From Inquiry to Academic Writing: Chap. 4 & 5

A logical argument

Position or statement that agrees with sensible and reasonable thinking

Unity in a paragraph

every sentence in a paragraph relates to and develops the paragraph's main idea.

Logical Fallacies

potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument

evidence

the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Signal Phrase

they identify the author of the source and when useful, the author's credentials helps guide readers through the source material.

The objective of a Rogerian strategy

to reduce listeners' sense of threat so that they are open to alternatives.

Coherence in a

when readers can follow the connection between one sentence and another and between each sentence and the main idea.

synthesis of source material and the writer's ideas

when the writer includes his ideas about the source and the topic.

an issue

(n) a problem, a point, a question, a matter

claim of fact

A claim of fact asserts that something is true or not true.

claim of value

A claim of value argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong.

A confrontational approach to an argument

An argument that does not offer concessions or take into consideration multiple points of view.

binary thinking

If you use "binary thinking," you are a person who sees no gray, no fuzziness between your categories. Everything is black or white.

claim of policy

a claim asserting that specific courses of action should be instituted as solutions to problems

Concession

an acknowledgment that readers may not agree with every point the writer is making

A conversational approach to an argument

an argument grows out of the give-and-take of conversation between two people and the topic under discussion.

Counterargument

an argument or set of reasons put forward to oppose an idea or theory developed in another argument.

Claim

an assertion of fact or belief that needs to be supported with evidence- the information that backs up the claim.

Thesis

an assertion that academic writers make at the beginning of what they write and then support with evidence throughout their essay

refutational arguments

calling attention to a product's negative attributes as a persuasive strategy where a negative issue is raised and then dismissed; this approach can increase source credibility