RHETORCA- THE DEBATING SOCIETY

A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT

 READ- THINK- COLLECT-ORGANIZE- PRESENT

 Motion- the topic
 Proposition- For the topic Opposition- Against the topic
 Interjection- Question
 Rebuttal- counter-argument

the meaning of certain words has also been given in brackets in this document
for your understanding

 ARE-
 A: Assertion (or claim) is the argument you're going to make.
 R: Reasoning (or warrant) is the 'because' statement. It explains why your
assertion is true.
 E: Evidence is the example, statistic, etc. that proves your argument.

 ASSERTION
State your stance/position. Make sure it is clear for everyone else that u are for/
against the motion
Once that is done, start stating various points about your stance. This means that
once you have stated your stance, mention more specific things about it.
A good assertion is Interesting and Controversial (debatable or can be argued
against):
The city power company should not cut down the two-hundred-year-old trees in ABC
Park because…
They should introduce other options instead of cutting down the trees because...
It will provide relevant information about your side of the argument and allow you to
continue the argument and give your reasons.

 REASONING
Give reasons to justify and explain why your Assertion is correct and true.
Eliminate controversy- leave no scope for doubts that could make your point seem
not true.
Present in a way that Both sides are not viewed as Equal.
I.e. Your Position > other side’s Position
and your Assertion = TRUE
Incorporate Evidence to make your assertion and reasoning stronger.

 EVIDENCE
Back it up with convincing evidence, examples, facts, analogies, statistics (numbers
and data), etc.
*if using facts or statistics, make sure to give your interpretation or analysis of it i.e.
State the conclusion that you’ve made from this fact/statistic.
(Basically, draw a favourable conclusion from the substance)

 If there are strong points supporting the side you are against, state their
point briefly (in short) and explain its FLAWS/WEAKNESS then try to
introduce a related point that supports your argument further.
“one could argue that… but it has a major flaw/weakness…”