Introduction to argumentative writing. Employs an exercise-driven, thematically focused, step-by-step approach to get to the heart of what students need to understand argument.

Includes indexes.

pt. 1. Understanding argument -- An introduction to argument -- Logos, pathos, and ethos -- 1. The four pillars of argument -- The elements of argument -- Thesis statement -- Evidence -- Refutation -- Concluding statement -- pt. 2. Reading and responding to arguments -- 2. Thinking and reading critically -- Becoming an active reader -- Writing a critical response -- 3. Decoding visual agreements -- Highlighting and annotating visuals -- Responding critically to visual arguments -- 4. Writing a rhetorical analysis -- Rhetorical situation -- Means of persuasion : logos (reason), pathos (emotions), ethos (authority) -- Considering the writer's rhetorical strategies -- Assessing the argument -- 5. Understanding logic and recognizing logical fallacies -- Deductive reasoning -- Sound syllogisms -- Enthymemes -- Writing deductive arguments -- Inductive reasoning -- Making inferences -- Constructing strong inductive arguments -- Writing inductive arguments -- Recognizing logical fallacies : begging the question, circular reasoning, weak analogy, Ad Hominem fallacy (personal attack), creating a straw man, hasty or sweeping generalization, either/or fallacy (false dilemma), equivocation, red herring, slippery slope, you also (tu quoque), appeal to doubtful authority, misuses of statistics, Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (after this, therefore because of this), Non Sequitur (it does not follow), bandwagon fallacy (Ad Populum) -- 6. Rogerian argument, Toulmin, logic, and oral arguments. pt. 3. Writing an argumentative essay -- 7. Planning, drafting, and revising an argumentative essay -- pt. 4. Using sources to support your argument -- 8. Finding and evaluating sources -- 9. Summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and synthesizing sources -- 11. Avoiding plagiarism -- Revising to eliminate plagiarism -- pt. 5. Strategies for argument -- 12. Definition arguments -- 13. Causal arguments -- 14. Evaluation arguments -- 15. Proposal arguments -- Stating the problem -- Proposing a solution -- 16. Argument by analogy -- 17. Ethical arguments -- Ethics versus law -- pt. 5. Review : combining argumentative strategies. pt. 6. Debates, casebooks, and classic arguments -- Debates -- 18. Should "study drugs" be banned? -- Change honor codes to include abuse of nonprescription drugs / David Alpert -- A ban on brain-boosting drugs is not the answer / Matt Lamkin -- 19. Should controversial sports mascots be replaced? -- Indian mascots : you're out / Jack Shakely -- So Sioux me / Mark Hyman -- 20. Should the names of sex offenders continue to be made public? -- America's unjust sex laws / The Economist -- Protect yourself, family from sex offenders / Rick Schneider -- 21. Do the benefits of bottled water outweigh the costs? -- Bad to the last drop / Tom Standage -- In defense of bottled water / Thomas J. Lauria -- Casebooks -- 22. Should every American go to college? -- On "real education" / Robert T. Perry -- The privileges of the parents / Margaret A. Miller -- What's wrong with vocational school? / Charles Murray -- Is college for everyone? / Pharinet -- 23. Should we eat meat? -- Why I stopped being a vegetarian / Laura Fraser -- Let them eat dog / Jonathan Safran Foer -- The carnivore's dilemma / Nicolette Hahn Niman -- The ethical epicure : another look at meat / Laurel Gladden -- 24. Is America safer now than before 9/11? -- Ten years after 9/11, we're still in the dark / Omar Ashmawy -- The 9/11 "overreaction"? : nonsense / Charles Krauthammer -- We're safer post-9/11 / Eric Holder, [et al. ...] -- Smoke screening / Charles C. Mann -- 25. Is the glass ceiling a myth or a reality? -- Women in leadership : persistent problems or progress? / Susan M. Kochanowski -- Are we there yet? / Jessica Bennet, [et al ...] -- The real reason so few women are in the boardroom / Marty Nemko -- Debunking myths of gender equality / Lisa Quast -- 26. Does the United States need a Federal DREAM Act? -- The message the DREAM Act sends / The Economist -- DREAM on / Mark Krikorian -- Harry Reid's illegal alien student bailout / Michelle Malkin -- Myth vs. fact : the DREAM Act / Marshall Fitz -- Classic arguments -- The allegory of the cave / Plato -- To his coy mistress (poem) / Andrew Marvell -- A modest proposal / Jonathan Swift -- The Declaration of Independence / Thomas Jefferson -- The Gettysburg Address / Abraham Lincoln -- Declaration of sentiments and resolutions / Elizabeth Cady Stanton -- Politics and the English language / George Orwell -- The obligation to endure / Rachel Carson -- The importance of work / Betty Friedan -- Letter from Birmingham jail / Martin Luther King Jr. -- If Black English isn't a language, then tell me what is? / James Baldwin -- Appendix A. Writing literary arguments -- Appendix B. Documenting sources : APA -- Using parenthetical references -- Preparing a reference list -- Examples of APA citations -- Glossary.