The San Diego State Universities mascot should be removed because it demeans Native Americans.There should be restrictions on who is allowed to join online forums.Guns should be banned in the United States in order to eliminate school shootings across America.These are all arguments in which it is important to study their context.Arguments are conversations within a community where the speaker or writer attempts to persuade his listeners or readers.When arguing, it is important to know who your audience is and what their current position is on the topic.It is equally important to discuss the topic with these individuals at the right time and place.When structuring your argument, you need to be aware of the opposing views and the strengths behind those views.You will need to have all of the information in order to defend your claim and point out the flaws in your opponents reasoning.After gathering all of the information regarding your topic, you may in fact decide that your claim is not worth standing behind and change your claim.Once you have a claim that you can argue you need to know who your opponent is.It is important that you know who your audience is.With the argument, "Guns should be banned in the United States in order to eliminate school shootings across America", are you speaking to members of the National Rifle Association or mothers of the children killed in the Columbine shooting? With little information about each of these communities, there are certain assumptions as to what their beliefs are regarding gun control.You may even be presenting to an audience with a mixture of beliefs, all who care about the issue but who may not share the same feelings.The individuals that agree with your argument completely are called the "in-group".Another group may, and probably will, completely disagree with everything you believe regarding the subject.This group is called the "out-group".For this specific argument, the out-group could be members of the NRA and Americans who believe in the right to bear arms, our nations Second Amendment.Since every argument is not always black and white, there will be people that only partially agree with the in-group and the out-group.In this case, this group may agree that there needs to be a more strict gun control policy in the United States, but not necessarily ban, or out-law all guns.This group would be considered the "middle-group".Knowing these audiences helps you, the speaker or writer, to understand the relationships between the people in your audience.In "Tragedy Focuses Attention on Gun Bills", Soraghan (1999) discusses the focus put on the NRA after the Columbine shooting.Groups who stand for gun control took the opportunity to point fingers at the NRA, while blaming guns for the shooting, these anti-gun communities rallied for a change in the current gun laws.While the opposing side, members of the NRA, felt that it was not the right time to discuss gun legislation.Finding the right time and place to discuss such arguments is an important piece in influencing your audience.This is known as kairos, a term that describes the proper time to act (Hatch, 2003, p.8).The NRA had a planned convention in the nearby city of Denver just days after the Columbine shooting.Emotions were running strong and members of the community needed somewhere to place the blame for the recent events.Anti-gun leaders, members of congress, church representatives, and individuals among the community felt that this would be the most appropriate time to discuss the gun legislation and effectively make changes.Without much work, these groups used the pathos element of effective argumentation.The pathos element of arguing is a tactic that evokes emotions and feelings in your audience in hopes to convince them to accept and agree with your claim (Hatch, 2003, p.15).With citizens all over the country grieving over the Columbine shooting, it was not difficult to convince people that guns are evil and should be banned, otherwise school shootings would continue to occur across the United States.Hatch (2003, p.14) also discusses ethos as being an element of effective argumentation.Ethos is used to persuade individuals based on the credibility of a speaker.People often make decisions based on the opinion of someone they respect or trust.Soraghan (1999) mentions a quote from a local Reverend, Rev.Lucia Guzman which places blame on the NRA for the Columbine shootings, saying "If the NRA doesn't cancel its convention in Denver at this tragic time, it's a slap in the face of Denver" (pg.53).A statement from a well respected individual in the community supporting one side of the argument may cause individuals to agree or disagree with a claim based on their representatives opinion.The use of ethos is a very effective method in persuading your audience.Individuals may not put the time or effort into researching all of the details of a subject unless it is very important to them.When a representative from their community takes a stance on an argument, others in the community may follow, or agree, as they assume their representative is well informed and carry the same beliefs as the rest of the community.Sen.Pat Pascoe, D-Denver said, "The more guns you put in circulation, the more people get shot" (Soraghan, 1999, p.52).This is an assumed fact by Sen.Pat Pascoe.Since Sen.Pat Pascoe does not state any references, it may appear to be factual, but is it? Facts that are presented in an argument build a logical argument, known as logos.Logos is the third element of effective argumentation.By stating facts that can be verified, tested, or reproduced, logos is the most effective element of persuasion in an academic argument (Hatch, 2003, pp.15-16).When Sen.Pat Pascoe made his statement, he should have mentioned his references.Otherwise his statement is merely an opinion and may be looked upon as manipulative.The study of arguments in context is a very important aspect of persuading.Knowing your topic, your audience and what elements you can use is key to persuading others to share your same beliefs and acceptance of your claim.References Hatch, G.L.(2003).Arguing in Communities. Reading and Writing Arguments in Context.New York, NY. McGraw Hill.Soraghan, M.(1999).Tragedy Focuses Attention on Gun Bills.In G.L.Hatch (Ed.), Arguing in Communities. Reading and Writing Arguments in Context (pp.52-53).New York, NY. McGraw Hill.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Arguments in Context
The San Diego State Universities mascot should be removed because it demeans Native Americans.There should be restrictions on who is allowed to join online forums.Guns should be banned in the United States in order to eliminate school shootings across America.These are all arguments in which it is important to study their context.Arguments are conversations within a community where the speaker or writer attempts to persuade his listeners or readers.When arguing, it is important to know who your audience is and what their current position is on the topic.It is equally important to discuss the topic with these individuals at the right time and place.When structuring your argument, you need to be aware of the opposing views and the strengths behind those views.You will need to have all of the information in order to defend your claim and point out the flaws in your opponents reasoning.After gathering all of the information regarding your topic, you may in fact decide that your claim is not worth standing behind and change your claim.Once you have a claim that you can argue you need to know who your opponent is.It is important that you know who your audience is.With the argument, "Guns should be banned in the United States in order to eliminate school shootings across America", are you speaking to members of the National Rifle Association or mothers of the children killed in the Columbine shooting? With little information about each of these communities, there are certain assumptions as to what their beliefs are regarding gun control.You may even be presenting to an audience with a mixture of beliefs, all who care about the issue but who may not share the same feelings.The individuals that agree with your argument completely are called the "in-group".Another group may, and probably will, completely disagree with everything you believe regarding the subject.This group is called the "out-group".For this specific argument, the out-group could be members of the NRA and Americans who believe in the right to bear arms, our nations Second Amendment.Since every argument is not always black and white, there will be people that only partially agree with the in-group and the out-group.In this case, this group may agree that there needs to be a more strict gun control policy in the United States, but not necessarily ban, or out-law all guns.This group would be considered the "middle-group".Knowing these audiences helps you, the speaker or writer, to understand the relationships between the people in your audience.In "Tragedy Focuses Attention on Gun Bills", Soraghan (1999) discusses the focus put on the NRA after the Columbine shooting.Groups who stand for gun control took the opportunity to point fingers at the NRA, while blaming guns for the shooting, these anti-gun communities rallied for a change in the current gun laws.While the opposing side, members of the NRA, felt that it was not the right time to discuss gun legislation.Finding the right time and place to discuss such arguments is an important piece in influencing your audience.This is known as kairos, a term that describes the proper time to act (Hatch, 2003, p.8).The NRA had a planned convention in the nearby city of Denver just days after the Columbine shooting.Emotions were running strong and members of the community needed somewhere to place the blame for the recent events.Anti-gun leaders, members of congress, church representatives, and individuals among the community felt that this would be the most appropriate time to discuss the gun legislation and effectively make changes.Without much work, these groups used the pathos element of effective argumentation.The pathos element of arguing is a tactic that evokes emotions and feelings in your audience in hopes to convince them to accept and agree with your claim (Hatch, 2003, p.15).With citizens all over the country grieving over the Columbine shooting, it was not difficult to convince people that guns are evil and should be banned, otherwise school shootings would continue to occur across the United States.Hatch (2003, p.14) also discusses ethos as being an element of effective argumentation.Ethos is used to persuade individuals based on the credibility of a speaker.People often make decisions based on the opinion of someone they respect or trust.Soraghan (1999) mentions a quote from a local Reverend, Rev.Lucia Guzman which places blame on the NRA for the Columbine shootings, saying "If the NRA doesn't cancel its convention in Denver at this tragic time, it's a slap in the face of Denver" (pg.53).A statement from a well respected individual in the community supporting one side of the argument may cause individuals to agree or disagree with a claim based on their representatives opinion.The use of ethos is a very effective method in persuading your audience.Individuals may not put the time or effort into researching all of the details of a subject unless it is very important to them.When a representative from their community takes a stance on an argument, others in the community may follow, or agree, as they assume their representative is well informed and carry the same beliefs as the rest of the community.Sen.Pat Pascoe, D-Denver said, "The more guns you put in circulation, the more people get shot" (Soraghan, 1999, p.52).This is an assumed fact by Sen.Pat Pascoe.Since Sen.Pat Pascoe does not state any references, it may appear to be factual, but is it? Facts that are presented in an argument build a logical argument, known as logos.Logos is the third element of effective argumentation.By stating facts that can be verified, tested, or reproduced, logos is the most effective element of persuasion in an academic argument (Hatch, 2003, pp.15-16).When Sen.Pat Pascoe made his statement, he should have mentioned his references.Otherwise his statement is merely an opinion and may be looked upon as manipulative.The study of arguments in context is a very important aspect of persuading.Knowing your topic, your audience and what elements you can use is key to persuading others to share your same beliefs and acceptance of your claim.References Hatch, G.L.(2003).Arguing in Communities. Reading and Writing Arguments in Context.New York, NY. McGraw Hill.Soraghan, M.(1999).Tragedy Focuses Attention on Gun Bills.In G.L.Hatch (Ed.), Arguing in Communities. Reading and Writing Arguments in Context (pp.52-53).New York, NY. McGraw Hill.
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