How Arguments Work: A Guide to Reading, Writing and Analyzing Texts in College

by Karen Woodring

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How Arguments Work takes students through the techniques they will need to respond to readings and make sophisticated arguments in any college class. This is a practical guide to argumentation with strategies and templates for the kinds of assignments students will commonly encounter. It covers rhetorical concepts in everyday language and explores how arguments can build trust and move readers.

Description from LibreTexts.

Publisher
Harrisburg Area Community College
Subjects
Humanities
Licence
CC BY-NC, as LibreTexts states it. Non-commercial use only.
Who can read
Teens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

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  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Licensing
  6. 1: Introduction- Why Study Argument?
  7. 2: Reading to Figure out the Argument
  8. 2.1: Overview- Reading to Write
  9. 2.2: Types of Claims to Look out for
  10. 2.3: Making Notes on the Writer’s Claims
  11. 2.4: Deciding Which Is the Main Claim
  12. 2.5: Finding the Reasons
  13. 2.6: Finding the Counterarguments
  14. 2.7: Finding the Responses to the Counterarguments
  15. 2.8: Finding the Limits on the Argument
  16. 3: Writing a Summary of Another Writer’s Argument
  17. 3.1: Introducing the Argument and the Main Claim
  18. 3.2: Describing the Reasoning
  19. 3.3: Describing How the Author Treats Counterarguments
  20. 3.4: Describing How the Author Limits the Claim
  21. 3.5: Putting the Summary Together
  22. 4: Assessing the Strength of an Argument
  23. 4.1: Using a Summary to Launch an Opinion
  24. 4.2: Checking If the Meaning Is Clear
  25. 4.3: Questioning the Reasons
  26. 4.4: Questioning the Assumptions
  27. 4.5: Fallacies- Common Problems to Watch For
  28. 4.5.1: Classification of Fallacies - All the Ways we Say Things Wrong
  29. 4.5.2: Fallacies of Evidence
  30. 4.5.3: Fallacies of Weak Induction
  31. 4.5.4: Fallacies of Ambiguity and Grammatical Analogy
  32. 4.5.5: The Detection of Fallacies in Ordinary Language
  33. 4.5.6: Searching Your Essays for Fallacies
  34. 5: Making Your Recommendation in Response to an Argument
  35. 6: The Research Process
  36. 6.1: Approaching a Research Paper Assignment
  37. 6.2: Where to Find Authoritative Sources
  38. 6.3: Getting Familiar with Academic Journal Articles
  39. 6.4: Searching for Journal Articles
  40. 6.5: Strategies for Each Phase of the Research Process
  41. 7: Forming Your Own Argument
  42. 7.1: Introductions
  43. 7.2: Organizing a Paper to Respond to Sources
  44. 7.3: Definition Arguments
  45. 7.4: Evaluation Arguments
  46. 7.5: Causal Arguments
  47. 7.6: Proposal Arguments
  48. 7.7: Tips for Paraphrasing and Quoting
  49. 7.8: Conclusions
  50. 8: How Arguments Appeal to Emotion
  51. 8.1: The Place of Emotion in Argument
  52. 8.2: Word Choice and Connotation
  53. 8.3: Powerful Examples
  54. 8.4: Tone
  55. 8.5: Varying the Emotions
  56. 8.6: Fitting the Emotions to the Audience
  57. 8.7: Legitimate and Illegitimate Emotional Appeals
  58. 9: How Arguments Establish Trust and Connection
  59. 9.1: An Argument Implies a Relationship
  60. 9.2: Authority
  61. 9.3: Distance and Intimacy
  62. 9.4: Shared Sense of Identity
  63. 9.5: Respect and Goodwill
  64. 9.6: Moral Character
  65. 9.7: Combining Different Approaches to Trust and Connection
  66. 9.8: Faulty Appeals to Trust
  67. 10: Writing an Analysis of an Argument’s Strategies
  68. 10.1: How Argument Analysis Essays are Structured
  69. 10.2: Generating Ideas for an Argument Analysis Paper
  70. 10.3: Reviewing an Argument Analysis Essay
  71. 10.4: A Brief Sample Argument Analysis Essay
  72. 10.5: A Longer Sample Argument Analysis Essay
  73. 11: Shaping Sentences to Drive Your Points Home
  74. 11.1: Writing Like You Drive
  75. 11.2: Keeping It Concise
  76. 11.3: Making Sentences Clear
  77. 11.4: Giving the Reader Pleasure
  78. 11.5: Understanding Convoluted Sentences
  79. 11.6: Exercises and Further Resources
  80. 12: Language - Meaning and Definition
  81. 12.1: Techniques of Defining- “Semantics” vs “Syntax” and Avoiding more Ambiguity
  82. 12.2: Criteria for Framing Definitions- It’s all about Context and Audience
  83. 12.3: Defining Terms Appropriately
  84. 12.4: Cognitive and Emotive Meaning - Abortion and Capital Punishment
  85. 12.5: Functions of Language and Precision in Speech
  86. 12.6: Defining Terms- Types and Purposes of Definitions
  87. Back Matter
  88. Index
  89. Glossary
  90. Detailed Licensing