Writing Argument

To focus and refine the topic

• 議題 (issue) 與主題 (topic) 的不同• 找出議題• 找出與議題相關的問題，區分問題的面

向• 思考並寫下個人的論點 (thesis)

• Issue: any topic of concern and controversy

• The question at issue• Focus on one clear and precise questi

on at issue

• 一個議題可能包含幾個不同面向的問題，混淆問題的面向可能使文章缺乏組織。

• A single issue may contain any number of separate and distinct questions as issue. Your task as a writer is to isolate a particular question at issue and stay focused on it.

The Thesis

• The thesis states the writer’s position, her response to the question at issue, the conclusion of her argument, the primary claim she is making.

• Your thesis takes central stage in both the final paper your write and the thinking you do as you conduct your research and prepare drafts. It controls the evidence you gather and clarifies the stand you want to take.

• Sometimes when we begin exploring a topic for a paper, we may not know our position. We may need to learn more about the question at issue through research before arriving at a conclusion.

• We don’t necessarily have to arrive at a completely yes or no response to the question at issue.

• Keep in mind that argument don’t always have to be adversarial.

• In essays by professional writers, the thesis is sometimes indirectly stated; it may be implicit rather than explicit. In general, the more experienced the writer, the more she is able to write a focused essay without an explicit thesis.

In sum

• Select an issue that is debatable, an issue on which you can argue more than one position.

• Narrow that issue to a focused question at issue.

• Write a “working” thesis that makes an assertion about this question at issue; your thesis states your opinion on the question at issue.

Two kinds of thesis statements

• Open thesis and complete thesis• A compromise （ three examples of p.91 ）• Which thesis statement is preferable?• The complexity of the topic, the length of th

e paper, the needs of your audience, and the purpose of your project

• A thesis is not necessarily restricted to one sentence.

Exercise: identifying the issue, question at issue, and

thesis• 討論〈當電子毒浪來襲〉，《人籟論辯

月刊》，第六期， September, 2006

• 找出文章之主題 (topic) ，議題 (issue) ，與議題相關之問題 (questions) ，以及作者的論點 (thesis)

• 主題：• 議題：• 問題 ( 議題的不同面向 ) ：• 論點：

Writing Process

• WLTC, Ch.1: 11-25• VR, Ch. 1: 11-30• Class exercise: 1. your writing

process• 2. checklist for critiquing personal

writing

• To find a source of information• Clarify the writing goal• Writing from personal experience

• The first thing to remember is that you are unique.

• Things happen in the world that affect you, but they affect you in a specific way because you are yourself and not someone else.

• The interplay of personal uniqueness and outside events can supply raw material for informative, worthwhile, and interesting essays.

• Brainstorming• Free writing• Issue tress ( 課堂練習 )

Peer feedback

• 交換閱讀每個人的書寫計劃說明以及 issues tress

• 盡量問問題• 給提問者的回饋

Peer critiquing

• Checking lists of pp.17-18• What did I find interesting?• What does it look like I can learn from this?• What insights caught my attention?• What sentence or section seemed best?• What sentence or section seemed weakest?• What parts would I like to see explained

more?

• What parts should be omitted?• What parts seemed real?• What part seemed phony?• What parts did the author really care about?• What part seemed worth writing an essay

about?• What idea held the whole piece together?• What was the most important idea?• What idea might tie the different points

together?

Drafting the essay

• A draft is an attempt to impose structure on the ideas that you have been generating.

• To create a first draft, study the comments that your peers have made in order to find a topic that is both interesting and productive.

shaping a written argument—rhetorical strategies

• Rhetoric: “ The art of using language to good effect, to prove, to convince, to persuade.” (Aristotle)

• 修辭學• The introduction• The development of your argument• The conclusion

The Introduction

• Background information• Relevant narrative that illustrates your

question at issue, --euthanasia: a day in the life of a

terminally ill patient--a relevant quotation--to open with an opposing view and build

your argument on a refutation of what is often the prevailing wisdom on an issue

• State your thesis somewhere in the introductory paragraphs so that your reader is clear about the purpose of the essay

The development of your argument

• Thesis have to be elaborated, explained, and defended with as much specific detail, example, and illustration as your can provide.

• You may draw on personal experience, research, and respected authorities to support your position.

• Called the confirmation of your position, this support should be connected explicitly to your thesis unless the logical ties are self-evident.

• A single premise paragraph (p.94)• A multipremise paragraph (p.95)

• How many premises should an argument have?

The Conclusion

• No simple rule of thumb• If your paper is long and complex, you

need to help your reader by briefly summarizing where you have been and what your propose.

• If you present only a tentative or partial thesis in the introduction, then you need to be sure that your final position is clear in the conclusion.

• If you think that further investigation is still needed before you can arrive at a responsible “conclusion” on the issue, then recommend what direction you think such investigation should take.

• If, as a result of your argument, you have definite recommendations for action, your conclusion can carry such suggestions.

• 其他…

• Every discourse, like a living creature, should be so put together that it has its own body and lacks neither head nor feet, middle nor extremities, all composed in such a way that they suit both each other and the whole. (Plato, Phaedrus)

The Dialectical Approach to Argument

• Effective argument is more than the straightforward presentation of a thesis, premises, and their support. Most issues worth arguing today are complex, with evidence sometimes contradictory or ambiguous.

• Interplay of conflict; interweaving premises and counterarguments

• What we agree with leaves us inactive, but contradiction makes us productive (Goethe)

• To argue the to her side with a friend until you have found the answer to every point which might be brought up to against you (Roosevelt)

• One mark of a maturing mind is the ability to take another’s point of view and thus be capable of considering two conflicting views on the same issue. (Piaget)

Addressing counterarguments

• Pay careful attention to opposing views

• How such strategies strengthen your own position (p.97)

• How much counterargument?• In any case, a writer cannot ignore the

most compelling opposing premises even if they provide the greatest challenge to the writer’s own view.

Refutation and concession

• 反駁與認可的例子，頁 98-99 。

• Rogerian strategy• Empathy—the ability to see the expressed i

dea and attitude from the other person’s point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to achieve his frame of reference in regard to the thing he is talking about

Essential triad in argument: Logos, ethos, and pathos

(Aristotle)• Logos: the argument itself• Ethos: the disposition of the writer

to present herself well• Pathos: empathy with the audience

Logos

• Logos refers to logical appeal, and in fact the term logic evolves from it. Logos normally implies numbers, polls, and other mathematical or scientific data.

• Logos has many advantages:• Data is hard to manipulate, meaning that it is

harder to argue against a logos argument. • For the same reason, it may sway cynical

listeners to the speaker's opinion. • Logos enhances ethos by making the speaker

look prepared and knowledgeable to the audience.

• Logos also has many disadvantages:• Numbers may not be obvious to many

listeners, so the argument may pass unheeded.

• Logos asks the question, "But why should I care?" because they are not as involving as emotional appeal.

• Logos can be downright confusing in some instances.

• The best way to present an argument is to combine logos with the other forms of appeal.

Ethos

• Ethos (ή�θος) is a Greek word originally meaning 'the place of living' that can be translated into English in different ways. Some possibilities are 'starting point', 'to appear', 'disposition' and from there, 'character'. From the same Greek root originates the word ethikos (ήθικο�ς), meaning 'theory of living', and from there, the modern English word ‘ethics’ is derived.

• At first speakers must establish ethos. On the one hand, this can mean merely "moral competence", but Aristotle broadens this word to encompass expertise and knowledge. He expressedly remarks that ethos should be achieved only by what the speaker says, not by what people think of his character before he begins to speak. This position is often disputed and other writers on rhetoric state that ethos is connected to the overall moral character and history of the speaker.

Pathos

• Pathos is from πάσχειν paschein, the Greek word meaning "to suffer" or "emotion." Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions.

• Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways:

• by metaphor or story telling, common as a hook, • by a general passion in the delivery and an overall

amount of emotional items in the text of the speech,

• and as a closing device, where pathos can be particularly powerful.

• The essential bond between writer and reader that leads to meaningful communication

• To write convincing argument, you, the writer, must present yourself as a reasonable, sympathetic person at the same time that you convey respect for your readers.

For an effective argument

• Express your thesis clearly• Support your own position a

thoroughly as possible• Present relevant opposing views• Provide appropriate concessions

and refutations• Develop empathy with your

audience

Application to Writing

• Logical joining of contrasting and concessive ideas

• Exercise, p.103

More on Coherence

• To develop rhetorical patterns of coherence throughout paper

• To hold the different parts together by an almost invisible glue

• Your thesis should guide you as you build paragraphs and create a thread that weaves its way from opening sentence to conclusion, each paragraph relating back to the thesis.

• Every sentence should follow from the sentence before it; each paragraph must follow logically from the one preceding it.

• As a writer, you take your reader’s hand, never letting your reader stray from the flow of your argument.

• If you were to cut your paper into individual paragraphs, shake them up, and throw them in the air, a stranger should have no difficulty putting them together in the original order.

• To arrange points in a logical sequence, select joining conjunctions and major transitions carefully, and repeat or echo key words to keep your reader focused on your train of thought.

• A caution: coherent devices should not be heavy-handed or too obvious. Remember to go lightly on the major transitions. It is the logical progression of your ideas that is important, not the deployment of conjunctions alone.

討論 : identifying coherent strategies

• Identifying the ways in which the writer has achieved coherence, both between sentences and between paragraphs. Explain the precise way in which each example works to create these links.

Identifying rhetorical features of argument

• Thesis• Premises• Counterarguments• Concession and refutations used to a

ddress the counter arguments• Rogerian strategy

Four approaches to writing arguments

• Arguing both sides of an issue• Taking a stand• Exploring on argument in depth• Collaborating on a complex issue

Arguing both sides of an issue

• 政府應立法禁止生殖罹患罕見遺傳性疾病胎兒

• 政府不應立法強制基因篩檢禁止罹患罕見遺傳性疾病胎兒出生

Taking a stand

• A clear thesis to guide you as a writer and prepare your reader

• Support for this thesis—plenty of well-reasoned premises supported with examples, explanation, and analysis

• Counterarguments with appropriate concessions and refutations

• Sentences logically joined for contrast and concession, cause and effect, and coherence

Exploring an Argument in Depth

• An introduction that presents the question at issue with appropriate background, acknowledges its complexity, and suggests your thesis even though you may not be taking a clear stand either pro or con

• A detailed discussion of arguments for as many positions as possible

• Refutations and concessions as appropriate for a thoughtful examination of alternatives

• Your personal recommendation on the issue, based on an evaluation in which you weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the positions you have presented, a synthesis of them, a call for further investigation, or a summary of possible alternatives.