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.