I’m working on a english discussion question and need support to help me learn.
Review pages 27-30 in Chapter 2 and discuss which features of argument-writing you believe are most effective and why. Have you seen such elements or strategies in pieces you’ve read and/or are such strategies used frequently by authors you appreciate? Or have you found, through firsthand experience and using them yourself, that certain strategies/elements listed in these pages are more effective than others?
Samples of my classmates answers. Seeing as I do not read much, however, I have used the mark transitions style of argument. Like using the word ‘that’ at the beginning of the next sentence to talk about the previous sentence. Although all the English teachers I’ve ever had repeatedly marked our grade down for it. Besides that, I grew up writing essays for school with plenty of transition words. I still use them in text messages or emails. My favorite ones are unfortunately, nevertheless, and however. However, I did notice that the new reporters use them to make informational or suggestive discussions. (See what I did there?) To be honest, I do believe that repetition works great in an argument. If a person hears the same thing multiple times they will start believing that it’s true. Although, you should not have the same sentence in the article five times. Besides that, I know that having a few unnecessary large sentences in a row will confuse the audience. Just as it would confuse me. Therefore, varying the length of the sentences in each paragraph will help the reader understand your point of view. I know that I am not the best at writing essays, but I do my best to understand the English language. That is why I am not a big reader or writer. Even though it may seem that I do it often; based on how long my response is. My punctuation is something that I continuously work on. I would like to note something that I have found very useful that is not written. It would be to examine the opposite point of view and list the arguments against that. I am not sure how we are graded in our essays yet but the first grade will tell.
The strategies for developing a style of argument mentioned in Chapter 2 can be very effective when they are used correctly. I personally believe that some would be better used when writing a paper, while others would be more effective when preparing a speech. Some of these styles I have never even seen heard of, while I find myself using others unwittingly. I personally use transitions quite often, it is much smoother if you are using these transitions rather than stating who or what you are talking about in every sentence. but you should be careful when using these because if you mention two nouns using “that” or “it” could be easily mistaken with either one. I believe that creating coherence by repeating similar words is also a effective strategy in both speeches and writing. When you repeat significant words throughout your essay or speech you are stressing the importance of them. By doing so whatever you are trying to convey will be planted inside the audience’s head, they will tend to think twice about this. Using patterns of sounds and balancing parts of a sentence is best used when making a speech. These two would go hand in hand together and would be music to the audience’s ears, just because of how well they will sound flowing out of your mouth. The audience will tend to remember certain sentences and phrases that are used in this context. Varying the lengths of sentences can be very tricky. Unless you are careful your sentences will turn into run-ons, they will be messy and all over the place. I try to avoid using these personally because I have a tendency to form an excessive amount of run on sentences. I have trouble knowing when to break up a sentence and when to use commas and periods sometimes. However, when done right they can be very helpful. Varying lengths of sentences and repetition can also be very harmful because it can be very easy for your audience to lose interest, you should always keep your reader/audience engaged throughout and this can be very hard to do if you use these styles. Using figurative language is the BEST AND MOST effective style of argument, simply because it paints a picture. You are describing something by comparing it to something well known, and by doing this your audience can make a connection right away. Think about it, so many songs use analogies, metaphors, and similes because this is the artist’s creative way to paint a picture in your head. We always have song lyrics stuck in our head, this is a great way for your audience to relate to and remember what message you are trying to convey.
Honestly I had no idea that there are features of argument writing. but after going through the assigned reading I came to the understanding that there are some features which are more important than others. Mark transition is one of the most important feature in argument writing. I feel like addressing to sentences and defining them or clarifying them helps the reader understand the writing more easily. It develops a more considerate approach towards the reader. Secondly, varying the length of sentences is a key-feature in writing. Too much of lengthy sentences makes a reader loose interest or they have a hard time understanding or interpreting what the writer wants to say. and similarly too much of short sentences hardens the ability to focus for a reader. varying lengths of the sentences helps keep the reader involved in the reading with full interest. I have came across some really lengthy sentences in a reading and it got really difficult to grasp what the writer wanted to say.
The feature of argument-writing I believe to be most effective is creating coherence by repeating words and using similar words. Basic repetition. I feel this is the most effective tool because from infancy, to childhood to learning a second language, it’s how we learn; by repetition. Also, what we hear over and over we begin to believe as truth. This is how it is effective as an argument tool. One great example is from the television show, “House of Cards” when they coin the phrase “trickle down diplomacy”. The phrase is strategically used by 2 public figures and then takes off when the media begin to use it in headlines and news segments. The “trickle down diplomacy” phrase also creates coherence by using patterns of sounds to give the sentence force. This is another strategy for effective argument writing. It just flows. Though it doesn’t rhyme, it’s easy to say and has a rhythm to it allowing the listener to, even if they don’t remember the exact words, they can remember the pattern of linguistics used. Therefore, making it effective as it is likable, and paired with the repetition, it will quickly become believable.
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