An Effective Proposa Argument

The most effective proposal argument that I have heard was when I was given a flyer from my professor at the university in the town I live in. It was regarding your children and their education funding. It is sad to say but I never stopped to think about my children’s future regarding their education up to this point. I have always stressed to them the importance of an education and the need for it but I never stopped to think about the financial aspect of it. The flyer was produced in a way that not only caught my attention (I usually throw flyers in the trash) but kept my attention as well. The front portion had a boy and a girl that appeared to be the same age as my two children and they were both reading books, which both of my babies love to do. The headline read, CHILDREN NEED PARENTS THAT CARE. That also caught my eye so I began to read the information provided in the flyer. The creator of this flyer insinuated that if you cared for your child/children at all then you would start financing for their education beyond high school before they even started school and in some cases, before they are even born. In today’s economy, it is hard enough to pay your bills much less think about saving money for your child that may or may not even continue their education beyond high school. But, as I began to read and relate to the information in the flyer, I began to really thing about my children’s future. And the more I read, the more I thought. The more I thought, the more excited I got about their lives with an education and I made a promise right then and there that no matter what bills or expenses I had, secondary to a roof over our head and food on the table, is the future of my children’s education. I called the contact person listed on the flyer and set up an appointment to enlighten my knowledge of college saving funds and I am very glad I did. I opened both of my children accounts for college and the money that goes in to their accounts are taken out of my check before I even see it, so in a sense, I don’t even know it is gone. The author of the flyer caught my attention, enthralled me to further read and then persuaded me to take action.

Understanding an Argument

Unit Two Blog One

After reading Chapters 3 and 4, I am more aware of the basics of an argument and how they are formed. Ramage, Bean and Johnson explain that for an argument to be effective, the rhetorical triangle must be present. Logos, the message the argument in conveying; Ethos, the writer’s character as it is projected in the message; and Pathos, the audience and its values and beliefs – the three focal points that an argument must have in order to have persuasive appeal (Ramage, et al 62 – 63).  Once the rhetorical triangle is in place, the next part to an argument is the framework. In order to structure an argument, the mains points and evidence are just as important as the argument itself. Ramage, Bean and Johnson described the framework to an argument by developing reasons and claims and then using your evidence to support those claims. Further, the authors express the need to get to the core of an argument by using what is called enthymeme, an incomplete logical structure (Ramage, et al 74). Finally, after you form your argument based on a rhetorical triangle, developing your basis of the argument, often using enthymeme and building your framework, the authors detail in chapters 5 and 6, using the evidence you have gained in an effective manner. They suggest a variety of strategies for framing evidence and one such strategy is using images to guide the reader’s response to data (Ramage, et al 99). This is effective because a number of people need visual evidence to form an opinion and like the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. And, one way to effectively use images in an argument is to consider the arguments kairos. Karios are the timing and appropriateness for the occasion (Ramage, et al 116). You have to know when the right opportunity is to introduce certain dynamics into your argument to keep your audience attentive and by doing so, you present your argument in a manner that keeps your audience focused and interested in what you are saying.

Basically, an enthymeme is a part of an argument that uses assumptions and in order for the audience to understand and accept the assumptions; the writer must give the audience a reason for such. Once the audience is okay with the assumptions, the writer can go further into the argument. However, if the audience is lost on the first assumption then the writer must continue to provide reasoning until accepted by the audience. For example, if you said that everyone in the room wearing a blue shirt is nice. Tony is wearing a blue shirt. From these sentences, the audience concludes that Tony is nice because he is wearing a blue shirt. We don’t need to say, Tony is nice and he is wearing a blue shirt. We know that he is nice based on the fact that he is wearing a blue shirt and those wearing a blue shirt are nice.

Ramage, Bean and Johnson’s dissection of an argument and the components that make up an argument are the building blocks that a writer needs to gain the attention of the audience. By using these skills, writer’s arguments are strengthened and what better way to relay the message of an argument than by attentiveness of an audience? That is one of many goals a writer possesses.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Rhetorical Triangle - What it Means to me

“Rhetorical Triangle” When I think of a rhetorical triangle, first I think of the word rhetoric, which to me means a way of understanding language, and then there is the word triangle, and in my opinion is a three sided work of art. When I put the two words together, rhetoric triangle, I feel that it means understanding language by using a work of art. The three sides to the triangle – Logos, Ethos and Pathos have different meanings but without each other the triangle as a whole is not complete.

Logos focuses attention on the quality of the message (Ramage, et al 62). This is the context of what you are writing about. That is, what is the message you are sending? Are you informing your audience about the context of your writing and if so, what is your evidence and what are the claims surrounding your argument. Ethos focuses attention on the writer’s character as it is projected in the message (Ramage, et al 62). Who are you as a writer? Can the audience trust what you are saying are facts or are you trying to entertain? To me, this is the most important part of the rhetorical triangle because you have to believe in yourself as a writer before your audience will take heed and listen to what you have to say. In theory, you should be able to take any audience and grab their attention and their focus on what you have to say. Without the writer, you have no reader. And last, Pathos focuses attention on the values and beliefs of the intended audience (Ramage, et al 63). Who are you trying to relay your message to? And, what will they do with the message once it has been received by them? Do you want them to use the information in their lives, are you trying to inform them and leave them wanting more and/or are you wanting input as to their beliefs as well?

Logos, Ethos and Pathos are the corner fitting pieces to the rhetorical triangle. Once you have formulated your ideas of writing into these three elements, the triangle is complete and you can deliver your message. I think everyone has the ability to write and using the rhetorical triangle is just one of many skills that will guide you in organizing and developing your writing so that you can make your writing as useful to others as it is for yourself.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Writing is Like.....

Writing is like exercise - it clears my  mind and energizes me in so many ways. When I write, whether it is for school or leisure, I always feel rejuvenated afterwards. My writing process can be a little stressful for me at times but it is my own process and it is the only way I have ever known how to write. When I am assigned the task of writing, I spend days thinking about what I am going to write. I brainstorm in the shower, while I cook dinner, when I am lying in bed about to fall asleep and even while I am watching television. Thinking about what I am going to write about helps me do a mental check of the possibilities and ideas I can use in my writing. When I get to the point of writing (or typing) my thoughts and words, it is much easier for me to remember what I wanted to write the most about out of all of my ideas. I have learned the hard way to not do my writing as soon as I am assigned the task of writing. Once, when I was assigned a paper to write,  I wanted to see how my writing was if I finished the paper immediately instead of waiting until the due date. Bad idea! I wrote the paper and cited my work, then a week later when it was almost due, I read it again and ended up rewriting the whole thing, going in a completely different direction. So, after that incident, I never write anything until right before the due date. I work very well under pressure and I feel like my writing shows that. I also never write anything down. It only confuses me. Everything I write comes from within and even if the paper I am writing is about something that does not interest me, I still read about the subject, brainstorm in my head and then write what comes to mind. The only downfall to my writing process is that because I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to write about, by the time I get finished writing my paper, my mind has already moved on to something new. This causes me to not proofread as much as I should and I end up getting graded on stupid mistakes that I made during my writing. I am working on taking additional time to proofread and I have improved somewhat over the years. My writing process has always worked for me in the past and I have come to the conclusion that I am an emotional writer. The more emotional I am about the subject for which I am writing, the more inspired I am to write. I love to write about anything and everything. Many times, I have found myself in a situation where I cannot articulate my thoughts and feelings into words and when that happens, I sit down with as little distractions as possible and I write. Once I am finished, I feel a sense of relief and accomplishment and a lot of times, I never go back and read what I wrote. Just getting my thoughts out onto paper is enough for me. My least favorite time  to write is when I have no interest in the subject at all. This doesn’t happen to me very often because many times, I think I have no interest in the subject I am writing about but as my reading and research goes more into depth, I learn that I actually am interested. This has happened to me on numerous occasions. To sum it up, I absolutely love to write and in a sense, it is good exercise for my mind and soul.  With a clear and rejuvenated mind, I am ready for what lies ahead in the world of writing.

Unit 1 Blog - Rhetorical Analysis

According to Ramage, Bean and Johnson, authors of Writing Arguments, arguing is often pleasurable. It is a creative and productive activity that engages us at high levels of inequity and critical thinking, often in conversation with people we like and respect (Ramage, et al 2). I have never thought of the word argument being anything but, as the authors suggest, connoting ager and hostility but in the context of this chapter, the opposite is just that. What the authors are describing in this chapter is that the word argument has much more meaning and complexity behind it and as the chapter goes on further into detail, I am enlightened on not just what the word means but how to use arguing in my everyday life.

Ramage, Bean and Johnson urge readers to take a normal, everyday dialect and dissect the meaning behind the words. Sure a harmless conversation can take a wrong turn in a matter of seconds, but if you understand that what you are saying is based upon persuasion and reasoning, the same conversation can turn into an argument that is both positive and educational. The example used by Ramage, Bean and Johnson regarding the conversation between young person and parent is a perfect declaration of how an argument is used to empower both parties involved as well as uses that situation to examine their own words and meanings of their words to further their persuasive argument.

When asked to discuss a certain topic that I am very passionate about, for instance, Specific Breed Legislation, I can very easily articulate my view, argument and opinion of which side of the fence I am on in this certain situation. However, if the person I am having the discussion with decides to take the conversation deeper and starts giving their view, argument and opinion on why my stance is wrong, I get very defensive and on the attack. Instead of just listening and making my first obligation of my argument about truth, as Ramage, Bean and Johnson suggests people should do, I make it about winning the argument, as Ramage, Bean and Johnson suggests most people usually do. By evaluating, understanding, exploring ideas and thinking dialectically, which are all components of an argument; it is easier to form an argument in a more persuasive manner thereby getting the point across to the listener about what exactly you are arguing about.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean and June Johnson. Writing Arguments:  A Rhetoric with Readings. New York:  Longman, 2010