1000 word Argument Analysis Essay

In this academic essay you will:

· discern the logical structure of arguments,

· evaluate an argument’s premises and how they are intended to support a conclusion,

· analyze the use of ethos, logos and pathos by sources, and

· identify fallacies.

The purpose of this assignment is to develop your analytical skills as well as your understanding of how arguments are constructed, so that you can construct effective arguments of your own. This material is covered in the Radford University Core Handbook. You may also want to review the Core 101 and 102 sections with regard to writing at the college level.

You must earn at least a “C” on this major assignment to pass the course.

In this project you will analyze Holiday’s argument in later chapters of the text Ego Is The Enemy. You will identify his conclusion and at least three premises that support the conclusion, and explain and assess how well he uses ethos, logos, and pathos.

This essay will be worth 100 points and 20% of your final course grade.

You will be graded according to the associated rubric found at the end of this document. Please note that while the rubric helps guide you to earn points, points will be deducted for not meeting requirements and for poor writing (e.g., typos, grammatical errors, etc.).

In your essay, you will identify the author’s conclusion and at least three premises that support the conclusion, and explain and assess how well the author utilizes the appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos.

This assignment must have a minimum of 1000 words with a maximum of 1600 words, not including your reference page. It should be double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font. It must include APA references and in-text citations, and be formatted according to APA requirements to include a properly formatted cover page (although you do not need to have an abstract). You need to cite the text Ego Is The Enemy and the Core Handbook within the paper.

*You should refer to the CORE 201 sections of your Core A Handbook in order to refer to proper terminology in your essay as well as the sections of the Core A Handbook that discuss grammar, mechanics, and APA Citation Style in order to use the appropriate language and citations. This paper is a formal academic essay and must be written in a formal academic style. This means avoiding the use of contractions, the pronoun “I”, or any slang or inappropriate language.

The first thing you need to do is read the assigned reading several times. When you think you understand it, select an aspect of the article that you find particularly interesting, troubling, exciting, confusing, or problematic. By an aspect of the article, I do not mean a particular section of it; I mean a claim or set of claims to which the author is committed, either by explicitly arguing for them, or implicitly presupposing them. Consider Holiday’s title of his chapter and the titles of all of the chapters in your section. Do they tie together? Could they be considered his premises? Is Ego Is The Enemy his grand conclusion? Why?

1) Identify all claims made by the author.

If a sentence has more than one claim, rewrite the statement so there is only one claim per sentence.

A well-constructed argument therefore may use each premise as a topic sentence for a paragraph.

What other claims are being used to support the conclusion?

2) Eliminate fluff.

Ignore repetitions, assurance (assertions not backed by evidence or reasons) and information that is unrelated to the argument.

3) Some premises are independent while others linked.

Independent premise conclusion

Premise premise premise conclusion

Indicator terms for premises:

It follows that, implies that, as a result, because (non-causal meaning), since, for the reason that, for, and

4) Find the conclusion -- what is the main claim?

Did the author support the thesis with reasons? (This can be the conclusion.)

Indicator terms for conclusions:

Therefore, so, we may conclude/infer, thus, consequently

For ETHOS, ask or even use these questions as guideposts for your argument analysis assignment

· Has the writer cited her sources or in some way made it possible for the audience to access further information on the issue?

· Does the writer demonstrate familiarity with different opinions and perspectives?

· Does she provide complete and accurate information about the issue?

· Does she use the evidence fairly? Does she avoid selective use of evidence or other types of manipulation of data?

· Does she speak respectfully about people who may have opinions and perspectives different from her own?

· Does she use unbiased language?

· Does she avoid excessive reliance on emotional appeals?

· Does she accurately convey the positions of people with whom she disagrees?

· Does she acknowledge that an issue may be complex or multifaceted?

· Does her education or experience give her credibility as someone who should be listened to on this issue?

For LOGOS, ask or even use these questions as guideposts for your argument analysis assignment

· How logical is the argument? (Do the premises lead to the conclusion?)

· How STAR (Sufficient, Typical Accurate and Relevant) is the evidence?

· Is the speaker or author attempting to divert your attention from the real issues?

· Pay particular attention to numbers, statistics, findings, and quotes used to support an argument. Be critical of the source and do your own investigation of the “facts”.

For PATHOS, ask or even use these questions as guideposts for your argument analysis assignment

· Where is the author evoking emotion?

· Where is the author suggesting they share attitudes, beliefs and values with the audience?

Argument Analysis Organization

Introduction: In the opening, you want to provide an overview of the article you are analyzing. This should be approximately 1-2 paragraphs in length. Essentially, you are composing a brief summary of the article.

· What is the name of the article?

· Who is the author?

· What claim/conclusion is the author arguing/making in this article? (Thesis statement)

· What kind of arguments does the author make? Are they inductive or deductive?

· Identify whether the author’s argument is persuasive or manipulative.

Body:

In this section, you will provide evidence of whether the author’s argument is persuasive or manipulative. You will evaluate the logical structure, the rhetorical appeals (logos, ethos, pathos), any use of fallacies, framing effect, biases, and/or manipulative language the author utilizes to formulate their argument. This analysis should form the bulk of your paper.

In each paragraph:

· What is the primary claim the author has emphasized?

· What information does the author use to support this conclusion?

· How does the author’s premises utilize the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos and pathos?

· An argument is a group of statements with premises that are offered in support for the conclusion.

Your analysis should be concise and thorough. Absolutely do not engage in:

· Unnecessary editorializing

· Pointless repetition

· Personal attacks on the author or questioning of the author's motives

· Complaining about the author's writing style or choice of words

In short, always strive to express yourself in the simplest, clearest, and most precise terms possible.

Your paper should conform to the standards of written college English. It should be free of spelling, grammatical and structural errors. It is important to understand that any essay that begins with such errors is likely to be dismissed by the reader (and hence by your instructor) as an incompetent piece of work. In general, spelling errors and grammatical errors, run-on and convoluted sentence structure, and long paragraphs with multiple topics make it very difficult to credit quality of thought. Always write with the aim of making it as easy as possible for the reader to understand and evaluate what you are saying. 

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