"The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide," 4th Edition, is your go-to guide for turning everyday conversations -- at school, work, home or in your community -- into thoughtful, persuasive arguments. With easy-to-follow steps and real-world writing activities, you'll explore four powerful models (Toulmin, Rogerian, Middle Ground and Microhistory) and dive into readings on topics like education, social justice, identity and civic issues.
Part I: HOW TO APPROACH ARGUMENT IN REAL LIFE.
1. Argue with a Purpose. What Argument Is and What Argument Is Not. Excerpt
from The Price of Admission, by Thomas Frank. Recognize Where Argument Is
Appropriate in Real Life. Establish Local Context via the Research Process.
Determine Your Audience. Establish Local Context for Your Issue. Connect
Local and Global Contexts. Recognize Why Arguments Break Down. Arguments
Break Down When They Do Not Persuade an Audience. Arguments Break Down When
There Is a Lack of Balance in the Support. Arguments Break Down When the
Audience Is Poorly Defined. Arguments Break Down When They Contain Fallacies.
Arguments Break Down When They Do Not Fairly Represent Opposing Views. Match
Argument with Purpose. Toulmin-Based Argument. Middle Ground Argument.
Rogerian Argument. Argument Based on a Microhistory.
2. Explore an Issue that Matters to You. Determine What Matters to You and
Why. School/Academic. Workplace. Family/Household. Neighborhood.
Social/Cultural. Consumer. Concerned Citizen. Choose an Issue within a Topic.
Pre-Think about Your Issue. Brainstorming. Freewriting. Mapping. Move from
Boring to Interesting. Define and Target Your Audience. Stake, Defend, and
Justify Your Claim. Develop a Claim, Reasons, and Qualifiers. Argue with a
Purpose. Vary the Types of Support You Bring to an Argument. Support Based on
Fact. Support Based on Your Character. Support Based on the Emotions of an
Audience. Working with a Target Audience: Two Examples. Argue at the Right
Moment. Getting Started.
Part II: HOW TO ESTABLISH CONTEXT THROUGH RESEARCH.
3. Develop a Research Plan. Use Reference Works, Encyclopedias, and Topic
Overviews Profitably. List Search Terms and Vocabulary Appropriate Search
Terms to Be Used in Database and Internet Research. Identify Reliable
Internet and Print Sources to Find Information for a Research Project.
Perform Keyword Queries When Searching Databases and Internet Sources. Find
News Sites. Find and Use Databases in Libraries Gather Research through
Library Database. Find Examples of Primary, Government, and Multimedia
Sources. Find and Use Government Sources. Find and Use Multimedia Sources
Find Books Locating Books and eBooks in Libraries and Online. [ pb1]
4. Evaluate and Engage with Your Sources. Take Notes, Read Critically, and
Evaluate Internet Sites. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Articles.
Take Notes on Print Articles. Take Notes and Read Books Critically. Take
Notes and Evaluate Primary Sources. Introduce and Comment on Sources. Quote
and Cite Quotations. Summarize and Cite Summaries. Paraphrase and Cite
Paraphrases. Avoid Plagiarism. Documentation: Works Cited Page. [ pb2]
5. Read Critically and Avoid Fallacies. Define Fallacies. Identify and Avoid
Fallacies, Avoid Fallacies of Choice. [ pb3] Avoid Fallacies of Support. Avoid
Fallacies of Emotion. Avoid Fallacies of Inconsistency.
6. Work Fairly with the Opposition. Why the Opposition Matters. Resist Easy
Generalizations. Listen to Local Voices. Summarize Other Voices Fairly. Value
Expertise over Advocacy. Avoid Bias When You Summarize. Find Points of
Overlap. Identify Common Ground with the Opposition. Respond to Other Views.
Part III: HOW TO PLAN, STRUCTURE, AND DELIVER AN ARGUMENT.
7. Explore an Issue. Use Definitions. Discover Causes or Consequences.
Present Comparisons. Propose a Solution. Evaluate Your Claim. Write an
Exploratory Essay. [ pb4]
8. Consider Toulmin-Based Argument. Construct an Argument to Fit Your
Purpose. Terms of Toulmin-Based Argument. Claim. Reasons. Support. Warrant.
Backing. Rebuttal. Qualifiers. Map a Toulmin-Based Argument. Student-Authored
Toulmin-Based Argument.
9. Consider Middle Ground Argument, Rogerian Argument, and Argument Based on
a Microhistory. Middle Ground Argument. Make a Middle-Ground Position
Practical. Recognize Where Middle Ground Arguments Are Possible. Map a Middle
Ground Argument. Student-Authored Middle Ground Argument. Rogerian Argument.
Listen Closely to the
Harry Phillips earned a Ph.D. in English from Washington State University (WSU) in 1994 and an M.A. in English with a minor in education from North Carolina Central University in 1988. From 1994 to 2009, he was an instructor of English at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he regularly taught argument-based research and a range of American literature courses. He began teaching argument in 1993 at WSU and recommended that this course be a part of the North Carolina Community College Common Course Library -- a suggestion that led to the course being adopted across the N.C. Community College system. He continues to view argument as an essential set of skills both for two- and four-year college students as well as for everyday people intent on crafting effective communication. Dr. Phillips was Curator of Native Plants at the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the principal author of "Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers" (University of North Carolina Press, 1985). Since retiring from CPCC, he spends his time as a mediator, climate crisis activist and avid gardener.
