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This brief version of The Aims of Argument, Third Edition, contains all the material in Part I of the longer version as well as the two appendixes. Only the readings in Part II are excluded, giving each instructor the flexibility to choose whatever readings he or she wants. For key features of the text and a detailed table of contents, please see the preceding entry.

Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing takes a practical approach to composing, with a view that good writing occurs in the context of critical thinking. By using a consistent methodology that prompts students to learn and practice “the art of questioning,” Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing presents writing as one essential part of the critical thinking whole, ultimately empowering students to become skilled thinkers and confident writers.

The Aims of Argument, a comprehensive text for teaching argument, recognizes that people argue with a range of purposes in mind: to inquire, to convince, to persuade, and to negotiate. It offers a clear, logical learning sequence rather than merely a collection of assignments: inquiry is the search for truth, what we call an earned opinion, which then becomes the basis of efforts to convince others to accept our earned opinions. Case-making, the essence of convincing, is then carried over into learning how to persuade, which, requires explicit attention to appeals to character, emotion, and style. Finally, the previous three aims all play roles in negotiation, which amounts to finding and defending positions capable of appealing to all sides in a dispute or controversy.

The Aims of Argument, a comprehensive text for teaching argument, recognizes that people argue with a range of purposes in mind: to inquire, to convince, to persuade, and to negotiate. It offers a clear, logical learning sequence rather than merely a collection of assignments: inquiry is the search for truth, what we call an earned opinion, which then becomes the basis of efforts to convince others to accept our earned opinions. Case-making, the essence of convincing, is then carried over into learning how to persuade, which, requires explicit attention to appeals to character, emotion, and style. Finally, the previous three aims all play roles in negotiation, which amounts to finding and defending positions capable of appealing to all sides in a dispute or controversy.

The Aims of Argument is a process-oriented introduction to argumentation with unique coverage of the aims, or purposes, of argument: to inquire, to convince, to persuade, and to mediate. In contrast to other approaches, the focus on aims provides rhetorical context that helps students write, as well as read, arguments.The MLA Update version reflects the most current format of the Modern Language Association documentation style.

Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing takes a practical approach to composing, with a view that good writing occurs in the context of critical thinking. By using a consistent methodology that prompts students to learn and practice “the art of questioning,” Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing presents writing as one essential part of the critical thinking whole, ultimately empowering students to become skilled thinkers and confident writers.

Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing takes a practical approach to composing, with a view that good writing occurs in the context of critical thinking. By using a consistent methodology that prompts students to learn and practice “the art of questioning,” Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing presents writing as one essential part of the critical thinking whole, ultimately empowering students to become skilled thinkers and confident writers.