Everyday arguments a guide to writing and reading effective arguments katherine j mayberry

E V E R Y DAY

ARGUMENTS


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E V E R Y DAY

ARGUMENTS
A Guide to Writing and Reading
Effective Arguments
THIRD EDITION

KATHERINE J. MAYBERRY
Rochester Institute of Technology

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
Boston New York


Publisher: Patricia Coryell
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Credits continue on page 427, which constitutes an extension of the copyright page.

Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2007932698
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 – EB – 11 10 09 08 07
ISBN 10: 0-618-98675-8
ISBN 13: 978-0-618-98675-0


Brief Contents

CONTENTS vii
PREFACE xix

PART I WRITING ARGUMENTS
1 An Introduction to Argument

1
3

2 Where Writing Begins: Motives and Audience

14

3 The Claim

24

4 An Argument’s Support

43

5 Supporting Your Arguments Honestly and Effectively

68

6 Making Reasonable Arguments: Formal
and Informal Logic

86

7 Arguing Facts

103

8 Arguing Cause

119

9 Arguing Evaluations

144

10 Arguing Recommendations

170

11 Writing and Image

192

12 Introductions and Conclusions

204

13 Revising

216
v


vi

BRIEF CONTENTS

PART II READING ARGUMENTS

233

14 Today’s College Student

235

15 The Internet

265

16 Sports

299

17 Earning Your Living

340

18 Diet

365

19 Reading Popular Culture

389

CREDITS 427
INDEX 431


Contents

PREFACE xix

1

PART I WRITING ARGUMENTS

1

An Introduction to Argument

3

AN EXTENDED DEFINITION
THE CLASSES OF ARGUMENT
ARGUMENT THROUGH IMAGE
THE ARGUMENT PROCESS

3
5
6
7

Forming the Argument
Supporting the Claim

Reviewing the Argument

7
8
9

READING ARGUMENTS

10

Reading as Evaluation
Additional Hints for Reading Critically

CONCLUSION

10
11

11

Summary: An Introduction to Argument 12
Suggestions for Writing (1.1) 12

2 Where Writing Begins: Motives and Audience
MOTIVES FOR WRITING

14
14

The Value of Dissonance

Writing Arguments That Are Meaningful to You
Activities (2.1) 17

vii

15
16


viii

CONTENTS

THE IMPORTANCE OF AUDIENCE
Who Is the Audience?

17
17

Activities (2.2) 19

Why Will the Audience Read the Argument?

20

Activities (2.3) 20

What Should the Audience Be Able to Do After Reading
the Argument?

21

Activities (2.4) 22
Summary: Where Writing Begins 22
Suggestions for Writing (2.5) 22

3 The Claim
HOW CLAIMS WORK
Finding a Claim
Keeping Your Working Claim Flexible

24
24
25
27

Activities (3.1) 28

Positioning the Claim
Claim Stated Up Front
Claim Stated at the End of the Argument
Unstated Claim in an Argument

29
29
30
30

Activities (3.2) 31

CLASSIFYING YOUR CLAIM
Factual Claims

31
31

Activities (3.3) 33

Causal Claims

33

Activities (3.4) 34

Evaluations

35

Activities (3.5) 37

Recommendations

37

Activities (3.6) 38

Combination Claims

39

Activities (3.7) 40
Summary: The Claim 41
Suggestions for Writing (3.8) 42

4 An Argument’s Support
SOME VARIETIES OF SUPPORT
Secondary Claims
Activities (4.1) 45

43
44
44


CONTENTS

Comparisons
Appeals to Authority
Appeals to Audience Needs and Values

ix

45
45
46

Activities (4.2) 46

Addressing the Counterargument

SUPPORTING YOUR ARGUMENT VISUALLY
Charts

46

48
49

Pie Chart 49
Bar/Column Chart 50
Line Graphs 51
When Is a Chart Appropriate? 52
What Is the Best Type of Chart to Use? 53
Using Charts Responsibly 53

Tables
Pictorial Images

54
56

Diagrams 56
Cartoons and Drawings 57
Photographs 58
Activities (4.3) 59

ARRANGING YOUR ARGUMENT’S SUPPORT

59

Activities (4.4) 60

DEFINITIONS
When to Define
Types of Definitions

61
62
63

Activities (4.5) 66
Summary: An Argument’s Support 66
Suggestions for Writing (4.6) 67

5 Supporting Your Arguments Honestly and Effectively 68
PLAGIARISM AND WRITTEN ARGUMENTS
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

69
70

Quotations 70
Paraphrases 70
Summaries 71
Primary or Secondary Sources? 71
Facts 71
Internet Material 72

Plagiarism Illustrated
Plagiarism 1 72

Plagiarism 2 73
Plagiarism 3 73

72


x

CONTENTS

FINDING REPUTABLE SUPPORT
Traditional Research
Electronic Research

CITATION FORM

73
74
74

76

Summary: Supporting Your Arguments Honestly
and Effectively 77
Suggestions for Writing (5.1) 84

6 Making Reasonable Arguments: Formal
and Informal Logic
FORMAL LOGIC
Induction

Deduction

86
86
87
88

Activities (6.1) 92

THE TOULMIN MODEL: A MODERN
VARIANT OF FORMAL LOGIC

93

Activities (6.2) 95

INFORMAL FALLACIES
Ad Hominem Argument
Ad Populum Argument
Circular Argument
Distraction
Either-Or Argument
Emotive Language
False Analogy
Hasty Generalization
Non Sequitur
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
Slippery Slope
Strawperson Argument

95
96
96
96
96
97
97
97
97
98
98
98
98

Activities (6.3) 99
Summary: Making Reasonable Arguments: Formal
and Informal Logic 99

EATING DISORDERS IN MALES
Leslie Knowlton
Suggestions for Writing (6.4) 102

100


CONTENTS

7 Arguing Facts

xi

103

WHAT IS A FACT?
FACTUAL CLAIMS YOU WILL MAKE
SUPPORTING FACTS
FACTUAL GENERALIZATIONS

103
104
105
107

Applying the Principles of Induction

107

Activities (7.1) 110

STATISTICS

110

Activities (7.2) 113
Summary: Arguing Facts 113

TWO SAMPLE FACTUAL ARGUMENTS
“VONNEGUT SPEECH” CIRCULATES ON NET

114

117

Dan Mitchell
Suggestions for Writing (7.4) 118

8 Arguing Cause
DETERMINING CAUSE
Brainstorming for Possible Causes

119
119
120

Activities (8.1) 121

Necessary and Sufficient Causes
Identifying Sufficient Causes
Applying the Toulmin Model

121
122
123

Activities (8.2) 123

DISTINGUISHING AMONG SUFFICIENT CAUSES
Method of Agreement
Method of Difference
Method of Proportional Correlation

124
124
125
125

Activities (8.3) 126

CAUSAL CHAINS
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

126
127

Activities (8.4) 127
Summary: Determining Cause 128

SUPPORTING CAUSAL CLAIMS
Establishing Factuality
Identifying an Acceptable Motivation
Describing the Process of Validation

128
129
129
129


xii

CONTENTS

Qualifying Your Argument

131

Activities (8.5) 131
Summary: Supporting Causal Claims 132

ARGUING EFFECTS
Determining and Supporting a Probable Effect

132
133

Activities (8.6) 135

TWO SAMPLE CAUSAL ARGUMENTS
I, TOO, AM A GOOD PARENT

136
140

Dorsett Bennett
Suggestions for Writing (8.7) 142

9 Arguing Evaluations
EVALUATIVE SUBJECTS AND TERMS

144
144

Activities (9.1) 145

ESTABLISHING THE DEFINITION OF THE EVALUATIVE TERM 145
Presenting the Definition

146

Activities (9.2) 147

Arguing the Definition
Ranking the Qualities in Your Definition

147
148

Activities (9.3) 149

ARGUING THE EVALUATION
Testing Your Evaluation Through the Syllogism

149
151

Activities (9.4) 151

FURTHER METHODS OF SUPPORTING EVALUATIONS
Identification of Effect
Appeal to Authority
Comparison

151
151
152
152

Activities (9.5) 152

THE VARIETIES OF EVALUATIONS
Ethical Evaluations

152
153

Activities (9.6) 154

Aesthetic Evaluations

154

Activities (9.7) 156

Functional Evaluations

156

Activities (9.8) 157

Interpretations
Activities (9.9) 161

Summary: Arguing Evaluations 162

158


CONTENTS

SAMPLE FUNCTIONAL EVALUATION

xiii

162

Suggestions for Writing (9.10) 169

10 Arguing Recommendations
AUDIENCE NEEDS AND VALUES
When Your Values Differ from Assumed Reader Values

170
171
171

Activities (10.1) 173

RECOMMENDATIONS EMPHASIZING THE PRESENT
Establishing the Current Situation
Evaluating the Current Situation
Applying the Toulmin Model

174
174
174
175

Activities (10.2) 176

RECOMMENDATIONS EMPHASIZING THE FUTURE
Presenting the Recommendation

176
176

Activities (10.3) 179

Arguing the Effects of Your Recommendation

179

Activities (10.4) 180

Judging Effects in Terms of Assumed Needs and Values
Applying the Toulmin Model

180
182

Activities (10.5) 183

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CONSIDER PRESENT

AND FUTURE

183

Summary: Arguing Recommendations 184

TWO SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS
THE SIDE EFFECTS OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

185
189

Pamela J. Hsu
Suggestions for Writing (10.6) 190

11 Writing and Image
THE ROLE OF VOICE
The Importance of Ethos

192
193
193

Activities (11.1) 195

THE VIRTUES AND LIMITATIONS OF PLAIN WRITING
FIGURES OF SPEECH
Some Cautions About Figures of Speech
Activities (11.2) 198

195
196
198


xiv

CONTENTS

CONNOTATIVE LANGUAGE AND SLANTING

199

Activities (11.3) 200

THE MUSIC OF LANGUAGE

200

Activities (11.4) 201
Summary: Writing and Image 202
Suggestions for Writing (11.5) 203

12 Introductions and Conclusions
INTRODUCTIONS
Strategies for General Introductions
Introductions in Professional Writing
General Suggestions About Introductions

204

204
205
206
207

Activities (12.1) 208

CONCLUSIONS
Types of Conclusions

SUMMARIES

208
209

211

Activities (12.2) 214
Summary: Introductions and Conclusions 214
Suggestions for Writing (12.3) 215

13 Revising

216

WRITING A FIRST DRAFT, REVISING, AND EDITING
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL REVISING

216
217

Suggestion 1: Give Yourself Some Breathing Space
Suggestion 2: Avoid the Red Pen
Suggestion 3: Review Your Original Purpose and Audience
Suggestion 4: Review Your Organization
Suggestion 5: Review Your Argument’s Coherence
Suggestion 6: Review Your Style
Suggestion 7: Review Your Argument for Faulty Reasoning
Suggestion 8: Use a Word Processor

217
218
218
218
219
219
220
220

Activities (13.1) 220
Summary: Revising 221

AN EXAMPLE OF REVISION
Activities (13.2) 231
Suggestions for Writing (13.3) 232

221


CONTENTS

PART II READING ARGUMENTS
14 Today’s College Student
INTRODUCTION
RETREAT FROM INTIMACY and COMMENTARY

xv

233
235
235
236

Arthur Levine and Jeanette S. Cureton
Suggestions for Writing (14.1) 242

COLLEGE, MY WAY

243

Kate Zernike
Suggestions for Writing (14.2) 249

SUPER EGOS

249

Peter Francese
Suggestions for Writing (14.3) 251

WHO IS A TEACHER?

251

Celeste M. Condit
Suggestions for Writing (14.4) 255

A LOST MOMENT RECAPTURED

256

Sara Rimer
Suggestions for Writing (14.5) 261

STUDENTS BEHAVING BADLY

261

Richard Flacks
Suggestions for Writing (14.6) 264

15 The Internet
INTRODUCTION
DAEMON SEED and COMMENTARY

265
265
266

David S. Bennahum

Suggestions for Writing (15.1) 278

STOP ME BEFORE I SHOP AGAIN

278

James Gleick
Suggestions for Writing (15.2) 284

THOUGHTS ON FACEBOOK

284

Tracy Mitrano
Suggestions for Writing (15.3) 289

THE REAL DIGITAL DIVIDE
economist.com
Suggestions for Writing (15.4) 291

289


xvi

CONTENTS

INFORMATION LITERACY: THE WEB IS NOT
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA

292

Suggestions for Writing (15.5) 296

DIGITAL DIVIDE

296

Wikipedia
Suggestions for Writing (15.6) 298

16 Sports
INTRODUCTION
LITTLE GIRLS IN PRETTY BOXES and COMMENTARY

299
299
300

Joan Ryan
Suggestions for Writing (16.1) 308

WHERE HAVE ALL THE HEROES GONE?

309

Stephen D. Mosher
Suggestions for Writing (16.2) 313

THE CHOSEN ONE

313

Gary Smith
Suggestions for Writing (16.3) 325

PUBLIC USE OF NATIVE AMERICAN NAMES,
SYMBOLS, AND MASCOTS

326

Richard P. Mills
Suggestions for Writing (16.4) 329

SOMETIMES, A GAME MEANS MUCH MORE
THAN THE SCORE

330

John Feinstein
Suggestions for Writing (16.5) 333

BIZBALL

333

Harvey Araton
Suggestions for Writing (16.6) 339

17 Earning Your Living

INTRODUCTION
WHY I WRITE and COMMENTARY

340
340
341

George Orwell
Suggestions for Writing (17.1) 346

FASTEST GROWING OCCUPATIONS
Daniel E. Hecker, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Suggestions for Writing (17.2) 351

347


CONTENTS

ON DUMPSTER DIVING

xvii

351

Lars Eighner
Suggestions for Writing (17.3) 353

LESSONS FROM 2 GHOSTS

353

Scott M. Fisher
Suggestions for Writing (17.4) 356

REVENGE OF THE RIGHT BRAIN

357

Daniel H. Pink
Suggestions for Writing (17.5) 361

THE STRESS MYTH

361

Richard Reeves
Suggestions for Writing (17.6) 363

18 Diet
INTRODUCTION
THE DIET BIZ and COMMENTARY

365
365
366

Donald Jackson
Suggestions for Writing (18.1) 373

INTUITIVE EATING

374

Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
Suggestions for Writing (18.2) 381

INCLUDE ME OUT: A REFLECTION ON “ICE TEA”

381

Fred Chappell
Suggestions for Writing (18.3) 383

MY STORY: BOB

383

Daniel Slosberg
Suggestions for Writing (18.4) 385

BED CONFESSIONS

385

K.D. Elliott
Suggestions for Writing (18.5) 388

19 Reading Popular Culture
INTRODUCTION

POPULAR CULTURE AND THE FAMILY:
HOW MASS-MEDIATED CULTURE WEAKENS
THE TIES THAT BIND and COMMENTARY
Kenneth A. Myers
Suggestions for Writing (19.1) 402

389
389

390


xviii

CONTENTS

LISTENING TO KHAKIS

402

Malcolm Gladwell
Suggestions for Writing (19.2) 413

THE CONTENTS OF WOMEN’S PURSES:
AN ACCESSORY IN CRISIS

413

Daniel Harris
Suggestions for Writing (19.3) 419

TRUISMS, 1978–87

420

From MOMA Highlights
Suggestions for Writing (19.4) 421

WHY WE CRAVE HORROR MOVIES

422

Stephen King
Suggestions for Writing (19.5) 424

NONSENSE WATCH
Howard Fienberg
Suggestions for Writing (19.6) 426

CREDITS 427
INDEX 431

424


Preface

Everyday Arguments combines a straightforward, commonsense rhetoric with a
comprehensive collection of readings.
The rhetoric section (Part I, Chapters 1–13) is based on the principle that virtually all writing is some form of argument. Updates in Part I include an entirely

new Chapter 5 on research and plagiarism—“Supporting Your Arguments Honestly and Effectively”—as well as a number of updated illustrative arguments.
The readings section (Part II, Chapters 14–19), which contains a wide variety
of largely contemporary texts, illustrates the principles and practices contained in
the rhetoric, as well as the critical link between writing and reading arguments.
Part II contains over 35 examples of written arguments. This anthology is gathered from the kinds of writing that most of us read every day. The arguments are
contemporary and varied, with each one illustrating practices and principles
taught in Part I. From a Web site for men with eating disorders to a prize-winning
article in Sports Illustrated, these writing samples demonstrate the central
premise of the rhetoric—that most of the writing and reading we do in our daily
lives falls under the heading of argument. By helping students become critical
readers of argument, these sample arguments likewise contribute to their becoming effective argument writers.

PART I, WRITING ARGUMENTS
Organization of Part I
Part I of Everyday Arguments is organized around the three major phases of argument writing—focusing, supporting, and reviewing:
• Chapters 1 through 6 discuss how to bring a developing argument into
focus—including finding and focusing a claim, identifying and accommodating the audience, and understanding the relationship between claim and
support.

xix


xx

PREFACE

• Chapters 7 through 10 show students how to support the four different
classes of argument—arguments of fact, cause, evaluation, and recommendation.
• Chapters 11 through 13 present the reviewing activities necessary to refine
and polish an argument—considering image and style, composing openings and closings, and revising and editing the argument draft.

These three writing phases are presented in the order students typically follow
when composing arguments, but there are perfectly acceptable and effective exceptions to the typical. The order presented is meant to guide, not prescribe. Further,
the sequential presentation of these writing phases is not meant to contradict the
received wisdom about the recursive nature of good writing. In the real practice of
writing, changes made in one phase lead to changes in others.

Special Features of Part I
The discussion of dissonance in Chapter 2 is unique to argument texts. The question of what moves people to write arguments is a critical one for students that
can lead them to make a greater personal investment in their own writing.
Chapter 5, “Supporting Your Arguments Honestly and Effectively,” discusses
plagiarism within both traditional and digital environments, offering clear guidelines for avoiding plagiarism and examples of acceptable and unacceptable use of
the texts and ideas of others. The second part of this chapter presents helpful principles for distinguishing between reliable and unreliable research sources.
Formal and informal logic are treated uniquely in this text. They are introduced at the point in the argument process where they are most useful—the development and evaluation of the argument’s support. Too often, argument texts
include the theory of logic and examples of informal fallacies without addressing
how they are useful in the actual writing process. Chapter 6 presents both formal
and informal logic as practical tools for creating reasonable arguments.
The inclusion of an entire chapter on style and image (Chapter 11) enriches
the traditional view of argument, which sometimes seems to suggest that effective
arguments have more to do with formulas and principles than with using language fairly and effectively. Here, a writer’s style—the image that he or she projects through the writing—is a fundamental component of argument, not just a
lucky accident of talent.
Everyday Arguments contains many examples that today’s college students
can relate to, plus examples from diverse academic and career areas. This range of
application helps students see the importance of writing effective arguments in
their college courses and also in their postcollege careers.
Because improvement in writing comes only with practice, the emphasis in
all the activities in Part I is on writing. Each chapter gives students many opportunities to practice what they are learning by writing (and rewriting) full and partial arguments.


PREFACE

xxi

PART II, READING ARGUMENTS
Organization of Part II
The readings in Part II of Everyday Arguments are divided into six topic areas—
“Today’s College Student,” “The Internet,” “Sports,” “Earning Your Living,”
“Diet,” and “Reading Popular Culture.” By design, these are not the typical subjects of traditional argument anthologies, which tend to focus on abstract
issues—such as capital punishment or euthanasia—and the classical canon of
arguments addressing them. These six topics were selected to engage students’
attention and demonstrate the importance of regular critical reading and critical
writing.
Each topic area begins with an introduction, including a discussion of the
importance of critical reading on that topic. The first argument in each section is
accompanied by a detailed commentary that serves as a model for the attentive,
critical reading of argument. Following each reading are a set of discussion questions and suggestions for writing.

Special Features of Part II
The arguments contained in Part II of Everyday Arguments are representative
of the reading we do on a daily basis, so students can see the immediate usefulness of
the writing and reading skills they are learning. The arguments are also drawn
from a wide range of contexts—newspapers, Websites, magazines (from the New
Yorker to Wired), and books. The variety of sources gives students many opportunities to study the effect of context and audience on written argument.
The discussion questions following each argument encourage collaboration
among students and are closely tied to the contents of Part I. The suggestions for
writing following the discussion questions are directed toward students of all
ages, backgrounds, and majors, with an emphasis on the stages of composition.
Part II is in continuing conversation with Part I, repeatedly demonstrating the
connection between principle and practice. Part II of Everyday Arguments maintains the same highly practical, student-friendly, writing-intensive approach to
learning how to compose an argument.

SUPPLEMENTS
Instructor’s Manual An Instructor’s Manual is available online at college.hmco
.com/pic/mayberryEA3e.
Companion Website A companion Website includes information for students including chapter summaries, critical reading tools and writing tasks and writing
assignments and Web resources. It also is available at college.hmco.com/pic/
mayberryEA3e.


xxii

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Everyday Arguments remains closely tied to the vision I shared with Robert E.
Golden when we began the first edition of For Argument’s Sake more than 25 years
ago. Joe Opiela, then at Little, Brown, understood this vision and published the
book. I am grateful to Anne Smith and her staff at HarperCollins for supporting
my desire to expand For Argument’s Sake into a combination rhetoric and
reader—what became Everyday Arguments. Since then, dedicated editors from
HarperCollins, Addison Wesley Longman, Longman (where I reencountered Joe
Opiela), and Houghton Mifflin have contributed to the evolution and longevity of
this text.
Readers are critical to each new edition of a book, and I have been fortunate
to have benefited from the keen minds of such colleagues as Steven L. Climer,
Baker College of Allen Park, MI; Anthony Gargano, Long Beach City College;
Daniel Gribbin, University of Central Florida; Janet LaBrie, University of Wisconsin at Waukesha; and Bernard W. Quetchenbach, Florida Southern College.
Finally, I am grateful to Stanley McKenzie, provost at the Rochester Institute
of Technology, for giving me time and occasionally resources to continue my commitment to Everyday Arguments.

E V E R Y DAY

ARGUMENTS


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