Chapter V. Examples of Arguments
In this chapter, you’ll find examples of each of the kinds of arguments we discussed in Chapter 3 (“Taxonomy of Arguments“). While these examples differ in some ways, they are all from public discourse. It’s also worth noting that these examples might be working with different genres than you might be using in our course; however, what’s important is that they all illustrate ways that the types of arguments we discuss in this book can be made.
Key Terms
- Definition Arguments: argue that a term or concept ought to be understood or defined in a certain way
- Evaluative Arguments: argue that something is good/bad, effective/ineffective, inferior/superior, etc.
- Causal Arguments: argue that there are cause and effect relationships between things
- Proposal Arguments: argue that something should, ought to, or must happen
- Rebuttal Arguments: seek to pick apart, dismantle, or critique an existing argument
