The Aims of Argument focuses on the aims—or purposes—of argument: to inquire, to convince, to persuade, and to mediate. In contrast to other books' pedagogy, Aims emphasizes rhetorical contexts, helping students become experts in reading, analyzing, and writing arguments.

Table of Contents:
*Indicates that the reading selection is new to this edition PART ONE, Resources for Reading and Writing ArgumentsChapter One, Understanding ArgumentWhat Is Argument?What Is Rhetoric?An Example of ArgumentDiscussion of “You Have a Right…”Four Criteria of Mature ReasoningWhat Are the Aims of Argument?Where are the Aims of Argument Used?A Good Tool for Understanding and Writing Arguments: The Writer’s NotebookWhy Keep a Notebook?Notebook OptionsKeeping a Print NotebookKeeping an Electronic NotebookWays of Using a NotebookChapter Two, Reading An ArgumentThe First Encounter: Seeing the Whole Text in ContextThe Second Encounter: Reading and Analyzing the TextWrestling With Difficult PassagesUsing Paraphrase to Aid ComprehensionAnalyzing the Reasoning of an ArgumentThe Third Encounter: Responding Critically to an ArgumentChapter Three, Analyzing Arguments: A Simplified Toulmin MethodA Preliminary Critical ReadingA Step-by-Step Demonstration of the Toulmin MethodFind the ExceptionsAnalyzing the ReasonsList the ReasonsExamine the ReasonsAnalyzing EvidenceNoting RefutationsSummarizing Your AnalysisA Final Note about Logical AnalysisChapter Four, Reading and Writing about Visual Arguments Understanding Visual Arguments“Reading” ImagesAnalysis: Five Common Types of Visual Arguments[FOUR-COLOR Visual Argument INSERT]Chapter Five, Writing Research-Based ArgumentsFinding an IssueFinding SourcesEvaluating SourcesUsing SourcesIncorporating and Documenting Source Material in the Text of Your ArgumentInstructions for Using MLA and APA StyleDirect QuotationsIndirect QuotationsCreating a Works-Cited or Reference ListPART TWO, The Aims of ArgumentChapter Six, Looking for Some Truth: Arguing to InquireInquiry and Interpretation in Academic WritingThe Writing Project: Exploratory Essay, Part OneConversations and Dialogue in InquiryInquiry Again: Digging DeeperThe Writing Project: Part TwoThe Writing Project: Part ThreeAfter Drafting Your EssayInquiry: Summing Up the AimChapter Seven, Making Your Case: Arguing to ConvinceThe Nature of Convincing: Structure and StrategyThinking about AudienceFormulating the ThesisThe Process of Writing a Convincing ArgumentChapter Eight, Motivating Action: Arguing to PersuadeWhen to Convince and When to Persuade: A Matter of EmphasisReading a Persuasive EssayUsing the Forms of AppealThe Process of Writing a Persuasive EssayChapter Nine, Mediating Disputes: Arguing to Resolve ConflictMediation and the Other Aims of ArgumentAnalyzing Your ReadersThe Proces of MediationFinding Creative Solutions: Exploring Common GroundExploring Common Ground in the Debate over National IdentityThe Mediatory EssayAnalyzing a Mediatory EssayWriting a Mediatory EssayPart Three, Two Case Books for ArgumentChapter Ten, Casebook on 09/11/01 and After: Coping With TerrorismPhoto EssayGeneral Introduction: Three Years After 9/11Section 1: Background InformationOVERVIEW* Eileen Berrington, Representations of Terror in the Legitimation of War* Philip Jenkins, Why Terrorism?Stephen Zunes, 10 Things to Know About the Middle EastJim Landers, Bin Laden Allies Want Islamic Unity* Don Van Natta, Jr., A World Made More Dangerous as Terrorism SpreadsPaul Wilkinson, Analysis of Terrorist Weapons and the Liberal State ResponseQuestions for DiscussionWriting Assignment SuggestionsSection 2: Views of Terrorism*Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations?*Edward W. Said, The Clash of Ignorance*Charles Krauthammer, The Enemy Is Not Islam: It Is Nihilism*Yonah Alexander, Terrorism in the Name of God*Chalmers Johnson, BlowbackLeo Braudy, Terrorism as a Gender WarQuestions for DiscussionWriting Assignment SuggestionsSection 3: Assessing the War on Terror*Rohan Gunaratna, The Al Qaeda Threat and the International Response*Gorshom Gorenberg, The Terrorist Trap*Joseph S. Nye, Jr., The Velvet Hegemon: How Soft Power Can Help Defeat Terrorism*Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, "The Bush Revolution:*Noam Chomsky, One Man's World*John O'Sullivan, Where We Stand: The Situation in Iraq, and How to Go Forward*Harold Hongju Koh, Rights to Remember*Dianna Ortiz, Mr. President, Stop the Torture!Chapter 11, Casebook on Personal Relationships: Sex, Love, and Maybe Even MarriagePhoto/Cartoon PortfolioSection 1: Defining Love* Helen Fisher, Web of Love: Lust, Romance, and Attachment*Diane Ackerman, The Medieval Contribution to Love*Chrys Ingraham, What Wedding Films Tell Us about LoveSection 2: Choosing Partners* David Buss, What Women Want* David Buss, Men Want Something Else* Natalie Angier, The Gray Matter of Love: An Interview with Geoffrey Miller* Barbara Defoe Whitehead and David Popenoe, Who Wants to Marry a Soul Mate?* Jack Armstrong, The Perfect UnionSection 3: Courting, Dating, or Just Hooking Up*Bella English, Dinner and a Movie? No Thanks on College Campuses*Jack Grimes, Hook Up Culture* Ethan Watters, In My Tribe* Cristina Nehring, Mr. Goodbar Redux: Illusions. Affection. Lies.* Kate Zernicke, Just Saying No to the Dating Industry Section 4: Getting Married*Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, Happily Ever After?*Laura Kipnis, Against Love*Jane Smiley, Why Marriage?* Anne Roiphe, Am I the Oldest Living Monogamist?* Joan Konner, Grown-up LovePart Four, Readings: Issues and ArgumentsChapter 12, Feminism: Evaluating the Effects of Gender RolesCassandra L. Langer, What Is Feminism?Kirk Anderson, Cartoon*Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, A Day Without FeminismSuzanne Fields, Mission No Longer Impossible - Or Is It?B. Smaller, CartoonJoan Williams, Reconstructive FeminismGary Trudeau, CartoonNaomi Wolf, The Beauty MythKatha Pollitt, Women’s Rights: As the World TurnsChapter 13, Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Rights: Responding to HomophobiaJeffrey Nickel, Everybody's Threatened by HomophobiaPete Hamill, Confessions of a HeterosexualGary Trudeau, CartoonPeter J. Gomes, Homophobic? Reread Your BibleJonathan Alter, Degrees of DiscomfortJonathan Rauch, Beyond OppressionChapter 14, Genetics and Enhancement: Better than Human?*Anne Applebaum, Stem Cell Stumping *James D. Watson, All for the Good: Why Genetic Engineering Must Soldier On *Francis Fukuyama, In Defense of Nature: Human and Non-Human *Gregory Stock, Choosing Our Genes*Francis Fukuyama/Gregory Stock, The Clone Wars*Steven Pinker, Why Designer Babies Won't Happen Soon*Sondra Wheeler, Making Babies*Carl Elliott, The Tyranny of HappinessChapter 15, Liberal Education and Contemporary Culture: What Should Undergraduates Learn?Arthur Levine and Jeanette S. Cureton, College Life: An Obituary Lois Bernstein, PhotographMark Edmundson, On the Uses of Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College StudentsEarl Shorris, On the Uses of Liberal Education: As a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless PoorJohn Tagg, The Decline of the Knowledge Factory: Why Our Colleges Must Change Chapter 16, Race and Class: Examining Social InequalityBruce Roberts, Photograph*Richard Ohmann, Is Class an Identity? *Michael Lind, The Beige and the Black*Bell Hooks, White Poverty: The Politics of InvisibilityA. Ramey, PhotograhLinda Darling-Hammond, Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education Shelby Steele, The Recoloring of Campus Life Patricia J. Williams, The Distribution of DistressAppendix, A Short Guide to Editing and ProofreadingGlossary of TermsGlossary