To the Pointhelps readers construct arguments by thinking about their own experiences, reading brief, current essays, and doing writing assignments. Thoughtful readings on fresh but significant topics provide invaluable models for writing arguments. Readings cover areas from cell phones to environmentalism, from human rights to love and marriage, from immigration to terrorism, along with five classic arguments from Plato, Jonathan Swift, Virginia Woolf, Rachel Carson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. A series of paired Pro/Con readings (Part 2) look at contemporary issues show that there is not always one right answer to a problem or question. Anyone interested in learning how to develop good arguments.

An Overview: Critical Thinking And Argumentation
Reading Arguments
Why Argue?
The Vocabulary of Argument
Justifying an Argument
Aristotle and the Appeal to Reason
Emotional and Ethical Appeals
Toulmin Arguments
Reading Visual Arguments
Reading and Writing About Five Current Issues
"From Stone Age to Phone Age"
"All Go Down Together"
"One Nation, Indivisible? Wanna Bet?"
"Fence of Lies"
Writing Arguments
The Writing Process
First Steps
Identifying Issues
Limiting your Topic
Knowing Your Purpose and Audience
Making a Claim in Your Thesis
Supporting Your Claim
Organizing Your Argument
Checking Your Assumptions (or Warrants)
Refutation: Meeting the Opposition
Avoiding Traps in Appeals and Logic
Perspectives on Love and Marriage: Reading and Writing About a Critical Issue
"I Want a Wife"
"Love and Race"
"Kissing Cousins"
"Let Gays Marry"
"Unmarried, With Children."
Literary Arguments: Getting to the Point About Literature and the Arts
Reading Arguments about Literature and the Arts
Discovery
Interpretation
Evaluation
Reading Literary Arguments: A Checklist
Writing Arguments about Literature and the Arts
Writing Literary Arguments: A Checklist
A Student's Literary Argument
e.e. cummings, "in just"
"Delights and Dangers of Childhood" [student essay]
Literary Arguments for Reading and Analysis
"The Story of an Hour"
Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"
"Wallace Stevens'
'The Snow Man' and Hemingway's 'A Clean Well-Lighted Place'"
"Dickinson's 'I Started Early - Took My Dog -'"
"Tabloid Princess: Review of The Diana Chronicles Tiny Brown"
"Acting Out: Review of Spider-Man 3"
Contemporary Debates
Rap Culture: Is It Too Negative?
"Rap Fans Desire a More Positive Product"
"Ice-T: The Issue Is Creative Freedom"
SUVs: Safe or Dangerous
"Terror on the Roads"
"Did My Car Join Al Qaeda?"
Wal-Mart: Good or Evil?
Jack and Suzy Welch, "What's Right About Wal-Mart"
"Low Pay, Few Benefits
Animal Rights: Should They Compromise Human Needs?
"Is a Lab Rat's Fate More Poignant Than a Child's?"
"A Question of Ethics"
Stem Cell Research: Yes or No?
"False Dilemma on Stem Cells"
"What Would a Clone Say?"
Capital Punishment: Should We Take a Human Life?
"Wrongly Convicted?"
"What Do Murderers Deserve?"
Perspectives On Critical Issues
The Internet: How Do We Relate to Each Other in Cyberspace?
"Anyone Need a Friend?"
"I Surf, Therefore I Am"
"Saturday Night and You're All Alone? Maybe You Need a Cyberdate"
"YouTube: Maker of Dreams, Destroyer of Lives" [student essay]
Campus Violence: What is the Answer?
"Feeling Safe Isn't Safe"
"Why It's Ok to Rat On Other Students"
"How Safe Are America's Campuses?"
"Shootings"
Work, Money, and Class: Who Benefits?
"Off to Work She Should Go"
"The Case Against Chores"
"The Triumph of Hope Over Self-Interest"
"Fitting the Poor into the Economy"
The Media: Do We Control It, or Does It Control Us?
"Why We Tuned Out"
"Spinning into Oblivion"
"Toxic Media"
The Environment: How Can We Preserve It?
"No Margin for Error"
"Out of the Wild"
"Apologia"
"In Distrust of Movements"
Globalization: How Are We Interconnected?
"Globalization, Alive and Well"
"We Are the World"
"Innovate or Perish"
"Wealth of Nations"
Terrorism: How Should We Meet the Challenge?
Reshma Memon Yaqub, "You People Did This"
"Words Fail, Memory Blurs, Life Wins"
"Bad Luck: Why Americans Exaggerate the Terrorist Threat"
SIX CLASSIC ARGUMENTS
Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave"
"A Modest Proposal"
"Professions for Women"
"A Hanging"
"The Obligation to Endure"
"I Have a Dream"
A Casebook On Americans Eating Habits: Are We What We Eat?
"Want Fewer Fries With That?"
"Were Fatter but Not Smarter"
"Don't Blame the Eater"
"Instructions for Stress Diet"
"The McNugget of Truth in Lawsuits Against Fast-Food Restaurants"
Adbusters, "Grease"
"The Fat Tax: A Modest Proposal"
"Trick or Treat"
"The Body of the Beholder"
"The Joy of Eating"
"Weight Loss Guide"
"The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji"
"Waifs on the Web"
Constructing a Brief Argumentative Research Paper
Using Research and Documentation to Support Your Argument
The Research Process
Stage One: Choosing an Issue
Stage Two: Establishing Your Claim
Stage Three: Gathering and Organizing Evidence
Stage Four: Writing the Paper
Stage Five: Documenting Sources
Sample Student Research Paper: Nelson Rivera, "Combating Childhood Obesity: Why Can't Johnny Touch His Toes?" [student essay]
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.