Writing an Analysis of an Argument

1. Writing an Analysis of an Argument Comp 2 Winter

2. Write an Analysis? Ugh! Soon you are going to be asked to write an analysis of other writer’s work. Ultimately you want to figure out what the writer is saying and if you agree or disagree. Responding to what you read will ultimately help you create an argument of your own.

3. How the heck do I do it? • You must read the article… maybe more than once • You must think about the article • Take notes and ask yourself questions about the material • You must examine the writer’s thesis, purpose, methods and persona

4. Examine the writer’s thesis • Most writer’s have a thesis, a claim, a point, and you must locate it. Much of what you read, in and out of this class, will primarily be an argument; the writer will try to support a thesis and try to get you to agree with it. Knowing exactly what a writer is trying to say is important in your understanding and analysis.

5. Examine the writer’s methods • This is where the writer shows his/her stuff. This is where strategy and technique are located. You can find these by asking questions like: • What authorities are quoted? • Are there statistics? Examples? • Are assumptions acceptable and believable? • Does the writer include all relevant information or are things missing, and if so, why? • Is the writer fair and rational? Why or why not?

6. Examine the writer’s persona What about the writer’s self presentation? Does the writer present themselves in a persuasive way? Are they funny? Friendly? Authoritative? It is important to understand this to understand why we agree or disagree with a thesis or how the writer influences us to agree or disagree.

7. Examine the writer’s persona One way to analyze a writer’s person is to recognize their persuasive appeal. There are several ways to appeal to an audience, manipulating rhetoric is one way. Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively. According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion." He described three main forms of rhetoric: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. These appeals are prevalent in almost all arguments.

8. Examine the writer’s persona Ethos (Greek for 'character') refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. Ethos is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the writer or speaker refers to differing views. It can also be affected by the writer's reputation as it exists independently from the message--his or her expertise in the field, his or her previous record or integrity, and so forth. The impact of ethos is often called the argument's 'ethical appeal' or the 'appeal from credibility.'

9. Examine the writer’s persona "I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future. "Democratic Presidential Candidate Acceptance Speech by Barack Obama. August 28th, 2008.

10. Examine the writer’s persona Pathos (Greek for 'suffering' or 'experience') is often associated with emotional appeal. But a better equivalent might be 'appeal to the audience's sympathies and imagination.' An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the writer's point of view--to feel what the writer feels. In this sense, pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb 'to suffer'--to feel pain imaginatively.... Perhaps the most common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative or story, which can turn the abstractions of logic into something palpable and present. The values, beliefs, and understandings of the writer are implicit in the story and conveyed imaginatively to the reader. Pathos thus refers to both the emotional and the imaginative impact of the message on an audience, the power with which the writer's message moves the audience to decision or action.

11. Examine the writer’s persona "I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. "I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. August 28th, 1963.

12. Examine the writer’s persona Logos (Greek for 'word') refers to the internal consistency of the message--the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The impact of logos on an audience is sometimes called the argument's logical appeal. To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject.

13. Examine the writer’s persona "However, although private final demand, output, and employment have indeed been growing for more than a year, the pace of that growth recently appears somewhat less vigorous than we expected. Notably, since stabilizing in mid-2009, real household spending in the United States has grown in the range of 1 to 2 percent at annual rates, a relatively modest pace. Households' caution is understandable. Importantly, the painfully slow recovery in the labor market has restrained growth in labor income, raised uncertainty about job security and prospects, and damped confidence. Also, although consumer credit shows some signs of thawing, responses to our Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices suggest that lending standards to households generally remain tight. "The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy by Ben Bernanke. August 27th, 2010.

14. Summarize?? • Remember that when we are analyzing an argument, we may need to summarize the work a bit, but writing an analysis of an argument is not merely summarizing it. It is reading, rereading and taking notes for understanding. It is an awareness of the author’s thesis, purpose, methods, and persona, and most importantly, it includes your voice, your thesis, your organization, and your tone. The analysis may be about another’s argument, but it is ultimately YOURS.