Research+Paper+8

=**Reporting versus Arguing**=


 * **Reporting** || **Arguing** ||
 * Summarizing || Interpreting ||
 * Paraphrasing || Analyzing ||
 * Quoting || Concluding ||
 * Describing || Claiming ||
 * Telling || Persuading ||

Many of us need to revisit the **rhetorical situation** of our writing when we begin interpreting our research and drafting. **Summarizing** is useful because it helps you to identify and understand the controversy surrounding an issue. At the point where you begin your paper though, you need to pick one aspect of a controversy to defend in an argument. When **summarizing** and reporting on a topic, you are presenting a version (or an interpretation) of what you have read and learned; therefore, you are starting to present a kind of argument. In other words, you are implicitly arguing what you think is important about the topic (what you include) and what does not matter (what you exclude). After conducting in-depth research on an issue and looking at so many people's perspectives, it can be easy to lose the original focus of the writing task. One of the best things to do as you sit down to write is to remind yourself of the **rhetorical situation**.


 * WRITE: Is it reporting or arguing? **

To help distinguish between texts that report and texts that argue, list the various pieces of writing you have completed in the past six months or so. Then label each of them as either something you reported (such as an email with show times for a movie at the local theatre) or something you argued (for example, an email claiming that you should watch one film instead of another on the upcoming Friday night). In other words, was the primary goal to provide information to your audience (reporting) or to persuade your audience (argument)? Ask yourself the following questions to help create your list and identify your writing as either reporting or arguing.


 * What pieces of writing have you done for school? your job? in your personal and home life? in civic or community life?


 * What was the purpose for the piece of writing?


 * Who was your audience for the piece of writing? What did you want your audience to do after reading your text?

In your list, circle the writing experience that you are most confident was reporting, circle another experience that you are most confident was arguing, and circle a third that you had the most difficult time labeling as either reporting or arguing. Discuss these three experiences with a friend or classmate. Does your friend or classmate agree with your labeling? Why or why not?


 * WRITE: Define the rhetorical situation **

Before you start to dig into drafting, take a moment to remind yourself of your rhetorical situation. This activity will help to focus your thoughts as you begin to write. It will also give you the chance to rethink some elements of the rhetorical situation that might have shifted as you conducted your research. For example, you might have come across some resources that suggested a specific, different audience than you had originally imagined. Use this as an opportunity to fine tune your focus before developing a direction for your argument and a complete draft. Write down your answers to the following questions.


 * What is the research question you are trying to answer? If you need to rephrase or refocus the research question, this is a good time to do so.


 * What is your purpose for researching and writing about this issue? Consider multiple purposes that you might have, and try to list them in order of priority.


 * Who is the audience you are addressing? Be specific and describe as much as you can. Also consider the possibility that you might be addressing direct and implicit audiences in your research and writing.


 * How do you fit into the context? In other words, how might your beliefs and understanding affect what you write and how you interpret resources?


 * Where do your answers to these four questions overlap? How might those overlapping answers further focus your research topic?

Once you have written responses to these questions and/or completed a Venn diagram, consider sharing them with a classmate, friend, parent, or coworker. Encourage the person to ask you questions that will help to refine your focus.

=**Responding to the Research Question**=


 * Arguments** are often, at their cores, responses to questions. Sometimes the questions are asked directly and sometimes they are implied. In the case of the research that you are doing, the **argument** is developed in response to the original research question. As you plan how you will respond to your research question, consider what the answers might be, what responses might work best for you purpose and audience, and what you can support with the **evidence** and resources you have found. This is the point in the research process where all of your work starts to come together.

A clear focus on your research question and **rhetorical situation**, along with an understanding of the resources you have gathered on your topic, will help you generate a list of possible responses to your research question.

The first step in developing your argument is to consider all of the possible responses to your research question. Then you must decide which answers fit your **rhetorical situation** and which ones you can support with the evidence you have gathered. Part of the difficulty with this step in the research process, though, is that it is not always easy to determine which answer is best. Sometimes a particular answer to a research question might be difficult to argue for a specific audience, but it's not impossible. The effectiveness of the argument will depend on the **evidence** you provide, how appropriate and convincing it is to your audience, and how you develop your **argument**. Once you have generated a list of possible responses that is narrowed down to those that are //reasonable, supportable,// and //feasible// for your **rhetorical situation**, the next step is to choose one response and develop it into and effective thesis.

=**Developing a Thesis**=

At this point in your research, you have considered different possible responses to your research question and narrowed your list down to those that you think you could defend. Your challenge now is to develop a specific statement of your position on the issue. This is called a **thesis statement**. Your **thesis statement** simply needs to be a clear answer to your research question. For example:

Military recruiting on college campuses should be protected under most circumstances.

The introduction, and the rest of the paper, would develop the circumstances under which military recruiting should be protected by law.


 * Thesis statements** might be stated directly in a written argument (what is called an **explicit thesis statement**) or they might be implied in the argument. A **thesis statement** for an argument should


 * be a statement and not a question.


 * make a precise claim and not be merely a statement of fact or observation.


 * be clear, avoiding unspecific language.

Depending on you **rhetorical situation**, you **thesis statement** most likely should also


 * be a complex statement, not simply a "yes" or "no" answer to your research question.


 * give your audience an idea of what to expect in your argument.

As you draft your **thesis statement**, you might think of it as containing two parts: the precise claim itself and the reasons for your claim. You might not include the reasons in an **explicit thesis statement** in your argument, but for now it will be helpful in thinking about how to defend your claim to consider and write down your reasons for that claim.


 * Example Thesis Statement 1**


 * Precise claim:** The best apartment to rent is the two-bedroom unit on Victory Boulevard.**


 * **Reason**: It has the shortest commute to CSI college.


 * **Reason**: The landlord welcomes pets.


 * **Reason**: The rent is reasonable for my monthly budget.


 * Example Thesis Statement 2**


 * Precise Claim** CSI College should enforce a nightly curfew for students.


 * **Reason**: Violent crime on campus has escalated a nightly curfew for students.


 * **Reason**: Students would study more for classes.


 * **Reason**: Students would sleep more.

A **thesis statement** can also do more than simply answer the original research question.


 * It could identify areas that will be developed in the **argument**, providing a basic outline for the **argument** itself. This might be the case for Example 1 if the three reasons are listed as a "because" statement after the claim:

The best apartment to rent is the two-bedroom on Victory Boulevard because it has the shortest commute to CSI, it welcomes pets, and the rent is reasonable for my monthly budget.


 * It could invite the audience to take action on the **thesis statement** or to be part of a solution to a problem. This might be the case for Example 2 if the argument is directed toward administrators at the university.

The way you choose to write your **thesis statement**, of course, depends on your specific **rhetorical situation**.


 * WRITE: Draft a thesis statement **

As you work on this activity, keep your original research question in front of you along with your list (or cluster map) of possible responses. Use these steps to draft the two parts of your thesis statement (your claim and your reasons). Keep in mind that your claim is the answer to your research question, and the reasons could be thought of as "because" statements that support the claim. Read the example, and use it as a guide to write your own thesis statement.


 * Sample research question: ** Should a law be passed to make English the official language of the United States?


 * Precise claim: ** Congress should pass a law making English the official language of the United States.


 * Reasons/blueprint: **


 * A common language would encourage unity among citizens.


 * Learning English is empowering to people because of its status in global communication.


 * Complete thesis statement: ** Congress should pass a law making English the official language of the United States because it would encourage unity among citizens and empower people to participate in global communication.

Now it's your turn. Write your responses to the following prompts for your research project.


 * **Research question:**


 * **Precise claim:**


 * **Reasons/blueprint:**


 * **Complete thesis statement:**

Note: Even if you choose not to use both the claim and the reasons in your thesis statement, you have begun supporting your argument by developing the complete thesis statement.

=**Supporting an Argument**=

Once you have defined the **claim** that you are going to make in your **argument**, you need to support it with **reasons** and **evidence**. As with other research-based writing, supporting an **argument** is **rhetorically situated**. You could choose from numerous methods for developing, supporting, and organizing your argument, and you could reason with your audience in many ways, based on your purpose and goal.


 * Ethos, Pathos, and Logos**

One way to support an argument is to develop specific appeals to your audience. Aristotle defined rhetoric as searching for "the available means of persuasion." He divided what he saw as the various kinds of persuasive appeals that a speaker could make to an audience into three categories:


 * **ethos** - appeals to credibility and authority


 * **pathos** - appeals to emotions


 * **logos** - appeals to reason and logic

You can find examples of each of these appeals all around you. If you observe a classroom immediately after a teacher has handed back a graded test, you might find several varieties of appeals (with varying degrees of persuasive success) if students are unhappy about their grades on the exam. For example, one students might appeal to **ethos** by pointing out a passage in the textbook that supports an answer marked as incorrect on the exam. Relying on the passage in the textbook would be an appeal to a credible authority. Another student might appeal to **logos** by reasoning through the different answers to a question and showing how the answer marked as correct doesn't make logical sense if interpreted in a certain way. And yet another student might appeal to **pathos** (probably unsuccessfully) by explaining to the teacher that he or she must get a high grade in the class to get a scholarship to college. While these are somewhat flippant examples of rhetorical appeals, they illustrate different approaches that one might take in constructing an argument. Depending on the **rhetorical situation**, of course, some kinds of appeals may be more effective than others.

Let's consider another example. Imagine a boxing enthusiast who wants to develop an argument that Muhammad Ali was the greatest boxer of all time. She first might appeal to **ethos** by quoting an authority on boxing who says that Ali was the greatest boxer of all time. If she wanted to appeal to **logos**, she might use statistics from Ali's career record or cite and analyze an example of a specific boxing match, such as his legendary fight against George Foreman in 1974. And finally, she might appeal to **pathos** by describing the way that Ali overcame adversity to reestablish his career after being out of boxing for several years. Depending on the person's audience and purpose for writing, one of these appeals might be more persuasive than the others, or it might be best to include a combination of different kinds of appeals.

//**Ethos**// Arguments based on **ethos** refer to the credibility and authority of an individual or a group of individuals. When providing evidence from expert or personal testimony, you are making an argument based on **ethos**. You, as the author of a researched argument, also need to develop your own **ethos** as a credible and authoritative researcher and writer. If you do not provide evidence that you have done your research carefully and systematically, your audience will not trust your results.

Much of the time //expert// credibility and authority are demonstrated through education and training. Experts usually have degrees and high positions in the field of their expertise. Sometimes, however, experts are also certified by their vast amount of experience. Degrees and highly ranked positions usually imply experience; however, some fields do not necessarily have degree programs. For example, although a water purification expert may only have an associate's degree, there are not yet many educational programs for that field. Most of the experts in water purification gain their **ethos** from years of experience.

Individuals who provide evidence based on //personal testimony// also have to demonstrate the **ethos** of the personal experience. For example, if a pre-med student were doing research on diabetes, she might find personal testimony of people diagnosed with diabetes as well as people who live with diabetics. Both groups have a certain amount of credibility and authority to discuss the topic with personal anecdotes. Obviously, a doctor who specializes in diabetes would have the **ethos** of an expert. Personal testimony, though, often needs to be qualified when it is used to support an argument to avoid overgeneralization.

When using arguments based on **ethos**, it is critically important to provide evidence of the individual's credibility and authority. The easiset way to do that is to introduce the source (e.g., an expert or an established agency), as well as its qualifications, before quoting or **paraphrasing** it in an argument. For example, the pre-med student writing about diabetes might include the following statement in her argument about developing an elementary school support program for diabetes.

Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2003) and the Centers for Disease Control (2001) emphasize that schools need to take responsibility in teaching students, especially those with diabetes, about healthy eating habits.

The pre-med student would also need to develop her own **ethos** in researching and writing about diabetes. Her student status would give her some credibility because the audience would assume she has taken some classes that would give her more information on the topic. By providing a well thought-out, researched, developed, and organized argument about diabetes, she would privde evidence of being a careful and systematic researcher and writer.


 * WRITE: Develop Your Authorial Ethos **

As you being to develop and support your argument, consider how you could construct your own ethos in the argument.


 * What is your experience with this topic? Do you have firsthand or detailed knowledge about the topic that gives you authority to research and discuss it?


 * What is your experience with your audience members? Do you have firsthand or detailed knowledge about them that will allow you to make explicit connections to their wants and needs?


 * What resources have you located that demonstrate authority and credibility? Do you have resources by experts on the topic? Do you have research studies or experiments conducted by qualified researchers?

And finally, what would be most persuasive to your audience? Which members of your audience would be most persuaded by an appeal based on credibility?

//**Pathos**// Arguments based on **pathos** appeal to an audience's emotions, attempting to persuade through the power of emotional response. Personal testimony can also be a way to develop **pathos**. If you have ever watched the president of the United States give the Sate of the Union address, you have most likely seen a compelling use of personal testimony as **pathos** because the president always has at least one special guest in attendance who story he can tell to underscore one of his initiatives that year. A personal testimony might be an effective way to open an argument (or even to frame an argument). If the story is used to encourage an emotional response from the audience, it is an example of **pathos**. If it is used to develop the credibility of a source or of the argument's author, it is an example of **ethos**. Sometimes, of course, personal testimony can be used to do both at the same time. For example, when the president refers to the experience of a special guest in the audience at the State of the Union address, he appeals to **pathos** because he is drawing on the audience's emotions, and he also appeals to **ethos** because the guest has had personal experience with the issue at hand.

Many authors use **pathos** to motivate their audiences to action. For example. many of us admit that although the reward would be nice, we would not do something with extreme physical risk just to "win" a lot of money. However, many parents will put themselves into extremely risky situations to save their children from harm. Whereas the "logical argument" of earning more money does not motivate and individual, save a family member might.

In Western culture, **pathos** is generally not the sole foundation of a persuasive argument. Audiences often want to be convinced based on reason (**logos**). However, we do see **pathos** used frequently in introductions and conclusions as a way to motivate audiences to read or listen to the argument and then act on it.


 * WRITE: Develop emotional arguments **

Now consider how you could incorporate appeals based on pathos into your argument. Write down your answers to the following questions.


 * How and why are you invested in this topic? What motivates you to continue researching and writing about this topic when you are tired and worn out?


 * How and why are your audience members invested in this topic? How does this topic affect

- your audience members' finances?

- your audience members' living situations?

- your audience's families or close circles of friends?

- your audience members' employment or employment processes?

//**Logos**// Most academic arguments are primarily based on reasoning and logic, categorized by Aristotle as **logos**. Many include four major elements: claims, reasons, evidence, and warrants.


 * **The claim** is a precise statement about your topic, usually an answer to your research question.


 * **Reasons** are statements that demonstrate //why// your claim is valid.


 * **Evidence** is provided to demonstrate that each reason you provide is valid. The evidence supports your claim.


 * **Warrants** are the assumptions that the audience must accept in order to believe your reasons and evidence. Warrants are ideas, concepts, and beliefs that connect the reasons to the claim, as well as the evidence to the reasons.

Many presentations of arguments do not explicitly include all four elements; however, these elements are usually present implicitly.


 * Offering Evidence**


 * Evidence** can take many forms, but one thing remains consistent - evidence is an essential part of developing and supporting an argument. **Evidence** is the key component that persuades your audience to accept your **claim**. While reasons answer the audience's implied question "Why?" **evidence responds to an audience that challenges you to "Prove it!"** Evidence might include any of the following kinds of information (and you might be able to think of others to add to this list, based on your research topic).


 * **Statistical data**. Although statistical data provide concrete numbers that people like to rely on in an argument, it is critical that researchers carefully check the method used to collect, interpret, and report the statistics. If the collection method is not valid, the numbers are meaningless, and the use of them to support an argument is questionably ethical.


 * **Experimental results**. Like statistical data, many people place high credibility on the results of an experiment. And, again, like statistical data, it is important for the researcher to carefully examine the methods of conducting the experiment, as well as collecting and reporting results.


 * **Expert opinions**. Relying on expert testimony is useful as long as you clearly outline how and why the individual is considered an expert in that field. Be sure that your audience values those criteria of expertise. In other words, if the audience doesn't think the person is an expert, then the testimony doesn't matter.


 * **Personal experience and/or testimony**. Sometimes research questions require feedback from people who have some experience with the topic; however, they might not necessarily be considered experts. As you would with expert opinions, carefully identify how and why a person's experience is relevant to your topic.


 * **Observations**. Although personal observation of a person, place, or thing can be a powerful form of evidence, you have to carefully describe what you observed (who and what), the circumstances in which you observed (when and where), and your method of observation (why and how).

Just like every other choice you will make in writing and research, the selection of effective, persuasive **evidence** depends on the **rhetorical situation**. Especially consider your audience as you select which evidence to include in your argument: What would this audience find persuasive? What resources would your audience find authoritative? For example, an advertisement for a specific product might rely on one person's endorsement about how well that product works to convince potential customers to buy the product. If the product is a new type of testing kit for diabetics, then the advertisement might have someone sharing his or her personal experience that the testing lit is more reliable and hurts less than other testing kits. It will most likely be persuasive to the target audience (diabetics) if the person in the commercial is also a diabetic (**ethos**). However, what if the advertisement were targeting diabetics who are children? The advertisement appeals to both **logos** (reliability) that the parent might find attractive and **pathos** (less pain!) that the child having her fingers pricked would appreciate. In this case, both types of appeal arise from one type of evidence, testimony.

Researchers should select a good balance of different kinds of evidence to make an argument more persuasive to their audiences. For example, personal testimony is an example of **ethos** and **pathos**. Personal testimony could be used to convince your audience, but it generally won't be effective as the only piece of evidence in an argument. Even multiple personal testimonies might be insufficient. Instead, an effective argument will generally incorporate a variety of kinds of evidence from a variety of sources. For example, a paper on a court case might include the following types of evidence:


 * precise language from the ruling


 * interpretations of the ruling by experts in the field


 * comparisons to similar court cases

As another example, a person researching health care providers for her company might include different types of evidence in her report, such as:


 * survey results from employees about their health care wants and needs


 * statistics on how many other companies use a particular health care provider


 * comparisons to similar companies who use a particular health care provider


 * referrals from human resource specialists and other employees from companies who use a particular health care provider

Finally, the most persuasive arguments generally include a similar amount to evidence for the different reasons given in the argument. Of course, every argument has weaker and stronger points, and the stronger points can be emphasized based on the pattern of organization you choose.

A researcher should seek some balance in the argument, though. If you have three or four good pieces of evidence for one reason and only one piece of evidence for another reason (and not a very convincing piece of evidence at that), consider looking for more evidence to support that point or think about taking it out of your argument. As you seek this kind of balance in your argument, also look for a balance among elements of **ethods, logos**, and **pathos** - the most convincing arguments do not solely rely on one type of persuasion.


 * Determining Warrants**


 * Warrants** are the connections between the **claim** and the **reason** in your argument and between a specific reason and its evidence. They are the assumptions that the audience must accept in order for a **claim** to seem plausible and, therefore, persuasive. Sometimes the **warrant**, or assumption, is one that you can assume your audience will readily accept because it is not controversial (see Example 1). If this is the case, then you could develop your argument based on that warrant without explicitly stating or defending it. However, if the **warrant** itself is controversial (see Example 3), then you will need to defend the **warrant** before you can assume that the audience will accept and agree with your reason and/or evidence.

In the examples below, the specific claim is identified, a reason for that claim is identified, and the **warrant**, or assumption, that the audience must accept in order for the reason to support the claim.


 * Example 1**


 * Claim:** You should not drive while intoxicated.


 * Reason:** Intoxicated drivers can cause serious, and often fatal, accidents.


 * Warrant:** Situations that cause serious accidents should be avoided.

Most people would agree that serious accidents should be avoided; therefore, this warrant does not need further support in the argument.


 * Example 2**


 * Claim:** Cell phones should not be allowed in restaurants.


 * Reason:** I think it's annoying to listen to people's conversations in restaurants.


 * Warrant:** What I don't like should be eliminated.

Although many people might find use of cell phones in public somewhat annoying, most realize that one individual not liking them is not a valid reason to disallow them entirely. However, if the reason were that a large number of people do not think cell phones in restaurants are appropriate, the **Warrant** might have more sustainability (what a lot of people do not llike should be abolished).


 * Example 3**


 * Claim:** My father should be elected town mayor.


 * Reason:** Our family has lived in this town for five generations.


 * Warrant:** A candidate with a long family history in the town will make a better mayor.

In this third example. the audience may or may not agree with the **warrant** about family history and suitability to lead the town. This writer may need to provide some evidence to support the **warrant**. For example, perhaps members in this person's family have historically participated in key elements of the town's development. As a member of this family, this person has grown up knowing detailed history of the town as well as being surrounded by family members with a civic committment to the town's well-being. Such an explanation would helpt o commenct the reason to the claim.

While deciding whether a warrant needs further support, be sure to think about your audience. You might think the warrant is solid, but your audience might have different ideas.


 * Example 4**


 * Claim:** I should purchase the new iPad with more memory.


 * Reason:** A newer technology with larger capacity is better than an older technology with less capacit.


 * Warrant:** Bigger and newer are worth purchasing.

Are bigger and newer always better? Do people always have to have the newest thing to get the job done? If the person already has a fairly new iPad with a medium-range memory capacity, does she really need a new one? What is the audience is the parents paying for the new iPad? Would they agree with the **warrant**? Always couble-check your **warrants** with your audience's specific beliefs.

Remember that these descriptions of claims, reasons, evidence, and warrants are guidelines and not a formula to follow. Each argument is different and might not follow this pattern exactly. Just use the principles to get started and develop your argument as it fits your **rhetorical situation**.


 * WRITE: Understand your warrants **

Revisit the complete thesis statement you have developed, the one that includes your claim and reasons. Focus on one of the reasons. As you might notice from the preceding examples, all warrants have two parts, one explicitly connected to the claim and one explicitly connected to the reason. State the warrant connecting your claim to your reason and decide whether you need to further support your warrant. Use the following questions to help articulate your warrant.

1. Does your warrant include one section for your claim and one for your reason?

2. Does your warrant sufficiently connect your reason to your claim?

3. Will your intended audience undeniably agree with your warrant? Why or why not?

If your answer is "yes" to the third question, you probably do not need to support your warrant any further. However, if your answer is "no," be sure to develop reasons and evidence to support your warrant.

After you have explicitly stated your warrant and decided whether it needs to be supported further, talk to a classmate, friend, or colleague about your claim, reason, and warrant. Do they agree that you have identified the correct warrant? Do they agree that you do or do not need to further support your warrant?

=**Providing Counterarguments**=

Sound reasoning to support your claim is key to developing your argument. However, it is often necessary to acknowledge alternative perspectives and provide **counterarguments**. For example, if a student claims that military recruiting should be banned on college campuses in some circumstances, he realizes that there are many who would disagree with his opinion. If he does not acknowledge that he has accounted for these differing perspectives, readers who understand the issue might think he has not done his research well. To bolster his own **ethos**, it is important that he acknowledge alternative perspectives and then provide **counterarguments** that demonstrate why his perspective is better.

The student can provide **counterarguments** using two methods: rebuttals and qualifiers. He could openly acknowledge an alternative perspective and offer his rebuttal. Or he could qualify his claim about military recruiting on college campuses by clarifying the circumstances under which it might be banned.


 * Including Rebuttals**

Once you acknowledge your research topic is part of a larger conversation, you usually recognize that there are multiple perspectives on the issue. If there are very popular and well-supported perspectives that differ from your own, address them. You might also have to provide **rebuttals** if any of your **warrants** is debatable. Finally, be sure to have a classmate, friend, or family member carefully read a draft of your argument. If they come up with serious questions or concerns, you need to refute those issues as well.


 * WRITE: Develop counterarguments **

Start identifying possible counterarguments. Look back over your research and identify perspectives that are different from your claim. Rank the differing perspectives from strongest (has the most validity, legitimacy, and credibility) to the weakest (is incomprehensible, unbelievable, and dismissible). Construct a rebuttal against the two strongest alternative perspectives on your list.


 * WRITE: Construct an argument **

This guide can help you construct your argument, and you can add and subtract elements as needed. Many writers find templates or guidelines like this helpful to start planning their written project; however, they will break away from it as the project's rhetorical situation demands.


 * Research question:


 * Answer/thesis/claim:


 * Ethos: Would your audience find appeals based on ethos to be persuasive? Where and how will you demonstrate your credibility and authority as an author?


 * Pathos: Would your audience find appeals based on pathos to be persuasive? Where and how will you include appeals to the audience's emotions?


 * Logos: Would your audience find appeals based on logos to be persuasive? Where and how will you appeal to your audience through logic and reasoning?


 * Reason 1


 * Reason 2


 * Reason 3


 * Reason 4


 * Objections your audience might have:

Qualifiers: Which claims, reasons, or refutation might you need to qualify?