PREFACE
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 today’s 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 there’s no other book like it.
Organization
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 arguments—definition 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 children’s 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.
Key Features
Accessible in a Thoughtful Way
Practical Argument covers everything students need to know about argument but doesn’t overwhelm them. It limits technical vocabulary to what students and instructors actually need to understand and discuss key concepts in argument and argumentative writing. In short, Practical Argument is argument made accessible.
Argument Step by Step, Supported by Helpful Apparatus
Practical Argument takes students through a step-by-step process of reading and responding to others’ arguments and writing, revising, and editing their own arguments. The book uses a classroom-tested, exercise-driven approach that encourages students to participate actively in their own learning process. Chapters progress in a clear, easy-to-understand sequence: students are asked to read arguments, identify their key elements, and develop a response to an issue in the form of a complete, documented argumentative essay based on in-book focused research.
Exercises and writing assignments for each selection provide guidance for students as they work toward creating a finished piece of writing. Throughout the text, checklists, grammar-in-context and summary boxes, and source and gloss notes provide support. In addition, more than a dozen unique templates for paragraph-length arguments—located with the end-of-chapter exercises—provide structures that students can use for guidance as they write definition arguments, cause-and-effect arguments, evaluation arguments, proposal arguments, and ethical arguments. Sentence templates also frequently appear in the questions that follow the readings, providing an opportunity for students to work up to arguments at the paragraph level.
A Thematically Focused Approach with Compelling Chapter Topics
Students learn best when they care about and are engaged in an issue. For this reason, Practical Argument uses readings and assignments to help students learn argumentation in the context of one high-interest contemporary issue per chapter. Chapter topics include media violence, free speech, online education, technology and privacy, student debt, and student safety—issues that have real meaning in students’ lives.
Readings on Relevant and Interesting Issues
One hundred and twenty-one accessible professional readings—on issues that students will want to read about and debate—are presented in the text, including selections from journals and blogs. Topics include the advantages of two-year colleges, the concept of “humane”; meat, and why undergraduate majors matter. Many visual selections enhance the readings throughout the book while seventeen sample student essays, more than in any other argument book, provide realistic models for student writers as well as additional student voices. Each student essay, including complete MLA and APA research papers, is annotated to further assist students through their own writing process. An additional twenty-four selections are organized as debates and casebooks on questions such as whether meat can be an ethical choice, whether controversial sports mascots should be replaced, and whether every American should go to college. A collection of eleven classic arguments offers more challenging approaches to enduring issues.
To help students better understand the context of the sources included in Practical Argument, each is marked with an icon that shows how it was originally presented.
An Open and Inviting Full-Color Design
The fresh, contemporary look of Practical Argument will engage students. This open, colorful design eliminates the sea of dense type that is typical of many other argument books. Over a hundred photographs and other visuals—such as graphic novel excerpts, cartoons, advertisements, templates, charts and graphs, Web pages, and fine art—provide appealing and instructive real-world examples. The use of open space and numerous images reinforces the currency of the book’s themes and also creates an inviting and visually stimulating format.
Two Versions
Practical Argument is also available in a trimmed-down edition, Practical Argument, Short Third Edition. This version features a streamlined table of contents with fewer readings for the instructor who is looking to do more with less. Practical Argument, Short Third Edition, can also be packaged with the full LaunchPad. To order Practical Argument, Short Third Edition, use ISBN 978-1-319-03019-3.
New to This Edition
Essays, Topics, and Images
The third edition includes sixty-eight engaging new professional essays on such timely topics as self-driving cars and free speech on college campuses. These essays have been carefully selected for their high-interest subject matter as well as for their effectiveness as sources and as teaching models for student writing.
Debates and Casebooks
New debate and casebook topics include whether bystanders have an obligation to intervene in an emergency, and whether it pays to study the humanities.
More Help with the Writing Process and Academic Writing
In response to instructor requests, we have expanded the templates, making them more useful to students and adding interactivity in the LaunchPad; included additional annotations in the MLA paper to guide students in the integration of source material; simplified the coverage of Rogerian argument; and provided more background on the rhetorical situation. We have also provided more help with academic writing, including additional material on finding sources as well as expanded examples of MLA and APA documentation. We have substantially expanded our coverage of how to refute opposing arguments, providing students with a firm grasp of how to usefully incorporate conflicting viewpoints into their writing. Finally, a set of disciplinary contents has been included for instructors who want to browse the readings by disciplines outside of composition to help their students make connections to their other courses.
Get the Most Out of Your Course with Practical Argument
Bedford/St. Martin’s offers resources and format choices that help you and your students get even more out of your book and course. To learn more about or to order any of the following products, contact your Macmillan sales representative, email sales support (sales_support@bfwpub.com), or look for Practical Argument, Third Edition, at macmillanlearning.com.
LaunchPad for Practical Argument: Where Students Learn
LaunchPad provides engaging content and new ways to get the most out of your book. Get an interactive e-book combined with useful, highly relevant materials in a fully customizable course space; then assign and mix our resources with yours.
Auto-graded reading quizzes, comprehension quizzes on argument topics, and interactive writing templates help students to engage actively with the material you assign.
Pre-built units —including readings, videos, quizzes, discussion groups, and more—are easy to adapt and assign by adding your own materials and mixing them with our high-quality multimedia content and ready-made assessment options, such as LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. The LearningCurve now includes argument modules focusing on topic, purpose, and audience; arguable claims; reasoning and logical fallacies; and persuasive appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos).
LaunchPad also provides access to a Gradebook that provides a clear window on the performance of your whole class, individual students, and even results of individual assignments.
A streamlined interface helps students focus on what’s due, and social commenting tools let them engage, make connections, and learn from each other. Use LaunchPad on its own or integrate it with your school’s learning management system so that your class is always on the same page.
To get the most out of your book, order LaunchPad for Practical Argument packaged with the print book. (LaunchPad for Practical Argument can also be purchased on its own.) An activation code is required. To order LaunchPad for Practical Argument with the print book, use ISBN 978-1-319-07353-4.
Choose from Alternative Formats of Practical Argument
Bedford/St. Martin’s offers a range of affordable formats, allowing students to choose the one that works best for them. For further details, look for Practical Argument at macmillanlearning.com.
Paperback brief edition To order the paperback Practical Argument, Short Third Edition, use ISBN 978-1-319-03019-3.
Other popular e-book formats For details, visit macmillanlearning.com/ebooks.
Select Value Packages
Add value to your text by packaging one of the following resources with Practical Argument. To learn more about package options for any of the following products, contact your Bedford/St. Martin’s sales representative or visit macmillanlearning.com.
Writer’s Help 2.0 is a powerful online writing resource that helps students find answers whether they are searching for writing advice on their own or as part of an assignment.
Smart search
Built on research with more than 1,600 student writers, the smart search in Writer’s Help 2.0 provides reliable results even when students use novice terms such as flow and unstuck.
Trusted content from our best-selling handbooks
Choose Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version or Writer’s Help 2.0, Lunsford Version and ensure that students have clear advice and examples for all of their writing questions.
Adaptive exercises that engage students
Writer’s Help 2.0 includes LearningCurve, game-like online quizzing that adapts to what students already know and helps them focus on what they need to learn.
Student access is packaged with Practical Argument at a significant discount. Order ISBN 978-1-319-07356-5 for Writers Help 2.0, Hacker Version or ISBN 978-1-319-07355-8 for Writers Help 2.0, Lunsford Version to ensure your students have easy access to online writing support. Students who rent a book or buy a used book can purchase access to Writer’s Help 2.0 at macmillanhighered.com/writershelp2.
Instructors may request free access by registering as an instructor at macmillanhighered.com/writershelp2.
For technical support, visit macmillanlearning.com/getsupport.
Portfolio Keeping, Third Edition, by Nedra Reynolds and Elizabeth Davis, provides all the information students need to use the portfolio method successfully in a writing course. Portfolio Teaching, a companion guide for instructors, provides the practical information instructors and writing program administrators need to use the portfolio method successfully in a writing course. To order Portfolio Keeping packaged with this text, contact your sales representative for a package ISBN.
Instructor Resources
You have a lot to do in your course. Bedford/St. Martin’s wants to make it easy for you to find the support you need—and to get it quickly.
Resources for Teaching Practical Argument is available as a PDF that can be downloaded from the Bedford/St. Martin’s online catalog. In addition to chapter overviews and teaching tips, the instructor’s manual includes sample syllabi, answers to questions that appear within the book, and suggested classroom activities.
Join Our Community! The Macmillan English Community is now Bedford/St. Martin’s home for professional resources, featuring Bedford Bits, our popular blog site that offers new ideas for the composition classroom and composition teachers. Connect and converse with a growing team of Bedford authors and top scholars who blog on Bits: Andrea Lunsford, Nancy Sommers, Steve Bernhardt, Traci Gardner, Barclay Barrios, Jack Solomon, Susan Bernstein, Elizabeth Wardle, Doug Downs, Liz Losh, Jonathan Alexander, and Donna Winchell.
In addition, you’ll find an expanding collection of additional resources that support your teaching.
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Acknowledgments
The following reviewers gave us valuable feedback: Joshua Beach, University of Texas at San Antonio; Jenny Billings Beaver, Rowan Cabarrus Community College; Jade Bittle, Rowan Cabarrus Community College; Shannon Blair, Central Piedmont Community College; Chris Blankenship, Emporia State University; Patricia Colella, Bunker Hill Community College; Jason DePolo, North Carolina A&T State University; Julie Dorris, Arkansas Northeastern College; Sarah Duerden, University of Sheffield; Alan Goldman, Massachusetts Bay Community College; Iris Harvey, Tarrant County Community College; Rebecca Hewett, California State University; Bruce Holmes, Stratford University; Anneliese Homan, State Fair Community College; Ann Hostestler, Goshen College; Elizabeth Hurston, Eastfield College; Ann Johnson, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Virginia Kearney, Baylor University; Audrey Lapointe, Cuyamaca College; Laurie Leach, Hawaii Pacific University; Vicki Martineau-Gilliam, National University; Gwendolyn Miller, University of Wisconsin-Parkside; Deborah Miller-Zournas, Stark State College; James Minor, South Piedmont Community College; Lani Montreal, Malcolm X College; Kathleen Moore, Community College of Vermont-Montpelier; Meltam Oztan, Kent State; Matt Pifer, Husson University; Cory Potter, Bethune-Cookman University; Mandy Reid, Indiana State University; Stuart Rosenberg, Cyprus College; Zahir Small, Santa Fe College; Kymberly Snelling, Metropolitan Community College-Ft. Omaha; Rosie Soy, Hudson County Community College; Andrea Spofford, Austin Peay State University; Wes Spratlin, Motlow State Community College; Cheli Turner, Greenville Technical College; Barbara Urban, Central Piedmont Community College-Levine Campus; and Sandra Zapp, Paradise Valley Community College.
We thank Jeff Ousborne, Deja Ruddick, Elizabeth Rice, and Michelle McSweeney for their valuable contributions to this text.
At Bedford/St. Martin’s, Joan Feinberg, Denise Wydra, Karen Henry, Steve Scipione, Leasa Burton, and John Sullivan were involved and supportive from the start of the project. John, in particular, helped us shape this book and was with us every step of the way. In this third edition, we have had the pleasure of working with Sherry Mooney, our smart, talented, and creative editor. Her addition to our team has made Practical Argument a much better book. Matt Glazer patiently and efficiently shepherded the book through the production process. Others on our team included Jennifer Prince, who helped with many details; Joy Fisher Williams and Gillian Daniels, who were instrumental in marketing the book; Sheri Blaney, who found art and obtained permission for it; Christine Volboril, who handled text permissions; and our outstanding copy editor, Diana P. George. We are grateful for their help.
Finally, we would like to thank each other for lunches past—and for many, many lunches to come.
Laurie G. Kirszner
Stephen R. Mandell