Laurie G. Kirszner - Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology

The front cover reads Practical Argument, right of which Third edition is written. Below this, A text and anthology is written, and after this there is an image showing a bicycle with a backpack lying next to the bicycles front wheel. The text at the bottom of the page reads, Laurie G.Kirszner, and Stephen R. Mandell.

Third Edition

Practical Argument

A Text and Anthology

Laurie G. Kirszner

University of the Sciences, Emeritus

Stephen R. Mandell

Drexel University

For Bedford/St. Martins

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In recent years, many college composition programs have integrated argumentation into their first-year writing sequence, and there are good reasons for this. Argumentation is central to academic and public discourse, so students who are skilled at argumentation are able to participate in the dynamic, ongoing discussions that take place both in their classrooms and in their communities. Clearly, argumentation teaches valuable critical-thinking skills that are necessary for academic success and for survival in todays media-driven society.

What has surprised and troubled us as teachers, however, is that many college argument texts are simply too difficult. Frequently, a divide exists between the pedagogy of these texts and students ability to understand it. In many cases, technical terminology and excessively abstract discussions lead to confusion instead of clarity. The result is that students worst fears are realized: instead of feeling that they are part of a discourse community, they see themselves as marginalized outsiders who will never be able to understand, let alone master, the principles of argumentation.

Recognizing that students struggle to master important principles of argumentative thinking and writing, we drew on our years of classroom experience to create an innovative book: Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology. In this third edition, Practical Argument remains a straightforward, accessible, and visually appealing introduction to argumentative writing that explains concepts in understandable, everyday language and illustrates them with examples that actually mean something to students. Practical Argument is an alternative for instructors who see currently available argument texts as too big, too complicated, and too intimidating for their students.

In short, our goal in this text is to demystify the study of argument. To this end, we focus on the things that students need to know, omitting the overly technical concepts they often struggle with. For example, Practical Argument emphasizes the basic principles of classical argument and downplays the more complex Toulmin logic, treating it as an alternative way of envisioning argument. Practical Argument works because its approach is practical; it helps students to make connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they experience outside of it. As they do so, they become comfortable with the rhetorical skills that are central to effective argumentation. We believe theres no other book like it.

Practical Argument, both a text and a reader, includes in one book everything students and instructors need for an argument course.

• Part 1, Understanding Argument, discusses the role of argument in everyday life and the value of studying argument, offers definitions of what argument is and is not, explains the means of persuasion (appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos), and defines and illustrates the basic elements of argument (thesis, evidence, refutation, and concluding statement).

• Part 2, Reading and Responding to Arguments, explains and illustrates critical thinking and reading; visual argument; writing a rhetorical analysis; logic and logical fallacies; and Rogerian argument, Toulmin logic, and oral arguments.

• Part 3, Writing an Argumentative Essay, traces and illustrates the process of planning, drafting, and revising an argumentative essay.

• Part 4, Using Sources to Support Your Argument, covers locating and evaluating print and online sources; summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and synthesizing sources; documenting sources in MLA style; and using sources reponsibly.

• Part 5, Strategies for Argument, explains and illustrates the most common kinds of argumentsdefinition arguments, cause-and-effect arguments, evaluation arguments, proposal arguments, and ethical arguments.

• Part 6, Debates, Casebooks, and Classic Arguments, includes both contemporary and classic arguments. The contemporary arguments are arranged in four pro-con debates and four in-depth casebooks on issues such as whether controversial sports mascots should be replaced and whether helicopter parents are ruining their childrens lives. The eleven classic arguments include well-known pieces by writers such as Jonathan Swift, George Orwell, Betty Friedan, and Rachel Carson.

• Appendixes. Appendix A provides instruction on writing literary arguments, and Appendix B covers APA documentation style.