Writing an Argument

The building blocks for arguments are…
Propositions (statements)

Propositions
Is a statement or claim that is either true or false.
It has truth value.
With some investigation, one can determine the truth or falsity of each statement

Proposition
E.g An advanced form of life exists on the planet Mars.
Ponder…
"It's not a proposition. It's just his or her opinion."

Remember….
Opinions are PROPOSITIONS because they can either be true or false.
E.g Blue is my favorite colour.

However…
Opinions can be divided onto two types:
- mere opinions
- reasoned judgment

Mere opinions:
is a belief that is unsupported by reasons.
This is UNSUITABLE for arguments.

Reasoned Judgment:
A belief that is supported by reasons.
As such, this is the type of PROPOSITION used in arguments

Reasoned Judgment
Example:
1)We must resist all effort to allow the government to censor entertainment. 2)Freedom of speech and expressions are essential to a democratic form of government. 3)As soon as we allow some censorship, it won't be long before censorship will be used to silence the opinions critical of the government. 4) The next thing we know, we will have no more freedom than the Germans did under Hitler.

Evidence for Argument
Types of Evidence…
-Facts
-Statistics
-Expert Opinions
-Appeals to beliefs or needs

Facts

-Verifiable statements
E.g The Civil War ended in 1865

Statistics
-Facts express in numbers.
E.g Of those polled, 62% stated a preference for a flat tax.

Examples
-specific cases
E.g Besides broadening students’ knowledge,
required courses can also introduce students
to possible careers that they otherwise
would have known nothing about. Somewhat
reluctantly, I enrolled in a psychology course
to satisfy the social requirement. But what I
learned in the course about human behavior
has led me to consider becoming a clinical
psychologist instead of an engineer.

Expert Opinions
-are the judgment formed by authorities on the basis of their own examination of the facts.
E.g Despite the fact that affirmative action places some individuals at a disadvantage, it remains necessary to right the wrongs inflicted historically on whole groups of people. Howard Glickstein, a past director of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights, maintains that "it simply is not possible to achieve equality and fairness" unless the previous grounds for discrimination (such as sex, race, and national origin) are now used as the grounds for admission to schools and jobs (26).

Appeals to beliefs or needs

-statements that ask readers to accept an assertion in part because it states something they accept as true without evidence or because it coincides with their needs.

E.g Thus the chemistry laboratory is outdated in its equipment. In addition, its shabby, antiquated appearance shames the school, making it seem a second-rate institution. [Appeals to readers’ belief that their school is or should be first-rate].

Criteria for Weighing Arguments
Criteria for Weighing Arguments:
-Is it accurate: trustworthy, exact, undistorted?
-Is it relevant: authoritative, pertinent, current?
-Is it representative: true to context?
-Is it adequate: plentiful, specific?

Is it Accurate?
-Drawn from trustworthy sources,
-It is quoted exactly,
-It is presented with the original meaning undistorted.

Is it relevant?
-It comes from sources with authority on the subject.
-It relates directly to the point the writer is making.
-It is current.

Is it Representative?
-It reflects the full range of the sample from which it is said to be drawn.
-It does not over represent any element of the sample.

Is it Adequate?
-It is plentiful enough to support the writers’ assertions.
-It is specific enough to support the writers’ assertions.

Watching Language and Hearing Tone

Watching Language and Hearing Tone:
Tone
-Appealing to readers: Rational and emotional readers
-Biased language

Tone
- Tone is the expression of the writers’ attitude towards himself/herself towards the subject and toward the reader.

Tone
E.g Some women cite personal growth as a reason for pursuing careers while raising children. Of course, they are equally concerned with the personal growth of the children they relegate to "child-care specialists" while they work.

Note: Second sentence, the writer is being ironic, saying one thing while meaning another. The word ‘relegate’ and the quotation marks with ‘child-care specialists’ betray the writers’ belief that working mothers may selfishly neglect their children for their own needs.

Appealing to Readers
-Rational reader
-Emotional reader

Rational Appeal
E.g Advertising should show more physically challenged people. The millions of disabled Americans have considerable buying power, yet so far advertisers have made no attempt to tap that power. [Appeals to the logic of financial gain].

Emotional Appeal:
E.g Advertising should show more physically challenged people. By keeping the physically challenged out of the mainstream depicted in ads, advertisers encourage widespread prejudice against disability, prejudice that frightens and demeans those who hold it. [Appeals to the sense of fairness, open-mindedness].

Rational and Emotional Appeal
E.g Advertising should show more physically challenged people. The millions of disabled Americans have considerable buying power, yet so far advertisers have made no attempt to tap that power. Further, by keeping the physically challenged out of the mainstream depicted in ads, advertisers encourage widespread prejudice against disability, prejudice that frightens and demeans those who hold it.

Biased Language
-Sexist
Eg. Broad (woman)
Eg. Fag (homosexual)

-Racist
E.g Nigger (African-American)