Essential Strategies of Argument is the complete rhetoric section (Part I) of Strategies of Argument, Second Edition. It offers thorough instruction in understanding, analyzing, and evaluating different types of arguments, guidance in writing effective arguments, and plentiful examples of professional and student arguments on current issues, as well as numerous editorial cartoons and advertisements. This extensively revised rhetoric introduces students to techniques of critical reading and to various strategies of argument: types of claims, the Toulmin system, Rogerian analysis of audience, and inductive and deductive reasoning. Argument as a form of inquiry across the curriculum is highlighted in the unique Chapter 3, “Arguing across the Disciplines.” Also unique is Chapter 5, “The Role of Language in Argument,” which explores the relationship of argument to persuasion and the language of persuasion, including advertising and propaganda. Instruction in the process of writing arguments culminates in Chapter 7, ”Writing an Argument from Sources,” which includes two annotated student papers exemplifying MLA and APA documentation. Over 100 writing assignments appear throughout the text.

Table of Contents:
Preface. I. The Essentials of Argument. 1. Understanding Arguments. The Nature of Argument. Rhetoric and Persuasion. Critical Reading for Ideas and Organization. Finding a Thesis. Responding to What You Read. Marking as You Read. Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion. A Sample Essay for Student Annotation. Edward T. Hall, Hidden Culture. Keeping a Reading Journal. Turning Annotations into Journal Entries. Summarizing. Using Your Reading Journal to Generate Ideas for Writing. Two Short Arguments for Critical Reading. Charles Krauthammer, AIDS: Getting More than Its Share? Naomi Freundlich, No. Spending More on AIDS Isn't Unfair. 2. Strategies of Argument. Introduction. Kinds of Claims. The Goals of Claims. Factual Claims. Exercises. Evaluating the Reliability of Sources of Information. Exercises. Causal Claims. Personally, I Think So-Called Influence of Music on Kids is Utter Nonsense (Cartoon). Exercises. Value Claims. Whose Rights Should Legislators Protect? (Cartoon). Exercises. Policy Claims. Exercises. Support. Evidence. Examples Drawn from Personal Experience. Exercises. Hypothetical Cases. Analogies. Women Priests? Nonsense..God Made Man in His Own Image and Likeness. (WOMP, Cartoon). Exercises. Testimony of Experts. Statistics. Exercises. Warrants. Exercises. Underlying Assumptions. Exercises. Evaluating Warrants. Types of Warrants. Exercises. Audience. The Rogerian Method. Exercises. Backing. Qualifiers. Rebuttals or Exceptions. Exercises. Five Short Arguments for Analysis: Claims of Fact, Causation, Value and Policy. George E. Vaillant, We Should Retain the Disease Concept of Alcoholism. The Economist, The Lays of Ancient ROM. Daniel Callahan, Aid-in Dying: The Social Dimensions. Timothy E. Quill, My Patient's Suicide. Trying to Die, Eh, Mr. Smith? You Could Get the Chair for This! (Cartoon) Jeremy Rifkin, Big, Bad Beef. 3. Arguing across the Disciplines. The Nature of Inquiry across the Disciplines. Arguing in the Arts. Arguing in Ethics. Arguing in History. Arguing in the Social Sciences. Arguing in the Law. Arguing in Business. Arguing in the Sciences. Claims in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Sciences. Factual Arguments That Define Key Terms or Concepts. Arguments that Establish Causes or Predict Consequences. Arguments that Make Value Judgments. Arguments about Policy. Exercises. Three Short Arguments for Analysis. James Baldwin, If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? William A. Henry III, In Defense of Elitism. Donald R. Griffin, Wordy Apes. 4. The Role of Logic in Argument. Methods of Reasoning. Inductive Reasoning. Analogy. I Dunno...Should I Go Out and Try to Drive or Should I Fire Random Shots into the Crowd? (Cartoon). Exercises. Sampling. Exercises. Causal Generalization. Exercises. A Sample Argument for Analysis. Garret Hardin, Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor. Deductive Reasoning. I'm Sorry. Snoopy Can't Go Out to Play Right Now..He's Reading (Cartoon). Exercises. A Sample Argument for Analysis. Marilyn French, Gender Roles. 5. The Role of Language in Argument. Definition. Purposes and Uses of Definition. Exercises. Methods of Defining Terms. Extended Definition. Two Short Definition Essays for Analysis. Jo Goodwin Parker, What is Poverty? Ellen Goodman, The Reasonable Woman. STOMP! I Thought Your Motto was Live and Let Live. He Wasn't Really Living! (Cartoon). Exercises. Tone. Irony. Satire. Four Short Essays Illustrating Humor, Irony, Parody, and Satire. Cathy and Mickey Guisewite, Blithering by the Rules. Dave Barry, Just Say No to Rugs. James Finn Garner, Little Red Riding Hood. Joe Bob Briggs, The Lesbo Boom. Language and Persuasion. Language Shapes Thought. Emotionally Charged Language. Connotations of Words. Euphemisms. Exercises. Slanting. Labels that Stereotype. Sexist, Racist, and Agist Language. Tell Me Something Lekesia, Is That the Name Your Mother and Father Gave You? (Cartoon). Exercises. Words that Create Images. Exercises. Slang. Clichés. Abstract and Concrete Language. Jargon. The Rhetoric of Advertising. The Techniques of Advertising. Emotional Appeals Used in Advertising. The Language of Advertising. Exercises. Racing to the Moon (Advertisement). Outward Bound (Advertisement). There Will Always Be Those Who Refuse to Ski Mammoth (Advertisement). Introducing the 5-Day Diet (Advertisement). Get Real (Advertisement). The American Dream: The American Classic (Advertisement). Propaganda: The Language of Doublespeak. Intensifying and Downplaying: Strategies for Persuasion. Three Short Arguments for Analysis. Charles Sevilla, The Case of the Non-Unanimous Jury. Robert E. Jones, Justice Can Be Served Despite Dissenting Votes. Alfred Adask, Democracy vs. Republic. 6. Strategies for Writing Arguments. Prewriting. Selecting an Issue. Invention Strategies. Free-Writing. Exercises. Five W's. Exercises. Discovering Different Perspectives. Mapping. Writing a Dialogue. Exercises. Discovering the Pros and Cons. Exercises. Arriving at a Thesis: Claims of Fact, Causation, Value, and Policy. Exercises. Making Up an Outline: Supporting Your Claim. Choices in Organizing Your Essay. Audience. Exercises. Writing the First Draft. Revising, Rewriting and Editing. Refuting Arguments. Analyzing Someone Else's Argument and Inventing Your Own. An Argument with a Student's Evaluation of It. Esther Vilar, The Business World as a Hunting Ground. Helene Santos, Are Men Really the Slaves of Women? Two Short Arguments for Analysis. Suzanne Britt, That Lean and Hungry Look. Molly Ivins, The Romance of Football. 7. Writing an Argument from Sources. Finding a Question to Answer. Using the Library. Major Encyclopedias. Specialized Encyclopedias and Handbooks in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Sciences. Exercises. Defining Key Terms. Dictionaries in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Science and Technology. How to Locate Biographical Information. Biographical Sources. Using the Card Catalog. The Library of Congress Subject Headings. Using the On-line Computer Catalog. Using Periodical Indexes. Using Book Reviews. Using Newspaper Indexes. Using Abstracts. Using Field Research--Interviews. Using Computerized Data Bases. Exercises. Evaluating Source Materials. Drawing Up a Working Bibliography. The Dangers of Undocumented Sources. Note-Taking Procedures. The Value of Different Kinds of Notes. Using Your Notes to Create an Outline. The Preliminary Thesis Statement. Creating the Rough Draft. Revising the Rough Draft into a Final Draft. Style. Using the MLA and APA Styles to Document the Manuscript. The MLA Style of In-Text Citations. Documenting Sources in the MLA Works Cited Format. Documenting the Manuscript Using the APA Style. The APA Style of In-Text Citation. Preparing a List of References in the APA Format. Preparing the Manuscript. Sample of Student Arguments from Sources - MLA Format. Jack Manion, Why Doesn't Government Just Say Yes to Preventative Education against Drug Abuse? Sample of Student Argument from Sources - APA Format. Aparjitha Devi, The Brave New World of Genetic Engineering. Appendix A. Logical Fallacies. Appendix B. Contents According to Type of Claim. Appendix C. Contents According to Discipline. Glossary. Acknowledgments. Index of Authors, Titles, and Key Terms.