Description

The Craft of Argument, Third Edition, from the authors of such successful composition texts as Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Longman) and The Craft of Research (U of Chicago Press), is designed to help students integrate the skills of writing, critical thinking, and arguing so that they can write arguments that are clear, sound, and persuasive. 

 

Rooted in the rhetorical tradition of Aristotle and earlier, this text focuses on argument as civic conversation and addresses problem finding and problem solving as the heart of planning, drafting, and revising written arguments. The Craft of Argument is rich with examples and readings that provide the bridge between the kind of pragmatic arguments students are used to making and the conceptual arguments they will be asked to write in college.

 

Part 1 presents an overview of the nature of argument.  Part 2 offers a detailed discussion of the five elements of argument (finding and stating a claim; reasons and evidence; reporting evidence; acknowledgments and responses; and warranting claims and reasons).  Part 3 focuses on meaning and causation.  Part 4 emphasizes language–how to write clearly and vividly, and how to use language persuasively.  Finally, Part 5, Readings, comprises a wide range of sample arguments for analysis and springboards for discussion and further writing.

Features

• The clear, consistent pattern of every chapter–an opening section that helps students understand the nature of arguments; and a parallel Writing Process section that provides strategies, checklists, and other tools so students can apply what they have learned–provides a predictable pattern for students and instructors alike.
• An accessible, streamlined model of the Toulmin system informs The Craft of Argument, providing the most teachable version of this approach to argument available.
• Chapters are interlaced with a wealth of examples of argument that raise issues for students to pursue.
• Inquiries sections in every chapter prompt reflection and suggest activities intended to spur further critical thinking.
• Student sample essays illustrate the uses and abuses of argument.
• Chs. 3-8 provide a guided exercise in preparing, planning, drafting, and revising a long research paper.
• High-interest readings from a variety of popular and academic sources offer models of effective arguments, and In the Readings boxes throughout Parts 1-4 connect key ideas to readings that appear in the text.
• A Cluster of Checklists help students build stronger arguments by asking them general and detailed (sentence-specific) questions regarding their arguments.

New to this Edition

• An enhanced appendix on Avoiding Inadvertent Plagiarism and Citing Sources addresses the need most often listed as their number one problem by composition instructors.
• A rewritten and restructured chapter on warrants (Ch. 8) makes this difficult material clearer and more teachable.
• More emphasis on research throughout helps students understand how to support their arguments.

Table of Contents

Preface: Teaching the Craft of Argument

 

A Message to Students

 

Acknowledgments

 

I. THE NATURE OF ARGUMENT: INTRODUCTION

1. Argument and Rationality.

What Is Argument?

What Good Is Argument?

            Arguments Help Us Think Critically

            Arguments Help us Sustain Communities

            Arguments Define Academic and Professional Communities

            Arguments Enable Democracy

What's Not an Argument.?:  Three Forms of Persuasion That Are Not Arguments

            Arguments and Explanations

            Arguments and Stories

            Arguments and Visual Images

WRITING PROCESS: Argument and Critical Thinking

            Thinking and Talking

            Reading and Researching

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

            Revising

            Working Collaboratively

INQUIRIES:  Reflections; Tasks; Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

2. Argument as Civil Conversation.

The Five Questions of Argument.

The Roots of Argument in Civil Conversation.

Review: Modeling an Argument.

            The Core of an Argument: Claim + Reason + Evidence

            Dialogue with Readers: Acknowledgment + Response

            Explaining Logic: Warrants

Crafting Written Arguments.

Thickening Your Argument.

WRITING PROCESS: Argument as Civil Conversation

            Thinking and Talking

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

            Revising

INQUIRIES: Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

SAMPLE ESSAYS

IN A NUTSHELL

3. Motivating Your Argument.

Two Kinds of Problems.

How Practical and Conceptual Problems Motivate Arguments

            The Two-Part Structure of Practical Problems

            The Two-Part Structure of Conceptual Problems

            How To Identify Motivating Costs or Consequences by Asking So What?

Framing Problems in Introductions.

            The Core of an Introduction: Conditions and Costs

            The Outer Frame of an Introduction: Common Ground and Solution

Conclusions.

Introductions and Conclusions as Ways of Thinking.

            Problem-Posing Versus Problem-Solving Arguments

WRITING PROCESS: Motivating Your Argument

            Reading and Research

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

            Revising

            Working Collaboratively

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

SAMPLE ESSAYS

IN A NUTSHELL

II. DEVELOPING YOUR ARGUMENT: INTRODUCTION

4.  The Core of Your Argument: Finding and Stating A Claim

Exploring Claims Without Rushing to Judgment.

What Kind of Claim Does Your Problem Require?

            Is Your Claim Pragmatic or Conceptual?

            How Strongly Do You Want Your Readers to Accept Your Claim?

What Counts as a Claim Worth Considering?

What Does a Thoughtful Claim Look Like?

            Is Your Claim Conceptually Rich?

            Is Your Claim Logically Rich?

            Is Your Claim Appropriately Qualified?

WRITING PROCESS: Finding and Stating Claims

            Drafting

            Revising

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

SAMPLE ESSAYS

IN A NUTSHELL

5. The Core of Your Argument: Reasons and Evidence.

Supporting Claims

Reasons and Evidence as Forms of Support.

Distinguishing Reasons and Evidence.

Distinguishing Evidence and Reports of It

            Direct and Reported Evidence

Multiple Reasons.

            Reasons in Parallel

            Reasons in Sequence

            The Deep Complexity of Serious Arguments

Using Reasons to Help Readers Understand Evidence.

WRITING PROCESS: Reasons and Evidance

Preparing and Planning

Drafting: Integrating Quotations into Your Sentences; Avoiding Inadvertent Plagiarism

Revising

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

SAMPLE ESSAYS

IN A NUTSHELL

6. The Core of Your Argument: Reporting Evidence.

Weigh Your Burden of Evidence.

Make a Plan to Find Evidence

The Four Maxims of Quality.

Trustworthy Reports of Evidence.

            Reports of Memories

            Anecdotes

            Reports from Authorities

            Visual Reports with Photographs, Drawings, and Recordings

            Visual Presentations of Quantitative Data

Radical Skepticism

WRITING PROCESS:  Reporting Evidence

            Reading and Research

            Working Collaboratively

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

SAMPLE ESSAYS

IN A NUTSHELL

7. Your Readers’ Role in Your Argument: Acknowledgments and Responses

The Importance of Other Viewpoints.

Questions about Your Problem and Its Solution.

Questions about Your Support.

Questions about Your Consistency.

Responding with Subordinate Arguments

WRITING PROCESS: Acknowledgment and Responses

            Reading and Research

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

            Working Collaboratively

 INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

8. The Logic of Your Argument: Warranting Claims and Reasons

The Reasoning behind Reasons

What Warrants Look Like.

How Warrants Work

Knowing When to Use Warrants in a Written Argument

            The Most Common Uses for Warrants

            Two Special Uses for Warrants

How to Test a Warrant

Distinguishing Reasons and Warrants

The Challenge of Using Warrants.

Review: A Test Case.

Warranting Evidence

Arguing by Evidence vs. Arguing by Warrants.

WRITING PROCESS:  Warrants

            Preparing and Planning

            Working Collaboratively

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

III. THINKING ABOUT THINKING IN ARGUMENTS: INTRODUCTION

9. The Forms of Reasoning.

Three Forms of Reasoning

            Inductive Reasoning; From Specifics to a General Conclusion

            Deductive Reasoning: From a Generalization to a Specific Conclusion

            Abductive Reasoning: From Problem to Hypothesis to Confirmation

Real Life Barriers to Abductive Critical Thinking

            Don’t Rely on Warrants in Place of Evidence

            Don’t Collect Evidence Randomly

            Guard Against the Biases Common in Abductive Thinking

WRITING PROCESS: Forms of Reasoning

            Preparing and Planning

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

10. Arguments about Meanings.

Some Terminology.

Meanings and Problems.

            What Problems Does Your Definition Solve?

            Is the Issue of Meaning a Surrogate for a Larger Problem?
How to Argue about Meanings.

            Do Readers Expect Common or Authorized Meanings?

            Strategies for Using Common Meanings

            Strategies for Using Authorized Meanings

            When to Rely on Authorized Definitions

            Why Dictionaries Cannot Settle Arguments over Meaning

WRITING PROCESS:  Arguments about Meanings

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks, Projects

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

11. Arguments about Causes

The Impossible Vastness of Causes.

Finding Relevant Causes.

            Everyday Thinking about Causation

            Thoughtful Thinking about Causation

Analyzing Causation Systematically.

            The Principle of Similarity and Difference

            The Principle of Co-Variation

            Four Cautions about Using the Principles

Causation and Personal Responsibility.

            Who’s Responsible?

            Five Criteria for Assigning Personal Responsibility

            Attribution Bias

WRITING PROCESS:  Arguments about Causes

            Preparing and Planning

            Drafting

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks

FOCUS ON WRITING

IN A NUTSHELL

IV. THE LANGUAGES OF ARGUMENT: INTRODUCTION

12. Clear Language.

Some Principles of Clear and Direct Writing.

The Principles in a Nutshell

Concision and Vividness.

            How to Be Concise

            How to Be Vivid

            Abstract vs. Concrete

            The System of Imageable Words

            Deliberate Generality

WRITING PROCESS:  Clear Language

            Revising

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks

A GUIDE TO TERMS

IN A NUTSHELL

13. The Overt and Covert Force of Language.

Invoking Values, Evoking Feeling.

            Value-Laden Words

            You Can’t Avoid Values

When Emotional Language Undermines Sound Thinking

Polarizing Language

Cynical Language

Subjects and Point of View.

            Manipulating Subjects to Assign Responsibility

            Treating Means as Agents

Abstractions as Characters.

Metaphorical Scenarios.

WRITING PROCESS: The Overt and Covert Force of Language

            Drafting

            Revising

INQUIRIES:  Reflections, Tasks

IN A NUTSHELL

Appendix 1:  Avoiding Inadvertent Plagiarism through Proper Citations

 

Appendix 2:  Cognitive Biases and Fallacies

 

V. READINGS