Assignment 2.5 Argumentation

Chapter 1: The Purpose of an Argument
What is argumentation? Argumentation is the process of forming one or more reasons to draw conclusions and apply them to certain cases in discussion.

People use argumentation for many reasons. Either to, assert, prevail, inquire, or negotiate differences.

• An argument to assert means to make a claim or to state an opinion. When you assert your opinion you cannot undo the events that have already occured, or happened.
• An argument to prevail means to achieve a specific goal based on an assertion, a goal that is achieved is a victory of some kind.
• An argument to inquire means that you use research and dialoug to discover the best of many possible answers.
• An argument to negotiate differences means to reconcile people engaged in some kind of conflict.

Chapter 2: The Contexts of Argument

Three main contexts when you construct an argument: the rhetorical situation, the cultural context, and the moment in which you are arguing; the historical context.

Rhetorical Situation: we use the metaphor of a triangle to understand and define the rhetorical situation. This helps guide us, and keep us inside the three walls of the triangle when writing, and each wall is: the writer, the audience, and the subject. All these three walls come together and have to work connectivly in order for this to work.

Cultural Context: when writers speak to a certain audience they do not address general readers, but they are specific to the audience they are speaking to. Who we are as individuals will affect our argument, as well as our writing, and the background we have growing up. Defining who we are you have to take into consideration: race, gender, and other cultural identity. Culture shapes any argument weather we realize it or not.

Historical Context: this encompasses more than just making the right argument at the right point in time. The time at which an argument is presented to its audience can profoundly affect not only how the audience is going to react, but also the meaning and importance of the argument.

The more you consider these three contexts when writing your argument the more effective your argument will be!

Chapter 3: The Media for Argument

Many different types or forms of argument:

• Photographs
• Advertisements
• Icons
• Art (posters, paintings, etc)
• Electronic Media
• Internet (online discussions, websites)
• Radio
• Television