Writers argue in order to...

Whether readers would accept your conclusions depends on...

What we are calling an _________ draws on evidence from a variety of sources in an attempt to persuade others of the truth or validity of a debatable claim.

The writer of an argument synthesis aims to...

The following thesis belongs to which kind of synthesis (explanatory or argument)? Smartphones make it possible for us to be always within reach, though many people would prefer not to be always within reach.

The following thesis belongs to which kind of synthesis (explanatory or argument)? Smartphones create an illusion of meaningful connection with others and have ruined our ability, perhaps even our desire, to be content while alone.

The thesis of an argument synthesis, also called a(n) _______, is a debatable statement about which reasonable people could disagree.

Claims should be supported with...

(Select all that apply.) One way of understanding argument is to see it as an interplay of three essential elements:

Another definition of a claim would be...

You prove this claim by using _______ in the form of fact, statistics, or expert opinion.

Linking your supporting evidence to your claim is your _______ about the subject. This is an underlying belief or principle about some aspect of the world and how it operates.

As you may recall, another term for the assumption linking a claim to its support is called a(n)_______.

By their nature, assumptions (which are often unstated) tend to be more _______ than either claims or supporting evidence.

Is the following statement a claim, support, or assumption? High school students should watch no more than two hours of TV per day.

Is the following statement a claim, support, or assumption? An important new study and the testimony of educational specialists reveal that students who watch more than two hours of TV a night have, on average, lower grades than those who watch less TV.

Is the following statement a claim, support, or assumption? Excessive TV viewing adversely affects academic performance.

Is the following statement a claim, support, or assumption? The ubiquity of smartphones threatens to undermine human intimacy, connection, and ultimately community.

Is the following set of statements claims, support, or assumptions?

*People are spending increasing amounts of time on smartphones: In 2015, owners of smartphones spent, on average, 7.7 hours per day on their devices.

*College health officials report that excessive smartphone use threatens many college students’ academic and psychological well-being.

*To encourage direct human-to-human interaction, some restaurants have begun offering discounts to patrons who turn off their smartphones during the meal.

*New kinds of relationships fostered on smartphones can pose challenges to preexisting relationships.

Is the following set of statements claims, support, or assumptions?

*The communication skills used and the connections formed during smartphone interactions fundamentally differ from those used and formed during face-to-face contact.

*“Real” connection and a sense of community are sustained by face-to-face contact, not by digital interactions.

Speakers and writers have never relied on ___(1)____ alone in ___(2)____ and ___(3)____ their claims.

More than 2000 years ago, the Athenian philosopher and ____(1)_____ Aristotle explained how speakers attempting to persuade others to adopt their point of view could achieve their ___(2)____ by relying on one or more ___(3)____.

Aristotle called these appeals...

In academic writing, the appeal to logic, ________, is by far the most commonly used appeal.

Logos is also defined as...

Logical arguments are commonly of two types (often combined):

The ________ argument begins with a generalization, then cites a specific case related to that generalization from which follows a conclusion.

An example of a deductive argument may be seen in...

Underlying Kennedy's argument is this reasoning: All Americans should enjoy certain rights. Is this an assumption or a claim?

Underlying Kennedy's argument is this reasoning: Some Americans do not enjoy these rights. Is this a claim or support?

Underlying Kennedy's argument is this reasoning: We must take action to ensure that all Americans enjoy these rights. Is this a claim or support?

An argument that uses ______ reasoning begins not with a generalization but with several pieces of specific evidence. The speaker then draws a conclusion from this evidence.

For example, in a debate on gun control, former Senator Robert C. Byrd cited specific examples of rampant crime involving guns:

Of course, the mere ___(1)_____ of ____(2)_____ does not in itself make the speaker's case.

As Donna Cross explains in “Politics: The Art of Bamboozling,” politicians are very adept at __________—lining up evidence in favor of a conclusion without bothering to mention (or barely mentioning) contrary evidence.

The ethical appeal, or _______, is based not on the ethics relating to the subject under discussion but rather on the ethical status of the person making the argument.

(Select all that apply.) A person making an argument must have a certain degree of credibility:

Appeals to ethos are usually most explicit in...

(Select all that apply.) As a "consumer" of political arguments—that is, as a voter—ask:

Finally, speakers and writers appeal to their audiences by using ______, an appeal to the emotions.

Writers in academic settings rely heavily on the force of ___(1)____ and ____(2)____, and rarely make appeals to ___(3)____. Beyond academic settings, however, emotional appeals are common.

Nothing is inherently wrong with using an emotional appeal. The emotional appeal becomes ___(1)____ only when it is the __(2)___ or primary ___(3)_____ of the argument.

President ____________ was a master of emotional appeal. He closed his first inaugural address with a reference to the view from the Capitol to the Arlington National Cemetery, where lie thousands of markers of "heroes."

Our discussion of ethos and pathos indicates a potentially troubling but undeniable reality:

For emotionally loaded topics like capital punishment, abortion, or police brutality, it is extremely ____(1)____, if not ____(2)___, to get people to change their minds because they are so personally invested in their ____(3)_____.

As Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, notes: “Whether watching television news, consulting political blogs, or (more rarely) reading books, Americans today have become a people in search of ____(1)____ for ___(2)____ that they already ___(3)___.”

The ___(1)____ with which people hold onto longtime beliefs does not mean, however, that they cannot change their minds or that subjects like abortion, capital punishment, and gun control should be ___(2)___ to ___(3)____ debate.