The Structure of Argument

by Annette Rottenberg, Donna Winchell

Overview

With The Structure of Argument you get coverage of argument that’s affordable and easy to apply as you build your own compelling essays. And if you’re writing a research paper, you’ll appreciate the guidance on evaluating sources for bias and the sample essays that model effective use of digital sources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781319411800
Publisher:	Bedford/St. Martin's
Publication date:	11/01/2024
Edition description:	Eleventh Edition
Product dimensions:	1.00(w) x 1.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Annette T. Rottenberg, formerly assistant director of the writing program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has taught composition and literature at Chicago City College, SUNY at Buffalo, Duke University, and schools abroad.

Donna Haisty Winchell has directed the Freshman Composition program and codirected Digital Portfolio Institutes at Clemson University, where she is Professor of English.  She has edited several freshman writing anthologies and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.

John Solomon is one of America's premier investigative journalists whose award-winning stories over the last quarter-century have exposed scandals ranging from the use of foster children in AIDS drug experiments to what the Bush administration knew about terror threats in the days before September 11, 2001. His exposés have appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, on 60 Minutes, and in The Associated Press and countless other publications and news shows across the globe. A former executive editor of The Washington Times and director of news at Newsweek, Solomon currently runs the Washington Guardian investigative newspaper in the nation's capital and lives in Virginia. He is the author of DSK: The Scandal That Brought Down Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Table of Contents

An asterisk (*) indicates a new selection.

PART ONE Understanding Argument

*1. What Is Argument?
Why Study Argument?
Argument in the Twenty-First Century
*MEL BONDAR, The Financial Case for Trade School over College
The Purposes of Argument
The Elements of Argument
The Ethics of Argument
So, Why Write Arguments?

2. Critical Reading of Written Arguments
Prereading
Strategies for Prereading
*GRETA THUNBERG, How Dare You?
Reading with an Open Mind
*MARK R. LEVIN, News, Propaganda, and Pseudo-Events
Reading for Content and Structure
Strategies for Annotating a Text
CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT, A Tale of Two Airlines
Summarizing
Research Skill: Using Summaries in Research
*OCEAN VUONG, Reimagining Masculinity
Evaluating
Strategies for Evaluating Arguments
BRUCE SCHNEIER, The Internet Is a Surveillance State
WHITNEY CRAMER, Giving Up Our Privacy: Is It Worth It? (student essay)
Argument Essentials: Examining Written Arguments
Assignments for Critical Reading of Written Arguments

3. Critical Reading of Multimodal Arguments
Visual Rhetoric
Photographs
*ERIK MCGREGOR, Candlelight Vigil for Mass Shooting Victims
*MICHAEL CAMPANELLA, Friday School Strikes, August 2018
*MARCO MERLINE, Fridays for the Future, Six Months Later
*NORMA JEAN GARGASZ, The View from the Other Side
*JOSEPH PREZIOSO, A Standoff over Immigration
*COURTENEY COKO MOORE, Little Boy Holds Hand of Crying Classmate
Argument Essentials: Visual Rhetoric
Print Advertisements
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, Stop Climate Change before It Changes You
AD COUNCIL, It Only Takes a Moment to Make a Moment
*L’OREAL, My Future Is What I Make It
Political Cartoons
*FRAN, Citizenship Test Forum
*PETER STEINER, Understand the Ten Commandments
*CHIP BOK, Sorry, Sir, You’ve Been Red-Flagged
Graphics
THEWORLD.ORG, Tobacco’s Shifting Burden
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, Where Your Gas Money Goes
Audio and Audiovisual Rhetoric
Television Commercials
TOYOTA, Let’s Go Places
Podcasts
*LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER, Recession Fears, Immigration Rules, and “Electability”
*TOM BALDWIN and NINA SCHICK, INTELLIGENCE SQUARED, How the Information Age
Crashed Our Democracy
Argument Essentials: Audiovisual Rhetoric
ELIZABETH WARREN, Remarks at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Strategies for Critical Listening
Online Environments
Networking Sites
WILLIAM WHARTON, “Peaceful” Act of Compassion
Argument Essentials: Online Environments
Research Skill: Evaluating Online Sources
Interactive Websites
AD COUNCIL, embracerefugees.org
Assignments for Critical Reading of Multimodal Arguments

4. Writing Argument Analysis
Argument Essentials: Argument Analysis
Writing the Thesis (Main Claim)
Argument Essentials: Writing the Claim
Planning the Structure
Argument Essentials: Planning the Structure
Providing Support
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Argument Essentials: Providing Support
Quoting
Research Skill: Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
Documenting Your Sources
Strategies for Documenting Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
JAMES W. INGRAM III, Electoral College Is Best Way to Choose U.S. President
HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT, The Science Facts about Autism and Vaccines (infographic)
*STEFAN ANDREASSON, Fossil Fuel Divestment Will Increase Carbon Emissions, Not Lower Them
*BEN ADLER, Are Plastic-Bag Bans Good for the Climate?
*LESLEY WEXLER AND JENNIFER K. ROBBENNOLT, #MeToo and Restorative Justice: Realizing
Restoration for Victims and Offenders
*DESTINÉE MILLER, Restorative Justice and the #MeToo Movement (student essay)
*SABRA STAPLETON, How to Pick a President: Electoral College vs. National Popular Vote (student essay)
Assignments for Writing Argument Analysis

PART TWO Writing Argument

*5. Approaches to Argument
Aristotelian Rhetoric
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Ancient Rhetoric Today
Argument Essentials: Aristotelian Rhetoric
*CHESLEY B. “SULLY” SULLENBERGER III, We Saved 155 Lives on the Hudson. Now Let’s Vote for Leaders Who’ll Protect Us All.
LIZA LONG, I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother
Rogerian Argument
Argument Essentials: Rogerian Argument
MALLORY SIMON, Gun Debate: Where Is the Middle Ground?
SARAH SELTZER, Teaching Trigger Warnings: What Pundits Don’t Understand about the Year’s Most Controversial Higher-Ed Debate
Stasis Theory
The Stasis Questions
Stasis Theory Claims
Research Skill: Narrowing Your Research
The Toulmin Model
The Claim
The Support
The Assumption
Toulmin and the Syllogism
Argument Essentials: The Toulmin Model
*ANGIRA PATEL, To Be a Good Doctor, Study the Humanities
STEVEN REINBERG, Embryo Selection May Help Prevent Some Inherited Disorders
Assignments for Approaches to Argument

6. Claims
Claims of Fact
Argument Essentials: Claims of Fact
Research Skill: Using Databases
*AMY FROIDE, Spinster, Old Maid, or Self-Partnered: Why Words for Single Women Have Changed through Time
DOMTAR PAPER, Paper Because (advertisement)
Claims of Value
Aesthetics
Morality
Argument Essentials: Claims of Value
SAMUEL CHI, The NFL’s Protest Crisis
*ODIE HENDERSON, Black Panther
Claims of Policy
Argument Essentials: Claims of Policy
ELISHA DOV HACK, College Life versus My Moral Code
*JESSICA ANDREWS, How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation at Coachella
Strategies for Reading and Writing Claims
Assignments for Claims

7. Support
Strategies for Reading and Writing Support
Evidence
Factual Evidence
Images
Research Skill: Evaluating Factual Evidence
Expert Opinion
Research Skill: Evaluating Expert Opinion
Argument Essentials: Evidence
KRISTEN WEINACKER, Safer? Tastier? More Nutritious? The Dubious Merits of Organic Foods (student essay)
SID KIRCHHEIMER, Are Sports Fans Happier?
Appeals to Needs and Values
Appeals to Needs
Argument Essentials: Appeals to Needs and Values
Appeals to Values
Strategies for Evaluating Appeals to Needs and Values
RONALD M. GREEN, Building Baby from the Genes Up
*SARAH GRIFFITHS, Why Having a Crush Is Good for You
Assignments for Support

8. Assumptions
General Principles
Widely Held Assumptions
Argument Essentials: Assumptions
Recognizing and Analyzing Unstated Assumptions
“Obvious” Assumptions
Intention to Deceive
Strategies for Recognizing Assumptions
*THOMAS R. WELLS, Let the Anti-Vaxxers Have Their Way
Research Skill: Focusing a Research Topic
MICHAEL LEVIN, The Case for Torture
ROBERT A. SIRICO, An Unjust Sacrifice
Assignments for Assumptions

9. Structuring the Argument
Organizing the Argument
Defending the Thesis
Refuting an Opposing View
Strategies for Refuting an Opposing View
SHARON ASTYK AND AARON NEWTON, The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Go Hungry
Finding the Middle Ground
Strategies for Finding the Middle Ground
*JACK BEYRER, Innovative Gun Control Idea Gains Support
Presenting the Stock Issues
JOHN R. KOZA, States Can Reform Electoral College — Here’s How to Empower Popular Vote
Argument Essentials: Organizing the Argument
Writing
Writing the Introduction
Writing the Conclusion
Assignments for Structuring Arguments

PART THREE Strengthening Argument

10. Language
The Power of Words
Emotive Language
STIHL, Consumer Confidence (advertisement)
*DONALD J. TRUMP, Remarks on the Shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio
PAMELA POWERS HANNLEY, Bathroom Politics: Preserving the Sanctity of the “Ladies’ Room”
Slanting
Research Skill: Evaluating Language in Sources
Figurative Language
W. E. B. DU BOIS, Of Our Spiritual Strivings
Concrete and Abstract Language
Shortcuts
Clichés
Slogans
Strategies for Evaluating Word Choice and Choosing Your Words Carefully
*RACHEL SYME, Selfie: The Revolutionary Potential of Your Own Face
BARACK OBAMA, Remarks at Memorial Service for Fallen Dallas Police Officers
Assignments for Language

11. Definition
The Purposes of Definition
Argument Essentials: Purposes of Definition
SUNNIVIE BRYDUM, The True Meaning of the Word “Cisgender”
*LUCAS WRIGHT, Twitter Bans Dehumanization
Defining the Terms in Your Argument
The Limitations of Dictionary Definitions
Stipulation and Negation: Stating What a Term Is and Is Not
Defining Vague and Ambiguous Terms
Research Skill: Using Encyclopedias to Find Definitions
Definition by Example
Argument Essentials: Defining the Terms in Your Argument
Extended Definitions
Strategies for Writing a Definition Essay
ISHMEAL BRADLEY, Conscientious Objection in Medicine: A Moral Dilemma
BRIAN WHITAKER, The Definition of Terrorism
Assignments for Definition

12. Logic
Induction
Argument Essentials: Induction
*STEVEN DOLOFF, Greta Garbo, Meet Joan Rivers . . . (Talk Amongst Yourselves)”
Deduction
Argument Essentials: Deduction
*SEAMUS O’MAHONY, Are We Living Too Long?
HILLARY CLINTON, Remarks at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Women and the Economy Summit
Common Fallacies
Research Skill: Structuring Your Research with Generalizations and Specifics
Hasty Generalization
Faulty Use of Authority
Post Hoc or Doubtful Cause
False Analogy
Ad Hominem
False Dilemma
Slippery Slope
Begging the Question
Straw Man
Red Herring
Two Wrongs Make a Right
Non Sequitur
Ad Populum
Strategies for Uncovering Logical Fallacies
Appeal to Tradition
CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL, Drivers Get Rolled
*JUSTICE HENRY BILLINGS BROWN, Plessy v. Ferguson: The Opinion of the Court
Assignments for Logic

PART FOUR Incorporating Research

13. Planning and Research
Finding an Appropriate Topic
Invention Strategies
Evaluating Possible Topics
Strategies for Identifying Effective Research Paper Topics
Initiating Research
Keeping Research on Track
Strategies for Keeping Your Research on Track
Research Skill: What Is Common Knowledge?
Sketching a Preliminary Outline
Types of Sources
Research Skill: Popular vs. Scholarly Articles
Finding Sources
Databases
Encyclopedias
Statistical Resources
Government Resources
Online Sources
Multimodal Sources
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Sources for Relevance
Evaluating Sources for Reliability
Research Skill: Evaluating Multimodal Sources
Argument Essentials: Evaluating Sources
Taking Notes
Note Taking and Prewriting
Working with Your Outline
Managing and Documenting Sources
Argument Essentials: Taking Notes
*ALICIA OGLESBY, Safe Spaces
*MEGAN YEE, Why “Safe Spaces” Are Important for Mental Health — Especially on College Campuses

14. Drafting, Revising, and Presenting Arguments
Reviewing Your Research
Research Skill: Reviewing Your Research
Avoiding Plagiarism
Argument Essentials: Avoiding Plagiarism
Building an Effective Argument
Argument Essentials: Checklist for Effective Arguments
Using Sentence Forms to Write Arguments
Argument Essentials: Addressing Opposing Arguments Using Sentence Forms
Revising
Oral Arguments and Presentations
The Audience
Credibility
Organization
Language
Support
Presentation Aids
*JIMMY CARTER, Why I Believe the Mistreatment of Women Is the Number One Human Rights Abuse
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, Remarks to Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute

15. Documenting Sources
MLA In-Text Citations
MLA Works Cited Entries
Directory of MLA Works Cited Entries
Print Sources
The Elements of Citation: Book (MLA)
Online Sources
The Elements of Citation: Article from a Website (MLA)
The Elements of Citation: Article from a Database (MLA)
Other Sources
MLA-Style Annotated Bibliography
MLA-Style Paper Format
MLA-Style Sample Research Paper
*ANNA HARVIN, The Place for Safe Space: Mental Health and the College Student Experience (student essay in MLA style)
APA In-Text Citations
APA List of References
Directory of APA Reference Entries
Print Sources
The Elements of Citation: Book (APA)
Online Sources
The Elements of Citation: Article from a Website (APA)
The Elements of Citation: Article from a Database (APA)
Other Sources
APA-Style Paper Format
APA-Style Sample Research Paper
*DANIEL M. WEINZAPFEL, The Economic Argument for Expanding GMO Regulation in America (student essay in APA style)

Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

The Structure of Argument is extremely teachable and very well organized. It scaffolds concepts so that students' understanding grows with each chapter.” – Tammy Jabin, Chemeketa Community College

“The Structure of Argument is a great text! The authors' tone, the organization, and the selected essays and artifacts all work well.” – Daniel Powell, Florida State College at Jacksonville

From the Publisher