Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

13

Click here to load reader

description

The Art of Argumentation You are sitting in class discussing a controversial essay and its thesis. One of your classmates states, “The author is totally right! Women haven’t made any progress in the last 50 years. We are still way below men!” You disagree. But let’s analyze her statement. What proof did she offer to back up her argument? How can you best formulate an argument to prove your point? Will you argue from a domestic or a global perspective?

Transcript of Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Page 1: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Entering the Academic Arena

The Elements of Argument

Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College

Page 2: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Opposing Viewpoints

As you enter the academic arena, you will sometimes find yourself disagreeing with what someone says or with what someone writes. The desired outcome of education is to develop the ability to think analytically and critically, rejecting old arguments, integrating parts of them, or constructing new ones that propel a society to grow.

Page 3: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

The Art of ArgumentationYou are sitting in class discussing

a controversial essay and its thesis. One of your classmates states, “The author is totally right! Women haven’t made any progress in the last 50 years. We are still way below men!”

You disagree. But let’s analyze her statement. What proof did she offer to back up her argument? How can you best formulate an argument to prove your point? Will you argue from a domestic or a global perspective?

Page 4: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Learning to Argue your PointOral Argumentation

In discussion, it is especially important to listen carefully to what someone else states. You will not have a valid point if you misinterpret, fail to listen closely, or interrupt what your classmate or professor is saying. One way you can make sure that you have understood someone else’s point of view is by restating the argument. For example, begin your response as follows:

Page 5: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Oral Argumentation

If I am correct, you stated that women have not achieved any progress in the last 50 years. However, I disagree with that statement because . . .

Page 6: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Developing your Argument

Strong arguments follow certain guidelines:They do not attack, play on emotions,

exaggerate, or represent an unsubstantiated opinion

They consider opposing points of viewThey are rational, logically developed, and

use reliable sources to make them credible.

Page 7: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Beware of the pitfalls

• Don’t be a wimp and use words like “may,” “might,” “maybe,” or “I believe.”

• Avoid religious or personal beliefs that are unable to be debated through a system of logic.

• Don’t state obvious facts.• Don’t make sweeping or hasty

generalizations.

Page 8: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Specific Pitfalls

Sweeping generalizations: All college students drink alcohol.

Hasty conclusions: The Taliban was responsible for the terrorism of 9/11. All acts of terrorism after that time have been the work of the Taliban.

Causal Fallacy: Because Bush is in office, the separation of church and state has become almost non-existent.

Page 9: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Specific Pitfalls

Ad hominem: We can’t listen to anything our class president says because her political ideology is different than ours.

Appeal to emotions: We must fight terrorism on whatever soil to show the world how brave and patriotic we are as Americans.

False dilemmas: Using arguments that rely on only two options (either this or that) reduces critical analysis and minimizes the argument.

Page 10: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Toulmin’s Four Questions

In Keys for Writers, Raimes quotes from Stephen Toulmin’s The Uses of Arguments:

What is your point?What do you have to go on?How do you get there?What could prevent you from getting there?

(do you need qualifiers such as “if, unless, but, usually, often, several, mostly,” etc.?)

Page 11: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Setting up your Argument:Deductive and Inductive ReasoningStarting with a generalization, moving

towards specific points, and reaching a certain conclusion is called deductive reasoning.

Developing a series of details that lead to a probable conclusion is inductive reasoning.

Page 12: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Effective and Ineffective Methods

As a college student, you need to learn as much as you can about the art of argumentation. Follow the link below to learn how to construct valid, educated, and well-constructed arguments.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_logic.html

Page 13: Entering the Academic Arena The Elements of Argument Judy Kahalas for Roxbury Community College.

Works Cited

Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers. Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.