Before you begin drafting your essay, you need to think about how to approach your topic and your audience. The essay you write will use a combination of logical, emotional, and ethical appeals, and you will have to be careful to use these appeals reasonably. (See pp. 14–21 for information on these appeals.) As you write, you will concentrate on establishing yourself as well-informed, reasonable, and fair.
If you expect your readers to accept your ideas, you will need to establish yourself as someone they should believe and trust. This involves showing your audience that you have a good command of your material—that is, that you know what you are talking about.
If you want readers to listen to what you are saying, you need to earn their respect by showing them that you have done your research, that you have collected evidence that supports your argument, and that you understand the most compelling arguments against your position. For example, discussing your own experiences as a member of a campus or community environmental group, your observations at a Greenpeace convention, and essays and editorials that you have read on both sides of the issue will encourage your audience to accept your ideas on the subject of green campuses.
Even if your evidence is strong, your argument will not be convincing if it does not seem reasonable. One way to present yourself as a reasonable person is to establish common ground with your readers, stressing possible points of agreement instead of attacking those who might disagree with your position. For example, saying, “We all want our planet to survive” is a more effective strategy than saying, “Those who do not support the concept of a green campus are out to destroy our planet.” (For more on establishing common ground, see the discussion of Rogerian argument in Chapter 6.)
Another way to present yourself as a reasonable person is to maintain a reasonable tone. Try to avoid absolutes (words like always and never); instead, use more conciliatory language (in many cases, much of the time, and so on). Try not to use words and phrases like obviously or as anyone can see to introduce points whose strength may be obvious only to you. Do not brand opponents of your position as misguided, uninformed, or deluded; remember, some of your readers may hold opposing positions and will not appreciate your unfavorable portrayal of them.
Finally, be very careful to treat your readers with respect, addressing them as your intellectual equals. Avoid statements that might insult them or their beliefs (“Although some ignorant or misguided people may still think …”. And never assume that your readers know less about your topic than you do; they may actually know a good deal more.
If you want readers to respect your point of view, you need to demonstrate respect for them by being fair. It is not enough to support your ideas convincingly and maintain a reasonable tone. You also need to avoid unfair tactics in your argument and take care to avoid bias.
In particular, you should be careful not to distort evidence, quote out of context, slant evidence, make unfair appeals, or use logical fallacies. These unfair tactics may influence some readers in the short term, but in the long run such tactics will alienate your audience.
Do not distort evidence. Distorting (or misrepresenting) evidence is an unfair tactic. It is not ethical or fair, for example, to present your opponent’s views inaccurately or to exaggerate his or her position and then argue against it. If you want to argue that green programs on college campuses are a good idea, it is not fair to attack someone who expresses reservations about their cost by writing, “Mr. McNamara’s concerns about cost reveal that he has basic doubts about saving the planet.” (His concerns reveal no such thing.) It is, however, fair to acknowledge your opponent’s reasonable concerns about cost and then go on to argue that the long-term benefits of such programs justify their expense.
Do not quote out of context. It is perfectly fair to challenge someone’s stated position. It is not fair, however, to misrepresent that position by quoting out of context —that is, by taking the words out of the original setting in which they appeared. For example, if a college dean says, “For schools with limited resources, it may be more important to allocate resources to academic programs than to environmental projects,” you are quoting the dean’s remarks out of context if you say, “According to Dean Levering, it is ‘more important to allocate resources to academic programs than to environmental projects.’”
Do not slant evidence. An argument based on slanted evidence is not fair. slanting involves choosing only evidence that supports your position and ignoring evidence that challenges it. This tactic makes your position seem stronger than it actually is. Another kind of slanting involves using biased language to unfairly characterize your opponents or their positions—for example, using a dismissive term such as tree hugger to describe a concerned environmentalist.
Do not make unfair appeals. If you want your readers to accept your ideas, you need to avoid unfair appeals to the emotions, such as appeals to your audience’s fears or prejudices. For example, if you try to convince readers of the importance of using green building materials by saying, “Construction projects that do not use green materials doom future generations to a planet that cannot sustain itself,” you are likely to push neutral (or even receptive) readers to skepticism or to outright hostility.
Do not use logical fallacies. Using logical fallacies (flawed arguments) in your writing will alienate your readers. (See Chapter 5 for information about logical fallacies.)