"Freedom of speech is established to achieve its essential
purpose only when different opinions are expounded in the
same hall to the same audience...The opposition is indispensable." What exactly is Argumentation?
Defining Argumentation
Think back to the last argument you had with someone. It
was probably a passionate exchange of upsetting words. Generally, people in this kind of situation leave the conversation frustrated, upset, and with nothing accomplished; neither of the arguers resolved the issue. Often times, however, if either of the arguers took some time to plan out what they were going to say--in the same way that a writer would plan how her/his argument paper would be addressed--the argumentative discussion would be more effective. When writers construct arguments, they try to avoid emotional outbursts that often turn arguments into displays of temper. Strong feelings may energize an argumentfew of us make the effort to argue without emotional investment in the subjectbut written argument stresses a fair presentation of opposing or alternative arguments. Because written arguments are public, they take on a civilized manner. They implicitly say, Lets be reasonable about this. Lets look at the evidence on all sides. Before we argue for our position, lets put all the reasons and evidence on the table so everyone involved can see whats at stake. (Excerpts taken from The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, A Custom Edition, by Stephen Reid)
Writers who Construct Good Arguments Remember
to...
consciously decide the rhetorical situation or writing
occasion. This means that writers: o o
o o
look at the social or cultural context for the issue,
consider where this written argument might appear or be published, look at the audience and asks what they already know and believe, consider the audience's alterative viewpoint, and consider the audience's neutral viewpoint and wonder if they are likely to listen to both sides before deciding what to believe.