Language and Composition: The Art of Voice (Muller and Whiting)

Chapter 3: Argumentation and Synthesis

Chapter Overview

An argument asserts an opinion based on evidence: you find them everywhere—Internet blogs, editorial articles, science articles, and so on. People can use argument to sift through competing viewpoints in order to achieve a consensus that everyone can live with. In a world where people from different countries interact more and more, we must find ways to consider positions different from our own, and to communicate our opinions in ways that are thoughtful, considerate, and interesting.

You must learn argument as a mode of thinking, reading, and writing in classroom situations, but you should use it in your civic and social life as well. When you engage in argumentation, you offer reasons to support a position, belief, or conclusion.

A typical argumentative essay makes a point that not everyone agrees with and defends it by describing widely accepted facts or direct personal observations, combined with interpretation in support of the debated point. Closely allied with argumentation is persuasion, in which the writer appeals to readers’ intelligence, emotions, and beliefs in order to influence them to adopt a position or act in a certain way. Logic and persuasive appeal often combine when a writer tries to convince an audience that his or her position is valid and that other perspectives, while understandable perhaps, require reconsideration.

It is important to distinguish between oral arguments and written ones. Admittedly, both spoken and written arguments have a common purpose in their attempt to convince someone to agree with a particular position, make a certain decision, or take a specific action. In both your oral and written arguments, you will usually invoke reasons and attempt to manipulate language skillfully. However, with an oral argument, you rarely have access to factual evidence needed to support your reasons. Nor will you often have time to organize an oral argument the way you would organize a written one. Oral arguments therefore tend to be more emotional and less organized.

Unlike most oral arguments, effective written arguments can be carefully planned, organized, researched, and revised. The writer can consider the likely readers, and anticipate and answer objections to the assertions being made. Moreover, the writer can also take time to assess validity of the logic (interpretation of evidence) and other persuasive techniques used. Finally, the writer has time to choose the appropriate language and style for the argument, exploring rhetorical devices you learned about in Chapter 2: the use of striking diction, figurative language, rhythmic sentence patterns, and various tones and shades of meaning during the prewriting, drafting, and revision stages.