Practical Argument: Short Edition by Laurie G. Kirszner; Stephen R. Mandell - Fourth Edition, 2020 from Macmillan Student Store
Coming Soon 10/07/2019

Practical Argument: Short Edition

Fourth Edition ©2020 Laurie G. Kirszner; Stephen R. Mandell

More than ever, successful argumentation is a major part of academic success—and has plenty of real-world application in our sometimes contentious sociopolitical landscape. But some argument books get bogged down in technical jargon and abstraction—and that’s where Practical Argument comes
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Practical Argument: Short Edition by Laurie G. Kirszner; Stephen R. Mandell - Fourth Edition, 2020 from Macmillan Student Store

More than ever, successful argumentation is a major part of academic success—and has plenty of real-world application in our sometimes contentious sociopolitical landscape. But some argument books get bogged down in technical jargon and abstraction—and that’s where Practical Argument comes in. Bestselling authors Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell make argumentative writing accessible with an exercise-driven, step-by-step approach to convey what students need to understand about argument, in understandable language. The short fourth edition includes a more contemporary and diverse array of readings than ever, as well as expanded coverage of visual arguments.

Features

An accessible, relatable approach. Practical Argument covers everything students need to know about argument without overwhelming them. It limits technical vocabulary to what students and instructors actually need to understand in order to discuss key concepts in argument and argumentative writing. In short, Practical Argument is argument made accessible.

Engaging and diverse readings that focus on relevant contemporary issues. Practical Argument includes more than 110 accessible and thought-provoking professional readings on issues that students will want to read about and debate, plus new visual argument selections and a wealth of sample student essays illustrating the book’s scaffolded writing process. The mix of professional and student essays, visual pieces, debates, and casebooks cover high-interest issues like campus speech, privacy in technology, immigration, women in STEM, paying college athletes, student debt, self-driving cars, and more.　

Unique step-by-step pedagogy based on students’ needs. Kirszner and Mandell’s approach features more than a dozen argument templates; exercises and assignments to guide students toward formal writing; checklists, grammar-in-context, and summary boxes; and source and gloss notes to provide additional context and support.

New to This Edition

New high-interest essays engage students and serve as models for their writing. The fourth edition includes more than seventy new essays—a majority of the readings—covering such timely topics as campus environmental programs, the effects of social media, gun safety initiatives, and healthcare. These essays have been carefully selected for their high-interest subject matter as well as for their effectiveness as sources and as teaching models for student writing. New selections include:

  • "The Flight from Conversation" by Sherry Turkle

  • "How Data and Information Literacy Could End Fake News" by Lee Leetaru

  • "Facebook: Privacy Problems and PR Nightmare" by Daniel Lyons

  • "Do Schools’ Active Shooter Drills Prepare or Frighten?" by Evie Blad

New debate and casebook topics. Based on instructor feedback, we’ve retained some of the most popular debate and casebook topics while adding three new debates and two new casebooks to provide students with a variety of viewpoints on some of today’s most compelling issues. New topics include:

  • How Should We Solve the Opioid Problem?

  • Should the United States Have Open Borders?

  • Should We Establish a Universal Basic Income?

Expanded coverage of argumentation. Practical Argument continues to cover essential topics in argumentation, and the fourth edition has new coverage of stasis theory, refutation, and reading visual arguments, all designed to help students become versatile readers and writers of argument in all of its forms.

New visual arguments add further perspectives. Every chapter in Part 5: Strategies for Argument, as well as each casebook, now includes a visual argument, accompanied by questions designed to focus students’ attention on how to "read" a visual and understand its persuasive elements. Additional images, including photos, advertisements, public-service announcements, cartoons, and more throughout the book add an additional perspective to the process of analyzing arguments.　

Digital Options

Table of Contents

Part 1—Understanding Argument

An Introduction to Argument

Recognizing Arguments

　　　　 Why Instructors Assign Argument [box]

Defining Argument

　　　　 What Kinds of Statements Are Not Debatable? [box]

Arguments in Real Life

Winning and Losing Arguments

The Rhetorical Situation

Considering the Writer

Considering the Purpose

Considering the Audience

Considering the Question

Considering the Context

Logos, Pathos,　and　Ethos

　　　　 The Appeal to Reason (logos)

　　　　　Logos　in Action

　　　　 The Appeal to the Emotions (pathos)

　　　　　Pathos　in Action

　　　　 The Appeal to Authority (ethos)

　　　　　Ethos　in Action

The Rhetorical Triangle

1—The Four Pillars of Argument

AT ISSUE: Is a College Education Worth the Money?

The Elements of Argument

　　　　 Thesis Statement

　　　　 Evidence

　　　　 Refutation

　　　　 Concluding Statement

　　　　 Checklist: Does Your Argument Stand Up?

　　　　 Nia Tuckson,　Why Foreign-Language Study Should Be Required　[student essay] 　

　　　　*Andy Kessler,　Learn a Language, But Not a Human One

READING AND WRITING ABOUT THE ISSUE: Is a College Education Worth the Money?

*Derek Tharp,　Is College Worth It? The Answer Isn’t as Simple as You Think

Marty Nemko,　We Send Too Many Students to College

Jennie Le,　What Does It Mean to Be a College Grad?

*Bryan Caplan,　What’s College Good For?

Mary C. Daly and Leila Bengali,　Is It Still Worth Going to College?

*University of the People,　Does College Still Matter in 2018?

Part 2—Reading and Responding to Arguments

2—Thinking and Reading Critically

AT ISSUE: Does Recycling Really Accomplish Anything?

　　　　 Using Critical-Thinking Skills [box]

Reading Critically

　　　　 Guidelines for Reading Critically [box]

Becoming an Active Reader

　　　　　Previewing

　　　　 Close Reading

　　　　 Comprehension Clues [box]

　　　　*John Tierney, The Reign of Recycling

　　　　 Highlighting

　　　　Suggestions for Highlighting [box]

　　　　 Annotating

　　　　 Checklist: Questions for Annotating

　　　　 　 *Los Angeles Times, It’s Time to Phase Out All Single-Use Plastic

　　 *Bob Holmes, Waste Not…

　 *Jenny Luna, We Are So Forked

Writing a Critical Response

Checklist: Questions for Critical Reading

　　　　*Neena Thomason, Response to "It’s Time To Phase Out All Single-Use Plastic"　[student response]

Template for Writing a Critical Response

3—Reading and Responding to Visual Arguments

AT ISSUE: Does Recycling Really Accomplish Anything? [continued]

Thinking Critically about Visual Arguments

　　　　 Visuals versus Visual Arguments [box]

Using Active Reading Strategies with Visual Arguments

　　　　 Comprehension Clues [box]

　　　　 Appeals:　Logos, Pathos,　and　Ethos　[box]

　　　　　National Geographic Cover　[visual]

　　　　Recycling Bar Graph　[graphs]

　　　　Bird Trapped in Plastic [photo]

Recycling cartoon [cartoon]

Waste Pie Chart [chart]

Straws Suck! [infographic]

What Goes in the Ocean Goes in You [advertisement]

Last Earth Day [advertisement]

Responding Critically to Visual Arguments

　　　　 Checklist: Questions for Responding to Visual Arguments

　　　　What Goes in the Ocean Goes in You [student response]

　　　　 Template for Responding to Visual Arguments

4—Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

AT ISSUE: Is It Ethical to Buy Counterfeit Designer Merchandise?

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis?

　　　　 Overview: "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. [box]

Considering the Rhetorical Situation

　　　　 Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation [box]

　　　　 The Writer

　　　　Analyzing the Writer [box]

　　　　 The Writer’s Purpose

　　　　Analyzing the Writer’s Purpose [box]

　　　　 The Writer’s Audience

　　　　Analyzing the Writer’s Audience [box]

　　　　 The Question

Analyzing the Question [box]

　　　　 The Context

　　　　Analyzing the Context [box]

Considering the Means of Persuasion:　Logos, Pathos, Ethos

　　　　 The Appeal to Reason (logos)

　　　　 The Appeal to the Emotions (pathos)

　　　　 The Appeal to Authority (ethos)

Considering the Writer’s Rhetorical Strategies

　　　　 Thesis

　　　　 Organization

　　　　 Evidence

　　　　 Stylistic Techniques

Assessing the Argument

　　　　 Checklist: Preparing to Write a Rhetorical Analysis

Sample Rhetorical Analysis

　　　　 Dana Thomas,　Terror's Purse Strings

　　　　 Deniz Bilgutay,　A Powerful Call to Action　[student essay]

　　　　 Rajeev Ravisankar,　Sweatshop Oppression

　　　 Template for Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

　　　　　*Bobby Zitzmann,　Sweatshops Are Good

5—Understanding Logic and Recognizing Logical Fallacies

AT ISSUE: How Free Should Free Speech Be?

What Is Deductive Reasoning?

Constructing Sound Syllogisms

　　　　 Syllogism with an Illogical Middle Term

　　　　 Syllogism with a Key Term Whose Meaning Shifts

　　　　 Syllogisms with Negative Premise

Recognizing Enthymemes

　　　　 Bumper-Sticker Thinking [box]

Writing Deductive Arguments

　　　　　Crystal Sanchez,　College Should Be for Everyone　[student essay]

What Is Inductive Reasoning?

　　　　 Reaching Inductive Conclusions [box]

Making Inferences

Constructing Strong Inductive Arguments

　　　　 Generalization Too Broad

　　　　 Insufficient Evidence

　　　　 Irrelevant Evidence

　　　　 Exceptions to the Rule

Writing Inductive Arguments

　　　　 William Saletan,　Please Do Not Feed the Humans

Recognizing Logical Fallacies

　　　　 Begging the Question

　　　　 Circular Reasoning

　　　　 Weak Analogy

　　　 　Ad Hominem　Fallacy (Personal Attack)

　　　　 Creating a Straw Man

　　　　 Hasty or Sweeping Generalization (Jumping to a Conclusion)

　　　　 Either/Or Fallacy (False Dilemma)

　　　　 Equivocation

　　　　 Red Herring

　　　　 Slippery Slope

　　　　 You Also (Tu Quoque)

　　　　 Appeal to Doubtful Authority

　　　　 Misuse of Statistics

　　　　 Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc　(After This, Therefore Because of This)

　　　　 Non Sequitur　(It Does Not Follow)

　　　　 Bandwagon Fallacy

Patrick J. Buchanan,　Immigration Time-Out

READING AND WRITING ABOUT THE ISSUE: How Free Should Free Speech Be?

*Thane Rosenbaum,　Should Neo-Nazis Be Allowed Free Speech?　　

*Sol Stern,　The Unfree Speech Movement

*American Association of University Professors,　On Freedom of Expression and Campus Speech Codes　　

*Wendy Kaminer,　Progressive Ideas Have Killed Free Speech on Campus

*Judith Shulevitz,　In College and Hiding from Scary Ideas

*Eric Posner,　Universities Are Right to Crack Down on Speech and Behavior

Template for Writing a Deductive Argument

Template for Writing an Inductive Argument

6—Rogerian Argument, Toulmin Logic, and Oral Arguments

AT ISSUE: Why Are So Few Women in STEM Fields?

Understanding Rogerian Argument

Structuring Rogerian Arguments

Writing Rogerian Arguments

　　　　　Zoya Kahn,　Why Cell Phones Do Not Belong in the Classroom　[student essay]

Understanding Toulmin Logic

Constructing Toulmin Arguments

Writing Toulmin Arguments

　　　　 Jen Davis,　Competitive Cheerleaders Are Athletes　[student essay]

Understanding Oral Arguments

Planning an Oral Argument

Checklist: Designing and Displaying Visuals

Delivering Oral Arguments

Dealing with Nervousness [box]

Composing an Oral Argument

　　　　　Chantee Steele,　An Argument in Support of the "Gap Year"　[student speech] 　

READING AND WRITING ABOUT THE ISSUE: Why Are So Few Women in STEM Fields?　　　　

　　　　　*Joan Williams,　The Five Biases Pushing Women out of STEM

　　　　 *Adam Mastroianni and Dakota McKoy,　Countries with Less Gender Equality Have More Women in Stem- Huh?

　　　　 *Stuart Reges,　Why Women Don’t Code

　　　　 *Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers,　The Science Doesn’t Support the Google Memo

　　　 *Barbara Oakley,　Why Do Women Shun STEM? It’s Complicated

　　　　　Template for Writing a Rogerian Argument

Template for Writing a Toulmin Argument

Part 3—Writing an Argumentative Essay

7—Planning, Drafting, and Revising an Argumentative Essay

AT ISSUE: Should College Campuses Go Green?

Choosing a Topic

　　　　 Topics to Avoid [box]

Thinking about Your Topic

　　　　 Freewriting

　　　　 Brainstorming

　　　　 Clustering

　　　　 Informal Outline

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Understanding Your Purpose and Audience

Gathering Evidence

　　　　 Evaluating the Evidence in Your Sources

　　　　 Detecting Bias in Your Sources

　　　　Using Analogies as Evidence [box]

Refuting Opposing Arguments

　　　　　Strategies for Refuting Opposing Arguments

Revising Your Thesis Statement

Structuring Your Essay

　　　　 Supplying Background Information [box]

　　　　 Using Induction and Deduction

Identifying a Strategy for Your Argument

　　　　 Constructing a Formal Outline

Establishing Credibility

　　　　 Being Well-Informed

　　　　 Being Reasonable

　　　　 Being Fair

　　　　 Maintaining Your Credibility [box]

Drafting Your Essay

　　　　 Suggested Transitions for Argument [box]

GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT: Using Parallelism

Revising Your Essay

　　　　 Asking Questions

Checklist: Questions about Your Essay’s Purpose and Audience

Checklist: Questions about Your Essay’s Structure and Style

Checklist: Questions about Your Essay’s Supporting Evidence

　　　　 Using Outlines and Templates

　　　　 Getting Feedback

　　　　 Guidelines for Peer Review

Polishing Your Essay

　　　　 Editing and Proofreading

GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT: Contractions vs. Possessive Pronouns

　　　　 Choosing a Title

　　　　 Checking Format

Shawn Holton,　Going Green　[student essay]

Part 4—Using Sources to Support Your Argument

8—Finding and Evaluating Sources

AT ISSUE: Is Technology a Serious Threat to Our Privacy?

Finding Sources

　　　　 Finding Information in the Library

　　　　 Finding Information on the Internet

Evaluating Sources

*Zeynep Tufekci, The Privacy Debacle

*David N. Cicilline and Terrell McSweeny, Competition is at the Heart of Facebook’s Privacy Problem

　　　　*Daniel Lyons, Facebook: Privacy Problems and PR Nightmare　

Evaluating Websites

　　　　 Using a Site’s URL to Assess Its Objectivity [box]

　　　　 Avoiding Confirmation Bias [box]　　　　

*The Chronicle of Higher Education,　Home Page　[website]

　　　　 *Glamour Magazine,　Home Page　[website]

　　　*The Chronicle of Higher Education,　About　The Chronicle [website]

　　　　 *Glamour　Magazine,　About　Glamour　[website]

　*Bart Lazar,　Why We Need a Privacy Label on the Internet

　 *Douglas Rushkoff,　You Are Not Facebook’s Customer

　　　　*Igor Kuksov,　All Ears: The Dangers of Voice Assistants

　 Sam Laird,　Should Athletes Have Social Media Privacy? One Bill Says Yes

9—Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Synthesizing Sources

AT ISSUE: Is Technology a Serious Threat to Our Privacy? (continued)

Summarizing Sources

　　　　 When to Summarize [box]

　　　　 Summarizing Sources [box]

Paraphrasing Sources

　　　　 When to Paraphrase [box]

　　　　 Paraphrasing Sources [box]

Quoting Sources

　　　　 When to Quote [box]

　　　　 Quoting Sources [box]

　　　Shelley Fralic,　Don’t Fall for the Myths about Online Privacy

Working Source Material into Your Argument

　　　　 Using Identifying Tags

　　　　 Template for Using Identifying Tags [box]

　　　　 Working Quotations into Your Sentences

　　　　 Distorting Quotations [box]

Synthesizing Sources

10—Documenting Sources: MLA

Using Parenthetical References

Preparing the Works-Cited List

　　　　 Periodicals 　　　　

　　　　Books

Audiovisual Sources

　　　　 Internet Sources

　　　　 Legal Case

　　　　 Government Document

MLA Paper Guidelines [box]

　　　　 Erin Blaine,　Should Data Posted on Social Networking Sites Be "Fair Game" for Employers?　[Model MLA Paper]

11—Using Sources Responsibly

AT ISSUE: Where Should We Draw the Line with Plagiarism?

Understanding Plagiarism

　　　　 Two Definitions of Plagiarism [box]

Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism

　　Internet Sources and Plagiarism [box]

　　　　 Intentional Plagiarism [box]

Knowing What to Document

　　　　　Loos Diallo,　Plagiarism Policy　[image]

*Erika Ramirez,　When Beyonce’s Inspiration Turns Into Imitation

Revising to Eliminate Plagiarism

READING AND WRITING ABOUT THE ISSUE: Where Should We Draw the Line with Plagiarism?

　　　　 　Trip Gabriel,　Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age

　　　　 *Jennifer Mott-Smith,　Bad Idea about Writing: Plagiarism Deserves to be Punished

　　　　 Richard A. Posner,　The Truth about Plagiarism

　　　*Helen Rubinstein,　When Plagiarism is a Plea for Help

　　　　Dan Ariely,　Essay Mills: A Coarse Lesson in Cheating

Term Papers for Sale Advertisement　[Web page]

Template for Writing an Argument about Plagiarism

Writing Assignments: Using Sources Responsibly


Appendix A—Writing Literary Arguments

What Is a Literary Argument?

Stating an Argumentative Thesis

Choosing Evidence

Writing a Literary Argument

Megan McGovern,　Confessions of a Misunderstood Poem: An Analysis of "The Road Not Taken"　[student essay]

Loren Martinez,　Not Just a "Girl"[student essay]


Appendix B—Documenting Sources: APA

 

Laurie G. Kirszner

During their long collaboration, Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell have written a number of best-selling college texts for Bedford/St. Martin's, including Patterns for College Writing, Foundations First, Writing First, Focus on Writing, and, most recently, Practical Argument. Laurie Kirszner is a Professor of English, Emeritus at the University of the Sciences, where she has taught composition, literature, creative writing, and scientific writing, and served as coordinator of the first-year writing program.  Stephen Mandell is a Professor of English at Drexel University, where he founded and directed the basic writing program and has taught composition, literature, speech, and technical and business writing.

Stephen R. Mandell

During their long collaboration, Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell have written a number of best-selling college texts for Bedford/St. Martin's, including Patterns for College Writing, Foundations First, Writing First, Focus on Writing, and, most recently, Practical Argument. Laurie Kirszner is a Professor of English, Emeritus at the University of the Sciences, where she has taught composition, literature, creative writing, and scientific writing, and served as coordinator of the first-year writing program.  Stephen Mandell is a Professor of English at Drexel University, where he founded and directed the basic writing program and has taught composition, literature, speech, and technical and business writing.