The Beginnings of my Argument(ation) - Post #1
The Beginnings of my Argument - Post #1
Austin Freeman
Period 4 - Honors English
Independent Reading Project - Quarter 2
For my Quarter 2 IRP, I will be reading "A Rulebook for Arguments," and developing a short (no longer than three paragraphs), argument on my personal passion for some ideas on Education habits and ideas on how to be successful. As I read my book, I will tie in the rules of argumentation and the content of my book into my Argument, which will be developed over my 5+ blog posts.
A lot of people do not understand arguing and how it can be helpful. Arguing (argumentation), is a way of finding out which views are better than others, is a form of inquiry, and helps people develop different conclusions and to use different pathways and forms to develop a claim. Plus, arguing helps people develop good speaking skills and expand their critical thinking.
As I develop my short argument, one of my first things to do is to develop a claim/premise. A piece of text evidence from the IRP Book is:
"Identify Premises and conclusion
The very first step in making an argument is to ask yourself what are you trying to prove. What is your conclusion? Remember that the conclusion is the statement for which you are giving and why you are giving reasons. The statements that give your reasons are your premises." (Weston, 1).
As I read the book, I realized the differences between a premise and a conclusion in the subject of argumentation and had developed my premise: In High School, your study habits and actions really do matter and skills such as good time management, studying in new locations, and identifying how you learn all will enable you to be successful.
Also, in my premise, and my argument, I used different reasons and examples. In "A Rulebook for Arguments," it says that you should use consistent terms. Short arguments, such as the one that I am doing use a single consistent idea, repeated words, and it flows throughout the argument (Weston 6 -7). In my argument, my idea of being "successful," and that these study habits will help you as an individual, are consistent terms throughout my argument.
Question:
Has there been a moment in the past year where you could have done some better arguing? What were you arguing/debating about?
MLA Citation:
Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2009. Print.
Hey Austin! It's Alenz.
ReplyDeleteHearing about the idea of claim/premise in an argument was interesting because I've never thought about it that way, I never knew there was a science to arguing. Personally, whenever I argue I've learned that making a person question their words or decisions helps put you at a better advantage when you are such as when I have Socratic seminars in class with you. I hope you'll cover the topic of pathos, logos, and ethos. I believe they're the core fundamentals of arguing and persuasion in general.
Hey there Alenz!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I really enjoy the "art" of arguing and find it fascinating how you can connect ideas and use evidence and speaking skills to argue about your opinions. I also really like that idea of attacking the source of a person's argument to put them off balance.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are modes of persuasion used to convince audiences. They are more of methods of persuasion and how to talk to someone. Unfortunately, my book doesn't cover those topics and it is based on the "rules" used in argumentation and not persuasion techniques. Sorry!