Understanding Argument

The Nature of Argument A conversation overheard in the school cafeteria: “Hey, how come you didn’t order the meat loaf special? It’s pretty good today.” “Well, I read this book about vegetarianism, and I’ve decided to give up meat. The book says meat is unhealthy and vegetarians live longer. “Don’t be silly, Americans eat lots of meat, and we’re living longer than ever!” “Listen, this book tells how much healthier the Danes were during WWII because they couldn’t eat meat.” “I don’t believe it. A lot of these health books are written by quacks. It’s pretty dumb to change your diet after reading one book.”

The Nature of Argument These people are having what most would call an argument. There are, however, significant differences between the typical meaning of argument as a fight and its definition as a process of reasoning and advancing proof. Not all arguments end in clear victories for one side or the other.

The terms of argument “Argumentation is the art of influencing others, through the medium of reasoned discourse, to believe or act as we wish them to believe or act.” Argument gives primary importance to logical appeals. Basically, an argument is a statement or statements offering support for a claim.

AN ARGUMENT IS COMPOSED OF AT LEAST THREE PARTS: The Claim The Support (evidence) The Warrant

Claim The claim answers the question, “What are you trying to prove?” It may appear as the thesis (called claim) statement of your essay.

Support Support consists of the materials used by the arguer (AKA evidence) to convince an audience that his/her claim is sound. These include: Evidence= (aka data) consists of facts, statistics, and testimonies from experts. Motivational appeals= points out that these appeals are the reasons that move an audience to accept a belief or adopt a course of action (this is your ethos, pathos and logos). ALL claims you make, rather fact or opinion, must be supported. This is called EVIDENCE!

Support: Evidence Factual evidence Opinions (interpretation of facts) Examples (can also be hypothetical) Statistics (expresses information in numbers) Opinions (interpretation of facts) Casual connection (anorexia example about society) Predictions about the future Solutions to problems Expert opinions

Warrant Certain assumptions underlie all the claims we make. The term is used for such an assumption, a belief/principle that is taken for granted. Allows the reader to make the same connection between the support and the claim that the author does (see your T-Chart for a better visual) The audience must share with us if our claims are to prove to be acceptable The writer/speaker may need added support for their warrant (in order to get the other side to believe him/her) ** See your handout***

(Anybody who can’t read above third grade level must be pretty dumb) Support (Larry cannot read above third grade level) Claim (He’s pretty dumb) Warrant (Anybody who can’t read above third grade level must be pretty dumb)

Example Claim: Adoption of a vegetarian diet leads to a healthier, longer life. Support: The authors of Becoming a Vegetarian Family say so. Warrant: The authors of Becoming a Vegetarian Family are reliable sources of information on diet.

Every argument must include… Ethos- author’s credibility Pathos- appeal to emotion Logos – appeal to logic

Wrap Up SO, basically when forming your argument you should have three elements: The claim (which is your claim statement; last sentence of intro paragraph) The support (which is all of your factual or opinionated evidence- later will become your concrete details) The warrant ( the underlying assumption that connects speaker to audience) Now….on to how to organize an argument, now that you know what an argument is, and how it is structured!

Activity: Evaluate an Argument “Ugly” handout with activity