Aula 10

Prévia do material em texto

Oficina de Redação em Língua Inglesa
Paula Bullio
Aula 10
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Rhetoric and Argumentation
Ancient rhetorical techniques can improve your argumentative writing.
A well-crafted written argument can change the world. Consider the Declaration of Independence or Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Both written arguments reshaped how people thought about independence and faith, respectively, and each has had a lasting historical impact on our world. Similarly, both the Declaration of Independence and Luther’s Theses employ ancient rhetorical techniques in their writing. These modes of argument were thoroughly defined and described in Aristotle's "On Rhetoric," but have received many revampings¹ over the years.
1. 1. To patch up or restore; renovate.
2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example).
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Logos
Logos refers to logic or reason in an argument. Developing your writing’s logos means attending dutifully to the logical progression of a train of thought. In order to do this, you must be up front¹ about how you are defining certain key terms, as well as what facts about the world you are assuming in making your argument. Then generate reasonable and verifiable premises for your argument, and ensure that whatever conclusions you reach in your argument are justified by your premises. 
1. INFORMAL in the part of something that is furthest forward
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For example, in the Declaration of Independence, the document opens by defining the following self-evident truths about humanity: All people are created equal and have certain unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The document then goes on to make a powerful argument for the United States' independence from England because
the latter violated these
self-evident truths.
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Pathos /ˈpeɪ.θɑːs/
Pathos refers to the passion or emotion of an argument. Lunsford, et al., suggest that though pathos-driven arguments sometimes can be dismissed for being based too much in an emotional appeal, an appropriate sprinkling of emotion throughout your argument can go a long way toward convincing your readers. Specifically, you should develop examples that are emotionally laden. In this way, your writing’s pathos plays a supportive role to the argument’s logic, rather than a central role. 
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For example, you might choose to build an example that focuses on baby kittens, rather than on adult sea lions, as more people are likely to feel emotionally attached to kittens than to sea lions.
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Ethos /ˈiː.θɑːs/
Ethos is your argument’s credibility. You can build your writing’s ethos by using expert testimony to support your position. For example, you might cite government websites or studies or well-known professors or scientists in the field about which you are arguing. By citing these sources, you are indicating to the reader that not only have you done your research, you also have found a lot of experts who support your argument. Aristotle maintained that uniting your positions with others made it more difficult to dismiss your written position as isolated and individual.
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Kairos /ˈkʌɪrɑːs/
Kairos is the timeliness of your argument. Aristotle suggested, and Lunsford, et. al. concur, that sometimes we don’t have control of external events that might impact our positions, though we do have control over when it is best to argue for certain things in writing. For example, following a tragic gun massacre, it would be unwise to craft a written argument about how gun laws should be eliminated. Similarly, following a spending scandal in a welfare program, it would be unwise to write something arguing for the expansion of welfare programs. Choosing the right time to make an argument often can be the difference between winning and losing.
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The following are some of the different techniques to support your argument:
Examples - Examples enhance your meaning and make your ideas concrete. They are the proof. Often these examples are drawn from shared every-day experience or from history. They can be events, ideas, logical arguments or quotations. They can be anecdotes or analogies, in which one example is made meaningful because it resembles another example. The order of examples, which is part of logic, can also have a positive effect. Sometimes examples can be emotive (or biased), and are used to elicit sympathy from the reader. As well, some key examples might be missing. Often the biggest problem with examples is not that the examples are wrong, but that they are incomplete and unrepresentative. 
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Facts - A powerful means of convincing, facts can come from your reading, observation, or personal experience. They are like examples, but are usually singular and observable. As with examples, persuasive writing may suffer from the selective use of facts.
Do not confuse facts with truths. A "truth" is an idea believed by many people, but it cannot be proven.
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Statistics - These are facts based on numerical measurement, and can provide excellent support. Be sure your statistics come from responsible sources, and always cite your sources.
Expert Testimony - Direct 
quotations from leading 
experts and/or peer-reviewed
 journals that support your 
position are invaluable.
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Emotional Language - Though considered biased and manipulative /məˈnɪp·jə·lə·t̬ɪv, -ˌleɪ·t̬ɪv/, emotional loaded words are commonly used to capture the feelings and sympathies of the readers.
Colloquial Language - In order to be more accessible and inviting, some persuasive writers will employ a more conversational style of language. You might see the strategic use of "and" and "but" at the beginning of a sentence, or a conscious use of a sentence fragment to emphasize a point. 
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Poetic Devices - Some writers of persuasive texts will borrow the techniques of poetry, particularly when it comes to the sounds and meanings of words. Common techniques include alliteration, repetition, metaphors, imagery, and rhyme.
Powerful Images - In less formal writing, evocative¹ images may be selected to enhance and support an argument.
1. making you remember or imagine something pleasant
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The problem of bias: As you can see above, many of these persuasive techniques can be considered unfair or manipulative. In general, such techniques are seen as examples of bias. And, if you use them or are influenced by them, you are said to be biased. 
Of course, if you are going to persuade a reader or listener, you might argue that any technique is valid, and that it's up to the reader or listener to detect bias and make his or her judgment accordingly. 
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Different types of argument
Ground rules
Let’s establish some ground rules based on what we looked at so far. An academic argument:
begins with an arguable premise or claim. Undergraduate essays usually ask students to write about a subject that involves exploring different points of view or comparing and contrasting. For example: ‘Discuss the portrayal of the themes of love and power in two of the Shakespeare plays we have studied this term’.
uses facts and evidence. An academic argument explores an arguable premise or claim using facts, evidence and different points of view.
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is logical and coherent. It moves from step to step in a clear, developmental manner.
uses references and credits them. The facts, evidence and different points of view used to explore the premise or claim will come from outside sources; 
and these sources will be
acknowledged in 
footnotes, a 
bibliography or a 
reference list.
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Alternative arguments – categorical, chronological, perceived importance, sequential
Your essay question and the evidence and materials you gather to helpyou answer it may sometimes require different sorts of arguments. 
Categorical  An essay that asked you to look at examples of organisational structure in the USA, Europe and the Third World would be asking you to organise your material and make your argument in a categorical way i.e. by looking at different categories or classes of things.
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Chronological  An essay asking you to look at the history of scientific paradigms in psychology from 1900 to 2000 would be asking you to make a chronological argument. So you would start with the early 20th Century, perhaps then look at the period 1950-1970 and then look at the closing decades.
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Perceived importance  An essay title asking you to examine organisational functions and discuss their importance would be asking you to review which functions experts regard as most important. So you might well start such an essay by saying something like ‘Most management and organisational theorists agree that functions should be ranked as follows…’
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Sequential  An essay asking you to examine organisational functions using the example of a successful product would be asking you to think about the processes behind that success. So you might start by looking at market research, then move on to product design and finish by looking at marketing and advertising.
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Argumentative Organization
Introduction
The hook sentence introduces the issue.
Background information gives a broader picture of the issue and why it is important. It can give details about the history of the people involved, what they want, and how it affects them.
The thesis statement clearly states the writer’s point of view about the issue.
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Body Paragraphs
The topic sentence in each body paragraph presents one distinct reason for the writer’s point of view stated in the thesis.
All supporting details in each paragraph must support the topic sentence. These details can be facts, examples, statistics, definitions, causes and effects, quotations, anecdotes or questions.
The writer often presents an opposing opinion (a counter-argument); however, the writer may then express some agreement with the opposing view (a concession), but will show evidence that the argument is stronger (a refutation). The counter-argument is often in body paragraph one or three.
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Conclusion:
The conclusion restates the argument that appeared in the thesis.
It can end with a prediction, a warning, or other type of comment that reinforces the writer’s viewpoint.
It may state the general issue in a broader context
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Edit 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GEWmf77E-8&hd=1 
How to Write an Argumentative Essay - Editing
British Council
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References:
BELL, J. and GOWER, R. First Certificate Expert. Pearson Education, 2008
DAVIS, J. and LISS, R. Effective academic writing 3 – the essay. Oxford, OUP, 2006
SMALLEY, R., RUETTEN, M. and KOZYREV, J. Developing writing skills 2, 2006.
_____________. Developing writing skills 3, 2006.
_____________. Developing writing skills 4, 2006.
SPRATT, M., PULVERNESS, A. and WILLIAMS, M. The TKT Course. Cambridge, CUP, 2005
Oficina de Redação em Língua Inglesa
Paula Bullio
Atividade 10
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Editing a paragraph. Read the paragraph and correct nine mistakes.
To complete a research project on the Internet, it is important that you must find a good search engine. There are many available some are better than others. Once you have chosen your search engine, it is essential that you should narrow your search to a specific topic. Type in the key words for your search. We recommend that you will check your spelling carefully. If you misspell too many words, you will not get the right results. As soon as you have your list of websites, we suggest that you quickly to scan the list. Some people choose websites randomly, others find that the first five to ten are usually the best. Be prepared to look at a lot of websites before you find what you need. Open the sites and skim them to find out if the information will work for your project. It is tempting to copy the material that you have found, it is mandatory that you to use your own words when you write your paper. You should include the website address in your final report.
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