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Preparing to Participate: Chapter 17

Argument Model
1. Define argument. What are the six elements of an argument?
Argument is the process of advancing claims supported by evidence and reasoning.
Six elements of an argument are
o Claims: The point that a speaker advocates or a conclusion whose merit must be
established. For example:
Smoking should be banned in public places.
o Evidence is employed to substantiate a speakers claim and may take several forms
including statistics, analogies, facts, examples, and testimony
Syrian people are living in poor conditions. UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Antonio Guterres addressed in the press release on January 2015 that
two-third of refugees temporarily locating in Jordan have been living below the
national poverty line.
o Evidence Credibility Statement is a brief statement that establishes the quality of the
information you are using to support your ideas.
According to the October 10, 2015 New York Times article, the United States
promised to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in the following year. However, the
new quota still is the subject of public of criticism because of its small effort.
o Warrant provides the justification and reasoning to connect the evidence with your claim.
Claim: Syrian refugee crisis has some impacts on the United States.
Evidence: According to the October 10, 2015 New York Times article, the United
States promised to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in the following year.
However, the new quota still is the subject of public of criticism because of its
small effort.
Warrant: American people wants the government to provide larger support for
Syrian refugees.
o Qualifiers are words or phrases that are added to another word to modify its meaning or
increase its absolute. As a persuasive speaker, one should avoid using these words since
one rarely discuss issues in absolute terms.
Syrian people have always been living in poor conditions. UN High
Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres addressed in the press release on
January 2015 that two-third of refugees temporarily locating in Jordan have been
living below the national poverty line.
o Rebuttal is a consideration and an attack on counterargument to successfully persuade
your audience.
Diane Ravitch, one of the most respected voices on public education, express her
opinion that standardized testing is a monster that ate American education.
Press coverage and scholarly debates have successfully created widespread
opposition against standardized testing in America society. Even though these
opinions have their merits, they fail to provide bigger picture on the topic.
2. What's the difference between an argument and a disagreement? What are the consequences of
neglecting one of the six elements of a persuasive speech?

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Disagreements is an acceptance of two different opinions. Arguments is a use of persuasive

speaking to persuade other people to change their values, beliefs, or behaviors.
The consequences of neglecting:
o Claims: Your audience will not understand what is a conclusion you are trying to
establish
o Evidence: Your claim will not be supported by concrete and trustable supporting material,
which will reduce your credibility as a speaker.
o Evidence credibility statement: Your evidence will lack credibility since you do not
persuade your audience to see this supporting material as compelling and plausible.
o Warrant: Your audience will not be able to find the relationship between your reasoning
and the evidence you present to substantive that reasoning.
o Qualifiers: The use of absolute term in a speech will reduce your credibility, especially if
your audience is aware of exceptions to the claim.
o Rebuttal: Your audience will see the lack of counterargument in your speech as an
evidence for your bias and week research on the topic.

Persuasive Appeals
3. What are the three persuasive appeals?
The three persuasive appeals
o Logos refers to the rational proofs one uses make in an argument. Speakers employ logos
by presenting credible information as supporting material and verbally citing their
sources during their speech. There are four types of rational proofs:
Inductive reasoning reaches conclusions through the citation of examples. For
example, in the address to the nation on the evening of September 11, 2011,
President Bush lists a series of events from the day, which leads to the
conclusion that the terrorist attacks failed to shake the foundation of
America.
Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization and moves logically to an
application in a specific case:
All humans are mortal. (Major premise)
Socrates is a human:
(Minor premise)
Socrates is mortal:
(Conclusion)
Casual reasoning argues to establish a relationship between a cause and an effect.
Eating more local foods will boost the local economy and make you
healthier.
Analogical reasoning helps clarify complex situations by comparing them with
situations more familiar to the audience.
You can try to persuade a university to adopt an alcohol education
program by citing the programs success at another institutions with
supporting material such as statistics and testimony from students.
o Pathos refers to emotional appeal.
Speakers appeal to pathos by using vivid language, providing testimony
(personal stories from self or others), using figurative language, and using vocal
variety.
o Ethos refers to the credibility of a speaker and includes three dimensions: (1) competence
refers to the perception of a speakers expertise on the topic; (2) character refers to the
degree that audience members perceive a speaker to be trustworthy and sincere; and (3)
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goodwill reflects the extent to which an audience perceives that the speaker is concerned
about them. There are three types of speaker credibility:
Initial credibility refers to your credibility before you give the speech by
revealing your training, credentials, experiences, etc.
Derived credibility is the credibility a speaker develops during a speech by citing
sources, providing quality arguments, etc.
Terminal credibility is the credibility given to a speaker at the end of the speech.
4. Which of these appeals do you think is most effective? How might you use all there appeals in your
persuasive speech in class?
I believe that appeal to credibility is the most effective method since the trust given one by the
audience is the most important determinant of the success of his or her speech.
In order to use the appeal to logic, I will employ an appropriate ration proof to present my
supporting material that back up my claim.
In order to use the appeal to emotions, I will practice vocal variety and incorporate personal
testimony into the speech to help my audience relates more easily to what I am going to say.
In order to use the appeal to credibility, I will cite sources accurately, check the credentials of the
sources that I am planning to use.
Evaluating Arguments for Fallacies
5. What are the common fallacies of reasoning?
A fallacy occurs when an argument is based on unsound reasoning or evidence. These are six
most common fallacies:
o Ad hominem occurs when a speaker attacks the character of the person to make an
argument.
Of course you would support same-sex marriage, because you are gay.
o Bandwagon suggest that something is true because many other people agree with it or are
doing it.
Everyone I know is donating money to Hilarys presidential campaign, so shes
obviously the best candidate for president.
o Slippery slope occurs when a speaker asserts that some event must follow from another
toward disaster.
If the United States goes to help this country in need, then we will be expected to
intervene any time theres a conflict in the world.
o False dilemma asserts that a complicated has only two answers, when more actually
exists.
Immigrants to the United States should learn English or go back to their own
country.
o Appeal to Authority rests on the assumption that because an authority figures says
something, it must be true.
As your dentist, I would recommend Viceroys (a cigarette brand)
o Red herring occurs when a speaker introduces irrelevant information into an argument to
mask the real issue under discussion.
I have worked hard to reduce crime level my state. Therefore, the economic
growth can only come from the hands of such strong leadership.
6. What are the consequences of using reasoning in your speech? What are your perceptions of speakers
who use fallacies?
The consequences of these fallacies of reasoning is that:
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o You will damage your credibility

o Your logic progression will be greatly interrupted
o Your organizational pattern will become unclear.
Speakers who use fallacies will appear to be less trustable in the eyes of their audience. They will
also question the speakers character and intention.

Critical Interaciton: Chapter 17

Description of Advertisement: An advertisement of a cigarette brand called Viceroys

1. After a quick glance, what are your first impressions of the advertisement?
It promotes the use of cigarettes based on the recommendation from a dentist
2. Who do you believe is the target audience for the advertisement (male, female, teenagers, moms,
grandparents, etc.) Why?
Everyone who still questions the impact cigarettes have on their health.
3. What emotional appeals (pathos) were advertisers trying to target in this ad? Explain.
Emotion: the inclination to follow whatever a dentist (or a doctor) says.
4. What logical appeals (logos) were advertisers trying to target in this the ad? Explain.
Casual reasoning: because a dentist recommends Viceroys, it must be good for your health
5. How did the advertisers try to create credibility (ethos)?
By using the authority figure like a dentist, the advertisers created credibility for this add
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6. What is the slogan, if any? - Filter the Smoke

7. Are there any fallacies used in the ad? If so, which onesexplain?
Appeal to authority: They introduced an authority figure such as a dentist to prove that everything
he says about Viceroys must be true.
8. What is your overall impression of the advertisement based on what you have discovered in the earlier
questions? Are you persuaded to buy the product?
Obviously, this notion is not popular anymore. However, when this advertisement was first
released, many people believed that filter on a cigarette would protect their teeth. It was proved
that the method of using a dentist and his recommendation was very effective.
I am not persuaded to buy this product

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