CHAPTER 5: COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES

LESSON 2: Persuading and Arguing Effectively

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

Present ideas persuasively using appropriate language registers, tone, facial expressions, and
gestures;

Adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas.

Before-Reading Questions
PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION

Persuasive communication can be written, visual, verbal or any combination of these forms,
and it is designed to sway a person’s beliefs or actions. In other words, it is communication that
convinces you to do or think something that you might not think otherwise.

It is a speech given to an audience with the intention of influencing your listeners to agree with
a particular point of view.

THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSUASIVE SPEECHES

There are three different types of persuasive speeches that are used to convince an audience:
factual persuasive speech, value persuasive speech and policy persuasive speech.

1. Factual persuasive speech is based on whether or not a particular topic is true, and is
backed by concrete evidence. This type of speech persuades the audience as to whether
something exists or does not exist, whether it happened or did not happen. For instance,
a college student giving a speech about Neil Armstrong landing on the moon in 1969 is
an example of factual persuasive speech. The moon landing by Neil Armstrong is well
documented and has concrete evidence that supports the fact that it did happen.

2. Value persuasive speech is a speech about whether or not something is right or wrong.
It questions the moral or ethical aspect of an issue. For example, have you ever thought
about whether or not death penalty is moral or immoral? If you were to give a speech
about your stance on the morality of capital punishment, that would be an example of
value persuasive speech.

3. Policy persuasive speech is a speech given to convince an audience to either support

or reject a policy, rule, or candidate. For instance, if the president of the Philippines
disagreed with the current foreign policy and gave a speech to Congress with the goal of
convincing them to agree with his viewpoint, it would be considered a policy persuasive
speech.
Source:https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-the-three-types-of-persuasive-speeches.html
ARGUMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION

Argumentative communication is considered a subset of assertiveness because, while all

argumentation is assertive, not all assertiveness is argumentative. Here argumentative
individuals advocate positions on controversial issues and verbally attack other people's
contradictory perspectives. In a word, it is an underlying motivation to argue. However, it is
important to note that it is the person's position that is under attack in argumentativeness, and
not the individual.

Stephen Toulmin’s structure of Argumentation

Stephen Toulmin an English philosopher and logician has come up with the elements of arguments
which generate categories through which an argument can be evaluated.

Claim

Ground

Warrant

Backing

Qualifier

Rebuttal

Claim it is nothing but a statement. It is put forward by a speaker or listener in order to accept
the information as true. If someone asks you to do something you will not agree to do. You need
to ask and also you need to know why you have to do it. You will ask them to prove their claim
and that is when ground comes in.

Ground it is the reasoning behind the claim, information used to persuade the listener and the
proof for reasoning. Here information can be a very powerful element of persuasion. Each person
has their unique way of thinking as thus has a unique way of accepting information. For men who
think more logically will accept factual information than women who accept things more
emotionally. Some will accept without questioning; others will ignore it and some will research
the facts even more for better explanation. Here warrant, the next step become important.

Warrant it justifies the claim by making the ground to be appropriate. A warrant can be a small
statement or a pursuing argument. It may be accurate, implicit or unspoken.

Backing when the backing is given for an argument, it gives additional support to the warrant.

Qualifier it restricts the comprehensiveness of the claim. They usually use words such as ‘most’,
‘usually’, ‘always’ and ‘sometimes’. Another alternative of qualifier is reservation. It is a term which
might state that the claim is incorrect.

Rebuttal – Even in a perfectly stated argument there still can be counter arguments. The rebuttal
can be given during the early stages of presentation or through a prolonged discourse.
Example:

1. Women make excellent administrators- (claim)– argument

2. Women are multitasking and are good organizers-(grounds)

3. Women mostly are good listeners and are more sensitive in approaching problems. This helps
in the smooth functioning of the organization-(warrant)

4. Women today are well educated-(backing)

5. Women are home makers so most of them will have the ability to manage any organization or
country, in a better way-(qualifier)

6. Women cannot be good administrators unless they are given good education and exposure-
(rebuttal)

LOGIC, RHETORIC AND CRITICAL THINKING: THE KEYS TO EFFECTIVE ARGUMENT

Logic refers to the science of thinking methodically, while rhetoric refers to the art of
communication persuasively. Both are important in arguing a point effectively.

Reasoning is the essential ingredient in problem-solving (Cavander and Kanahe 2010). When
you reason, you present a particular argument. An argument is composed of two parts : the
conclusion that reflects the main idea, the claim or thesis or “proposed idea” (Rudinow and
Barry, 2008) and the premise that indicates the basis of the conclusion and shows the reason
behind it and/or the evidence to prove it (Cavander and Kanahe 2010; Seech 2005)

Consider the following sample arguments:

SAMPLE A

Premises:

Air pollution is a big problem that should be reduced in Isabela State University.

Smoking cigarette is a major cause of air pollution.

Conclusion/Claim/Thesis:

Therefore, smoking should be banned in Isabela State University.

SAMPLE B:

Premises:

Leading companies across the globe hire many Isabela State University graduates.

Established higher education institutions accept many Isabela State University graduates.
Conclusion/Claim/Thesis:

Therefore, Isabela State University produces top quality graduates.

Observations:

Deductive reasoning is suggested in the first example. Thinking deductively means you arrive
at a conclusion based on general idea (the need to reduce air pollution) that leads to a more
specific idea (causes of air pollution).

Inductive reasoning, on the other hand, is used in the second example. If you look at specific
details such as trends and illustrations (leading companies hire many Isabela State University
students and established higher education institutions accept them) and use them as the bases
of your conclusion, then you are thinking inductively.

Note. You have to equip yourself with skills in logic and rhetoric that will enable you to speak and
write effectively and critically.

Points to Ponder

In order for your conclusion, claim, or thesis to be valid, you have to support them with data or evidence.
In expressing your thoughts and defending your arguments, you will need to use special devices to present them persuasively.
This involves the use of rhetoric in persuading your listeners or readers to see your points clearly.

TIPS ON HOW TO ARGUE LOGICALLY

1. Examine an issue by doing relevant research on its different dimensions.

2. Choose the side you would like to support.
3. Formulate your argumentative thesis by identifying the general subject and the specific
focus or controlling idea.
4. Present your arguments and their corresponding evidence.
5. Listen to your opponents’ arguments and weigh their evidence. Acknowledge their valid
points and point out the weaknesses in their claims. Rebuild your arguments based on the
counter-claims.
6. Make a summary of the key arguments. Conclude with a call to action.

Points to Ponder

The foundation of argumentation is critical thinking.

In asserting an argument, raising your thesis statement or main idea is important.
Thesis statement functions to identify and organize the content and direction of your key ideas.
There are two (2) parts of thesis statement: the general subject (what are you talking about) and the specific focus (what you
want to say about it) also known as the controlling idea.
CRITICAL THINKING

In 1605, Francis Bacon avowed, “Critical thinking is a desire to seek, patience to doubt,
fondness to mediate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose
and set in order; and hatred for every kind of imposture” (cited in Critical Thinking
Community 2015)

Critical thinking is a skill that is developed, honed, and sharpened by a constant and consistent
state of awareness for the significance of being well informed of one’s view.

You are a critical thinker if you:

a. Question ideas first before you accept them.
b. See beyond the information that is given to you.
c. Open your mind to different possibilities.
d. Listen to what the others have to say.
e. Examine and re-examine an issue’s various dimensions before making conclusions.
f. Substantiate your conclusions with valid and reliable proofs.

THREE (3) TYPES OF RHETORICAL APPEALS OR ARISTOTLE’S MODELS OF PROOF

(Weida and Stolley 2013; McCormack 2014):

1. Logos (logical appeal)- Using this tools employs deductive and/ or inductive thinking in
presenting your view on a particular matter. Good reasoning or sound logic is supported
by facts, data, statistics, and expert knowledge from credible sources. This kind of appeal
also makes use of examples, consequences, and comparisons and contrasts. The delivery
of such an appeal uses academic, formal language.

2. Ethos (ethical appeal)- This of appeal finds strength in the authority and credibility of the
source of information and knowledge. It requires that you present different sides of the
argument and declare your personal interest in the issue. By doing this, you are
establishing your qualities of trustworthiness and reliability because you assert that you
are aware of the issue’s different dimensions. This kind of appeal uses language that is
suitable for a particular audience.

3. Pathos (emotional appeal)- To illustrate your points and support your arguments, you
can involve your audience by sharing specific narratives that can move them. Emotions
allow readers and listeners to identify with real people who have gone through similar
stories of conflict and triumph. The use of rhetorical questions and figurative speech are
also used to catch attention and provoke insight about an issue. Language that evokes
strong feeling is used in this kind of appeal.

FALLACIES

Fallacies are statements that reflect flaws and inconsistencies in your reasoning. When you do
research to substantiate your arguments, you have to be careful in evaluating the information
that you gather. This is why in developing arguments, you may use a combination of logos, ethos,
and pathos, but you have to be careful in phrasing your arguments to avoid weakening them with
fallacies or erroneous statements.

Types of FALLACIES that may ruin your case

1. Hasty generalization: if you base your conclusion of some case but the evidence is
based on a general and partial assumption.

Example: If you claim that politicians are corrupt, you are suggesting that all of them are
corrupt.

2. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this): “I got a perfect
score in Math because I ate peanuts for breakfast.” Can eating peanuts for breakfast lead
to a perfect score in Math? There is no proven direct causal relationship between eating
peanuts and getting high score in Math. However, you may have the tendency to attribute
a favourable result to something that you did right before the challenging situation. There
are a lot of other factors that may have caused this favourable result. Therefore, when
you examine cause-effect situations, consider all the logical and relevant factors that may
have brought the results.
3. Non-sequitur (it does not follow.): This fallacy is revealed when you jump to
conclusions. For example, it does not follow that just because your favourite team won
today’s game, they will be champions for the season. Another example is that just because
an anti-dengue campaign worked in one region, it will work for all the regions. It also
does not follow that just because a fund raising campaign for typhoon survivors was
completed, the whole community will improve. Remember that one incident may not
necessarily lead to another.
4. Ad hominem (against the person): Attacking a person’s character to win an argument
is not valid way of understanding and resolving an issue. For example, if you claim that a
student you are debating with has no right to talk about divorce because he comes from
a broken family, then you are making an attack on the person. Developing an argument
means focusing on the dimensions of an issue and a relevant proposition. Describing an
individual’s character is not part of a sound and valid argument. An argument that is
against a person is blinded by prejudice and discrimination against ethnicity, gender,
age,religion, and/or ability. This kind of argument only results in demeaning a person or
a community rather than coming to a more informed, respectful, and constructive stance
towards an issue.
5. Ad misericordiam (appeal to pity): Imagine this scene. You arrive in school and realize
that you have forgotten to bring your final essay in World History. You approach your
teacher with a plan to appeal your situation despite knowing the class policy on late
submissions. You tell her that you ran all the way from your dorm, not minding the
distance, the heat of the sun, and the heavy weight of the books in your bag so that you
would not be late for attendance. You are exhausted but you wanted to present for class
even if you forgot your paper. You ask your teacher as you wipe away the sweat on your
forehead if she can look past your faults. You hope that she will empathize with your
condition. This manner or argument uses emotion to convince people to accept your
stance.
Note. Always remember that valid arguments show logical causal relationships as well as relevant
and sound premises that are supported by sufficient evidence from credible and reliable sources.
More importantly, valid arguments use language that is fair, respectful and ethical.

ENGAGING IN DEBATE

In a debate, speakers do not focus on their personal beliefs; instead they show the advantages
of the proposition (if they belong to the affirmative side) and the current system (if they belong
to the negative side). The purpose of a debate is to illustrate both sides of an issue. Logic and
rhetoric have to go together when you engage in a debate (Bauzon and Freely 1986). Therefore,
when you engage in a debate, you must:

1. Present valid arguments;

2. Explain relevant and credible data;
3. Listen to the opposing side;
4. Evaluate counter-arguments;
5. Acknowledge valid arguments;
6. Identify fallacies; and
7. Make your counter-arguments.

Your speech will be evaluated by judges or adjudicators in terms of:

1. Manner: how well you deliver your speech and how well you persuade your audience;
2. Matter: how well you support your arguments; and
3. Method: how well you formulate and rebuild your rebuttals and how well you identify the
fallacies in the other side’s refutations.

SOURCE:
http://newliteracyset.eu/moodle/pluginfile.php/248/mod_resource/content/3/NLS_O4_W6_Argument
ative_Communication.pdf

Activity 1:

You are writing for your school paper and you are expected to tackle a current issue (e.g.,
preservation of the environment; gender equality; human rights). You are assigned to write an
editorial that explains your stand on this current issue. State your main claim, thesis, or argument
and support it with relevant data or evidence. Acknowledge your sources when you present your
evidence.

Expected Output

Your editorial page should include an appropriate and catchy title. It must contain 750
words. Use formal, academic register in explaining your arguments. The editorial must be
presented in an effective layout. Pictures or illustrations may accompany your editorial page.