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The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide
By Harry Phillips
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Phillips/Bostian’s "The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide," 4th Edition, brings argument into everyday life. Practical skills, local relevance, community-based writing activities and clear, step-by-step instruction help students use argument in a variety of environments (school, workplace, family, neighborhood, concerned citizen and more). The book covers four key models -- Toulmin, Rogerian, Middle Ground and Microhistory -- and includes an anthology of readings on themes like education, work, social justice, family, consumer culture, civic issues, identity and historical American arguments. MindTap for English offers a dynamic digital learning experience with customizable interactive activities, embedded eBook content and a suite of available tools to boost student engagement and performance such as Turnitin, NetTutor, Gale College Collection and Bongo.
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About this product
Phillips/Bostian’s "The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide," 4th Edition, brings argument into everyday life. Practical skills, local relevance, community-based writing activities and clear, step-by-step instruction help students use argument in a variety of environments (school, workplace, family, neighborhood, concerned citizen and more). The book covers four key models -- Toulmin, Rogerian, Middle Ground and Microhistory -- and includes an anthology of readings on themes like education, work, social justice, family, consumer culture, civic issues, identity and historical American arguments. MindTap for English offers a dynamic digital learning experience with customizable interactive activities, embedded eBook content and a suite of available tools to boost student engagement and performance such as Turnitin, NetTutor, Gale College Collection and Bongo.
Table of contents
- Part I: HOW TO APPROACH ARGUMENT IN REAL LIFE.
- 1. Argue with a Purpose. What Argument Is and What Argument Is Not. Excerpt from “The Price of Admission,” by Thomas Frank. Recognize Where Argument Is Appropriate in Real Life. Establish Local Context via the Research Process. Determine Your Audience. Establish Local Context for Your Issue. Connect Local and Global Contexts. Recognize Why Arguments Break Down. Arguments Break Down When They Do Not Persuade an Audience. Arguments Break Down When There Is a Lack of Balance in the Support. Arguments Break Down When the Audience Is Poorly Defined. Arguments Break Down When They Contain Fallacies. Arguments Break Down When They Do Not Fairly Represent Opposing Views. Match Argument with Purpose. Toulmin-Based Argument. Middle Ground Argument. Rogerian Argument. Argument Based on a Microhistory.
- 2. Explore an Issue that Matters to You. Determine What Matters to You and Why. School/Academic. Workplace. Family/Household. Neighborhood. Social/Cultural. Consumer. Concerned Citizen. Choose an Issue within a Topic. Pre-Think about Your Issue. Brainstorming. Freewriting. Mapping. Move from Boring to Interesting. Define and Target Your Audience. Stake, Defend, and Justify Your Claim. Develop a Claim, Reasons, and Qualifiers. Argue with a Purpose. Vary the Types of Support You Bring to an Argument. Support Based on Fact. Support Based on Your Character. Support Based on the Emotions of an Audience. Working with a Target Audience: Two Examples. Argue at the Right Moment. Getting Started.
- Part II: HOW TO ESTABLISH CONTEXT THROUGH RESEARCH.
- 3. Develop a Research Plan. Use Reference Works, Encyclopedias, and Topic Overviews Profitably. List Search Terms and Vocabulary Appropriate Search Terms to Be Used in Database and Internet Research. Identify Reliable Internet and Print Sources to Find Information for a Research Project. Perform Keyword Queries When Searching Databases and Internet Sources. Find News Sites. Find and Use Databases in Libraries Gather Research through Library Database. Find Examples of Primary, Government, and Multimedia Sources. Find and Use Government Sources. Find and Use Multimedia Sources
- Find Books Locating Books and eBooks in Libraries and Online. [pb1]
- 4. Evaluate and Engage with Your Sources. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Internet Sites. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Articles. Take Notes on Print Articles. Take Notes and Read Books Critically. Take Notes and Evaluate Primary Sources. Introduce and Comment on Sources. Quote and Cite Quotations. Summarize and Cite Summaries. Paraphrase and Cite Paraphrases. Avoid Plagiarism. Documentation: Works Cited Page. [pb2]
- 5. Read Critically and Avoid Fallacies. Define Fallacies. Identify and Avoid Fallacies, Avoid Fallacies of Choice. [pb3] Avoid Fallacies of Support. Avoid Fallacies of Emotion. Avoid Fallacies of Inconsistency.
- 6. Work Fairly with the Opposition. Why the Opposition Matters. Resist Easy Generalizations. Listen to Local Voices. Summarize Other Voices Fairly. Value Expertise over Advocacy. Avoid Bias When You Summarize. Find Points of Overlap. Identify Common Ground with the Opposition. Respond to Other Views.
- Part III: HOW TO PLAN, STRUCTURE, AND DELIVER AN ARGUMENT.
- 7. Explore an Issue. Use Definitions. Discover Causes or Consequences. Present Comparisons. Propose a Solution. Evaluate Your Claim. Write an Exploratory Essay. [pb4]
- 8. Consider Toulmin-Based Argument. Construct an Argument to Fit Your Purpose. Terms of Toulmin-Based Argument. Claim. Reasons. Support. Warrant. Backing. Rebuttal. Qualifiers. Map a Toulmin-Based Argument. Student-Authored Toulmin-Based Argument.
- 9. Consider Middle Ground Argument, Rogerian Argument, and Argument Based on a Microhistory. Middle Ground Argument. Make a Middle-Ground Position Practical. Recognize Where Middle Ground Arguments Are Possible. Map a Middle Ground Argument. Student-Authored Middle Ground Argument. Rogerian Argument. Listen Closely to the Opposition. Identify Common Ground. Map a Rogerian Argument. Sample Rogerian Argument. Argument Based on a Microhistory. Focus on the Local and Specific. Make Room for Local Histories. Work with Primary Materials. Subjects and Materials for Microhistories. Map an Argument Based on a Microhistory. Sample Argument Based on a Microhistory.
- 10. Build Arguments. How a Claim Functions. Claim: The Center of Your Argument. Connect Claim with Purpose. Five Kinds of Claims. Claim of Fact. Claim of Definition. Problem-Based Claims. Claim of Evaluation. Claim of Cause. Use Reasons to Support Your Claim. Build Body Paragraphs around Reasons. Use Qualifiers to Make Your Argument Believable. Justify Your Claim with a Warrant. Use Your Audience to Construct a Warrant. Know What Your Audience Values. Let a Warrant Bridge Claim and Support. Use Backing to Support a Warrant. Let Your Audience Determine the Extent of Backing. Make Backing Specific. Respond to Audience Reservations to Make a Warrant Believable.
- 11. Support an Argument with Fact (Logos), Credibility (Ethos), and Emotion (Pathos). Field-Specific Support. Use All Three General Kinds of Support. Use Support Based on Facts and Research (Logos). Understanding Statistics. Using Statistics. Determine Credibility. Use Support to Create Credibility (Ethos). Use Support to Create Emotion (Pathos). [pb5]
- Part IV: HOW TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR ARGUMENT: A STYLE GUIDE.
- 12. Enhance Your Argument with Visuals and Understand Generative AI. What Are Visual Arguments? Interpreting Visual Arguments. Identifying the Strengths and Weaknesses of Visual Arguments. An Example of Reading a Visual Argument. Implementing Visual Arguments Effectively In Your Writing. Using Photographs and Illustrations in Your Argument. Reading Graphs and Charts. Questions to Ask While Reading Graphs. Using and Creating Graphs in Your Argument. Reading. Using Generative AI Ethically and Effectively. How to Cite AI-Generated Content. [pb6]
- 13. Develop and Edit Argument Structure and Style. Consider Your Argument’s Claim. Introduce Your Claim by Its Function. Consider the Placement of Your Claim in Your Argument. Identifying and Explaining Your Counterarguments. Introduce Your Counterarguments. Create Strong Argument Introductions by Heightening the Audience’s Interest: Anecdote, Misdirection, Conflict, Suspense, A Seeming Impossibility. Write Memorable Conclusions: Broadening Out, Opposition, Circling Back. Determine Your Argument’s Strength. Evaluate Your Argument’s Support. Organize Your Argument. Three Organization Samples of Body Paragraphs. Participate Effectively in a Peer Review Session. Your Role as a Reviewer. Your Role as a Reviewee. [pb7]
- Part V: AN ANTHOLOGY OF ARGUMENTS. INTERSECTIONS CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND ARGUMENTS.
- Anthology 1: School and Academic Community. Karoun Demirjian, What is the Price of Plagiarism? Jon Marcus and Holly K. Hacker, The Rich-Poor Divide on America’s College Campuses is Getting Wider, Fast. Keith Ellison, The Argument for Tuition-Free College. Katie Reilly, Record Numbers of College Students Are Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety–But Schools Can’t Keep Up.
- Anthology 2: Workplace Community. Gar Alperovitz and Keane Bhatt, Employee-Owned Businesses Ignored by Mainstream Media. Tim Kastelle, Hierarchy Is Overrated. Jan Edwards and Molly Morgan, Abolish Corporate Personhood (Thinking Politically). Rich Meneghello, Solutions at Work: When Love Enters the Workplace.
- Anthology 3: Family and Household Community. Sue Ferguson, Leaving the Doors Open. Jewel, Street Life Is No Life for Children. Richard Louv, Introduction from Last Child in the Woods. Dahr Jamail, A Morally Bankrupt Military: When Soldiers and Their Families Become Expendable.
- Anthology 4: Neighborhood Community. Barbara Nichols, Airbnb is Crashing the Neighborhood. Eleanor Novek, You Wouldn’t Fit Here. James Q. Wilson, Bowling with Others. Noah Smith, The Poor Don’t Deserve Toxic-Waste Dumps in Their Backyards.
- Anthology 5: Social/Cultural Community. Daniel J. Solove, Why “Security” Keeps Winning Out Over Privacy. Vince Dixon, The Case Against Tipping in America. Ronald Davis, My Truth About Being A Black Man And A Black Cop. Jeff Yang, Killer Reflection.
- Anthology 6: Consumer Community. Judith Simmer Brown, A Buddhist Perspective on Consumerism. Matt Stannard, Seizing the Public Banking Moment. Andy Kroll, How the McEconomy Bombed the American Worker: The Hollowing Out of the Middle Class. Dali L. Yang, Outsourcing Compromises the Safety and Quality of Products.
- Anthology 7: Concerned Citizen Community. Harry Binswanger, The United States Should Adopt Open Immigration. James L. Dickerson, Climate Change Could Cause Disease Resurgence. David Howard, Automatic Voter Registration: A Rational Solution to an Irrational Problem. David Kelley, Private Charity Should Replace Welfare.
- Anthology 8: Classic American Arguments (MINDTAP only). Susan B. Anthony, On Women’s Right to Vote. Mary Antin, Have We Any Right to Regulate Immigration? Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 6. Thomas Jefferson, In Congress, July 4, 1776. H. L. Mencken, The Penalty of Death. Judith Sargent Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes. Leo Szilard And Cosigners, A Petition to the President of the United States. Sojourner Truth, Ain’t I a Woman? Booker T. Washington, Atlanta Compromise Address.
- Part VI: MLA AND APA DOCUMENTATION SYSTEMS.
- Appendix A: MLA Documentation and the List of Works Cited.
- Appendix B: APA Documentation and the Reference List.
- Glossary.
- Index.
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