     Considering Design and Visuals

Key Features of Causal Arguments

Guide to Writing a Causal Argument

Projects

Two Sample Causal Arguments

Lia Hardin, Cultural Stress Linked to Suicide (student essay)

John Tierney, Can a Playground Be Too Safe?

12 Proposals

Understanding and Categorizing Proposals

Characterizing Proposals

Developing Proposals

     Defining a Need or Problem

     Making a Strong and Clear Claim

     Showing That the Proposal Addresses a Need or Problem

     Showing that the Proposal Is Feasible

     Considering Design and Visuals

Guide to Writing a Proposal

Projects

Two Sample Proposals

Manasi Deshpande, A Call to Improve Campus Accessibility for the Mobility Impaired (student essay)

Daniel S. Hamermesh, Ugly? You May Have a Case

Part 3: Style and Presentation in Arguments

13 Style in Arguments

Style and Word Choice

Sentence Structure and Argument

Punctuation and Argument

Special Effects: Figurative Language and Argument

     Tropes

     Cultural Contexts for Argument

     Schemes

14 Visual and Multimedia Arguments

The Power of Visual Argument

Shaping the Message

Analyzing Visual Elements of Arguments

Using Visuals in Your Own Arguments

     Using Images or Multimedia to Appeal to Emotion

     Using Images and Multimedia to Appeal to Character

     Visual Arguments Based on Facts and Reason

15 Presenting Arguments

Print Presentations

Oral and Multimedia Presentations

     Oral Arguments in Discussions

     Formal and Multimedia Presentations

     Arguments to Be Heard

     Arguments to Be Remembered

     The Roles of Visuals in Oral and Multimedia Arguments

     Some Oral and Multimedia Presentation Strategies

     A Not about Webcasts: Live Presentations over the Web

Web-Based Presentations

     Web sites

     Blogs

     Videos

e-Page Max Cougar Oswald, Progress [multimedia presentation]

Part 4: Research and Arguments

16 Academic Arguments

Understanding What Academic Argument Is

Developing an Academic Argument

Two Sample Academic Arguments

     Brian Riady, A Directive Approach Towards ESL/EFL Writers

     Lan Xue, China: The Prizes and Pitfalls of Progress

17 What Counts as Evidence

Considering the Rhetorical Situation

Using Data and Evidence from Research Sources

Collecting Data on Your Own

18 Evaluating Sources

Assessing Print Sources

Assessing Electronic Sources

Assessing Field Research

19 Using Sources

Building a Critical Mass

Synthesizing Information

20 Academic Integrity

Acknowledging Your Sources Accurately and Appropriately

Using Copyrighted Internet Sources

Acknowledging Collaboration

21 Documenting Sources

MLA Style

     In-text citations

     Explanatory and Bibliographic Notes

     List of Works Cited

     Sample First Page for an Essay in MLA Style

     Sample List of Works Cited for an Essay in MLA Style

APA Style

     In-Text Citations

     Content Notes

     List of References

22 How Does Popular Culture Stereotype You?

Stephanie Hanes, Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect [newspaper article]

Skip Hollandsworth, Toddlers in Tiaras [magazine article]

Ellen Goodman, The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji [newspaper column]

Anne E. Becker, Abstract, Discussion, and Conclusions of Television, Disordered Eating, and Young Women in Fiji: Negotiation Body Image and Identity During Rapid Social Change [excerpt from journal article]

Sam Dillon, Evictions at Sorority Raise Issue of Bias [newspaper article]

Jack Shakley, Indian Mascots—Youre Out [newspaper opinion]

Porochista Khakpour, Reality TV Goes Where Football Meets the Hijabi [newspaper column]

Making a Visual Argument:

     We’re a Culture, Not a Costume

Charles A. Riley, II, "Preface" and "Appendix," Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change [book excerpt]

Patricia J. Williams, Are We Worried about Storms Identity—Or Our Own? [magazine article]

Jennifer Conlin, The Freedom to Choose Your Pronoun [newspaper article]

Claude M. Steele, At the Root of Identity [book excerpt]

e-Page Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Trailer for MissRepresentation [documentary film trailer]

23 What’s It Like to Be Bilingual in the United States?

Hyon B. Shin and Robert A. Kominski, Language Use in the United States: 2007 [United States census report]

Sandra Cisneros, From Bien Pretty [short story excerpt]

Marjorie Agosín, Always Living in Spanish and English [essay & poem]

Firoozeh Dumas, The F-Word [book excerpt]

Making a Visual Argument:

     National Institutes of Mental Health, En la comunidad latina tenemos una cultura de silencio

     The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Hispanic College Preparation PSA

Lan Cao, The Gift of Language [book excerpt]

Amy Tan, Mother Tongue [essay]

Twin Cities Public Television, First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language [television program transcript]

Michele Bornet, Tell Me Your Secrets—A Deaf Persons Lack of Privacy [blog post]

Michele Bornet, Mom’s Deaf—Let’s Party! [blog post]

Michele Bornet, Learning American Sign Language Takes Time [blog post]

Kirk Semple, Moving to U.S. and Amassing a Fortune, No English Needed [newspaper article]

Amy Martinez Starke, Hmong Elder Didn’t Forget the Old Ways [obituary]

e-Page New York Times, An Education, Over the Border and Under the Radar [slideshow]

e-Page The Big Picture RT, Geeky Science! Does being bilingual make you smarter? [Internet video]

24 Why Worry About Food and Water?

Mark Bittman, Why Take Food Seriously? Because Your Life Depends on It [magazine article]

Wikipedia, Local Food [Wikipedia entry]

Wikipedia, Farm-to-Table [Wikipedia entry]

Making a Visual Argument:

     Claire Ironside, Apples and Oranges

Eric Mortensen, A Diversified Farm Prospers in Oregons Willamette Valley by Going Organic and Staying Local [newspaper article]

Adriene Hill, Eating Ethically—Its Complicated [radio feature]

Christophe Pelletier, The Locavore’s Dilemma [blog post]

Malia Wollan, Migration, on Ice: How Globalization Kills Chickens for Their Parts [magazine article]

Mark Coleman, Review of Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It [book review]

Elizabeth Royte, Excerpt from Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It [book excerpt]

Cook’s Country Kitchen, Ready-to-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, Solving the Mystery of the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie and Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies [magazine articles]

e-Page ESPN, What’s Lurking in Your Stadium Food? [Web article and interactive infographic]

e-Page Daily Cardinal, Farmers’ Market Profile: Northwood Farm [news report]

25 What Should "Diversity on Campus" Mean and Why?

Making a Visual Argument: 

     Student-Designed Diversity Posters [posters]

Michael Krasny and Guests, The Berkeley Bake Sale [radio program]

The Daily Californian, Live Blog: ‘Increase Diversity Bake Sale’ [live blog post]

Heather Mac Donald, Half Baked: UC Berkeley’s Diversity Machine Loses Its Mind Over Cupcakes [magazine article]

Tina Korbe, Remember The Racist Cupcakes? Fordham University Fights Back With Its Own Bake Sale [blog post]

Jennier Delahunty Britz, To All the Girls Ive Rejected

Scott Jaschik, Affirmative Action for Men [Web text]

Libby Sander, Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College [newspaper article] 

Edward F. Palm, The Veterans Are Coming! The Veterans Are Coming! [online article] 

Patricia Cohen, Professors Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not [newspaper article] 

Mack D. Mariani and Gordon J. Hewitt, Indoctrination U.? Faculty Ideology and Changes in Student Political Orientation [excerpt from a journal article] 

Walter Benn Michaels, The Trouble With Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality [book excerpt] 

e-Page New York Times, After Iraq, a New Chapter at College [slideshow with audio]

26 What Are You Working For?

Dave Isay, Ken Kobus, 58, Tells His Friend Ron Barafe, 42, about Making Steel [personal interviews] 

Lisa W. Foderaro, The Well-to-Do Get Less So, and Teenagers Feel the Crunch [newspaper article] 

Rebecca Mead, Learning by Degrees [magazine article]    

Making a Visual Argument:

     Students and Graduates, Employment and Earnings [graphs]

Laurence Shatkin, Education Pays, But Perhaps Less Than You Thought [graph and blog post] 

Mark Bauerlein, The Major and the Job Market, the Dream and the Reality [newspaper article]

Craig Lambert, Our Unpaid, Extra Shadow Work [newspaper article]

Thomas L. Friedman, "The Start-Up of You" and Readers’ Responses [newspaper article]

Stewart D. Friedman, The Fallacy of "Work-Life Balance" and Take the Four-Way View [video transcript and book excerpt] 

e-Page Gist, Rise of the Mobile Workstyle [infographic]

27 How Do We Define "Inequality" in America?

Pew Research Center, Perceptions on the Rich and Poor in America [research report excerpt] 

Rana Foroohar, What Ever Happened to Upward Mobility? [magazine article]    

Jim Harper, Tea Party, Meet Occupy Wall Street. OWS, Tea Party [blog post] 

John Marsh, Why Education is Not an Economic Panacea [newspaper article]

Making a Visual Argument:

     Inequality and Occupy Wall Street

Max Udargo, An Open Letter to that 53% Guy [blog post]

Jonathan Chait, Steve Jobs, Occupy Wall Street, and the Capitalist Ideal [magazine article]    

Mac McClelland, Ohios War on the Middle Class [magazine article]

Andrew Kohut, Don’t Mind the Gap [op-ed]

Stanley Fish, Fair is Fair [blog post]

e-Page Vanguard, "Two Americas"

e-Page The White House, The Buffett Rule [political video]