Transcript Argumentation/Persuasion

*British Topic
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A Research Paper is NOT…
•A rearrangement or summary of
information
from different sources
•A report that could be included in a
general encyclopedia
•A matter of cutting and pasting together
from different resources
•A result of one quick Database or Google
Scholar search
*Your own analysis of information
discovered from peer reviewed
resources
*A chance to teach yourself something
new
*A chance to demonstrate to others
what you have learned, organized in a
professional, scholarly manner
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 •Choosing and Narrowing a Topic
 •At a Glance-Gathering Info
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•Thesis Statement
•Letter
•Action Plan-Outline
•Sources
•Integrating Secondary Sources: Direct Quotation,
Paraphrasing, Summarizing
•Works Cited Page
•Rough
•Peer-editing
•Final
•Presentations
* General: Birds.
* Focused: The effect of deforestation on
endangered bird populations in Paraguay.
* General: Nick in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The
Great Gatsby
* Focused: Symbolism associated with Nick
concerning themes of love and redemption.
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 •Answers the question, “What is this paper
trying to prove to its audience?”
 •Compresses the critical crux of your paper
into one sentence.
 •Conveys your main argument in a nutshell.
 •Uses specific language and specific ideas.
 •Generates a multi‐faceted argument.
 •Appears in your paper’s introduction
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A Research Paper will utilize statistics, report
findings, and expert opinion to
demonstrate/support your stance on the
subject.
You may want to incorporate the opposition
to your topic into the essay and work on
refuting their claims and dissenting views.
Refutation means pointing out the problems
with the opposing viewpoints, thereby
highlighting your own position’s superiority.
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* Predict counterarguments
Example:
Your Argument: Organic produce from local Farmers’
Markets is better than store-bought produce.
The Opposition: Organic produce is too expensive.
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* Logos—the soundness of your argument: the
facts, statistics, examples, and authoritative
statements you gather to support your
viewpoint.
* This supporting evidence must be unified,
specific, adequate, accurate, and
representative.
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* Pathos—the emotional power of language:
appeals to readers’ needs, values, and
attitudes, encouraging them to commit
themselves to a viewpoint or course of action.
* Connotative language—words with strong
emotional overtones—can move readers to
accept a point of view and may even spur them
to act.
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* Ethos—the credibility and integrity of the
argument: you cannot expect readers to accept
or act on your viewpoint unless you convince
them that you know what you’re talking about.
* Come across as knowledgeable and trustworthy
by incorporating logos and taking the opposing
views into account.
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Precise note‐taking should help you avoid
unintentional plagiarism, since you’ll keep secondary
source information clearly distinct from your original
thoughts. If the idea is not common knowledge (“the
sun rises and also sets”), or not the product of your original
thought processes, then cite it.
Tip: If in doubt,
cite!
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When taking notes, be sure to cite
your sources carefully (author, title,
page numbers, publisher, publication
date) and mention whether you are
quoting the source verbatim (direct
quotation) or summarizing a source’s
ideas in your own words.
Evidence/Support can be found in many ways:
 Which source would a reader find more
credible?
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The New York Times
http://www.myopinion.com
 Which person would a reader be more likely
to believe?
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Joe Smith from Fort Wayne, IN
Dr. Susan Worth, Prof. of Criminology at Purdue
University
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Ask yourself the following questions to determine a
source’s level of credibility:
 When was the source published?
 What are author’s credentials?
 Who’s the intended audience?
 Is the argument balanced or does it show bias and
make unsupported claims, illogical conclusions, or
inaccurate generalizations?
 Lastly, what sorts of references does your source
cite?
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* “CAAAR”=
* Currency
* Authorship
* Audience
* Argument
* References
* Library Reserved Dates:
* Electronic Sources:
On‐line articles from our library’s subscription
databases
* Print Sources:
Journal articles, books.
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 •Peer‐Reviewed/Scholarly/Refereed sources are
by professional experts in the field. Examples:
Publication of the Modern Language Association,
Cell, Journal of the American Medical
Association.
 •General‐audience sources are for non‐experts.
They are written in non‐technical, accessible
language. Examples: Cosmopolitan, Newsweek,
Better Homes & Gardens, and many Google‐able
and Yahoo‐able websites.
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Don’t misrepresent a quote or leave out
important information.
Misquote: “Crime rates were down by
2002,” according to Dr. Smith.
Actual quote: “Crime rates were down by
2002, but steadily began climbing again a
year later,” said to Dr. Smith.
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For each source, you should establish the credibility of the material
or person being cited.
After each quote, you need to explain the material to the reader
and then provide a response.
By providing a response to the sourced material, you are integrating
the support into your argument.
Mary Sherry, owner and founder of a research and publishing firm,
finds that many writers who aim to publish their work are
“inadequately suffering from grammar amnesia and are deluded by
a desire to be famous” (515). By this, I think she means that many
of the writers today have overlooked the importance of grammar
and punctuation and simply want to be recognized. This supports my
stance that many writing students today. . .
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* •NO dropped quotations or quoting without
proper context presented by your own
thoughtful phrasing.
* •NO traffic‐jam quoting or choo‐chootrain
quoting where several direct quotations are
strung together, one after another, without
discussion.
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Occurs when you conclude that a causeeffect relationship exists simply because one
even preceded another.
• Example:
A number of immigrants settle in a nearby city.
The city suffers an economic decline.
The immigrants’ arrival caused the decline.
[This is simply co-occurrence. There are most
likely other reasons for the decline.]
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* Linking two or more ideas that in fact have no
logical connection.
* Example: She uses a wheelchair, so she must be
unhappy.
[The second clause has nothing to do with the
first.]
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* Attacking the qualities of the people holding an
opposing view rather than the view itself.
* Example: Bill Clinton had extramarital affairs,
so his views on global policy merit no
attention.
[Do the ex-president’s marital problems
invalidate his political views?]
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Occurs when the argument fails to provide the
credibility of the sourced material.
• Examples:
Sources show…
An unidentified spokesperson states…
Experts claim…
Studies show…
[If these people and reports are so reliable, they
should be clearly identified.]
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* Involves failure to establish proof for a
debatable point.
* Example: The college library’s funding should
be reduced by cutting subscriptions to useless
periodicals.
[Are some of the library’s periodicals useless?]
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Implies that because two things share some
characteristics, they are therefore alike in all
respects.
• Example: Nicotine and marijuana involve health risks
and have addictive properties.
“Driving while smoking a cigarette isn’t illegal, so
driving while smoking marijuana shouldn’t be illegal.”
[By making this argument, you have overlooked a major
difference between these two substances. Marijuana
impairs perception and coordination—important
aspects of driving—while there’s no evidence that
nicotine does the same.]
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• Assuming that a complicated question has only
two answers, one good and one bad, or both
bad.
• Example: Either we permit mandatory drug
testing in the workplace or productivity will
continue to decline.
[Productivity is not necessarily dependent on
drug testing.]
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Introducing an irrelevant issue intended to
distract readers from the relevant issues
Example: A campus speech code is essential
to protect students, who already have enough
problems coping with rising tuition.
[Tuition costs and speech codes are different
subjects. What protections do students need
that a speech code will provide?]
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* Substituting emotions for reasoning
* Example: She should not have to pay taxes
because she is an aged widow with no friends
or relatives.
[Appeals to people’s pity. Should age and
loneliness, rather than income, determine a
person’s tax obligation.]
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