Overview

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and draws upon other CC-licensed works and traditional IP works, all cited in the References.

Unless otherwise indicated, third-party texts, images, and other materials quoted in this resource are included based on fair use as described in the Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Open Education.

Suggestions, typos, etc.: drewml at stedwards dot edu

To develop as a confident reader, writer, arguer, you will need to master some essential skills:

• Identifying what is, or could be, at issue.

  • First, you’ll encounter stasis theory, which shows you how to pinpoint exactly what’s being contested and why that's so important.

• Understanding the structure of an argument, including what the argument asks you to accept, what basis there is for accepting it, and what the argument takes for granted.

  • You will learn about the Toulmin model of argument, a practical description of how arguments work through a structure of claims, grounds, and other features.

• Building counter-arguments that are fair and effective.

  • Counter-arguments can arise in the course of hesitancy or resistance to argumentation, both of which are to be expected sometimes when you ask someone to share a point of view.

• Creating synthesis, which uses disparate bits of evidence or argumentation to find patterns, make knowledge, and fuel your own arguments.

  • Synthesis is a process of knowledge transformation through reading, rereading, integrating, organizing, and writing. You will learn one particularly useful pattern for writing synthesized paragraphs.