Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader Book

Part One

Understanding Argument

1. Understanding the Structure of Argument

The Nature of Argument

*X-Ray Tests Both Security, Privacy, THOMAS FRANK

*Airport Screeners Could See X-Rated X-Rays, JOE SHARKEY

*Freedom to Live Trumps All!, CHRIS KAPPER

Practice

Why Study Argument?

The Terms of Argument

• The Claim

Practice

• The Support
• The Warrant

Practice

Writer’s Guide: Learning the Key Terms

The Audience

*SAMPLE ANALYSIS

*Will the Politics of Teen Sex Stop a Cancer Vaccine?

ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

ASSIGNMENTS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENT

*Why U.S. Health Care Costs Aren’t Too High , CHARLES R. MORRIS

2. Reading and Listening Critically

Responding as a Critical Reader

Writer’s Guide: General Reading Strategies

Practice

The Declaration of Independence , THOMAS JEFFERSON

Comprehending Argument

Writer’s Guide: Strategies for Comprehending Arguments

*Sex and the Cinema , EDWARD J. EPSTEIN

Practice

Evaluating Arguments

Writer’s Guide: Strategies for Evaluating Arguments

SAMPLE ANALYSIS

The Gettysburg Address , ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Lincoln’s Logic , CHARLES ADAMS

Practice

Responding as a Writer

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY

No-Win Situations , ALFIE KOHN

Writer’s Guide: Annotating a Text

Practice

*‘Freak Dancing’: If Only It Stopped There , DESDA MOSS

Responding as a Critical Listener

Writer’s Guide: Guidelines for Critical Listening

ASSIGNMENTS FOR READING AND LISTENING CRITICALLY

3. Reading Visual Texts Critically

Responding to a Visual Argument

Practice

Practice

Cease Fire [advertisement]

Sample Analysis of an Advertisement

We Can Not Tell a Lie

Sample Analysis of a Web Site

The Hungersite.com [Web site]

Responding Online

• Guidelines for Responding Online

ASSIGNMENTS FOR READING VISUAL TEXTS CRITICALLY

*4. Writing about Argument

*Writing the Claim

*Practice

*Let’s Have No More Monkey Trials , CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

*Planning the Structure

SAMPLE ESSAYS WITH ANALYSIS

*Is There a Torturous Road to Justice? , ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ

*Alan Dershowitz’s Tortuous Torturous Argument , SETH FINKELSTEIN

*Using Sentence Forms to Construct an Argument

*Providing Support

*Summarizing

*Paraphrasing

*Quoting

*Writer’s Guide: Incorporating Quotations into Your Text

*Practice

*Documenting Your Sources

Writer’s Guide: Documenting Use of Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotations

*Avoiding Plagiarism

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

*Should We Fight Terror with Torture? , ALAN DERSHOWITZ

*Parents Need Help , BARBARA DAFOE WHITEHEAD

Warfare: An Invention—Not a Biological Necessity , MARGARET MEAD

*DEBATE: HOW SERIOUS IS THE PROBLEM OF ONLINE PREDATORS?

*MySpace and Sex Offenders: What's the problem? , BOB SULLIVAN

*MySpace Is Not Responsible for Predators , KEVIN ALEXANDER

*ASSIGNMENTS FOR WRITING ABOUT ARGUMENT

5. Defining Key Terms

The Purposes of Definition

Defining the Terms in Your Argument

Defining Vague and Ambiguous Terms

Practice

Methods for Defining Terms

Practice

• Stipulation
• Negation
• Examples
• Extended Definition

The Definition Essay

Writer’s Guide: Writing a Definition Essay

*SAMPLE ANALYSIS

The Definition of Terrorism , BRIAN WHITAKER

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

Race by the Numbers , ORLANDO PATTERSON

Family a Symbol of Love and Life, but Not Politics , ERIC ZORN

Don’t Torture English to Soft-Pedal Abuse , GEOFFREY NUNBERG

DEBATE: IS THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE CHANGING?

Gay Marriage Shows Why We Need to Separate Church and State , HOWARD MOODY Will It Be Marriage or Civil Union? , JO ANN CITRON

ASSIGNMENTS FOR UNDERSTANDING DEFINITION

6. Claims

Claims of Fact

• Sufficient and Appropriate Data
• Reliable Authorities
• Facts or Inferences

Writer’s Guide: Defending a Claim of Fact

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY: CLAIM OF FACT

A Reassuring Scorecard for Affirmative Action , MICHAEL M. WEINSTEIN

Practice

*Picking Sides for the News , ROBERT J. SAMUELSON

Claims of Value

Writer’s Guide: Defending a Claim of Value

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY: CLAIM OF VALUE

Kids in the Mall: Growing Up Controlled , WILLIAM SEVERINI KOWINSKI

Practice

*Crash , ROGER EBERT

Claims of Policy

Writer’s Guide: Defending a Claim of Policy

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY: CLAIM OF POLICY

College Life versus My Moral Code , ELISHA DOV HACK

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

Supersize Your Child? , RICHARD HAYES

‘Saw’ Good at Tying Things in Knots , WESLEY MORRIS

Letter from Birmingham Jail , MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

DEBATE: UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEIZE PERSONAL PROPERTY?

*One Year Later, Power to Seize Property Ripe for Abuse , USA TODAY

*Vital Tool of Last Resort , DONALD J. BORUT

ASSIGNMENTS FOR DEFENDING CLAIMS

7. Providing Support

Types of Support: Evidence and Appeals to Needs and Values

Evidence

• Factual Evidence
• Opinions: Interpretations of the Facts

Practice

Evaluation of Evidence

• Evaluation of Factual Evidence
• Evaluation of Statistics
• Evaluation of Opinions
• When Experts Disagree

Appeals to Needs and Values

• Appeals to Needs
• Appeals to Values

Evaluation of Appeals to Needs and Values

Writer’s Guide: Using Effective Support

Practice

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY

Single-Sex Education Benefits Men too , CLAUDIUS E. WATTS III

SAMPLE ANALYSIS

The True Costs of S.U.V.’s , HAL R. VARIAN

The True Confusion about SUV Costs , BETHANY ROYCE

Safer? Tastier? More Nutritious? The Dubious Merits of Organic Foods , KRISTEN WEINACKER (STUDENT)

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

Connecting the Dots . . . to Terrorism , BERNARD GOLDBERG

A New Look, an Old Battle , ANNA QUINDLEN

Marriage Plus , THEODORA OOMS

*DEBATE: Is assuming the role of citizen journalist worth the risk?

*Praise for Student’s Footage of Virginia Tech Mass Killing , LILY YULIANTI

*Disaster Photos: Newsworthy or Irresponsible? , MARK MEMMOTT, with ALAN LEVIN and GREG LIVADAS

ASSIGNMENTS FOR PROVIDING SUPPORT

8. Analyzing Warrants

What Are Warrants?

Practice

An Unjust Sacrifice , ROBERT A. SIRICO

Types of Warrants

SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY

The Case for Torture , MICHAEL LEVIN

Writer’s Guide: Recognizing Warrants

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

*We’re All Celebrities in Post-Privacy Age , ERIC AUCHARD

Newman’s Own 100% Grape Juice [advertisement]

Do We Need the Census Race Question? , NATHAN GLAZER

Civil Disobedience , HENRY DAVID THOREAU

DEBATE: ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN WEIGHT?

Absolutely. Government Has No Business Interfering with What You Eat , RADLEY BALKO

Not If Blaming the Victim Is Just an Excuse to Let Industry Off the Hook , KELLY BROWNELL AND MARION NESTLE

ASSIGNMENTS FOR ANALYZING WARRANTS

9. Avoiding Flawed Logic

Induction

SAMPLE ESSAY: AN INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT

True or False: Schools Fail Immigrants , RICHARD ROTHSTEIN

Practice

Deduction

*SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY: A DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT

*It’s All about Him , DAVID VON DREHLE

Practice

A Note on the Syllogism and the Toulmin Model

Common Fallacies

Writer’s Guide: Avoiding Logical Fallacies

Practice

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

Show Biz Encourages Looser Teen Sex Habits , SHERYL McCARTHY

Food for Thought (and for Credit) , JENNIFER GROSSMAN

A Modest Proposal , JONATHAN SWIFT

DEBATE: SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUND EMBRYONIC STEM-CELL RESEARCH?

Use the Body’s "Repair Kit": We Must Pursue Research on Embryonic Stem Cells , CHRISTOPHER REEVE

The Misleading Debate on Stem-Cell Research , MONA CHAREN

ASSIGNMENTS FOR AVOIDING LOGICAL FALLACIES

10. Choosing Fair and Precise Language

The Power of Words

*Address to Congress, 8 December 1941 , PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

Practice

Connotation

Slanting

Selection, Slanting, and Charged Learning , NEWMAN P. BIRK AND GENEVIEVE B. BIRK

Practice

Picturesque Language

Concrete and Abstract Language

Short Cuts

• Cliches
• Slogans

*SAMPLE ANNOTATED ESSAY

*Address to the Nation, September 11, 2006, GEORGE W. BUSH

Writer’s Guide: Choosing Your Words Carefully

READINGS FOR ANALYSIS

Americans Entitled to Cheap Gas—Right?, JOAN RYAN

$hotgun Weddings , KATHA POLLITT

Politics and the English Language , GEORGE ORWELL

DEBATE: Does the Government Have the Right to Regulate Guns?

The Right to Bear Arms , WARREN E. BURGER

A God-Given Natural Right , ROGER B. McGRATH

ASSIGNMENTS FOR CHOOSING FAIR AND PRECISE LANGUAGE

Part Two

Researching, Writing, and Presenting Arguments

11. Planning and Researching an Argumentative Paper

Finding an Appropriate Topic

• Invention Strategies
• Evaluating Possible Topics
• Writer’s Guide: Why Use Sources?

Initiating Research

Writer’s Guide: Keeping Your Research on Track

Mapping Research: A Sample Outline

Using Sources: Primary Research

Using Sources: Secondary Research

• Selecting and Searching Databases
• Types of Databases
• Encyclopedias
• Statistical Resources
• Government Publications
• Searching the Web

Evaluating Sources

• Evaluating Print Sources
• Evaluating Web Sources
• Evaluating a Web Site: One Example

Taking Notes

Documenting Your Research: MLA System

Documenting Your Research: APA Sources

12. Writing an Argumentative Paper

Defining the Issues

Case Study: School Uniforms

Organizing Material

• Defending the Main Idea
• Refuting an Opposing View
• Finding the Middle Ground
• Presenting the Stock Issues
• Ordering Material for Emphasis
• Considering Scope and Audience
• To This Point

Writing

• Beginning the Paper
• Guidelines for Good Writing

The MLA System for Citing Sources

Revising

Preparing the Manuscript

Writer’s Guide: Checklist for Argumentative Papers

Sample Research Paper (MLA Style)

*Thalidomide: Changing a Drug’s Reputation , SUZANNE SIMKOVICH

The APA System for Citing Sources

Sample Research Paper (APA Style)

*The Controversy over Women in Combat , ALLISON MATHEWS

13. Presenting an Argument Orally

The Audience

Credibility

Organization

Language

Support

Presentation Aids

• Charts, Graphs, Handouts
• Audio
• Video
• Multimedia

SAMPLE PERSUASIVE SPEECH

Live Longer and Healthier: Stop Eating Meat! , C. RENZI STONE

Part Three

Multiple Viewpoints

14. How Far Will We Go to Change Our Body Image?

*From Body Image and Adolescents , JILLIAN CROLL

*When Is Thin Too Thin? , ERIC WILSON

All to Be Tall , JOE KITA

Smooth Operations , ALLISON SAMUELS

How Men Really Feel about Their Bodies , TED SPIKER

Not too Rich or Too Thin , LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN

"Now that we’re old . . ." [cartoon]

The Tyranny of the Normal , LESLIE FIEDLER

THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT BODY IMAGE

*15. Is Academic Integrity on Our College Campuses under Assault?

*Expect, but Respect, Original Work by Students , BILL WALSH

*Battling Term-Paper Cheats , JULIE RAWE

*It Takes a Village: Academic Dishonesty and Educational Opportunity , DONALD L. MCCABE

*Bulletproof Assessment, War Stories, and Tactics: Avoiding Cybercheating , SUSAN STONEY AND MARK MCMAHON

*Universities Strike Back in Battle over Illegal Downloads , AMY BRITTAIN

*RateMyProfessors: Hidden Camera Edition , SCOTT JASCHIK

*Playboy Launches Social-Networking Site

16. Have We Become Too Reliant on Standardized Testing?

Why Can’t We Let Boys Be Boys? , MARCIA VICKERS

*Standardized Testing and Its Victims , ALFIE KOHN

Standardized Students: The Problems with Writing for Tests Instead of People , BRONWYN T. WILLIAMS

Testing Has Raised Students’ Expectations, and Progress in Learning Is Evident Nationwide , ROD PAIGE

NCLB’s Excessive Reliance on Testing Is Unrealistic, Arbitrary, and Frequently Unfair , REG WEAVER

*Are We Fixing the Wrong Things? , YONG ZHAO

The SAT’s Greatest Test: Social, Legal, and Demographic Forces Threaten to Dethrone the Most Widely Used College-Entrance Exam , BEN GOSE AND JEFFREY SELINGO

Are SAT Scores "Worse Than Meaningless"?

THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT RELIANCE ON STANDARDIZED TESTING

17. What Is the Role of Sex and Violence in Popular Culture?

*Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens’ Sexual Activity? , REBECCA L. COLLINS ET AL.

Filling Their Minds with Death: TV Violence and Children , RON KAUFMAN

*Television More Oversexed Than Ever, Study Finds , LISA DE MORAES

Cultural Studies and "Forensic Noir" , THOMAS DOHERTY

"Back Away. Slowly" [cartoon]

Hollow Claims about Fantasy Violence , RICHARD RHODES

A Desensitized Society Drenched in Sleaze , JEFF JACOBY

"Dad . . . Is it the entertainment industry’s fault that I’m exposed to this? [cartoon]

Gore for Sale , EVAN GAHR

THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT SEX AND VIOLENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE

18. Are Limits on Freedom of Speech Ever Justified?

First Amendment [cartoon]

Student Sues School District for Banning Anti-War T-Shirt , ALANA KEYNES

*The "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Student Speech Case: With Kenneth Starr Seeking High Court Review of the Ninth Circuit Decision, Is Someone Blowing Smoke? , JULIE HILDEN

*The Case Against School Prayer , ANNIE LAURIE GAYLOR

Why We Need to Abolish the FCC , ROBERT GARMONG

Freedom of Speech and My Right to Silence at Bath Time , PATTI WALDMEIR

Too Much Coffee Man [cartoon]

Dare Call It Treason , ERIC FONER

*The Imus Fallout: Who Can Say What? , JAMES PONIEWOZIK

A Case the Scouts Had to Win , STEFFEN N. JOHNSON

THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT THE LIMITS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH

*19. Why and How Should Immigration Be Controlled?

*The Hard Truth of Immigration , ROBERT J. SAMUELSON

*A Legacy of the Unforeseen , CAROLYN LOCHHEAD

*Don’t Bad-Mouth Unskilled Immigrants , TYLER COWEN AND DANIEL M. ROTHSCHILD

*Living with Illegals , MICHAEL BARONE

*The Invasion , PATRICK J. BUCHANAN

*Alien Nation , MICHAEL MAIELLO AND NICOLE RIDGWAY

*Waiting in Limbo, Their Childhood Lost , DANIELLE KNIGHT

*Lining Up for Citizenship , ARIAN COMPO-FLORES with RICHARD WOLFFE

*Rousing the Zealots , JEFFREY RESSNER

*THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT IMMIGRATION

*20. In the World of Medicine, Who Decides What Is Ethical?

*Need an Organ? It Helps to Be Rich , JOY VICTORY

*Ethics of Organ Donation , LAWRENCE A. HOWARDS

*Cancer and the Constitution—Choice at Life’s End , GEORGE J. ANNAS

*Pillow Angel Ethics , NANCY GIBBS

*"Adoption" of Frozen Embryos a Loaded Term , JEFFREY P. KAHN

*Doctors’ Beliefs Hinder Patient Care , SABRINA RUBIN ERDELY

*Does Stem Cell Advance Provide an Ethical Out? , ARTHUR CAPLAN

21. How Has Terrorism Affected the American Idea of Justice?

The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty , WWW.LIFEANDLIBERTY.GOV

Surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act , AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

From The PATRIOT Act [H. R. 3162, Sections 213 and 215] The Patriot Act and You , JENNIFER HAHN AND WASIM SALFITT

Name Withheld: Harsh Justice for a September 11 Detainee , ELIZABETH AMON

From The Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War . THE DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF WAR

*From Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the JAG Corps Leadership Summit , ALBERTO R. GONZALES

*Panel Hears about Falsehoods in Two Wartime Incidents , MICHAEL LUO

What Abu Ghraib Taught Me , BARBARA EHRENREICH

THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT THE EFFECT OF TERRORISM ON THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

INDEX OF AUTHORS AND TITLES

*new to this edition