English Composition Effective Argumentation

Effective Argumentation Effective Argumentation is one of the most important skills you need to develop. ● You might not realize it, but you are making many arguments in a day. An argument can be described as a written text or a visual that describes a point of view or the utilization of evidence to support or discover a truth or claim. ● Every time you are making a decision, you are essentially posing an argument. ○ For instance, if you are deciding where to go out to eat lunch, you may ask “Where should I eat today -- McDonald’s or Burger King?” ○ In your head, or out loud, you are then coming up with reasons as to why McDonald’s is a better choice or as to why Burger King is a better choice. ○ Let’s say you were finally set on going to Burger King. Maybe you thought that Burger King offered better prices and had the food you were craving at that moment. The latter two reasons are essentially the reasons why Burger King was a better choice at the time. ○ Here, you are making an argument -- you have a central claim that Burger King is the place you should eat lunch, and you have reasons supporting that argument. Let’s now look at how to make a good argument. A good argument typically.. ● Takes a defensible position ○ Make it clear what side of the issue you are taking and make sure you can substantiate this. ● Presents a well-established line of reasoning, or reasons used to reach a conclusion ● Make sure the reasons you provide are related and connected to each other AND to the central argument ● Provides specific and clear facts, examples, statistics, etc. to prove their point Effective Argumentation (continued) ● Takes the other side of the issue into consideration ○ This part of the argument is important because acknowledging opposing views and being able to explain why these views are wrong or not as important as your own beliefs shows complexity of thought and sophistication. ■ It also shows that you are looking at the side from all angles and that you are making a well-informed decision ● Uses captivating language to arouse interest ● Has a strong opening and closing ○ This factor is also important because the opening and closing are what summarize your argument and restate your claims. ■ The opening is what draws readers in. ● Your opening can be an important statistic, quote, fact, etc. ■ The closing is the final words or message the reader takes away. ● Your closing restates your argument and summarizes your claims. Argument Construction Example Now that we’ve studied the characteristics of a good argument, let’s look at an example. The topic of this argument will revolve around paper bags and whether they should be banned or not. The side that will be taken is that “Plastic bags should not be banned, as their alternatives are worse.” ● The first step to crafting a well-developed argument is forming an outline. Consider these questions when doing so: ○ What are your main claims? ○ What will be the structure of your argument? ○ What type of reasoning will you use? ○ What rhetorical appeals will you make? Outline: - Plastic bags should continue being in use - A quote by Sir Jagadeesh Kumar will be used as a hook: “Plastic is the most destructive weapon than a nuclear bomb or an atom bomb, its impact shall remain for centuries on the future generation” - Retrieved from “20 Quotes on Plastic Pollution” Disprove this quote in argument. Argument Construction Example (continued) - 3 Claims - Claim 1 - - Claim 2 - - Reusable bags are unsanitary Claim 3 - - Paper bags require more resources to make Washing reusable bags puts a strain on the economy Evidence Pieces to Back Up Each Claim - Claim 1 - “About 10 percent more energy is used to produce a paper bag versus a plastic one, and about 4 times as much water.” - Claim 2 - “Academic researchers recently tested 84 reusable grocery bags from shoppers in California and Arizona: More than half the bags contained some sort of coliform bacteria, a category that includes Escherichia coli.” Argument Construction Example (continued) - Claim 3 - “A plastic bag ban wouldn't only affect the environment. It would have an economic impact as well. A summary of a report from the National Center for Policy Analysis found that stores inside ban areas in Los Angeles saw a six percent decrease in sales whereas stores just outside of those areas saw a sales growth of nine percent over the course of a year.” - https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Why_Should_We_Not_Ban_P lastic_Bags - “Banning plastic bags on a large scale could also endanger at least some of the 30,000+ plastic bag manufacturing and recycling jobs in the United States.” - https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Why_Should_We_Not_Ban_P lastic_Bags Note that this is only an outline, so providing only one piece of evidence per claim is sufficient. - Conclusion - Restating that plastic bags should not be banned - Emphasizing the negative impacts that arise from the three claims Argument Construction Example (continued) ● Now that the outline is complete, it is possible to combine these components into an essay, which starts off with a strong opening, and then transitions into each of the three claims. ● Then, follows the reasons supporting those claims. ● This part incorporates the evidence as well as the commentary, which explains the evidence’s significance to the argument and emphasizes how the claims are connected to each other and how they are connected to the overall argument ● Incorporation of Rhetorical Appeals ○ Because rhetorical appeals are so powerful and help persuade readers, it’s important to address the appeals made in the above argument. ○ Because statistics were given throughout, this helped appeal to logos. ■ Specific information was used to strengthen the argument ■ The information came from credible sources ■ The data was then used to reiterate the argument and explain how it shows that plastic bags should not be banned Argument Construction Example (continued) ○ Because we were able to discuss the ethical values behind the banning of paper bags and were able to address counterarguments and why they are weak, we appealed to ethos. ■ We were able to explain why paper bags and reusable bags did not do a good job of helping the environment ■ We explained how, in certain aspects, plastic bags were more helpful and cost-efficient ○ Because we used powerful language throughout our argument, we appealed to pathos. ■ The emotion-evoking words stressed the detrimental impacts on the economy and the environment if paper bags were banned ● Stressed urgency of the issue if it was posed ● Called audience to action