Everything's an Argument

Everything’s an Argument, written by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, was first published as a textbook in 2007. The text examines rhetoric from both the reader and the speaker’s perspectives. It discusses how to develop arguments and how to conduct rhetorical analysis of arguments. Intended for college rhetoric courses, this textbook is also used in advanced high school English classes. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz have separately written several other texts on language, rhetoric, and writing. Both are authors and educators; Lunsford is also the chair of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Division on Writing, while Ruszkiewicz has an additional specialization in philosophy.

This guide refers to the seventh edition, published in 2016.

Summary

The book begins with an introduction to rhetorical analysis that breaks down what an argument is, how arguments function and appeal to reason, and how readers can assess and evaluate arguments for effectiveness and credibility. Arguments, which take many forms, seek to convince an audience of their truth and/or persuade the audience to take a particular action. To accomplish this, arguments often capitalize on the three appeals to reason articulated by Aristotle: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos appeals to credibility and trustworthiness. Pathos appeals to emotion, and logos appeals to logic and reason. When reasoning is flawed, it’s called a fallacy. Logical fallacies can delegitimize an argument. Rhetorical analysis, meanwhile, is an examination of how an argument moves its audience. Even rhetorical analysis becomes an argument of its own, requiring support for its claims. Those conducting rhetorical analysis should consider the argument’s purpose, audience, appeals, arrangement, media, and style.

The text then transitions to discuss how to write an argument. In doing so, the authors present several different types of arguments, including all their component parts. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz especially focus on the Toulmin model, which includes a claim, qualifiers, support, warrants, and backing. The authors emphasize the need to consider alternative perspectives in addition to adding qualifiers, or limitations, to build a reasonable and ethical argument.

The authors present five types of arguments: arguments of fact, arguments of definition, evaluations, causal arguments, and proposals. Arguments of fact establish whether something is true, usually stemming from a question of curiosity. Arguments of definition determine what something is or is not in response to a need arising from an everyday occurrence. Evaluations consider positives and negatives about a thing, while a causal argument determines causes and effects. Proposals seek change, prioritizing audience action. Each of these arguments require claims, reasons, warrants, and evidence. In developing arguments, speakers incorporate various stylistic elements such as diction, syntax, figurative language, and punctuation to manipulate the audience’s attention and dramatize ideas.

After detailing how to structure and develop arguments, Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz shift to discuss presentation and style. Visual rhetoric refers to elements viewed by the audience, including images, fonts, and formatting. Visual rhetoric evokes emotional responses, builds credibility through attention to detail in presentation, and supports logos by making information more easily understandable. Effective oral arguments also consider elements like rehearsing and the purposeful use of language and visuals. Multimedia arguments play a prominent role in society as their prevalence grows with the popularity of the internet and social media. These arguments can be examined based on their creators, distributors, mediums, audiences, content, purpose, and design.

The text’s final part covers research and documentation, paying particular focus to the kind of academic arguments typically written by college students. Academic arguments are formal, based on scholarly research, and follow a formatting and style guide. Research is crucial, as relevant and appropriate evidence strengthens a writer’s claims, but it must be thoroughly evaluated before use. When incorporating source material into an argument, proper citations ensure academic integrity and contribute to the writer’s credibility.