INTRODUCTION

TO
PERSUASION
&
ARGUMENTATION
Persuasion & Argumentation
Fact – What are Facts?

• Verified or disproved by records, tests, historical or

scientific documents, or personal experience
• Offers neither judgement nor evaluation
• Presents information without interpreting it

Braj Kachru was a linguist  Historical Records

This class can seat 30 people  Counting

Its sunny outside  Observation

Class is 25 feet wide

 Measurement
Opinion – What are opinions?

• Expresses a personal preference or value

judgement.
• Cannot be proved to be true or false.

Braj Kachru was the world’s best linguist.

The class is very dimly lit.
It is a lovely, sunny day.
The class is small.

Express opinions...............but support them with

factual details.
What exactly is an argument?
British English(RP) accent is better than
other World Englishes accent.
British English(RP) is better than other
World Englishes because it is easier to
comprehend by non-native speakers

Assertion = just a claim with no reasons

Argument = a claim with reasons
 What should I argue about?
Subject:

- it can be disputed: reasonable people

can disagree over it…….
….. should be controversial
What cannot be argued.....
• Facts are indisputable & cannot be argued.

For eg.: the distance of Saturn from the Earth.

However, the significance of the facts, or their effects,

is generally arguable.

• Impossibilities are not arguable.

For eg.: that men should be responsible for bearing

children is not an arguable position.
• Preferences are very similar to opinions but are neither
formed nor changed by logic.

For eg.: English is better than French

or
Liking a certain vacation spot

• Beliefs which lie beyond rational or empirical truth, such

as religion, can't be argued.

• Concepts that Will Not be disputed because few if any

disagree over it them e.g.
The virtues of a secure home
Explain why each subject below is or is not appropriate
for argument.

– 1. Promotion of standard English in schools

– 2. Language standardization
– 3. Censoring the Web sites of hate groups
– 4. History of Britain’s spread of English
– 5. Technology’s effect on World Englishes
– 6. Billboards in urban residential areas or in
rural areas
– 7. Usage of AI in writing courses
– 8. If English is better than French
– 9. Ten steps in recycling wastepaper
– 10. Biography of Braj Kachru
 Persuasion & Argumentation…

An argument consists of 3 parts:

Claim
Support (reasons)
Warrant
(assumptions)
 CLAIM
- statement that requires support
(what are you trying to prove?)

- refine your opinion into a central claim & assert

it outright

- the claim then has to be refined into a thesis

statement
A successful claim:

- can be tested through objective evidence,

not just opinion

- is capable of being argued; there clearly is

another side
Claims of Fact:
assert that a condition has existed, exists, or will continue to exist and is
based on facts or data that the audience will accept as being objectively
verifiable.
(secondary claim not the thesis)
A significant historical event that contributed to the genesis of World
Englishes was the colonization and subsequent spread of the English
language by British imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Some can be proved easily:

Different World Englishes have different rules for grammar and syntax.

Other that contain opinions about the future are more difficult to prove:
Mandarin will become the next lingua franca in the next 30 years.

Some complex factual claims about scientific & political matters are difficult to
prove as proof is difficult to obtain:
The nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union exceeds that of the United
States.
Claims of Value:
attempt to prove that some things are desirable than
others. They express approval or disapproval of standards
of taste & morality.
They emerge whenever people argue about what is good
or bad and they lead to a position arguments.
Thinking less of people who are not proficient English
speakers is unethical.
Claims of Policy:
assert that specific policies should be instituted as
solutions to problems. The expressions should, must,
ought etc. usually employed in the statements.
They lead to proposal arguments
English should not be standardized because it’s displacing
native and indigenous languages.

Our first step must be to immediately establish & drastic

educational policies designed to bridge the gap between
different school systems.
For each example below, decide the kind of claim you are reading.
• English language teachers ought to be trained to recognize and
appreciate the linguistic diversity of World Englishes
• Cultural exchanges to non-English speaking countries are valuable.
• Most students in this class come from towns within 50 miles of the
college.
• Speakers need to recognize the value and richness of non-standard
varieties of English
• English language learners should be exposed to a variety of World
Englishes, as this can help them develop a better understanding of the
global nature of the language.
• The State of Illinois building in Chicago is an aesthetic failure.
• The study of World Englishes provides insight into the complex ways in
which language and culture are intertwined.
• The acceptance and celebration of World Englishes can promote a more
open-minded and accepting attitude towards linguistic and cultural
differences.
 SUPPORT
Demonstrates the validity of your claims
Consists of evidence + motivational appeal
(reasons that move an audience to accept a belief or
adopt a course of action)

Support must be reliable to be convincing:

• Is it accurate?
• Is it up to date?
• Is it relevant?
• Is it adequate?
• Is the source of the opinion qualified to give an opinion
on the subject?
 WARRANT
Claim: the college needs new linguistics textbooks
Evidence: the testimony of linguistic professors
Assumption: linguistics professors are the most capable of
evaluating the present textbook’s quality.

- inference/assumption/belief/principle that is taken for granted.

- allows the reader to make the connection between the support & the
claim.

Warrants tie evidence to claims: the assumption explains why a

particular piece of evidence is relevant to a particular claim.
 An argument works ONLY if we accept the assumptions

Claim: British English(RP) accent is better than other World

Englishes because it is easier to comprehend by non-native
speakers
Support: the authors of British English, A to Zed say so.
Warrant: the authors of British English, A to Zed are reliable
sources of information on British English

If the reader fails to accept the warrant;

the evidence can’t support the
claim…
….the argument collapses…..
 Task
• Watch the video and identify the claims
she is making.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg8jS-A
MyMo

• Discussion Prompt: What kind of claims

are being made in this video?