Chapter 14 Argumentation

In Chapter 14, the process of reasoning that asserts the soundness of a debatable position, belief, or conclusion, also known as argumentation, is discussed. Argumentation can be utilized to convince others on the  position or stance one has taken as well as refute a position. Although argumentation goes hand in hand with persuasion, they do not mean the same thing. While persuasion refers to how a writer influences an audience through appeals of pathos, ethos and logos, argumentation only applies to the appeal to reason. Argumentation, unlike persuasion, has the primary purpose of exhibiting the validity of the argument rather than convincing the audience to take action. When writing with argumentation, one can choose an appeal which primarily suits the audience and purpose and support that appeal with evidence while also including other examples of other appeals. Important factors to consider include being open minded which will aid in coming up with opposing arguments as well as the purpose of the argumentation essay such as how one wants readers to respond. Additionally, one should ensure that the thesis is debatable so that some can object to the statement, as ideas which are already facts are not arguments. Evidence plays a significant role in argumentation essays as they it is what supports the position and works to convince the audience that the argument being made is worth considering. It is important the evidence meets the following criteria: evidence must be relevant and pertinent to the argument in that it fully supports the argument without taking away from it; evidence should be representative of the topic that is being spoken of otherwise the argument will be weak and could make the author seen unreliable and uninformed, leaving the argument ineffective; lastly, the evidence should be sufficient with regards to the topic and the audience. Refutations are also essential to an argumentation essay as they strengthen the case by showing that the author is aware of opposing positions and can address these objections effectively. When writing argumentation essays, inductive and deductive arguments should be utilized to structure the essay and the author should be sure to avoid any fallacies which would weaken the argument such as sweeping generalizations, misleading statistics, or ad hominem.

For me, Chapter 14 had to be on of the most informative chapters I've read so far within the textbook.Of course I was aware of the argumentation essay and factors such as evidence and refutations but I had not realized all of the major errors of fallacies I was including in my writing. In addition, I wasn't aware of concepts such as Toulmin logic and Rogerian argument which I realized I also need to be careful of. Often when refuting any opposition arguments I can sometimes come off as confrontational or the "I'm right, you're wrong" type of approach. This chapter helped me to understand the deductive and inductive arguments a bit better but I still think I need further instruction regarding the difference between the two. Chapter 14 helped me to realize the mistakes I've been making in my argumentation essays such as equivocation fallacy or the You Also fallacy which I thought was an effective way to find a hole in the opponent's arguments prior to reading this chapter.

Chapter 12 Classification and Division

In Chapter 12, Classification and Division, Kirszner and Mandell examine the process of breaking a whole into individual parts, known as division, and the process of sorting individual items into categories, or classification. Classification and division are processes which can aid in putting a variety of ideas into a coherent and effective order. Through these processes, one can recognize relationships between parts as well as use these relationships to categorize them. Although the processes are related to one another and may require similar steps, they are two separate processes. Classifying items begins with individual parts and sorts them into categories based upon their attributes. The quality items have in common is known as the principle of classification and is decided based on the individual categorizing them. Contrastingly, division is the opposite of classifying that is division starts with a whole and breaks it into individual parts or categories. The principle of classification also plays a role in division because it is needed to identify how to assign the parts of the whole into separate categories. These processes can be used when brainstorming an essay as they can narrow down what to include in the essay or shape how the essay should be structured. When selecting what principle of classification to use, one must consider factors including the assignment, the purpose, the audience and other knowledge of writing.

This chapter was a bit surprising to me as I did not previously know that classification or division could be categorized as essay types. Although I had heard of the usual ones such as compare and contrast or cause and effect, this one was unfamiliar to me previous knowledge. For this reason, I was very interested in the sections including how to apply classification and division to my own writing. One part which stood out to me was the reminder in the checklist which stated that all categories should be at the same level. I never thought of the idea that categories could be viewed in terms of level and that this was a significant issue to consider. Also, I viewed these processes in a much more on the surface perspective and never considered that classifying and dividing items could be used to explain significance and relevance of these items. This chapter educated me of the importance of these processes as they can help recognize relationships between different ideas and they can also aid in structuring an essay.

Chapter 10 Cause and Effect

Chapter 10, Cause and Effect, discusses the factors, planning, structuring and revising of a cause and effect essay. Rather than describing how something happens such as in a process essay, cause and effect essays analyze why something happens and either examine causes, explain the effects or do both within the essay. When examining the situation in which is being examined, it is important to effectively distinguish between the correct causes and effects, as some situations include many causes or many effects. Identifying the causes can be difficult, as determining the main cause and the contributory causes is very important to the structure of the essay. Although the main cause is sometimes the obvious one, this is not always the case. In addition, one must understand the immediate and remote causes. Immediate causes follow closely before the effect while remote causes may take time to recognize due to the fact that they can happen much further back in the past. It is crucial when determining immediate and remote causes that one does not assume that the immediate cause is the most important or the main cause. When effects are also causes, this is called a causal chain. When causal chains occur, the result of one action is the cause of another, forming a link of chains. Another factor to consider is post hoc reasoning which should be avoided at all causes. Post hoc reasoning occurs when one event precedes another and is thought to cause the event simply because it came before. In post hoc reasoning, coincidence is mistaken for causality.

Although I had thought I had known all about the factors regarding a cause and effect essay, this chapter informed me of a lot of aspects I did not know about. For example, I never realized there could be so many different ways to structure a cause and effect essay such as through describing the less important causes to the most important or distinguishing between the immediate and remote causes. I also did not know previously that an important part of describing the effects in a cause and effect essay was predicting the outcome of certain effects. One critical part of this chapter for me was the grammar in context section which it discussed how to use affect and effect correctly because I realize that many people have a hard time with this problem. Additionally, I believe that an important tip of this chapter was to not just assume that the immediate cause is the main and most important cause because it can lead to misleading conclusions.