The market leader in argumentative rhetorics, Writing Arguments has proven highly successful in teaching students to read arguments critically and to produce effective arguments of their own. In its student—friendly tone, clear explanations, high—interest readings and examples, and well—sequenced critical thinking and writing assignments, Writing Arguments offers a time—tested approach to argument that is interesting and accessible to students and eminently teachable for instructors. Throughout the book, the authors approach argument rhetorically by emphasizing audience and context at every stage of the construction of an argument. Writing Arguments, moves students beyond a simplistic debate model of argument to a view of argument as inquiry and consensus—building as well as persuasion, in which the arguer negotiates with others in search of the best solutions to problems.

Table of Contents:
* Denotes selections new to this edition.Most chapters end with “Conclusion.”I. OVERVIEW OF ARGUMENT. 1. Argument: An Introduction. What Do We Mean by Argument? Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum Est. The Defining Features of Argument. Argument and the Problem of Truth. A Successful Process of Argumentation: The Well-Functioning Committee. Gordon Adams, Petition to Waive the University Math Requirement (student essay). 2. Reading Arguments. Why Reading Arguments Is Important for Writers. Strategy 1: Reading as a Believer. * Lisa Turner, Playing with Our Food. Strategy 2: Reading as a Doubter. Strategy 3: Exploring How Rhetorical Context and Genre Shape the Argument. Strategy 4: Seeking Out Alternative Views and Analyzing Sources of Disagreement. * Council for Biotechnology Information, Would It Surprise You That Growing Soybeans Can Help the Environment? (advocacy advertisement). *Council for Biotechnology Information, Biotech Labeling: Why Biotech Labeling Can Confuse Consumers. * An Analysis of the Sources of Disagreement between Lisa Turner and the Council for Biotechnology Information (sample analysis essay). Strategy 5: Using Disagreement Productively to Prompt Further Investigation. 3. Writing Arguments. Who Writes Arguments and Why? Tips for Improving Your Writing Process. Using Exploratory Writing to Discover Ideas and Deepen Thinking. Shaping Your Argument: Classical Argument as a Planning Tool. Discovering Ideas: Two Sets of Exploratory Writing Tasks. Writing Assignments for Chapters 1-3. II. PRINCIPLES OF ARGUMENT. 4. The Core of an Argument: A Claim with Reasons. The Rhetorical Triangle. Issue Questions as the Origins of Argument. Difference between a Genuine Argument and a Pseudo-Argument. Frame of an Argument: A Claim Supported by Reasons. Application of This Chapter's Principles to Your Own Writing. Application of This Chapter's Principles to the Reading of Arguments. 5. The Logical Structure of Arguments. Overview of Logos: What Do We Mean by the “Logical Structure” of an Argument? Adopting a Language for Describing Arguments: The Toulmin System. Using Toulmin's Schema to Determine a Strategy of Support. The Power of Audience-Based Reasons. 6. Using Evidence Effectively. General Principles for the Persuasive Use of Data. Rhetorical Understanding of Evidence. Gathering Evidence. Writing Your Own Argument: Using Evidence Persuasively. Writing Assignments for Chapters 4-6. David Langley, “Half-Criminals” or Urban Athletes? A Plea for Fair Treatment of Skateboarders (student essay) . 7. Moving Your Audience: Ethos and Pathos. Ethos and Pathos as Persuasive Appeals: An Overview. How to Create an Effective Ethos: The Appeal to Credibility. How to Create Pathos: The Appeal to Beliefs and Emotions. Using Images for Emotional Appeal. 8. Accommodating Your Audience: Treating Differing Views. One-Sided versus Multi-Sided Arguments. Determining Your Audience's Resistance to Your Views. Appealing to a Supportive Audience: One-Sided Argument. Appealing to a Neutral or Undecided Audience: Classical Argument. Marybeth Hamilton, from First Place: A Healing School for Homeless Children (student essay). Appealing to a Resistant Audience: Delayed Thesis or Rogerian Argument. Ellen Goodman, Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance. *Rebekah Taylor, Letter to Jim (student essay). Appealing to a Resistant Audience: Using Humor. Writing Assignments for Chapters 7 and 8. 9. Conducting Visual Arguments. Understanding Design Elements in Visual Argument. The Compositional Features of Photographs and Drawings. The Genres of Visual Argument. Constructing Your Own Visual Argument. Using Graphics as Visual Arguments. Writing Assignment for Chapter 9. III. ARGUMENTS IN DEPTH: SIX TYPES OF CLAIMS. 10. An Introduction to Types of Claims. An Overview of the Types of Claims. What Is the Value of Studying Claim Types? 11. Categorical and Definition Arguments: X Is (Is Not) a Y. An Overview of Categorical Arguments. Simple Categorical Arguments. An Overview of Definitional Arguments. The Criteria-Match Structure of Definitional Arguments. Conceptual Problems of Definition. Kinds of Definitions. Strategies for Defining the Contested Term in a Definitional Argument. Conducting the Match Part of a Definitional Argument. Writing a Definitional Argument. Writing Assignment for Chapter 11. Questioning and Critiquing a Definitional Argument. Readings. * Jack C. K. Chiang, Letter to the Editor. Kathy Sullivan, Oncore, Obscenity, and the Liquor Control Board (student essay) . * Charles Krauthammer, This Isn't a Legal Matter, This Is War. * Blaine Newnham, Court Win for Martin Not a Defeat for Pro Sports. 12. Causal Arguments: X Causes (Does Not Cause) Y. An Overview of Causal Arguments. The Nature of Causal Arguing. Describing a Causal Argument in Toulmin Terms. Three Methods for Arguing That One Event Causes Another. Glossary of Terms Encountered in Causal Arguments. Writing Your Causal Argument. Writing Assignment for Chapter 12. Questioning and Critiquing a Causal Argument. Readings. Daeha Ko, The Monster That Is High School (student essay). * United Way, Kids Who Do Not Participate... (advocacy advertisement). * Richard Rothstein, When Mothers on Welfare Go to Work. Holly Miller, The Causes of Teen Sexual Behavior (student essay). 13. Resemblance Arguments: X Is (Is Not) Like Y. An Overview of Resemblance Arguments. Arguments by Analogy. Arguments by Precedent. Writing a Resemblance Argument. Writing Assignment for Chapter 13. Questioning and Critiquing a Resemblance Argument. Readings. * Meg Matthews, Whales Need Silence (student essay). * Jean Arbeiter, Iraq War Plans. * Paul Klugman, The Long Haul. * Sven Van Assche, Knock! Knock! (political cartoon). Susan Brownmiller, from Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. 14. Evaluation Arguments: X Is (Is Not) a Good Y. An Overview of Evaluation Arguments. Criteria-Match Structure of Evaluation Arguments. Conducting a Categorical Evaluation Argument. An Overview of Ethical Arguments. Some Major Ethical Systems. Conducting an Ethical Argument. Common Problems in Making Evaluation Arguments. Writing an Evaluation Argument. Writing Assignment for Chapter 14. Questioning and Critiquing an Evaluation Argument. Readings. Sam Isaacson, Would Legalization of Gay Marriage Be Good for the Gay Community? (student essay). * Tiffany Anderson, A Woman's View of Hip Hop (student essay). * Ann Cleaves, Public Schools U.S.A. 2001 (political cartoon). Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Eight Is Too Many: The Case against Octuplets. 15. Proposal Arguments: “We Should (Should Not) Do X.” An Overview of Proposal Arguments. The Structure of Proposal Arguments. Special Concerns for Proposal Arguments. Developing a Proposal Argument. Proposal Arguments as Advocacy Posters or Advertisements. Using the Claim-Type Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument. Using the “Stock Issues” Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument. Writing a Proposal Argument. Questioning and Critiquing a Proposal Argument. Writing Assignment for Chapter 15. Readings. * Laurel Wilson, A Proposal to Provide Tips for Hosts at Stone's End (student essay). * Mark Bonicillo, A Proposal for Universal Health Insurance in the United States (MLA-style student research paper). * Akhil Reed Amar and Steven G. Calabresi, The Supreme Court's Unfree Speech. * Center for Children's Health and the Environment, She's the Test Subject for Thousands of Toxic Chemicals. Why? (advocacy advertisement). IV. WRITING FROM SOURCES: THE ARGUMENT AS A FORMAL RESEARCH PAPER. 16. Finding and Evaluating Sources. Formulating a Research Question. Understanding Differences in the Kinds of Sources. Finding Books: Searching Your Library's Online Catalog. Finding Print Articles: Searching a Licensed Database. Finding Cyberspace Sources: Searching the World Wide Web. Reading Your Sources Rhetorically. Taking Effective Notes. Evaluating Sources. Understanding the Rhetoric of Web Sites. * National Resources Defense Council Web Site, Spread of Active Sonar Threatens Whales. 17. Using, Citing, and Documenting Sources. Using Sources for Your Own Purposes. Creating Rhetorically Effective Attributive Tags. Working Sources into Your Own Prose. Avoiding Plagiarism. Understanding Parenthetical Citation Systems with Bibliographies. Understanding MLA Style. Understanding APA Style. * Megan Matthews, Sounding the Alarm: Navy Sonar and the Survival of Whales (APA-style student research paper). APPENDICES. Appendix 1: Informal Fallacies. The Problem of Conclusiveness in an Argument. An Overview of Informal Fallacies. Appendix 2: The Writing Community: Working in Groups. From Conflict to Consensus: How to Get the Most Out of the Writing Community. Forming Writing Communities: Skills and Roles. A Several-Days Group Project: Defining “Good Argumentative Writing.” A Classroom Debate. V. AN ANTHOLOGY OF READINGS. An Overview of the Anthology. Guide Questions for the Analysis and Evaluation of Arguments. List 1. Questions for Analyzing and Evaluating a Conversation. List 2. Questions for Analyzing and Evaluating an Individual Argument. List 3. Questions for Responding to a Reading and Forming Your Own Views. Environmental Friendliness Versus Market Freedom: The Case of the SUV. * Bill McKibben, Driving Global Warming. * John Bragg, The American Dream: Why Environmentalists Attack the SUV. * Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Better Gas Mileage, Greater Security. * Henry Payne and Diane Katz, Gas and Gasbags...or, the Open Road and Its.Enemies. * Keith Bradsher, Gimme an SUV-ASAP: Teenagers Are the Next Big Market for Sport Utility Vehicles—and the Consequences Could Be Deadly. * Tom Randall, CAFè Belongs in the Graveyard with Its Victims: We Can.Increase Fuel Economy Without Costing Lives. * Sherwood Boehlert, Floor Statement on Boehlert-Markey CAFè Amendment. * StayFreeMagazine.org, Notice of Violation (mock ticket). * Henry Payne, Electric Car Canceled (political cartoon). * Bill Wasserman, Ford on Risk (political cartoon). * Horsey, SUV and Miata (political cartoon). Biotechnology, Organic Food, and the Ethics of Food Production. * Steven Milloy, Organic Food Seasoned with Fear. * Miguel A. Altieri and Peter Rosset, Ten Reasons Why Biotechnology Will Not Ensure Food Security, Protect the Environment, and Reduce Poverty in the Developing World. * American Council on Science and Health, Executive Summary: Biotechnology and Food. * Center for Food Safety, Why Voluntary Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods Won't Help Consumers. * John Bissell, Invoking the Lessons of Edison in the Great 'Frankenfoods' Dispute. * Kristina Canizares, Science Good, Nature Bad: The Biotech Dogma. * Gregory A. Jaffe, Lessen the Fear of Genetically Engineered Crops. * Froma Harrup, Food Industry Should Modify Its Stance on Altered Food. * Sustainusa.org, What Is the FDA Trying to Feed Us? (poster). * Rich Heffern, The Ethics of Eating. Responses to Terrorism: Public Safety, Civil Liberties, and War. * John Ashcroft, Testimony to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. * David Cole, The Ashcroft Raids. * Mary Jacoby, Legally, What Are the Detainees? * Charles Krauthammer, Guantanamo Prisoners Getting What They Deserve. * Sherry F. Colb, The New Face of Racial Profiling: How Terrorism Affects the Debate. * Roger Clegg, Profiling Terrorists. * American Civil Liberties Union, Racial Profiling and the War on Terrorism. * Kathryn Jean Lopez, What Would Mohammed [Atta] Do?: An Interview with Michelle Malkin. * Nicholas D. Kristof, All-American Osamas. Hip Hop, Film, and Racial Identity. * Raquel Cepeda, Money, Power, Elect: Where's the Hip-Hop Agenda? * Yvonne Bynoe, The White Boy Shuffle. * Leonard Pitts, Jr., Denzel Washington Plays a Bad Guy, and That's Good. * Ellis Cose, The False Promise of Being First. * Ron Aiken, Save the Labels for the Category of Achievement. * Steven Mitchell, Monster's Mask. Gender and Technology in Advertising. * Haloid Xerox (Advertisement). * FedEx “Magellan” (Advertisement). * FedEx “Maria” (Advertisement). * Technology Review (Advertisement). * Siemens, Spacious Corner Office, Redefined (Advertisement). Marriage and Family in the New Millennium. * Patrick Fagan and Jennifer Garrett, Restoring a Culture of Marriage: Good News for Policy Makers from the Fragile Families Survey. * Alternatives to Marriage Project, Statement Regarding Hearing on Welfare and.Marriage Issues. Andrew Sullivan, Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage. Lisa Shiffren, Gay Marriage, an Oxymoron . * Steven K. Lofton, Affidavit of Steven K. Lofton. * Ellen C. Perrin, Technical Report: Coparent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents. Kathryn Jean Lopez, Eggheads. * Hila Colman, Who Needs a Husband. Globalization, World Markets, and the Carnival Against Capitalism. * Gary Clement, I'd Like a Tall Decaf Non-Fat Latte... (political cartoon). * Carnival Against Capitalism, (poster). * Thomas L. Friedman, Evolutionaries. * Michael Shuman, The End of Globalization? * Mike Moore, Open Societies Do Better. * Nicholas D. Kristof, Let Them Sweat. * Chris Anderson, Columnist Endorses Slave Labor For Children. * Tom Hayden and Charles Kernaghan, Pennies an Hour, and No Way Up. * Danielle Stein, From Cherry Garcia to Sweatshop Reform (student essay). * Paul Krugman, Heart of Cheapness. * Douglas W. MacCleery, Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic: Is It Only Half a Loaf? John D. Abell, The Neoliberal World Order: The View from The Highlands of.Guatemala. Internet Censorship: Hate Sites, Pornography, Spam. * Courtney Macavinta, Prison Time for Email Threats. * Kenneth Lake, Hate Speech Conviction Outlaws Email. * Lawrence J. Magid, Internet's Hate Sites Can Be Hidden, but They Can't Be Ignored. John Carr, It's Time to Tackle Cyberporn. * Associated Press, Anti-Censorship Advocate Locks Horns with.Anti-Pornography Filterers. * New York Times, “Taking on Junk Email.” * Jim Conway, Letter to the Editor. * Adam Cohen, The Constitution Does Not Protect Spamming. * New York Times, “China's Cyberspace Censorship.” Troubled Teens and Violence. * Riki Anne Wilchins, Teenage Terrorism. Gloria Steinem, Supremacy Crimes. * Victor C. Strasburger, Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Revisited. * Mike Males, Debunking the Ten Worst Myths about America's Teens. James Garbarino, Children in a Violent World. The Cultural Debate on Stem Cell Research and Cloning. * Richard Hayes, It's Worth Copying Canada's Model for Cloning Legislation. * Robert A. Weinberg, Of Clones and Clowns. * Judith Levine, What Human Genetic Modification Means for Women. * Sam Brownback, Human Cloning. * Center For Genetics and Society, Open Letter to U.S. Senators On Human Cloning and Eugenic Engineering. * American Society For Cell Biology, Letter to Senator Tom Daschle Opposing a.Moratorium on Nuclear Transplantation. * New York Times, The President's Narrow Morality. * Orrin G. Hatch, Press Conference: Hatch Makes the Case for Regenerative.Medicine. * Mona Charen, Stem Cell Simplicities. * Anna Quindlen, A New Look, An Old Battle. Criminal Justice and Postpartum Psychosis: The Case of Andrea Yates. * Andrea Yates and Family; Andrea Yates after Arrest (photographs). * Sally Satel, Mommy Undearest. * John Derbyshire, Maternal Madness...or Sheer Iniquity? Mothers Who Kill. * Charles Krauthammer, Andrea Yates Wasn't Responsible for Her Crime. * Michelle Cottle, Punishment That Fits. * Anna Quindlen, Playing God on No Sleep. * Peter Renn, Yates Should Be Treated like Any Other Murderer (student essay). * Froma Harrop, Questioning the Motives of Home Schooling Parents. * Lynne K. Varner, Andrea Yates: New Moms and Our Misplaced Priorities. The United States as Superpower. * George W. Bush, Remarks by the President at 2002 Graduation of the United States.Military Academy. * Richard Falk, The New Bush Doctrine. * John J. Miller, Our 'Next Manifest Destiny'. * Jeff Guntzel, IPT Briefing #2: Preemptive Strikes and International Law. * Mona Charen, The Moral Authority of the UN. * Tompaine.com, I Want You to Invade Iraq (poster). * Not in Our Name Project, A Statement of Conscience (advocacy advertisement). * David Barsamian, The Progressive Interview: Edward W. Said. * Donald Kagan, Terrorism and the Intellectuals.