This concise, accessible text teaches how to write logical, cohesive arguments and how to evaluate the arguments of others.
Table of Contents:
Guide to Readings
Preface
1. Thinking and Writing–A Critical Connection
Thinking Made Visible
The Power of Writing Persuasively
THE ADVENT OF E-MAIL
Critical Thinking
CRITICAL THINKING AS SELF-DEFENSE
AN OPEN MIND–EXAMINING YOUR WORLD VIEW
MEDIA LITERACY
Audience and Purpose
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1 Considering Your Audience and Purpose
Writing as a Process
STRATEGIES FOR GENERATING IDEAS
THE FIRST DRAFT
THE TIME TO BE CRITICAL
ONE WRITER’S PROCESS
REASON, INTUITION, IMAGINATION, AND METAPHOR
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2 Your Writing Process
He or She?
What You Can Expect from This Book
MORE THAN ONE APPROACH
COLLABORATION
SHARPENING SENTENCE SKILLS AND INCREASING COHERENCE
Enjoying the Challenge of Thinking and Writing
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
2. Inference–Critical Thought
What Is an Inference?
HOW RELIABLE IS AN INFERENCE?
vii
What Is a Fact?
FACTS AND JOURNALISM
What Is a Judgment?
Achieving a Balance Between Inference and Facts
FACTS ONLY
SELECTING FACTS
INFERENCES ONLY
Reading Critically
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3 Reconstructing the Lost Tribe
Making Inferences–Analyzing Images
Making Inferences–Writing About Fiction
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4 Interpreting Fiction
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
3. The Structure of Argument
Premises and Conclusions
Distinguishing Between Premises and Conclusions
Standard Form
Ambiguous Argument Structure
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 5 Creating a Political Handout
Standard Form, Essay Organization, and Revision
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 6 Responding to an Editorial
Argument and Explanation–Distinctions
Logical Relationships Between Ideas–Joining Words and Coherence
CHOICE OF JOINING WORDS
REVISING FOR COHERENCE
Hidden Assumptions in Argument
DANGERS OF HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS
HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS AND STANDARD FORM
HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS AND AUDIENCE AWARENESS
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
4. Written Argument
Focusing Your Topic
THE ISSUE
viii D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S
THE QUESTION AT ISSUE
THE THESIS
TWO KINDS OF THESIS STATEMENTS
Shaping a Written Argument–Rhetorical Strategies
THE INTRODUCTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR ARGUMENT
HOW MANY PREMISES SHOULD AN ARGUMENT HAVE?
THE CONCLUSION
A Dialectical Approach to Argument
ADDRESSING COUNTERARGUMENTS
HOW MUCH COUNTERARGUMENT?
REFUTATION AND CONCESSION
ROGERIAN STRATEGY
WHEN THERE IS NO OTHER SIDE
Logical Joining of Contrasting and Concessive Ideas
THE CONCESSIVE SENTENCE
More on Coherence
Sample Essays
Four Approaches to Writing Arguments
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 7 Arguing Both Sides of an Issue
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 8 Taking a Stand
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 9 Exploring an Argument in Depth–An Alternative
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 10 Collaborating on a Complex Issue–A Group
Approach
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
5. The Language of Argument–Definition
Definition and Perception
CONTROLLING THE DISCOURSE
DEFINING OURSELVES
DEFINITION AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Language: An Abstract System of Symbols
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICITY
ABSTRACTIONS AND EVASION
EUPHEMISM AND CONNOTATION
Definition in Written Argument
APPOSITIVES–A STRATEGY FOR DEFINING TERMS WITHIN THE SENTENCE
APPOSITIVES AND ARGUMENT
PUNCTUATION OF APPOSITIVES
D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S ix
EXTENDED DEFINITION
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 11 Determining Your State’s Position on Gay
Marriage
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 12 Composing an Argument Based on a Definition
Stipulating Personal Meaning
PLATO
SHAKESPEARE
AMBROSE BIERCE
INVENTING NEW WORDS TO FILL A NEED
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 13 Creating a New Word
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
6. Fallacious Arguments
What Is a Fallacious Argument?
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
APPEAL TO FEAR
APPEAL TO PITY
BEGGING THE QUESTION
DOUBLE STANDARD
EQUIVOCATION
FALSE ANALOGY
FALSE CAUSE
FALSE DILEMMA
HASTY GENERALIZATION
PERSONAL ATTACK
POISONING THE WELL
SLIPPERY SLOPE
STRAW MAN
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 14 Analyzing an Extended Argument
KEY TERMS
7. Deductive and Inductive Argument
Key Distinctions
(1) NECESSITY VERSUS PROBABILITY
(2) FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC, SPECIFIC TO GENERAL
The Relationship Between Induction and Deduction
Deductive Reasoning
x D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S
CLASS LOGIC
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CLASSES
INCLUSION
EXCLUSION
OVERLAP
CLASS LOGIC AND THE SYLLOGISM
THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE
TRUTH, VALIDITY, AND SOUNDNESS
GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
MORE ON SYLLOGISMS
Inductive Reasoning
GENERALIZATION
THE DIRECTION OF INDUCTIVE REASONING
TESTING INDUCTIVE GENERALIZATIONS
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING STATISTICAL GENERALIZATIONS
HASTY GENERALIZATIONS
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT SURVEYS AND STATISTICS
MISTAKING CORRELATION FOR CAUSATION
CONSIDERING THE SOURCE
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 15 Questioning Generalizations
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 16 Conducting a Survey: A Collaborative Project
A Note on Deduction, Induction, and Written Argument
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
8. The Language of Argument–Style
Verbal Modifiers
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Parallelism
THE STRUCTURE OF PARALLELISM
LOGIC OF THE PARALLEL SERIES
EMPHASIZING IDEAS WITH PARALLELISM
Sentence Focus–Techniques for Sharpening the Flow of Ideas
CONCRETE SUBJECTS
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS
PASSIVE VERBS AND EVASION
WHEN THE PASSIVE IS APPROPRIATE
SHARP PARAGRAPH FOCUS
Revision
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 17 Revising an Essay
D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S xi
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
9. Research, Summary, and Documentation
Research
WHERE TO BEGIN
CHECK THE ADDRESS
REFINE YOUR SEARCH
DON’T FORGET BOOKS
TAKE NOTES
NECESSARY BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL
THREE OPTIONS FOR INCLUDING RESEARCH
INTEGRATE RESEARCH INTO YOUR OWN WRITING
MAKE THE PURPOSE CLEAR
PUNCTUATION AND FORMAT OF QUOTATIONS
OMITTING WORDS FROM A DIRECT QUOTATION–ELLIPSIS
Summary
STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A SUMMARY
AN EXAMPLE OF A SUMMARY
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 18 Constructing a Summary and Response
Plagiarism
Documentation
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE DOCUMENTED?
HOW TO DOCUMENT INFORMATION
THE MLA STYLE OF DOCUMENTATION FOR PRINTED SOURCES
CITATIONS WITHIN YOUR TEXT
LIST OF WORKS CITED: MLA
THE APA STYLE OF DOCUMENTATION FOR PRINTED SOURCES
CITATIONS WITHIN YOUR TEXT
LISTS OF WORKS CITED: APA
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
CITATIONS WITHIN YOUR TEXT
LISTS OF WORKS CITED: MLA
LISTS OF WORKS CITED: APA
Formatting Your Paper
VERB TENSES
A Reminder
Text Credits
Index
xii D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S
GUIDE TO READINGS
1. Thinking and Writing–A Critical Connection
“The Problem with New Data,” Jon Carroll
NEWSPAPER COLUMN
“The Child’s Draft,” Anne Lamott
BOOK EXCERPT
“The Writer,” Richard Wilbur
POEM
2. Inference–Critical Thought
“The Facts of Media Life,” Max Frankel
ESSAY
“The Totleigh Riddles,” John Cotton
POEMS
“Mirror,” Sylvia Plath
POEM
“Metaphors,” Sylvia Plath
POEM
“On Me!,” Philip Levine
POEM
“Grace Period,” Will Baker
FICTION
“Hostess,” Donald Mangum
FICTION
3. The Structure of Argument
“Bush Remarks Roil Debate over Teaching of Evolution,” Elizabeth Bumiller
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
“Of God and the Case for Unintelligent Design,” Lisa Fullam
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
xiii
4. Written Argument
“Could It Be That Video Games Are Good for Kids?” Steven Johnson
EDITORIAL
“Pro-Choice and Pro-Life,” Art Hoppe
NEWSPAPER COLUMN
“College Atheletes–Special Admissions?”
STUDENT ESSAY
“Rap Takes a Bum Rap,” John Herschend
STUDENT ESSAY
“A Case for Affirmative Action,” Cynthia Tucker
EDITORIAL
5. The Language of Argument–Definition
“The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently,” Thomas Lux
POEM
“Let Gays Marry,” Andrew Sullivan
ESSAY
“Leave Marriage Alone,” William Bennett
ESSAY
“Imagination”
STUDENT ESSAY
“Radical” [1]
STUDENT ESSAY
“Radical” [2]
STUDENT ESSAY
6. Fallacious Arguments
“On Date Rape,” Camille Paglia
ESSAY
“Boxing, Doctors–Round Two,” Lowell Cohn
NEWSPAPER COLUMN
“Say Goodbye to SUVs,” Rich Lowrey
EDITORIAL
7. Deductive and Inductive Argument
“Mechanics’ Logic,” Robert Pirsig
BOOK EXCERPT
xiv G U I D E T O R E A D I N G S
“A Study in Scarlet,” Arthur Conan Doyle
FICTION
“Preventive Medicine, Properly Practiced,” Dr. Susan Love
ESSAY
8. Research, Summary, and Documentation
“AP Courses–Mounting Burden, Declining Benefit,” Nathan Yan
STUDENT ESSAY
“Other People’s Words, “ Paul Gray
ESSAY
G U I D E T O R E A D I N G S xv
About the Author :
Sheila Cooper and Rosemary Patton are lecturers at San Francisco StateUniversity.
