Argument in Composition. John Ramage

Argument in Composition

Reference Guides to Rhetoric and Composition

Series Editor, Charles Bazerman

The Series provides compact, comprehensive and convenient surveys of what has been learned through research and practice as composition has emerged as an academic discipline over the last half century. Each volume is devoted to a single topic that has been of interest in rhetoric and composition in recent years, to synthesize and make available the sum and parts of what has been learned on that topic. These reference guides are designed to help deepen classroom practice by making available the collective wisdom of the field and will provide the basis for new research. The Series is intended to be of use to teachers at all levels of education, researchers and scholars of writing, graduate students learning about the field, and all who have interest in or responsibility for writing programs and the teaching of writing.

Parlor Press and The WAC Clearinghouse are collaborating so that these books will be widely available through low-cost print editions and free digital distribution. The publishers and the Series editor are teachers and researchers of writing, committed to the principle that knowledge should freely circulate. We see the opportunities that new technologies have for further democratizing knowledge. And we see that to share the power of writing is to share the means for all to articulate their needs, interest, and learning into the great experiment of literacy.

Existing Books in the Series

Invention in Rhetoric and Composition (2004, Lauer)

Reference Guide to Writing across the Curriculum (2005, Bazerman, Little, Bethel, Chavkin, Fouquette, and Garufis)

Revision: History, Theory, and Practice (2006, Horning and Becker)

Writing Program Administration (2007, McLeod)

Community Literacy and the Rhetoric of Local Publics (2008, Long)

Argument in Composition (2009, Ramage, Callaway, Clary-Lemon, and Waggoner)

Argument in Composition

John Ramage, Micheal Callaway,

Jennifer Clary-Lemon, and Zachary Waggoner

Parlor Press

West Lafayette, Indiana

www.parlorpress.com

The WAC Clearinghouse

http://wac.colostate.edu/

Parlor Press LLC, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906

Printed in the United States of America

S A N: 2 5 4 - 8 8 7 9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Argument in composition / John Ramage ... [et al.].

p. cm. -- (Reference guides to rhetoric and composition)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60235-109-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60235-110-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60235-111-0 (adobe ebook)

1. English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching (Higher) 2. Persuasion (Rhetoric)--Study and teaching (Higher) 3. Report writing--Study and teaching (Higher) I. Ramage, John D.

PE1431.A77 2009

808’.0420711--dc22

2009032671

Series logo designed by Karl Stolley. Copyediting by Ethan Sproat.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Parlor Press, LLC is an independent publisher of scholarly and trade titles in print and multimedia formats. This book is available in paperback, cloth, and Adobe eBook formats from Parlor Press on the World Wide Web at http://www.parlorpress.com. For submission information or to find out about Parlor Press publications, write to Parlor Press, 816 Robinson St., West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906, or e-mail [email protected].

The WAC Clearinghouse supports teachers of writing across the disciplines. Hosted by Colorado State University’s Composition Program, it brings together four journals, three book series, and resources for teachers who use writing in their courses. This book will also be available free on the Internet at The WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.colostate.edu/).

Contents

Series Editor’s Preface

Preface

1 Introduction: Why Argument Matters

Coming to an Understanding of Argument

John Leo, “Cultural Relativism Leaves Some Blind to Evil” (2001, Universal Press Syndicate), 10/15/01

Stanley Fish, “Condemnation without Absolutes”

Discussion of Leo and Fish Part I: Some Theoretical Background

Discussion of Leo and Fish Part II: Getting from Duality to Commitment

Leo and Fish Part III: The Elements of Argument

Argument and “the purification of war”

Why students Need Argument