The Structure of Argument

by Rottenberg, Annette T.; Winchell, Donna Haisty

• ISBN13: 9780312650698
• ISBN10: 0312650698
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-03
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

The Structure of Argumentcovers critical thinking, reading, writing, and research. It is concise but thorough and presents everything students need in an affordable, compact format. The Structure of Argumentincludes questions, exercises, and writing assignments, and a full semester's worth of readings. Now presenting Aristotelian and Rogerian as well as Toulmin argument, it includes many fresh readings and additional support for academic writing to help students stake their claim. Its emphasis on Toulmin argument makes Structure highly teachable, since the approach fits with the goals of the composition course. An electronic edition is available at half the price of the print book.

Author Biography

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 co-directed 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. 

Table of Contents

Preface

 

Part One: Understanding Argument

 

1. Approaches To Argument

 

     *Aristotelian Rhetoric 
     *Sample Essay With Analysis: Aristotelian
          *Juan Williams, Don’t Mourn Brown v. Board Of Education

 

     *Rogerian Argument
          Joe Sharkey, Airport Screeners Could See X-Rated X-Rays
          Chris Kapper, Freedom to Live Trumps All!
     *Sample Essay with Analysis: Rogerian
          *Michael Kinsley, Racial Profiling At The Airport: Discrimination We’re Afraid to Be

          Against

 

     The Toulmin Model 
     The Terms of Toulmin Argument

 

          The Claim 
          The Support 
          The Warrant

 

     Writer’s Guide: Learning the Key Terms
     Sample Essay with Analysis: Toulmin
          Robert J. Samuelson, The Hard Truth of Immigration
  
     Assignments for Understanding the Structure of Argument
     Research Readiness: Using Databases
  
2. Critical Reading

 

     Pre-reading
     Research Skill: Examining Author, Subject, and Context
          Charles Krauthammer, Let’s Have No More Monkey Trials
  
     Comprehension
     Strategies for Comprehending Arguments

 

     Sample Annotated Essay
          Edward Jay Epstein, Sex And The Cinema
 
     Writer’s Guide: Annotating a Text
     Research Skill: Summarizing
     Evaluation
     Sample Annotated Essay

 

          Alfie Kohn, No-Win Situations

 

          *Stephanie Fairyington, The Gay Option

 

     Critical Listening
     Reading a Visual Argument
     Assignments for Critical Reading
     Research Readiness: Skimming and Summarizing
  
3. Analytical Writing

 

     Writing the Claim
          *Roger Kaplan, Enabling Ignorance

 

     Planning the Structure  
     Using Sentence Forms to Construct an Argument
     Providing Support
     Writer’s Guide: Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
     Documenting Your Sources
     Writer’s Guide: Documenting Use of Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation

 

     Avoiding Plagiarism
 
     Examining Some Models
  
     Sample Essay and Analytical Response: Claim of Fact

          *Eric Jaffe, Reality Check   
     Student Analytical Response: Claim of Fact
          *Deion Moore, Psychoanalyzing Reality TV 
     Sample Essay and Analytical Response: Claim of Value
          *Noam Shpancer, The Meaning Of Reality (TV)

 

     Student Analytical Response: Claim of Value
          *Ashley Wilson, The Meaning Of Shpancer (Really)
 
     Sample Essay with Analysis: Rogerian Argument

 

          Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Parents Need Help: Restricting Access To Video Games

 

     Readings for Analysis

 

          Alan M. Dershowitz, Is There a Torturous Road to Justice?
          Seth Finkelstein, Alan Dershowitz’s Tortuous Torturous Argument
          *Barbara A. Spellman, Could Reality Shows Become Reality Experiments?
     *Debate: Should We all Pledge to End Derogatory Use of the Word “Retard”?
          *Patricia E. Bauer, A Movie, a Word and My Family’s Battle
          *Christopher M. Fairman, The Case Against Banning The Word “Retard”
  
     Assignments for Analytical Writing
     Research Readiness: Incorporating Quotations

Part Two: Analyzing the Elements

 

4. Definition

 

     The Purposes of Definition
     Defining the Terms in Your Argument
     Methods for Defining Terms 
     The Definition Essay
     Writer’s Guide: Writing a Definition Essay
     Sample Annotated Essay

 

          Brian Whitaker, The Definition of Terrorism

 

     Readings for Analysis 

 

          *Stanley Fish, When Is a Cross a Cross?
          *William Deresiewicz, Faux Friendship
          *Guy-Uriel Charles, Stop Calling Quake Victims Looters

 

     Debate: Is the Definition of Marriage Changing?

 

          Howard Moody, Gay Marriage Shows Why We Need To Separate Church and State
          Jo Ann Citron, Will It Be Marriage or Civil Union?

 

     Assignments for Understanding Definition
     Research Readiness: Using Encyclopedias

 

5. Claims

 

     Claims of Fact

 

     Sample Essay: Claim of Fact
          Robert J. Samuelson, Picking Sides for the News
     Claims of Value
     Sample Essay: Claim of Value
          Roger Ebert, Crash
     Claims of Policy
     Sample Annotated Essay: Claim of Policy
          Elisha Dov Hack, College Life Versus My Moral Code

 

     Readings for Analysis

 

          Richard Hayes, Supersize Your Child?
          Wesley Morris, “Saw” Good at Tying Things in Knots
          *Amy Kamenetz, Take This Internship and Shove It
     *Debate: What Is the Social Responsibility of Business?
          *John Mackey, Putting Customers Ahead of Investors
          *T. J. Rodgers, Put Profits First

 

     Assignments for Understanding Claims
     Research Readiness: Acknowledging Reliable Authorities

 

6. Support

 

    Types of Support: Evidence and Appeals to Needs and Values
     Evidence
     Research Skill: Evaluation of Evidence
     Appeals to Needs and Values
     Evaluation of Appeals to Needs and Values
     Writer’s Guide: Using Effective Support
     Sample Annotated Essay
  
          *Louis Uchitelle, American Dream Is Elusive for New Generation

 

     Sample Essay with Analysis

 

          Hal R. Varian, The True Cost Of SUVs
          Bethany Royce, The True Confusion about SUV Costs
  
     Sample Student Essay

 

          Kristen Weinacker, Safer? Tastier? More Nutritious? The Dubious    Merits Of Organic Foods

 

     Readings for Analysis

 

          Bernard Goldberg, Connecting The Dots... To Terrorism
          *Charles Murray, Abolish the SAT
          Theodora Ooms, Marriage-Plus

 

     Debate: Is Assuming the Role of Citizen Journalist Worth the Risk?

 

          Lily Yulianti, Praise For Student’s Footage Of Virginia Tech Mass Killing

 

          Mark Memmott with Alan Levin and Greg Livadas, Disaster Photos: Newsworthy or

          Irresponsible?

 

     Assignments for Providing Support
     Research Readiness: Using Books for Support

 

7. Warrants

 

      What Are Warrants?
          Robert A. Sirico, An Unjust Sacrifice
     Types of Warrants
     Sample Annotated Essay
          Michael Levin, The Case for Torture
     Writer’s Guide: Recognizing Warrants

 

 Readings for Analysis

 

          Eric Auchard, We’re All Celebrities in Post-Privacy Age
          *Careerbuilder.com, Don’t Jump [Advertisement]
          *Jeff Jacoby, What’s Wrong With Price Gouging?
          *BackBayalltheWay, Response To Jacoby
     *Debate: Is Recycling Plastic Good Stewardship or Bad Business?
          *John Trotti, Why Let Stewardship Get in the Way of a Quick Buck?
          *Sharon Kneiss, Argument for Recycling is Strong

     Assignments for Analyzing Warrants
     Research Readiness: Identifying Reliable Authorities

 

8. Logic

 

     Induction
     Sample Essay: An Inductive Argument  
          Richard Rothstein, True Or False: Schools Fail Immigrants
     Deduction
     Sample Annotated Essay: A Deductive Argument
          David Von Drehle, It’s All About Him
     Common Fallacies
     Writer’s Guide: Avoiding Logical Fallacies
     Readings for Analysis
          *Adolf Hitler, On Nation And Race 
          *Leon Seltzer and David Niose, Teen Sex: The “Holy”--vs. Humanistic-- Approach
          Jennifer Grossman, Food For Thought (and for Credit)
     Debate: Should the Federal Government Fund Embryonic Stem-Cell Research?
          Anna Quindlen, A New Look, an Old Battle
          Mona Charen, The Misleading Debate On Stem-Cell Research

     Assignments for Avoiding Flawed Logic
     Research Readiness: Using Up-to-Date Data

 

9. Language

 

     The Power of Words
          Franklin D. Roosevelt, Address To Congress, December 8, 1941
     Connotation
     Slanting
          Newman P. Birk and Genevieve B. Birk, Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language
     Picturesque Language

 

     Concrete and Abstract Language
     Short Cuts
     Sample Annotated Essay
          George W. Bush, President’s Address to the Nation, September 11, 2006
     Writer’s Guide: Choosing Your Words Carefully
     Readings for Analysis
          *William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
          *Jacob Neusner, The Speech The Graduates Didn’t Hear
          *R. Cort Kirkwood, Driving Home Their Point 
     Debate: Does the Government Have the Right to Regulate Guns?
         Warren E. Burger, The Right To Bear Arms
          Roger D. McGrath, A God-Given Natural Right

     Assignments for Choosing Fair and Precise Language
     Research Readiness: Following a Research Trail
  
Part Three: Researching, Writing, and Presenting Arguments
 
10. The Argumentative Paper: Planning and Research

 

     Finding an Appropriate Topic
     Initiating Research
     Writer’s Guide: Keeping Your Research on Track
     Mapping Research: A Sample Outline
     Using Sources: Primary Research
     Using Sources: Secondary Research 
     Evaluating Source
     Taking Notes
     Documenting Your Research (MLA System)
     Documenting Your Research (APA System)
     Wrapping Up Research

 

11. The Argumentative Paper: Writing and Documentation

 

     Organizing the Material
     Writing
     The MLA System for Citing Sources 
     Revising
     Preparing the Manuscript
     Writer’s Guide: Checklist for Argumentative Papers
     Sample Research Paper (MLA Style)
          *Kathleen Hedden, Competitive Foods and the Obesity Epidemic 
     The APA System for Citing Sources
     Sample Research Paper (APA Style)
          Angela Mathers, The Controversy Over Women In Combat
  
12. Oral Argument

 

     The Audience
     Credibility
     Organization
     Language
     Support
     Presentation Aids
     Sample Persuasive Speech
          C. Renzi Stone, Live Longer And Healthier: Stop Eating Meat!
     Reading for Analysis  
          Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream
   
 Glossary 
 Index of Subjects
 Index of Authors and Titles 
 
*=new