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Patterns for College Writing Chapter 14 - Coggle Diagram
Patterns for College Writing Chapter 14
what is argumentation
a logical way of asserting the soundness of a debatable position, belief or conclusion
it takes a stance and urges people to do the same
Argumentation can be used to convince other people to accept or acknowledge your position
Understanding Argumentation and Persuasion
persuasion is a general term that refers to how a writer influences an audience to adopt a belief or follow an action
they use
Pathos, appeals to emotion
logos, appeals to logic
ethos, appeals to ethics
Argumentation is a n appeal to reason (logos)
the writer connects a series of statements so that they lead logically to a conclusion
it's main goal is to demonstrate the validity of certain arguments
it has a formal structure
most effective arguments use two appeals
Planning an Argumentative Essay
Choosing a Topic
this is critical
there should be an intellectual or emotional stake in the topic
be fair-minded about the topic
think about possible other positions on the argument and how to refute them
be well informed about the topic
make it narrow enough
Developing a Thesis
the thesis must take a stand and be debatable
don't just state a fact
test your thesis by attempting to develop an antithesis
Analyzing Your Audience
consider what beliefs or opinions the audience will have
know if they are neutral, friendly, or hostile towards the thesis
influence the less receptive readers to the argument
argument requires more than just telling people what they believe
always provide evidence
always assume the readers are skeptical
Gathering and Documenting Evidence
all the points must be supported
you need evidence to present a claim and commentary to explain it
Kinds of Evidence
evidence can be fact
Facts are statements that people generally agree are true
they also can be verified independently
evidence can be opinion
these usually go in tangent with facts
opinions are judgments or beliefs that are not substantiated by proof
opinions do not carry the same weight as facts
expert opinions are the opinions of experts in relevant fields.
not all opinions are equally convincing
credibility is a a crucial part of gathering evidence
use relevant essays that might change the reader's minds
Criteria for Evidence
is the evidence relevant
does it support the thesis
is it pertinent to the argument
don't concentrate on one example for too long
is the evidence representative
it should represent the whole range of opinions about the subject
examples should be typical and not aberrant
sufficiently support the evidence
is the evidence sufficient
it should include enough facts, opinions, and examples to support the claims.
the amount of evidence required depends on the length of the essay
Documentation of Evidence
it is much better to use expert opinions than to use your own
whenever evidence is found it needs to be documented
without documentation the readers will question the credibility of the evidence
documentation helps to avoid plagiarism
information that s considered common knowledge does not need to be documented
Dealing with opposition
always try to identify the most obvious objections to the argument
it the opposition is acknowledge credibility increases
this is refutation