Writing the Argument

1. Writing the Argument • A heated disagreement, name calling, shout downs, slamming fists…. or • “A creative and productive activity that engages” writers, readers and listeners in “high levels of inquiry and critical thinking…with respect” (Ramage et al. 4)

2. In academic inquiry, argument is “a desire for the truth; it aims to find the best possible solution” to problems faced by our society (Ramage et al. 4) “Absolute truth is an illusion” (14).

3. Argument • is developed with facts and reasons • Is designed to explore and explain complexities, not to simplify issues • Is audience-directed, not just self-satisfying

4. Implicit and Explicit Arguments • Implicit:

5. Explicit: • Issue based • Rational • Reasonable • Claim (thesis) supported with reason/evidence

6. An argument is reasonable • Reasonableness assumes two things: • Possibility of growth or change (fanatic, pseudo) • Built on a common assumption (no bottomless dispute)

7. In addition, every argument needs…. • Claim: The summary answer to your question • Therefore, your arguments will • Make a claim • Support it with reasons and evidence

8. Toulmin model • Claim: the idea being argued • Warrants (assumptions): the general, hypothetical (and often implicit) statements that serve as bridges between claim and data • Grounds: the facts we appeal to as the foundation for the claim *also known as Reasons • Backing: the source of the support

9. Qualifiers: statements that limit the strength of the argument or that propose conditions in which it applies Few routinely rarely most often in some cases perhaps under these conditions many Rebuttal: statements that indicate circumstances in which the argument might have to be set aside

10. Congress should ban animal research (claim) because animals are tortured in experiments that have no necessary benefit for humans, such as the testing of cosmetics (grounds). The well-being of animals is more important than the profits of the cosmetics industry (warrant). Only Congress has the authority to make such a law (warrant) because the corporations can simply move from state to state (grounds). Of course, this ban should not apply to medical research (qualifier). A law to ban all such research would go too far (rebuttal).

11. Attaching grounds (reasons) • Grades in college should be abolished… because I don’t like them • Since the federal government supports the military…. it should support the arts

12. Flat tax vs progressive tax: cultural assumptions claim warrant That which treats all taxpayers in the same way is fair • Flat taxes are fairer than progressive taxes because they treat all taxpayers the same way

13. Contrary claim Warrant Fair taxes are those which tax people according to their ability to pay • Progressive taxes are fairer than flat taxes because they tax people according to their ability to pay

14. Alternative rationale Claim Warrant Taxes that simplify the tax code are desirable Taxes that reduce fraud are preferable • Flat taxes are preferable to progressive taxes because they simplify the tax code and reduce fraud

15. Arguments of Definition: Grandpa’s Rant • Hot under the collar, Grandpa calls you long distance to complain that 10 or 20 acres he intended to drain on his farm in Idaho are about to be declared “wetlands” by a busybody federal agent. He wants to know what the difference is between a no-good, mosquito infested bog and a federally managed wetland.

16. Claims of definition Arguments of definition Section 404 of the Clean Water Act: Areas where the frequent and prolonged presence of water at or near the soil surface drives the natural system meaning the kind of soils that form, the plants that grow, and the fish and/or wildlife communities that use the habitat. • “A wetland is just a swamp with powerful friends” • Finding a good reason to support a claim involves formulating a general, broad definition

17. Keys to definition • Focus your argument on a central issue • Examine any definition you care to defend honestly and rigorously • Explore with an open mind and acute sense of what will be persuasive to the audience

18. Definition by example Claim: • The 9/11 attack on the United States is not an act of war; it is a horrible act of terrorism because it was perpetrated by a fanatical group meaning to disrupt and instill fear, and should be responded to accordingly.

19. Reasons: • Acts of war are perpetrated by states or nations upon states or nations, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II • Acts of war are meant to conquer, such as the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War • Acts of terrorism are isolated attacks meant to disrupt and instill fear, such as the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City • Acts of terrorism are committed by extremist fanatical groups, for example the IRA and HAMAS

20. Warrant: • We should respond to the 9/11 attack on the United States as an act of terrorism, not an act of war • Acts of terrorism require a different response than an act of war

21. Definition as Operational(related to conditions) • Claim: • The nature of terrorism has shifted in the 21st century from situational to ideological. In the past, terrorism intended to publicize grievances and insight change; today, terrorism is an act of violence for violence’s sake, a statement.

22. Reasons: • Motivated by sacred duty • Refuse to negotiate or compromise • Expansion from local to global • “As well, ‘traditional terrorism’ employed functional violence as part of a wider political strategy, whereas ‘new terrorism’ pursues symbolic violence as a method of ‘total war’ in isolation from other strategic considerations (Hoffman qtd. in Field 199).

23. Warrant: • Today’s terrorism must be treated differently because the intent of terrorists has changed • Acts of terrorism require a different response than acts of war • Source • Field, Antony. “The ‘New Terrorism’: Revolution or Evolution? “ Political Studies Review. 7 ( 2009): 197-207. Olympia Seminars. Olympia Summer Academy. 17 August 2013. Web. <http://olympiaseminars.org/2012/readings/Cycle_C/Field_New%20Terrorism.pdf>.

24. Seek truth, and then persuade.