This book interprets rhetorical style within a theoretical frame, and it aims to give a more unifying account than has been given in most publications on style. The aim is to establish the concept of rhetorical style that will not only achieve a greater conceptual consensus, but also help make it both powerful and useful in line with other concepts in the practical and critical disciplines of rhetoric. The examination of rhetorical style is aimed at conceptual development based on theoretical reflection and rhetorical analysis. The goal is to achieve a clearer understanding of some of the ways in which rhetorical style supplies the conceptual frameworks for reflecting, perceiving, arguing, and gaining influence in practical life.

An Introduction to the Advanced Academic Argumentative Writing Approach for High School and Undergraduate Students This long-awaited textbook examines the knowledge-making genre or the argumentative writing at the advanced stage. It provides students with an insightful and a coherent picture of the academic argumentative essay which is a training tool for knowledge- making for most convincing writings. The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter one highlights some key pragmatic features which are very necessary for most successful students in the academic world. Chapter two focuses on the writing skills and some advantages of being a good writer. The remaining chapters identify the actual definition of an academic argumentative writing and also highlight the components of the introduction section, the body section and the conclusion section of the knowledge-constructing genre. The book would be appropriate as a training tool for the writing skills of many advanced and undergraduate students. We hope that high school and undergraduate students would find the book very interesting and vital for their advanced argumentative writings and some related convincing writings in other fields.

Argumentation is often understood as a coherent set of Western theories, birthed in Athens and developing throughout the Roman period, the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment and Renaissance, and into the present century. Ideas have been nuanced, developed, and revised, but still the outline of argumentation theory has been recognizable for centuries, or so it has seemed to Western scholars. The 2019 Alta Conference on Argumentation (co-sponsored by the National Communication Association and the American Forensic Association) aimed to question the generality of these intellectual traditions. This resulting collection of essays deals with the possibility of having local theories of argument – local to a particular time, a particular kind of issue, a particular place, or a particular culture. Many of the papers argue for reconsidering basic ideas about arguing to represent the uniqueness of some moment or location of discourse. Other scholars are more comfortable with the Western traditions, and find them congenial to the analysis of arguments that originate in discernibly distinct circumstances. The papers represent different methodologies, cover the experiences of different nations at different times, examine varying sorts of argumentative events (speeches, court decisions, food choices, and sound), explore particular personal identities and the issues highlighted by them, and have different overall orientations to doing argumentation scholarship. Considered together, the essays do not generate one simple conclusion, but they stimulate reflection about the particularity or generality of the experience of arguing, and therefore the scope of our theories.

This edited volume represents the best of the scholarship presented at the 18th National Communication Association/American Forensic Association Conference on Argumentation. This biennial conference brings together a lively group of argumentation scholars from a range of disciplinary approaches and a variety of countries. Disturbing Argument contains selected works that speak both to the disturbing prevalence of violence in the contemporary world and to the potential of argument itself, to disturb the very relations of power that enable that violence. Scholars’ essays analyze a range of argument forms, including body and visual argument, interpersonal and group argument, argument in electoral politics, public argument, argument in social protest, scientific and technical argument, and argument and debate pedagogy. Contributors study argument using a range of methodological approaches, from social scientifically informed studies of interpersonal, group, and political argument to humanistic examinations of argument theory, political discourse, and social protest, to creatively informed considerations of argument practices that truly disturb the boundaries of what we consider argument.

In order for students to write effective arguments, they need to read good arguments. In this practical book, you’ll find out how to use mentor texts to make writing instruction more meaningful, authentic, and successful. Author Sean Ruday demonstrates how you can teach middle school students to analyze the qualities of effective arguments and then help them think of those qualities as tools to improve their own writing. You’ll learn how to: Introduce high-interest topics to students to get them interested and engaged in argument writing. Teach students to look at multiple sides of an issue and critically evaluate evidence to construct informed, defensible arguments. Make argument writing an interactive, student-driven exercise in which students pursue their own writing projects. Use mentor texts to help students learn the core concepts of argument writing and apply those skills across the curriculum. The book is filled with examples and templates you can bring back to the classroom immediately, as well as an annotated bibliography which links the concepts in this book to the corresponding Common Core State Standards. Blank templates are also available as printable eResources on our website (http://www.routledge.com/9781138924390).

Between the sublime confidence of both biblical fundamentalists and radical atheists lie various shades of belief, agnosticism, wishful thinking and escapist fantasy. The passion to prove the existence of God has always been frustrated by rationalism and always will be, which is why the subject of God's existence will continue to be an enigma. This book comprehensively explores the many controversial issues contained within the debate, touching on such questions as the truth of scripture, the validity of miracles, the whole question of the afterlife, and whether, of course, proof on matters of faith is ever going to be possible. Atheists contend that God is an invention for those unable to face the finality of death; believers that the existence of God is the only basis on which to build and live a meaningful life. Bound up with these perennially contested themes are equally searching arguments concerning free will and determinism, morality and ethics, and the moral and social effectiveness of a secular community compared to one administered by religious authority. These questions matter, affecting the way we live our lives, both collectively and as individuals.

Argument Writing Paths to College and Career Jossey-Bass and Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) are proud to bring the Paths to College and Career English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum and professional development resources for grades 6 12 to educators across the country. Originally developed for EngageNY and written with a focus on the shifts in instructional practice and student experiences the standards require, Paths to College and Career includes daily lesson plans, guiding questions, recommended texts, scaffolding strategies and other classroom resources. The Paths Writing Units, Argument Writing, Informative Writing, and Narrative Writing, complement the full instructional program and can also be used independently, providing in-depth writing instruction to support all students in grades 9 12 in meeting grade level standards. To emphasize the relationship between reading and writing, each Writing Unit includes accessible model texts that exemplify key elements of each text type, and source texts that provide a topic for the unit writing assignment. Individual lessons guide students through the writing process, providing instruction on grammar and conventions and highlighting collaboration and reflection as key elements of effective writing. Students' final essays are assessed using a checklist developed by the class over the course of the unit. The organization and distinctive content of the model and source texts in each unit afford teachers the flexibility to implement each unit independently of the others, and at any point during the curriculum. For example, a unit may be implemented to assess students' writing prior to implementation of the standard curriculum, to scaffold writing instruction leading into a writing assessment, or to support struggling writers by addressing gaps in skills as demonstrated in previous assessments. The Paths Writing Units provide teachers with invaluable opportunities to engage students as active participants in their own learning at every stage of the writing process, and to customize instruction to meet the varying needs of all students. ABOUT PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP Public Consulting Group, works with schools, districts, and state education agencies to build their capacity for instructional and programmatic improvements. We provide curriculum development, coaching, professional development, and technical assistance services. Our work alongside educators and policy makers ensures effective implementation of both the Common Core State Standards and state-specific standards for college and career readiness. As the creators of the Paths ELA curriculum for grades 6 12, Public Consulting Group provides a professional learning program that ensures the success of the curriculum. The program includes: Nationally recognized professional development from an organization that has been immersed in the new standards since their inception. Blended learning experiences for teachers and leaders that enrich and extend the learning. A train-the-trainer program that builds capacity and provides resources and individual support for embedded leaders and coaches.