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Audience and Argumentation. Questions to ask as you begin drafting:. Who is your reader? Do you have more than one reader? Why does the reader need your information? Are you trying to persuade the reader to take a certain action ? What rhetorical strategies will help persuade the reader?.
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Questions to ask as you begin drafting: • Who is your reader? • Do you have more than one reader? • Why does the reader need your information? • Are you trying to persuade the reader to take a certain action? • What rhetorical strategies will help persuade the reader?
Rhetorical strategies: An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence/Data • Warrant
An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer
An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer Because we’ll rob it on the return trip
An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer. Because we’ll rob it on the return trip when there will be more money. What is the underlying assumption?
An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer Because we’ll rob it on the return trip when there will be more money. We want to get the most money possible.
A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. \ • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return.
A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return Because if we rob it now, they’ll think we won’t rob it on the return trip and will load it up with money.
A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return Because if we rob it now, they’ll think we won’t rob it on the return trip and will load it up with money. We want to get the most money possible.
Stephen Toulmin,The Uses of ArgumentCambridge Univ. Press, 1958). • Claim: A statement that something is so. • An arguable statement. Rhetoricians commonly identify three general types of claims: claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy. • Data: The backing for the claim. • Warrant: The connection between the claim and the evidence. • Backing: Support for the warrant. • Modality: The degree of certainty employed in offering the argument. • Rebuttal: Exceptions to the initial claim.
Let’s say you want to make this claim: • “The United States should establish a system of national health insurance.”
Identify the evidence and the warrant. • “Uninsured Americans are going without needed medical care because they are unable to afford it. Because access to health care is a basic human right, the United States should establish a system of national health insurance.”
“Argumentation is not an end in itself; rather, it is a means to achieving good decisions.” • Clarifying the issues • Exposing the complexities of the issue • Uncovering assumptions • Revealing flaws of logic and evidence Ramage and Bean, 2000