Ethos:
Argument based on ethical appeal.
Logos: Argument based on
logical appeal.
Pathos: Argument based on
emotional appeal.
Concession:
Recognizing the merit of a
specific point or two of a counter argument.
Conclusion:
The key assertion/claim/thesis
for which all the premises support.
Counter
argument:
The opposite position toward
a writer's arguments.
Issue:
Topic of concern or controversy.
Premises:
The reasons which support the
conclusion.
-
Premise #1: If Minneapolis doesn't
build a stadium, the Twins may leave.
-
Premise #2: Minneapolis, a major
city, deserves a baseball team.
-
Premise #3: If children don't have
baseball, they lose out on good memories.
-
Conclusion: Minneapolis should
build a downtown stadium.
Syllogisms:
The classic
format for deductive reasoning is the syllogism, which consistsof a series
of carefully limited premises, pursued to a circumscribed conclusion.
Example:
-
All Major League Baseball teams
improve the quality of life in the their home cities.
-
Minneapolis is the home city to
the Minnesota Twins.
-
Therefore, the quality of life
in Minneapolis is better than it would be if the Twins didn't play there.
Question-at-issue:
A particular aspect of the
issue under consideration.
Example:
Should affirmative action play
a role in university admission?
(The elaborated
answer is the writer's thesis.)
Reasoning:
The logical form of an argument
(inductive, deductive, etc.).
Refutation:
After presenting a counter
argument or making a concession to a counter argument (through paraphrase
or summary), the writer explains why a certain point is false, misleading,
irrelevant, or weak.
Support:
The premises which defend a
claim/conclusion/thesis.
Thesis:
The writer's main, overall
conclusion regarding a specific question-at-issue/debate, which is supported
by premises and sub-claims. For a problem/solution argument form, it is
the clear proposed solution.
*Based on information taken
from
Writing Logically, Thinking Critically by Sheila Cooper and
Rosemary Patton.
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