tohetohe

Be calm in arguing for fierceness makes error a fault and truth discourtesy.
– George Herbert

te ao Māori principles

There are five key principals that we as an English Department consider important as part of a holistic study at school. Please read through these and know that we will come back to them as we begin looking at texts.

• Kaitiakitanga: Guardianship of natural resources and elements of sustainability
• Rangatiratanga: Leadership, authority, Mana, empowerment, Respect
• Manaakitanga: The process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.
• Whanaungatanga: A relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.
• Tikanga: The customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context.

Exercises

Argument

Arguments are an important part of communication, and it shouldn’t be something that you get concerned about. We need to try and find ways to argue better, so that confrontation is not part of the equation, rather it is about the art of speaking and listening. Recognising that other people have different perspectives is a massive starting point for this whole topic.

It’s a massive topic, and we are only scratching the surface. Argumentation, when done correctly, will set you up for success in whatever you end up doing in your adult life. It will even greatly help your ability to write.

Remember: Not everyone will agree with everything we do, but the more we allow the view of others to inform our own, the better we all will end up.

The misconceptions of arguments

To many, the word argument connotes anger and hostility, as when we say, “I just got in a huge argument with my brother,” or “My mother and I argue all the time.” What we picture here is heated disagreement, rising pulse rates, and an urge to slam doors. Argument imagined as fight conjures images of shouting talk-show guests, flaming bloggers, or fist-banging speakers.

But to our way of thinking, argument doesn’t imply anger. In fact, arguing is often pleasurable. It is a creative and productive activity that engages us at high levels of inquiry and critical thinking, often in conversation with people we like and respect. For your primary image of argument, we invite you to think not of a shouting match on TV but of a small group of reasonable people seeking the best solution to a problem.

Not a Pro – Con Debate

Another popular image of argument is debate—a political debate, perhaps, or a high school debate tournament. According to one popular dictionary, debate is “a formal contest of argumentation in which two opposing teams defend and attack a given proposition.” Although formal debate can develop critical thinking, its weakness is that it can turn argument into a game of winners and losers rather than a process of cooperative inquiry.

As we explain throughout this site, argument entails a desire for truth; it aims to find the best solutions to complex problems. We don’t mean that arguers don’t passionately support their own points of view or expose weaknesses in views they find faulty. Instead, we mean that their goal isn’t to win a game but to find and promote the best belief or course of action.

Implicit or Explicit?

Before proceeding to some defining features of argument, we should note also that arguments can be either explicit or implicit. An explicit argument directly states its controversial claim and supports it with reasons and evidence. An implicit argument, in contrast, may not look like an argument at all. It may be a bumper sticker, a billboard, a poster, a photograph, a cartoon, a vanity license plate, a slogan on a T-shirt, an advertisement, a poem, or a song lyric. But like an explicit argument, it persuades its audience toward a certain point of view.

Have a look at this image

The photograph of the baby and bib makes the argumentative claim that baby products are poisonous; the photograph implicitly urges viewers to take action against phthalates. But this photograph is just one voice in a surprisingly complex conversation. Is the bib in fact poisonous?

Any argument, whether implicit or explicit, tries to influence the audience’s stance on an issue, moving the audience toward the arguer’s claim. Arguments work on us psychologically as well as cognitively, triggering emotions as well as thoughts and ideas.

Other types of exchanges

Within the realm of communication there are any number of ways to connect or have conflict with another person. To begin with, we start with the easy stuff. We have agreement which is when two parts have a shared meaning or shared version of events. In this case, we have a consensus.

However, agreements don’t always happen in communication. So we then have the concept of disagreement. The use of the prefix ‘dis’ to mean ‘apart’ suggests that there is a lack of consensus.

A ‘quarrel’ is when two participants in a conversation exchange antagonistic or aggressive language towards each other without support or evidence.

An argument begins when there is some sort of evidence to support the assertions that are being made. Let’s take an example

So, we can establish that there are two conditions that we need to meet before we can call something an argument.

1. a set of two or more conflicting assertions.
2. the attempt to resolve the conflict through an appeal to reason.

But while the above meets those two conditions, it’s not a good argument. So we need to establish what constitutes a ‘good’ argument.

Argument is both a Process and a Product

As you can see above, an argument can be viewed as a process – that process being the exchange of ideas to seek the best solution to a question or problem. However, it can also be viewed as a product as in a person’s contribution (or side) to a conversation.  Under formal settings such as a speech or presentation, the argument may be a position on a subject.

Similar elements occur in writing. A written argument such as a letter, an essay, an opinion piece in a newspaper, a review or a speech provide readers with a perspective on a given topic. In this case, sometimes it is other writers who will continue the exchange.

Argument Combines Truth Seeking and Persuasion

In considering argument as a product, the producer of the argument (speaker or writer) will often find themselves moving back and forth between truth seeking and persuasion, that is, between questions about the subject matter (what is the best solution to this problem?) and about audience (what do my audience already know, believe, or value?)

Different situations or contexts will provide a different set of requirements for arguments to be effective. Convincing parents will be different to convincing professors at university.

Reading argument rhetorically

As you read any given source connected to your issue, try to determine whether it is a background piece that provides the context for an issue, an overview article that tries to summarise the various positions in the controversy, or an argument that supports a position.

Questions for Reading Texts Rhetorically

1. What genre of argument is this? How do the conventions of that genre help determine the depth, complexity, and even appearance of the argument?
2. Who is the author? What are the author’s credentials and what is his or her investment in the issue?
3. What audience is he or she writing for?
4. What motivating occasion prompted the writing? The motivating occasion could be a current event, a crisis, pending legislation, a recently published alternative view, or another ongoing problem.
5. What is the author’s purpose? The purpose could range from strong advocacy to inquiring truth seeker.
6. What information about the publication or source (magazine, newspaper, advocacy Web site) helps explain the writer’s perspective or the structure and style of the argument?
7. What is the writer’s angle of vision? By angle of vision, we mean the filter, lens, or selective seeing through which the writer is approaching the issue. What is left out from this argument? What does this author not see?

This rhetorical knowledge becomes important in helping you select a diversity of voices and genres of argument when you are exploring an issue.

Classical Argument Structure

Classical argument is patterned after the persuasive speeches of ancient Greek and Roman orators. In traditional Latin terminology, the main parts of a persuasive speech are the exordium, in which the speaker gets the audience’s attention;

• the exordium, or ‘hook’, which catches the attention of the audience;
• the narratio, which provides needed background;
• the propositio, which is the speaker’s claim or thesis;
• the partitio, which forecasts the main parts of the speech;
• the confirmatio, which presents the speaker’s arguments supporting the claim;
• the confutatio, which summarizes and rebuts opposing views; and
• the peroratio, which concludes the speech by summing up the argument, calling for action, and leaving a strong, lasting impression.

Using Figurative Language

There are many many crossovers in English, something that you learn in one area of the course can definitely be used in another part.

It is the same in arguments. If you go back to your writing workshop section you can see how words, sentences and paragraphs can work here.

In writing using figurative language techniques, like metaphor and exaggeration you will find that these devices will help your argument.

The following ideas will also help

• Repetition: Repeating yourself so that you can reiterate an idea clearly and effectively
• Imperative: A command
• Syntax: The use of sentences to create meaning.
• Personal Pronoun: Making something more personal by using first person, or appealing to someone else by using second person
• Figurative Language: Creating images for the audience.
• Adjectives: Show comparatives and superlatives
• Rhetoric Devices: This is a new one, there are three main aspects to look at there.
  • Allusion: making a reference to something that is well known, like ‘You’re Romeo and she’s Juliet’
  • Anecdote: telling a personal story to help explain a point.
  • Analogy: a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
• Questions: Both rhetorical questions and direct questions can really help to explain something clearly.

Ko te reo te tuakiri | Language is my identity.  
Ko te reo tōku ahurei | Language is my uniqueness.
Ko te reo te ora. | Language is life.