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So you think you can argue?. What is an argument?. a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one Argument Clinic-Monty Python. How to argue, well.
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What is an argument? • a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong • an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one • Argument Clinic-Monty Python
How to argue, well • An argument has a conclusion and supporting reason(s) • Claim. Evidence/reason(s). • It is OK to eat meat. Meat has protein, and we need protein to survive. • It is OK to eat meat because it is more tasty than vegetables.
Some examples of arguments • “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” -Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963 • “Democracy has at least one merit, namely, that a member of Parliament cannot be stupider than his constituents, for the more stupid he is, the more stupid they were to elect him.” -Bertrand Russell, “Autobiography,” 1967 • “Twenty-eight children in the United States were killed by falling television sets between 1990 and 1997. That is four times as many people as were killed by great white shark attacks in the twentieth century. Loosely speaking, this means that watching ‘Jaws’ on TV is more dangerous than swimming in the Pacific. -“The Statistical Shark,” The New York Times, September 6, 2001
Bring your arguments • A debate is a formal discussion in which opposing arguments are put forward • Bring your arguments • Debunk the other side’s arguments • Defend your arguments