Advocacy and Opposition: An Introduction to Argumentation, 7th edition

Advocacy and Opposition: An Introduction to Argumentation presents a comprehensive and practical approach to argumentation and critical thinking for the beginning student learning to construct and present arguments on questions of fact, value, and policy.

Advocacy and Opposition offers a theoretical insight into the nature of argument in our society, a discussion of arguing as a form of communication, and a focus on how arguments are created using the Toulmin model of argument. By blending traditional and contemporary views of the nature of argument, (including multicultural perspectives on the purpose and process of argument, ethics, and values), Advocacy and Opposition makes students more aware of the development of theory and practice.

NEW! Pearson's Reading Hour Program for Instructors
Interested in reviewing new and updated texts in Communication?Click on the below link to choose an electronic chapter to preview…
Settle back, read, and receive a Penguin paperback for your time!http://www.pearsonhighered.com/readinghour/comm

• Presents separate discussions of the techniques and strategies of arguing fact, value, and policy to equip students with the critical thinking tools they need to succeed in college-level work.
• Provides a comprehensive discussion of the process of analyzing propositions of fact, value, and policy, illustrating the relationship between these types of propositions in a way that is easily understandable to students.
• Guides students through the process of analysis using a topic that demonstrates how fact, value, and policy are found in a topic and provides a model useful for doing an analysis assignment.
• Includes an in-depth discussion of the different types of reasoning, enabling students to critically examine how reasoning works in their own use of argument as well as the arguments they read and hear.
• Employs the Toulmin model of argument to explain how a unit of argument is constructed through evidence and reasoning to help students construct their own arguments and think critically about the arguments of others.
• Incorporates graphic depictions of the relationship between the parts of a unit of argument (grounds, warrant, claims, etc.) using a real-life situation of people constructing arguments that makes the material more accessible for students.
• Examines differences in values that exist within and among cultures as both a locus of potential value conflict and an impetus for possible value change, information that is beneficial to today’s students.
• Incorporates real-life examples drawn from issues that reflect concerns inside and outside the classroom to show students the relevance of concepts to their own lives and needs.
• Demonstrates how the latest web-based sources of information supplement traditional library resources and allow for the creation of powerful research strategies, including the strengths and weaknesses for print versus electronic sources of information and the values unique to each.
• Offers complete models for developing fact, value, and policy briefs to help students prepare assignments.
• Includes an Appendix reflecting current practice in academic debate which provides guidance for class debate assignments.

• Discussion of the process of analyzing topics has been completely reworked, using a single topic with distinct factual, value, and policy elements that make the process of analysis more transparent to students (Ch. 4).
• Research techniques emphasize the latest developments in web-based sources that supplement library sources, drawing examples from online resources to help students learn how to develop research strategies and get the most from online and traditional sources of evidence (Ch. 6).
• Arguing factual propositions has been completely reworked to provide an extended discussion of using the Toulmin model as the advocate and opponent build a factual case; the factual proposition used to illustrate the process reflects the common use of argumentation from fact in the classroom context (Ch. 9).
• Examination of values has been updated to include contemporary research and commentary on core American values, the conclusions from the World Values Survey are used to show how values differ from country to country, and a discussion of generational, cultural, and other differences in American society impact values has been added (Ch. 10).
• Argument in Action examples are new, providing complete models of argumentative briefs rather than transcripts of congressional testimony, offering students clear models for doing their own assignments (Ch. 9, 10, 11).
• Development of briefs for fact and value includes an extended discussion of the strategies of advocacy and opposition and how each individual unit of argument is created (Ch. 9, 10).
• Brief preparation is given a prominent role in the process of preparing to argue, rather than being relegated to an appendix, to make it easier to teach how to argue fact, value, and policy, and to accommodate today’s students who have been taught on the basis of a model for each assignment (Ch. 9, 10, 11).
• Ideas for incorporating social media are provided in new learning activities and the model for value argumentation is taken from a controversy over the use of social media (Ch. 4, 9, 10, 11).