Brief Rhetorical Analysis

 Description:

700 words

This week is where our theory meets practice! We’ve spent three weeks honing our understanding of the shifting rhetorical situation, how to appeal to different audiences using different rhetorical appeals, and we’ve practiced identifying the six core arguments. This week, we are going to take a leap into generative rhetoric and practice actually evaluating other author’s texts and creating our own analyses. 

As you move through the assigned readings and author texts, I want you to consider what ways we can broaden our definition of argument as established but our ancient rheotors. 

Module Objectives:

1. Construct a Rhetorical Analysis of another author’s argument, identifying modes, appeals, and claim types 
2. Choose a topic of inquiry for the remainder of the course 
3. Select two argument types most suitable for your selected topic, begin drafting hybrid argument.

Chapter Readings
Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing 2e, Issue 3: “Strategic Reading” p. 71-118

Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings 11e

• Chapter 7 “Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically” p 103-126. 
• Chapter 8 “Argument as Inquiry: Reading, Summarizing, and Speaking Back” p. P.127-154
• Chapter 9: Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments p. 155-188

 

Rhetorical Analysis Options:

Harris, Adam.

“America Wakes Up From Its Dream of Free College.” (Links to an external site.)

The Atlantic. 8 Sept. 2018.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/where-did-americas-dream-of-free-college-go/569770/

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/where-did-americas-dream-of-free-college-go/569770/

Ripley, Amanda.

“Why is College in America So Expensive?” (Links to an external site.)

The Atlantic. 11 Sept. 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/why-is-college-so-expensive-in-america/569884/

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/why-is-college-so-expensive-in-america/569884/
Chua, Amy and Jed Rubenfeld.

“The Constitution is Threatened by Tribalism.” (Links to an external site.)

Oct. 2018.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/the-threat-of-tribalism/568342/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/the-threat-of-tribalism/568342/
 

Instructions:

Follow the prompts in the following documents:

• Brief Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Sheet and Rubric 
• Ethos, Pathos, Logos Resource 

Effectivearguments depend on . . .

Ethos – Establishing Credibility Logos – Using Logic Pathos – Connecting Emotionally

Your use of ethos conveys to your audience that

you are:

informed, intelligent, benevolent, honest

through the use of

Ethical Appeals (Appropriate/Fair Ethical

Behavior)

o Demonstrate knowledge of your subject
▪ Claim authority (credentials,

qualifications, past or present

experiences)
▪ Use evidence to support claims

o Demonstrate fairness to your audience
▪ Use language accurately and

respectfully
▪ Acknowledge the opposing point(s) of

view (anticipate possible objections)
▪ Concede any personal weaknesses /

admit limitations

o Establish common ground with your
audience
▪ Acknowledge shared viewpoints
▪ Connect your argument to well-

established or widely respected core

values / principles

Your use of logos allows your audience to see

your argument logically (facts and reason) –

Claim + Supporting Evidence

through the use of

Logical Appeals (Appropriate/Fair Logical

Behavior)

o Hard Evidence
▪ Facts
▪ Statistics
▪ Surveys and Polls
▪ Testimonies, Narratives, Interviews

o Logical Structure
▪ Analogies (Comparison / Contrast)
▪ Precedent

o Strong Evidence & Sound Reasoning
▪ Inductive Reasoning: Drawing a

probable conclusion on the basis of a

number of specific examples

▪ Deductive Reasoning: Assuming a
general, widely held principle (called a

premise) and then applying that

principle to a specific case

Your use of pathos allows the audience to

emotionally (anger, compassion, patriotism, etc.)

identify with the subject/argument

through the use of

Emotional Appeals (Appropriate/Fair

Evocations of Emotion)

o Language
▪ Vivid and concrete descriptive and

evocative language
▪ Figurative language

o Anecdotes
▪ Personal experience
▪ Experiences of others
▪ Narrative / story-telling

o Imagery
▪ A picture is worth . . .

Kairos – Showing Timeliness

o The writer demonstrates the temporal
significance and relevance of the

argument and shows that this is the right

moment to make and support his or her

claim.

Week 4: Crafting Arguments Across Rhetorical Context

Brief Rhetorical Analysis: Evaluating Multimodal Arguments
Assignment Sheet and Grading Rubric

Instructions: Choose one visual argument. It can be a meme, an advertisement, a cartoon or comic panel,
or a visual Public Service Announcement (PSA). Spend a few minutes close reading the text, paying attention
to all visual and textual elements such as colors, diction, font and writing choices, composition, etc.

Take notes and think deeply about what the text is trying to do. What is the text’s claim, and what are the
underlying assumptions? Who is the audience? How well does the message suit that audience? Craft a thesis
statement that makes a claim about the text’s argument, making sure to focus on how the text is making its
argument, rather than solely on what the argument is. Next, elaborate on that thesis by writing an analysis of
the text, taking care to evaluate the text’s effectiveness. Include the original visual text in your document.

Requirements:

• 500 words, single spaced
• MLA formatting (header and proper heading information)
• Insert the image you are analyzing and a link to find this image. I do not require any particular formatting

requirements other than I need to be able to see the image clearly and I want the working link to retrieve it
online

• Mention the source you retrieved it from, if the author is known or unknown. This doesn’t have to be a
formal MLA attribution, something as simple as the following examples:

1) This is the cover from Times Magazine’s August 18, 2017 issue, the cover artist is unknown…

2) This is Graffiti Artwork from the English Street Artist, Banksy…

3) This is a comic strip that appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on July 31, 2018….

Resources to use when doing this Brief Rhetorical Analysis: Using Chapter 9, Making Visual Arguments and
Multi-Modal Arguments (155-188), describe how the visual text you are analyzing is making its argument. I
encourage you to draw upon the rhetorical appeals we’ve covered from weeks 1 and 2.

Step #1: Choose a Visual Argument you want to Analyze using my resources to guide your choice, options
below:

• Popular and/or Problematic Advertisements
(Social Issue Ads)

• Movie/TV Show Poster, Comic Book, Book
covers (what is the implication surrounding
gender/sex/performance do you notice? What
visual elements enforce this?)

• Critical Memes, Circulated Photoshopped ads,
Joke Advertisements aimed at character
defamation or Satire (often targeting political
figures or popular figures)

• Food Advertisements (i.e. sexists, funny,
problematic, etc)

• Activist Artwork i.e. Fairey or Banksy

• PSAs (i.e. don’t drink and drive, don’t drive
distracted, stop animal abuse, stop testing drugs
on animals, anti-bullying campaigns, etc.)

• Bumper Stickers

• Comic Strips from political or news outlets (i.e.
The New Yorker or The Week)

• Magazine Covers (i.e. TIME Magazine)

• Social Critiques on Popular Issues (i.e. Guns
and Mental Health, Drug Use, Technology and
Choice)

• You may choose another option with Instructor
approval

https://www.boredpanda.com/powerful-social-advertisements/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic

Fairey, Shepard

https://www.banksy.co.uk/

https://www.newyorker.com/humor

https://theweek.com/search/cartoon

https://time.com/vault/year/2018/

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-Guns+And+Mental+Health-Comics-and-Cartoons.php/1

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-Guns+And+Mental+Health-Comics-and-Cartoons.php/1

https://desdaughter.com/2016/02/24/kids-say-no-to-drugs/

http://techcomic.blogspot.com/2012/06/apple-vs-microsoft.html

http://techcomic.blogspot.com/2012/06/apple-vs-microsoft.html

Step #2: Read the text closely and determine what the main claim or argument is. Consider the following
Questions: What is the text’s claim, and what are the underlying assumptions? Who is the audience? How well
does the message suit that audience?

Step #3: Craft a thesis statement that makes a claim about the text’s argument, making sure to focus
on how the text is making its argument, rather than solely on what the argument is.

Step #4: Elaborate on that thesis, taking care to evaluate the text’s effectiveness. Include the original visual
text in your document and a sentence that describes where you retrieved this image from or who the author is.

Criteria
Below

Expectation
(0-9)

Meeting
Expectations

(10-18)

Outstanding
(19-25)

Total
Points

Image

Is the visual text you are analyzing included in the word document you turned
in? Is it an appropriate size? Is it clear to see?

__/ 5

Source
Information

Did you provide a link to the original visual text? Did you explicitly say where
this text came from in your rhetorical argument? Did you appropriately
attribute a source or author (if known)?

__/ 3

Nuts and
Bolts

Times New Roman 12-point font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, MLA
heading, header (last name and page numbers in upper right corner, 500word
minimum)?

__/ 5

Title

Did you come up with an original title that is informative and descriptive,
specific to your visual analysis? EX: “Composition II Analysis Assignment” or
“Brief Rhetorical Analysis” or “Visual Argument” are not original titles.

__/ 2

Thesis

Statement

Did you identify the main argument of the visual text? Did you write a thesis
statement detailing the main claim/argument or the visual text?

__/ 5

Quality of
Analysis

Does it seem like you ‘read’ your text critically and carefully? If applicable, did
you comment upon font choices, color choices, or other textual elements
including diction, or composition? Did you mention what kind of rhetorical
appeal might be relevant to this visual argument (logos, pathos, ethos,
kairos)?

__/5

See Student Example on next page.

Jane Doe

Instructor: Jedi Master Mace Windu

ENGL 201

18 September 2020

Taking More Than a Knee

This visual text comes from the September 2018 Nike Advertisement from the “Are You Crazy Enough?” Nike

campaign. This advertisement depicts public figure, Colin Kaepernick’s face, and the composition banner

simply reads, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” At a glance, an audience might

simply recognize the iconic “Nike Swoosh” accompanied with the athletic supplier’s long-time company logo,

“Just do it,” leading someone to think this is just another fitness advertisement. With a closer visual analysis and

keeping in mind the rhetorical appeals of pathos and kairos, a careful audience will notice much more.The ad

depicts a clear and closeup headshot of former professional football player, Colin Kaepernick’s face, his eyes

looking directly at the audience, likely to incite an honest connection between the ad’s message and viewer’s

engagement level and emotional sensibilities. The tone of this visual argument is somber and serious, reinforced

by the simple black and white color scheme. The timeliness of this advertisement comes after the 2018 NFLs

decision to require professional football players to stand during the National Anthem; Kaepernick made

political waves in 2016 when he and many other football players began to kneel during the National Anthem.

This advertisement’s layout is simple, and the script is clear and easy to read. While the ideas of sacrifice and

believing in something align with Nike’s fitness mantra, this ad likely signals to another meaning. Kaepernick’s

choice to kneel during the National Anthem was faced with severe criticism and this ongoing debate highlights

the larger issue of racial inequality in the American justice system, once again reinforcing why the authors of

this advertisement chose a dichotomous black and white color scheme.

Source: https://justdoit.nike.com/

104

Chapter 7

•

•

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

7.1 Explain what it means to think rhetorically about texts.

7.2 Reconstruct a source text’s rhetorical context by analyzing the
text’s author, purpose, motivating occasion, audience, genre,
and angle of vision.

7.3 Ask questions that promote rhetorical thinking.

7.4 Conduct a rhetorical analysis of a source text.

In Part One of this textbook, we explained the principles of argument identifying
an issue, making a claim, supporting the claim with reasons and evidence (and
perhaps supporting the underlying warrants also), summarizing and responding
to opposing views, and paying attention to the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos,
and pathos.

In Part Two we shift attention to the critical thinking skills you will need when,
as a researcher and a reader of arguments, you begin exploring a new issue. By
emphasizing exploration and inquiry, Part Two focuses on the truth-seeking aim
of argument as the entry point into a new issue.

To engage thoughtfully in inquiry, you need to analyze arguments
rhetorically that is, to examine an argument closely to understand the author’s
purpose and intended audience, to evaluate the author’s choices, and to deter-
mine what makes the argument effective or ineffective for its targeted audience.
A rhetorical analysis identifies the text under scrutiny, summarizes its main ideas,
presents some key points about the text’s rhetorical strategies for persuading its
audience, and elaborates on these points.

Becoming skilled at analyzing arguments rhetorically will have multiple pay-
offs for you. This skill helps you become an inquisitive, truth-seeking reader. It
also plays a major role in helping you construct your own arguments. Particularly,
analyzing sources rhetorically helps you determine the reliability of the evidence

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 105

you might draw from other sources while also helping you summarize and
respond to opposing views. In this chapter, we explain what it means to think
“rhetorically” about other people’s arguments (and your own). Chapter 8 then
teaches you to apply rhetorical thinking to an actual issue; there, you will draw
on your own critical skills to summarize other stakeholders’ arguments, analyze
their strengths and weaknesses, and begin formulating your own stance.

Thinking etorically about a Text
7.1 Explain what it means to think rhetorically about texts.

To become an effective reader of arguments and to construct effective arguments
yourself, you need to think of all arguments as voices in ongoing conversations
about issues. Invested stakeholders construct arguments in order to move their
audiences to see the issues their way. To understand these arguments fully, you
need to think about them

rhetorically.

Let’s look more closely at what we mean by “thinking rhetorically.” At the
broadest level, rhetoric is the study of how human beings use language and other
symbols to influence the attitudes, beliefs, and actions of others. In a narrower
sense, rhetoric is the art of making messages persuasive. Perhaps the most famous
definition comes from Aristotle, who defined rhetoric as “the ability to see, in any
particular case, all the available means of persuasion.”

Thinking rhetorically means determining what “available means of persua-
sion” a writer is using in a particular argument. You can do this by getting inside
an argument, listening carefully to what the writer is arguing, and determining
how this argument has been constructed to reach its audience. To think rhetori-
cally, you should imagine stakeholders as real persons who were motivated to
write by some occasion and to achieve some real purpose.

Reconstructing a Text’s Rhetorical
Context
7.2 Reconstruct a source text’s rhetorical context by analyzing the text’s

author, purpose, motivating occasion, audience, genre, and angle of vision.

To enter an argumentative conversation, you need to think rhetorically about each
stakeholder’s argument. A first step in doing so is to reconstruct the text’s rhe-
torical context by asking questions about the author and then about the author’s
purpose, motivating occasion, audience, genre, and angle of vision. Let’s look at
each of these in turn.

Author, Motivating Occasion, and Purpose
The first three questions you should ask about a source text are these:

• Who is the author?

• What motivates the author to write?

• What is the author’s purpose?

1 06 Chapter 7

Imagine answering these questions about something you are writing. If you see
yourself simply as a student acting out school roles, you might answer the ques-
tions this way: “I am a first-year college student. My motivating occasion is an
assignment from my professor. My purpose is to get a good grade.” But to see
yourself rhetorically, it is better to put yourself in a plausible real-world situation:
“I am a first-year student concerned about global warming. My motivating occa-
sion is my anger at our school’s environmental action task force for not endorsing
nuclear power. My purpose is to persuade this group that using nuclear power
is the best way to reduce our nation’s carbon footprint.” In real life, writers are
motivated to write because some occasion prompts them to do so. In most cases,
the writer’s purpose is to bring about some desirable change in the targeted audi-
ence’s actions, beliefs, or views.

If you are in a face-to-face argumentative conversation (say, on a committee),
you will know most of the stakeholders and the roles they play. But if you are
uncovering the conversation yourself through research, you may have difficulty
imagining the author of, say, a blog post or a magazine article as a real person
writing for a real purpose sparked by a real occasion. The following list identi-
fies some of the categories of real-world people who are apt to write arguments
about civic issues.

Typical Stakeholders in Argumentative Discussion of Civic Issues

• Lobbyists and advocacy groups. Lobbyists and advocacy groups commit
themselves to a cause, often with passion, and produce avidly partisan argu-
ments aimed at persuading voters, legislators, government agencies, and other
decision makers. They often maintain advocacy websites; buy advertising
space in newspapers, magazines, and online; and lobby legislators face to face.

• Legislators, political candidates, and government officials. Whenever new
laws, regulations, or government policies are proposed, staffers do research
and write arguments recommending positions on an issue. Often these argu-
ments are available on the web.

• Business professionals and labor union leaders. Business spokespeople
often address public issues in ways that support corporate or business
interests. In contrast, labor union officials support wage structures or working
conditions favorable to workers.

• Lawyers and judges. Lawyers write briefs supporting their clients’ cases or
file “friend-of-the-court” briefs aimed at influencing a judge’s decision. Also,
judges write opinions explaining their decisions on a case.

• Journalists, syndicated columnists, and media commentators. Many con-
troversial issues attract the attention of media commentators (journalists, col-
umnists, bloggers, political cartoonists) who write editorials, blogs, or op-ed
pieces on the issue or produce editorial cartoons, filtering their arguments
through the perspective of their own political views.

• Professional freelance or staff writers. Some of the most thoughtful analyses
of public issues are composed by freelance or staff writers for public forum
magazines such as Atlantic Monthly or The National Review or for online news
sites or blogs such as The Daily Kos or The Drudge Report. These can range
from in-depth background pieces to arguments with a highly persuasive aim.
(See Chapter 16, Table 16.3.)

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 107

• Think tank members. Because many of today’ s political, economic, and
social issues are very complex, policy makers and commentators often rely on
research institutions or think tanks to supply statistical studies and in-depth
investigation of problems. These think tanks range across the political
spectrum from conservative or libertarian to centrist or liberal (see Chapter 16,
Table 16.3).

• Scholars and academics. College p rofessors play a p ublic role through their
scholarly research, contributing data, studies, and analyses to public debates.
Scholarly research differs substantially from advocacy argument in that schol-
arly research is a systematic attempt to arrive at the best answers to questions
based on the full examination of relevant data. Scholarly research is usually
published in refereed academic journals rather than in popular magazines.

• Documentary filmmakers. Testifying to the growing popularity of film and
its power to involve people in issues, documentary filmmakers often embed
their point of view into their dramatic storytelling to create persuasive argu-
ments on public issues. The global film industry is adding international per-
spectives as well.

• Citizens and students. Engaged citizens in fl uence social policy through
e-mails to legislators, letters to the editor, contributions to advocacy web-
sites, guest editorials for newspapers, blogs, and speeches in public forums.
Students also write for university communities, present their work at under-
graduate research conferences, and influence public opinion by writing to
p olitical leaders and decision makers.

Audience
Effective argument depends on the writer’s rhetorical understanding of audi-
ence. A writer’s analysis of a targeted audience often includes demographic
data (income, geographic region, typical occupations), political ideology (liberal,
centrist, libertarian, conservative, populist), and what scholars call intersectional
positioning (race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity),
and other factors. The writer’s goal is to walk in his or her audience’s shoes, to
see where they are coming from, to understand their values, assumptions, and
beliefs. Although writers of arguments occasionally preach to the choir (that is,
address people who already agree with them), they usually want to reach people
who hold alternative views or are otherwise skeptical of the writer’s position.
As we saw throughout Part One, effective arguers try to base their arguments on
audience-based reasons that appeal to the targeted audience’s underlying beliefs,
values, and assumptions.

Genre
Genres, or types of writing, emerge from specific social contexts and represent
social actions. Think of these genres, for example: billboard ads, infomercials,
product reviews, and letters to the editor. The term genre refers to recurring cat-
egories of writing that follow certain conventions of style, structure, approach
to subject matter, and document design. The genre of any given argument helps
determine its length, tone, sentence complexity, level of informality or formality,
use of visuals, k inds of evidence, and the presence or absence of documentation.

1 08 Chapter 7

Consider, for example, the difference between a tweet and a letter to the edi-
tor. Both genres are short (a tweet is limited to 140 characters, a letter to about 200
words). The initial audience for a tweet are the tweeter’s followers; the size of the
audience depends on the number of followers and on the number of those who
retweet the message to their own followers. (During his presidential candidacy,
Donald Trump a master user of Twitter was able to reach millions of potential
voters in seconds.) Because a tweet is self-published with no editor or fact checker,
the reader must be especially wary. A tweet’s shortness allows no space for a com-
plete argument, only for an opinion or claim. In contrast, letters to the editor have
quite different features. The audience for a letter are those newspaper subscribers
who follow the editorial pages. Unlike tweets, letters to the editor are just long
enough to allow a mini-argument, letting writers support their claims with brief ref-
erence to reasons and evidence. Also, unlike a tweet, there is some editorial review
of a letter because editors must read many competing submissions for the limited
space and choose letters that contribute something valuable to a conversation.

The concept of genre creates strong reader expectations, placing specific
demands on writers. Genres are social practices that arise out of particular social
needs and conditions. How you write any given grant proposal, op-ed piece,
bumper sticker, or academic argument depends on the structure and style of hun-
dreds of previous grant applications, op-ed pieces, bumper stickers, or academic
articles written before yours. Table 7.1 identifies some of the important genres
of argument that you will encounter as part of an argumentative conversation.

In addition to these commonly encountered print genres, arguments are also
carried on in multimedia genres such as advocacy advertisements, advocacy
websites, political cartoons, PowerPoint speeches, and documentary films. See
Chapter 16, Table 16.1 for a rhetorical overview of sources across a range of genres.

Angle of Vision
Angle of vision, as we explained in Chapter 4, refers to the way that writers frame
an issue through their own ideological perspective. Rhetoricians often use an
optical metaphor: A writer looks at an issue through a lens that colors or filters
the subject matter in a certain way. This lens causes the writer to select certain
details while omitting others or to choose words with connotations that reflect the
writer’s view (whether to say, for example, “greedy capitalist” or “job creator”).
A writer’s angle of vision is persuasive because it controls what the reader “sees.”
Unless readers are rhetorically savvy, they can lose awareness that they are seeing
the writer’s subject matter through a lens that both reveals and conceals.

Closely connected to angle of vision is a writer’s degree of advocacy along the
continuum from “truth seeking” to “persuasion” (see Chapter 1, Figure 1.5). The
more writers are trying to persuade readers toward their view, the more the reader
has to recognize angle of vision at work. When doing research, for example, you
should be aware of the angle of vision taken by many media outlets themselves-
journals, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and websites that may be associated
with a political ideology. It is important to know, for example, whether an article
you are reading came from Mother Jones (a liberal magazine), N a tiona I Review (a
conservative magazine), or infowars.com (an alt-right site often associated with
“fake news”). For an overview of the angle of vision of many media outlets, see
Chapter 16, Figure 16.3).

Table 7.1 Frequently Encountered Genres of Argument

Newspaper editorials
and op-ed pieces

Blogs and postings
to chat rooms and
electronic bulletin
boards

Magazine articles

Articles in scholarly
journals

• Published on the editorial or op-ed
(“opposite-editorial”) pages

• Editorials promote the views of the
newspaper’s owners/editors

• Op-ed pieces, usually written by professional
columnists or guest writers, range in bias
from ultraconservative to socialist (see
Figure 17.3 in Chapter 17)

• Often written in response to political events
or social problems in the news

• Web-published commentaries, usually on
specific topics and often intended to influ-
ence public opinion

• Blogs (weblogs) are gaining influence as
alternative commentaries to the established
media

• Reflect a wide range of perspectives
• Usually written by staff writers or freelancers
• Appear in public-affairs magazines such as

National Review or The Progressive or in
niche magazines for special-interest groups
such as Rolling Stone (popular culture),
Minority Business Entrepreneur (business),
or The Advocate (gay and lesbian issues)

• Often reflect the magazine’s political point
of view

• Peer-reviewed articles published by nonprofit
academic journals subsidized by universities
or scholarly societies

• Characterized by scrupulous attention to
completeness and accuracy in treatment of
data

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 109

• Usually short (500-1 ,000 words)
• Vary from explicit thesis-driven arguments to

implicit arguments with stylistic flair
• Have a journalistic style (short paragraphs)

without detailed evidence
• Sources are usually not documented

• Often blend styles of journalism, personal
narrative, and formal argument

• Often difficult to determine identity and cre-
dentials of blogger

• Often provide hyperlinks to related sites on
the web

• Frequently include narrative elements rather
than explicit thesis-and-reasons organization

• Often provide well-researched coverage of
various perspectives on a public issue

• Usually employ a formal academic style
• Include academic documentation and

bibliographies
• May reflect the biases, methods, and strate-

gies associated with a specific school of
thought or theory within a discipline

Asking~ uestions That Promote
etorical Thinking

7.3 Ask questions that promote rhetorical thinking.

At an operational level, seeing arguments rhetorically means posing certain kinds
of questions that uncover the rhetorical context and position of each stakehold er
in the conversation. When you hear or read someone else’s argument (let’s call
this argument a “source” written by a “source author”), you n eed to ask rhetori-
cally focused questions about the source author’s argument. If you seek answers
to the list of questions shown in Table 7.2, you will be thinking rhetorically about
arguments. Although a rhetorical analysis will not include answers to all these
questions, using some of these questions in your thinking stages can give you a
thorough understanding of the argument while helping you generate insights for
your own rhetorical analysis essay.

11 0 Chapter 7

Table 7.2 Questions for

Rhetorical Analysis

The kairotic moment
and writer’s motivating

•
occas1on

Rhetorical context:
Writer’s purpose and
audience

Rhetorical context:
Writer’s identity and
angle of vision

Rhetorical context: Genre

Logos of the argument

Ethos of the argument

Pathos of the argument

Writer’s style

• What motivated the writer to produce
this piece?

• What social, cultural, political, legal, or
economic conversations does this
argument join?

• What is the writer ‘s purpose?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What assumptions, values, and beliefs

would readers have to hold to find this
argument persuasive?

• How well does the text suit its particular
audience and purpose?

• Who is the writer and what is his or her
profession , background , and expertise?

• How does the writer ‘s personal history,
education, ethnicity, age, class, sexual
orientation, gender identity, and political
leaning influence the angle of vision?

• What is emphasized and what is omitted
in this text?

• How much does the writer’s angle of
vision dominate the text?

• What is the argument’s original genre?
• What is the original medium of publication?

How do the genre and the argument’s
place of publication infl uence its content,
structure , and style?

• What is the argument’s claim, either
explicitly stated or implied?

• What are the main reasons in support of the
claim? Are the reasons audience-based?

• How effective is the writer’s use of evidence?
How is the argument supported and
developed?

• How well has the argument recognized and
responded to alternative views?

• What ethos does the writer project?
• How does the writer try to seem credible

and trustworthy to the intended audience?
• How knowledgeable does the writer seem in

recognizing opposing or alternative views, and
how fairly does the writer respond to them?

• How effective is the writer in using
audience-based reasons?

• How does the writer use concrete
language, word choice, narrative,
examples, and analogies to tap readers’
emotions, values, and imaginations?

• How do the writer’s language choices and
sentence length and complexity contribute
to the impact of the argument?

• How well does the writer’s tone (attitude
toward the subject) suit the argument?

• Is the writer responding to a bill pending in
Congress, a speech by a political leader, or
a local event that provoked controversy?

• Is the writer addressing cultural trends such
as the impact of science or tech nology on
val ues?

• Is the writer trying to change readers’
views by offering a new interpretation of
a phenomenon , calling readers to action ,
or trying to muster votes or inspire further
investigations?

• Does the audience share a political or reli-
gious orientation with the writer?

• Is the writer a scholar, researcher, scientist,
policy maker, politician , professional
journalist, or citizen blogger?

• Is the writer affiliated with conservative or
liberal, religious or lay publications?

• Is the writer advocating a stance or adopting
a more inquiry-based mode?

• What points of view and pieces of evidence
are “not seen” by this writer?

• How popular or scholarly, informal or formal
is this genre?

• Does the genre allow for in-depth or only
sketchy coverage of an issue?

• Is the core of the argument clear and
soundly developed? Or do readers have to
unearth or reconstruct the argument?

• Is the argument one-sided, multisided, or
delayed-thesis?

• Does the argument depend on assumptions
the audience may not share?

• What evidence does the writer employ?
Does this evidence meet the STAR criteria?

• If you are impressed or won over by this
writer, what has earned your respect?

• If you are filled with doubts or skepticism,
what has caused you to question this writer?

• How important is the character of the writer
in this argument?

• What examples, connotative language, and
uses of narrative or analogy stand out for
you in this argument?

• Does this argument rely heavily on appeals
to pathos? Or is it more brainy and logical?

• How readable is this argument?
• Is the argument formal, scholarly, journalistic,

informal, or casual?
• Is the tone serious, mocking, humorous,

exhortational, confessional, urgent, or
something else?

Table 7.2 Continued

Design and visual
elements

Overall persuasiveness of
the argument

• How do design elements- layout, font
sizes and styles, and use of color –
influence the effect of the argument? (See
Chapter 9 for a detailed discussion of these
elements.)

• How do graphics and images contribute to
the persuasiveness of the argument?

• What features of this argument contribute
most to making it persuasive or not per-
suasive for its target aud ienc e and for you
yourself?

• How would this argument be received by
different aud iences?

• What features contribute to the rhetorical
complexity of this argument?

• What is particularly memorable, d isturbing,
or problematic about th is argument?

• What does this arg ument contribute to its
kairotic moment and the argumentative
controversy of which it is a part?

For Writing and Discussion
Practicing Rhetorical Analysis

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 111

• Do design features contribute to the logical
or t he emotional/imaginative appeals of the
arg ument?

• How would this argument benefit from
visuals and graphics or some different
document design?

• Are appeals to pathos legitimate and
su itable? Do the quality and quantity of the
evidence help build a strong case, or do
they fall short?

• What specifically would count as a strength
for the target audience?

• If you d iffer from the target audience, how
do you differ and where does the argument
derail for you?

• What gaps, contradictions, or unanswered
questions are you left with?

• How does t his argument indicate that it is
engaged in a public conversation? How
does it “talk” to other arguments you have
read on t his issue?

In the following exercise, consider the strateg ies used by two different writers to persuade their audiences to
act to stop c limate change. The first is from the opening paragraphs of an editorial in the magazine Creation
Care: A Christian Environmental Quarterly. The second is from the website of the Sierra C lub, an environ-
mental action group.

Individual task:
Read the following passages carefully, and then write out your exploratory answers to the questions that
follow. Refer to Table 7.2, “Questions for Rhetorical Analysis,” to help you examine how these texts’ key fea-
tures contribute to their impact on readers.

Passage 1

As I sit down to w rite this column, one thing keeps coming to me over and over: “Now is the time; now is
the t ime.”

In the New Testament the word used for this type of time is kairos. It means “right or opportune
moment.” It is contrasted w ith chronos, or chronological t ime as measured in seconds, days, months, or
years. In the New Testament kairos is usually associated w ith decisive action that brings about del iverance
or salvation.

The reason the phrase, “Now is the time” kept coming to me over and over is that I was thinking of
how to describe our current climate change moment.

The world has been plodd ing along in chronolog ical time on the problem of climate change since
around 1988. No more.

(continued)

112 Chapter 7

Simply put: the problem of c limate change has entered kairos time; its kairos moment has arrived. How
long w ill it endure? Unti l the time of decisive action to bring about deliverance comes-or, more ominously,
unti l the time when the opportunity for decisive action has passed us by. Which will we choose? Because
we do have a choice.

-Rev. J im Ball, Ph.D., “It’s Kairos Time for Climate Change: Time to Act,” Creation Care: A Christian
Environmental Quarterly (Summer 2008), 28.

Passage 2

[Another action that Americans must take to combat global warm ing is to transition] to a c lean-energy
economy in a just and equitable way. Global warming is among the greatest challenges of our time, but
also presents extraordinary opportunit ies to harness home-grown c lean energy sources and encourage
technological innovation. These bold shifts toward a clean energy future can create hundreds of thousands
of new jobs and generate billions of dollars in capital investment. But in order to maximize these benefits
across all sectors of our society, comprehensive global warming legislation must auction emission allow-
ances to polluters and use these public assets for publ ic benefit programs.

Such programs include financial assistance to help low and moderate-income consumers and workers
offset higher energy costs as well as programs that assist w ith adaptation efforts in communities vu lner-
able to the effects of c limate change. Revenue generated from emissions allowances should also aid the
expansion of renewable and efficient energy technologies that quickly, c leanly, cheaply, and safely reduce
our dependence on fossil fuels and curb g lobal warming. Lastly, it is absolutely vital that comprehensive
global warming leg islation not preempt state authority to cut greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively
than mandated by federal legis lation.

-Sierra Club, “Global Warming Policy Solutions,” 2008, http://www.sierraclub.org/

1. How do the strategies of persuasion differ in these two passages? Explain these d ifferences in terms
of targeted audience, original genre, writer’s purpose, and writer’s ang le of vision.

2. How would you describe the re lationsh ip between logos and pathos in each text?
3. How would you describe the writer’s style in each?
4. How effective would either argument be for readers outside the intended audience?

Group task:
Share your responses to the above questions w ith class members. Explain your po ints with spec ific
examples from the texts.

Conducting a
Source Text

etorical Analysis of a

7.4 Conduct a rhetorical analysis of a source text.

To illustrate rhetorical analysis, we will analyze two articles on reproductive tech-
nology, a subject that continues to generate arguments in the public sphere. (The
first article is in this section; the second is in the student example at the end of this
chapter.) By reproductive technology we mean scientific advances in the treatment
of infertility, such as egg and sperm donation, artificial insemination, in vitro fer-
tilization, and surrogate motherhood. Our first article, written over a decade ago,
springs from the early and increasing popularity of these technological options.

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 113

Our second article to be used in our later student example responds to the
recent globalization of this technology.

At this point, please read the first article, “Egg Heads” by Kathryn Jean Lopez
(immediately following), and then proceed to the discussion questions that follow.
Lopez’s article was originally published in the conservative news commentary
magazine National Review.

Egg Heads
KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ

Filling the waiting room to capacity and spilling over into a nearby conference
room, a group of young women listen closely and follow the instructions: Com-
p lete the forms and return them, with the clipboard, to the receptionist. It’s all
just as in any medical office. Then they move downstairs, where the doctor briefs
them. “Everything will be pretty much normal,” she explains. “Women complain
of skin irritation in the local area of injection and bloating. You also might be a
little emotional. But, basically, it’s really bad PMS.”

This is not just another medical office. On a steamy night in July, these girls
in their twenties are attending an orientation session for potential egg donors at
a New Jersey fertility clinic specializing in in-vitro fertilization. Within the walls
of IVF New Jersey and at least two hundred other clinics throughout the United
States, young women answer the call to give “the gift of life” to infertile couples.
Egg donation is a quietly expanding industry, changing the way we look at the
family, young women’s bodies, and human life itself.

It is not a pleasant way to make money. Unlike sperm donation, which is over
in less than an hour, egg donation takes the donor some 56 hours and includes
a battery of tests, ultrasound, self-administered injections, and retrieval. Once a
donor is accepted into a program, she is given hormones to stimulate the ovaries,
changing the number of eggs matured from the usual one per month up to as
many as fifty. A doctor then surgically removes the eggs from the donor’s ovary
and fertilizes them with the designated sperm.

Although most programs require potential donors to undergo a series of med-
ical tests and counseling, there is little indication that most of the young women
know what they are getting themselves into. They risk bleeding, infection, and
scarring. When too many eggs are matured in one cycle, it can damage the ova-
ries and leave the donor w ith weeks of abdominal pain. (At worst, complications
may leave her dead.) Longer term, the possibility of early menopause raises the
prospect of future regret. There is also some evidence of a connection between the
fertility drugs used in the process and ovarian cancer.

But it’s good money and getting better. New York’s Brooklyn IVF raised its s
“donor comp ensation” from $2,500 to $5,000 per cycle earlier this year in order
to keep pace w ith St. Barnabas Medical Center in nearby Livingston, New Jersey.
It’s a bidding war. “It’s obvious w h y we had to do it,” says Susan Lobel, Brooklyn
IVF’ s assistant director. Most New York-area IVF programs have followed suit.

Some infertile couples and independent brokers are offering even more
for “reproductive material. ” The International Fertility Center in Indianapolis,
Indiana, for instance, p laces ads in the Daily Princetonian offering Princeton girls
as much as $35,000 p er cycle. The National Fertility Registry, which, like many

114 Chapter 7

egg brokerages, features an online catalogue for couples to browse in, advertises
$35,000 to $50,000 for Ivy League eggs. While donors are normally paid a flat fee
per cycle, there have been reports of higher payments to donors who produce
more eggs.

College girls are the perfect donors. Younger eggs are likelier to be healthy,
and the girls themselves frequently need money college girls have long been
susceptible to classified ads offering to pay them for acting as guinea pigs
in medical research. One 1998 graduate of the University of Colorado set up
her own website to market her eggs. She had watched a television show on egg
donation and figured it “seemed like a good thing to do” especially since she
had spent her money during the past year to help secure a country music record
deal. “Egg donation would help me with my school and music expenses while
helping an infertile couple with a family.” Classified ads scattered throughout
cyberspace feature similar offers.

The market for “reproductive material” has been developing for a long time.
It was twenty years ago this summer that the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown,
was born. By 1995, when the latest tally was taken by the Centers for Disease
Control, 15 percent of mothers in this country had made use of some form of
assisted-reproduction technology in conceiving their children. (More recently,
women past menopause have begun to make use of this technology.) In 1991
the American Society for Reproductive Medicine was aware of 63 IVF programs
offering egg donation. That number had jumped to 189 by 1995 (the latest year
for which numbers are available).

Defenders argue that it’s only right that women are “compensated” for the
inconvenience of egg donation. Brooklyn IVF’s Dr. Lobel argues, “If it is unethical
to accept payment for loving your neighbor, then we’ll have to stop paying baby-
sitters.” As long as donors know the risks, says Glenn McGee of the University of
Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics, this transaction is only “a slightly macabre
version of adoption.”

10 Not everyone is enthusiastic about the “progress.” Egg donation “represents
another rather large step into turning procreation into manufacturing,” says the
University of Chicago’s Leon Kass. “It’s the dehumanization of procreation.” And
as in manufacturing, there is quality control. “People don’t want to say the word
any more, but there is a strong eugenics issue inherent in the notion that you can
have the best eggs your money can buy,” observes sociology professor Barbara
Katz Rothman of the City University of New York.

The demand side of the market comes mostly from career-minded baby-
boomers, the frontierswomen of feminism, who thought they could “have it all.”
Indeed they can have it all with a little help from some younger eggs. (Ironi-
cally, feminists are also among its strongest critics; The Nation’s Katha Pollitt has
pointed out that in egg donation and surrogacy, once you remove the “delusion
that they are making babies for other women,” all you have left is “reproductive
prostitution.”)

Unfortunately, the future looks bright for the egg market. Earlier this year, a
woman in Atlanta gave birth to twins after she was implanted with frozen donor
eggs. The same technology has also been successful in Italy. This is just what the
egg market needed, since it avoids the necessity of coordinating donors’ cycles
with recipients’ cycles. Soon, not only will infertile couples be able to choose from
a wider variety of donor offerings, but in some cases donors won’t even be needed.

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 11 5

Young women will be able to freeze their own eggs and have them thawed and
fertilized once they are ready for the intrusion of children in their lives.

There are human ovaries sitting in a freezer in Fairfax, Virginia. The Genetics
and IVF Institute offers to cut out and remove young women’s ovaries and
cryopreserve the egg-containing tissue for future implantation. Although the
technology was originally designed to give the hope of fertility to young women
undergoing treatment for cancer, it is now starting to attract the healthy. “Women
can wait to have ch ildren until they are well established in their careers and get-
ting a little bored, sometime in their forties or fifties,” explains Professor Rothman.
“Basically, motherh ood is being reduced to a good leisure-time activity.”

Early th is summer, headlines were made in Britain, where the payment of
egg donors is forbidden, when an infertile couple traveled to a California clinic
w here the woman could be inseminated with an experimental hybrid egg. The
egg was a combination of the recipient’s and a donor’s eggs. The clinic in question
gets its eggs from a Beverly Hills brokerage, the Center for Surrogate Parenting
and Egg Donation, run by Karen Synesiou and Bill Handel, a radio shock-jock
in Los Angeles. Miss Synesiou recently told the London Sunday Times that she is
“interested in redefining the family. That’s why I came to work here.”

Th e redefinition is already well under way. Consider the case of Jaycee Buz- 15
zanca. After John and Luanne Buzzanca h ad tried for years to have a child, an
embryo was created for them, using sperm and an egg from anonymous donors,
and implanted in a surrogate mother. In March 1995, one month before the baby
was born, John filed for divorce. Luanne wanted child support from John, but he
refused after all, he’s not the father. Luanne argued that John is Jaycee’s father
legally. At th is point the surrogate mother, who had agreed to carry a baby for a
stable two-parent household, decided to sue for custody.

Jaycee was dubbed “Nobody’s Child” by the media when a California judge
ruled that John was not the legal father nor Luanne the legal mother (neither one
was genetically related to Jaycee, and Luanne had not even borne her). Enter Erin
Davidson, the egg donor, who claims the egg was used without her permission.
Not to be left out, the sperm donor jumped into the ring, saying that his sperm
was used without his permission, a claim he later dropped. In March of this year,
an appeals court gave Luanne custody and decided that John is the legal father,
making him responsible for child support. By contracting for a medical procedure
resulting in the birth of a child, the court ruled, a couple incurs “the legal status of
parenthood.” Gohn lost an appeal in May.) For Jaycee’s first three years on earth,
these people have been wrangling over who her parents are.

In another case, William Kane left h is girlfriend, Deborah Hect, 15 vials of
sperm before he killed himself in a Las Vegas hotel in 1991. His two adult children
(represented by their mother, h is ex-wife) contested Miss Hect’s claim of owner-
ship. A settlement agreement on Kane’s w ill was eventually reached, giving his
children 80 percent of his estate and Miss Hect 20 percent. Hence she was allowed
three vials of his sperm. When she did not succeed in conceiving on the first two
tries, she filed a petition for the other 12 vials. She won, and the judge who ruled
in her favor wrote, “Neither this court nor the decedent’s adult children pos-
sess reason or right to prevent Hect from implementing decedent’s pre-eminent
interest in realizing his ‘fundamental right’ to procreate with the woman of his
choice.” One day, donors may not even have to have lived. Researchers are experi-
menting with using aborted female fetuses as a source of donor eggs.

116 Chapter 7

And the market continues to zip along. For overseas couples looking for
donor eggs, Bill Handel has the scenario worked out. The couple would mail
him frozen sperm of their choice (presumably from the recipient husband); his
clinic would use it to fertilize donor eggs, chosen from its catalogue of offerings,
and reply back within a month with a frozen embryo ready for implantation.
(Although the sperm does not yet arrive by mail, Handel has sent out embryos
to at least one hundred international customers.) As for the young women at the
New Jersey clinic, they are visibly upset by one aspect of the egg-donation pro-
cess: they can’t have sexual intercourse for several weeks after the retrieval. For
making babies, of course, it’s already obsolete.

For Writing and Discussion
Identifying Rhetorical Features
Working in groups or as a class, develop responses to the following questions:

1. How does Lopez appeal to logos? What is her main c laim, and what are her reasons?
2. What does she use f or evidence? What ideas would you have to inc lude in a short summary o f

“Egg Heads”?
3. What appeals to pathos does Lopez make in this argument? How well are these suited to the conserva-

t ive readers of t he National Review?
4. How would you characterize Lopez’s ethos? Does she seem knowledgeable and credible? Does she

seem fai r to stakeholders in this controversy?
5. Choose an additional focus from the “Questions for Rhetorical Analysis” (Table 7 .2) to apply to “Egg

Heads.” How does this question expand your understanding of Lopez’s argument?
6. What strikes you as problematic, memorable, or disturbing in this argument?

Our Own Rhetorical Analysis of “Egg Heads”
Now that you have identified some of the rhetorical features of “Egg Heads,” we
offer our own notes for a rhetorical analysis of this argument.

RHETORICAL CONTEXT As we began our analysis, we reconstructed the
rhetorical context in which “Egg Heads” was published. In the late 1990s, a
furious debate about egg donation rippled through college and public newspa-
pers, popular journalism, websites, and scholarly commentary. This debate had
been kicked off by several couples placing ads in the newspapers of the country’s
most prestigious colleges, offering up to $50,000 for the eggs of brilliant, attractive,
athletic college women. Coinciding with these consumer demands, advances in
reproductive technology provided an increasing number of complex techniques
to surmount the problem of infertility, including fertilizing eggs in petri dishes
and implanting them into women through surgical procedures. These procedures
could use either a couple’s own eggs and sperm or donated eggs and sperm. All
these social and medical factors created the kairotic moment for Lopez’s article and
motivated her to protest the increasing use of these procedures. (Egg donation,
concerns for the long-term health of egg donors, surrogate motherhood, and the
potential dehumanizing of commercial reproduction continue to be troubling and
unresolved controversies across many genres, as you will see when you read Ellen

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 11 7

Goodman’s op -ed piece at the end of this chapter and student Zachary Stump s’s
rhetorical analysis of it.)

GENRE AND WRITER When we considered the genre and writer of this article
and its place of publication, we noted that this article appeared in the National
Review, which describes itself as “America’s most w idely read and influential
magazine and website for Republican/ conservative news, commentary, and
opin ion.” It reaches “an affluent, educated, and highly responsive audience of
corporate and government leaders, the financial elite, educators, journalists, com-
munity and association leaders, as well as engaged activists all across America”
(http:/ /www.nationalreview.com). According to our Internet search, Kathryn
Jean Lopez is known nationally for her conservative journalistic writing on social
and political issues. Currently the editor-at-large of National Review Online, she
has also published in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and the Washington
Times. This information told us that in her article “Egg Heads,” Lopez is definitely
on home territory, aiming her article at a conservative audience.

LOGOS Turning to the logos of Lopez’s argument, we decided that the logical
structure of Lop ez’s argument is clear throughout the article. Her claim is that egg
donation and its associated reproductive advances have harmful, long-reaching
consequences for society. Basically, she argues that egg donation and reproduc-
tive technology rep resent bad scientific developments for society because they are
potentially harmful to the long-range health of egg donors and because they lead
to an unnatural dehumanizing of human sexuality. She states a version of this last
point at the end of the second paragraph: “Egg donation is a quietly expanding
industry, changing the way we look at the family, young women’s bodies, and
human life itself.”

The body of her article elaborates on each of these reasons. In developing her
reason that egg donation endangers egg donors, Lopez lists the risks but doesn’t
supply supporting evidence about the frequency of these problems: damage to
the ovaries, persistent pain, early menopause, possible ovarian cancer, and even
death. She supports her claim about ” the expanding industry” by showing how
the procedures have become commercialized. To show the popularity of these
procedures as well as their commercial value, she quotes a variety of experts
such as d irectors of in vitro clinics, fertility centers, bioethicists, and the Ameri-
can Society for Reproductive Medicine. She also cleverly bolsters her own case
by showing that even liberal cultural critics agree w ith her views about the big
ethical questions raised by the reproductive-technology business. In addition to
quoting experts, Lopez has sprinkled impressive numbers and vivid examples
throughout the body of her argument; these numbers and examples give her argu-
ment momentum as it progresses from the potential harm to young egg donors
to a number of case studies that depict increasingly disturbing ethical problems.

PATHOS Much of the impact of this argument, we noted, comes from Lopez’s
appeals to pathos. By describing in detail the waiting rooms for egg donors at
fertility clinics, Lopez relies heavily on pathetic appeals to move her audience
to see the physical and social dangers of egg donation. She conveys the growing
commercialism of reproductive technology by giving readers an inside look at
the egg-donation process as these young college women embark on the multistep
process of donating their eggs. These young women, she suggests in her title “Egg
Heads,” are largely unaware of the potential physical dangers to themselves and

118 Chapter 7

of the ethical implications and consequences of their acts. She asserts that they
are driven largely by the desire for money. Lopez also appeals to pathos in her
choice of emotionally loaded and often cynical language, which creates an angle
of vision opposing reproductive technology: “turning procreation into manufac-
turing”; “reproductive prostitution”; “the intrusion of children in their lives”;
“motherhood … reduced to a good leisure-time activity”; “aborted female fetuses
as a source of donor eggs”; and intercourse as an “obsolete” way to make babies.

AUDIENCE Despite Lopez’s success at spotlighting serious medical and ethi-
cal questions, her lack of attention to alternative views and the alarmism of her
language caused us to wonder: Who might find this argument persuasive, and
who would challenge it? What is noticeably missing from Lopez’s argument and
apparently from her worldview is the perspective of infertile couples hoping
for a baby. Pursuing our question, we decided that a provocative feature of this
argument one worthy of deeper analysis is the disparity between how well
this argument is suited to its target audience and yet how unpersuasive it is for
readers who do not share the assumptions, values, and beliefs of this primary
audience.

To Lopez’s credit, she has attuned her reasons to the values and concerns of
her conservative readers of the National Review, who believe in traditional families,
gender differences, and gender roles. Opposed to feminism as they understand
it, this audience sanctions careers for women only if women put their families
first. Lopez’s choice of evidence and her orchestration of it are intended to p lay
to her audience’s fears that science has fallen into the hands of those who have
little regard for the sanctity of the family or traditional motherhood. For example,
in p laying strongly to the values of her conservative readers, Lopez belabors the
physical, social, and ethical dangers of egg donation, mentioning worst-case sce-
narios; however, these appeals to pathos w ill most likely strike other readers who
do some investigating into reproductive technology as overblown. She empha-
sizes the commercialism of the process as her argument moves from college girls
as egg donors to a number of sensationalist case studies that depict intensifying
ethical and legal ambiguity. In other words, both the logos and the pathos of her
argument skillfully focus on details that tap her target audience’s values and
beliefs, feeding that audience’s fears and revulsion.

USE OF EVIDENCE For a broader or skeptical audience, the alarmism of Lopez’s
appeals to pathos, her use of atypical evidence, and her distortion of the facts
weaken the logos and ethos of her argument. First, Lopez’s use of evidence fails
to measure up to the STAR criteria (that evidence should be sufficient, typical,
accurate, and relevant). She characterizes all egg donors as young women seek-
ing money. But she provides little evidence that egg donors are only out to make
a buck . She also paints these young women as shortsighted, uninformed, and
foolish. As a gap in her evidence, she neglects to examine the potential for long-
term health consequences to egg donors. Lopez would rather toss out threats and
criticize the young women than really explore this issue. Lopez also weakens her
ethos by not considering the young women who may be motivated, at least in part,
by compassion for couples who can’t conceive on their own.

Lopez also misrepresents the people who are using egg donation, placing
them all into two groups: (1) wealthy couples eugenically seeking designer babies
w ith preordered special traits and (2) feminist career women. She directs much
of her criticism toward this latter group: “The demand side of the market comes

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 11 9

mostly from career-minded bab y-boomers, the frontierswomen of feminism, who
th ought they could ‘have it all.”‘ However, readers who do a little research on
their own, as we did, will learn that infertility affects one in seven couples; that
it is often a male and a female problem, sometimes caused by an incompatibility
between the man’s and the woman’s reproductive material; and that most couples
who take the big step of investing in these exp ensive efforts to have a baby have
been trying to get pregnant for a number of years. Rather than being casual about
having children, they are often deeply desirous of children and depressed about
their inability to conceive. In addition, far from being the sure thing and quick fix
that Lopez suggests, reproductive technology has a success rate of only 50 percent
overall and involves a huge investment of time, money, and physical discomfort
for women receiving donor eggs.

Another way that Lopez violates the STAR criteria is her choice of extreme
cases. For readers outside her target audience, her argument appears riddled with
straw man and slippery-slope fallacies. (See the Appendix, “Informal Fallacies.”)
Her examples become more bizarre as her tone becomes more hysterical. Here are
some specific instances of extreme, atypical cases:

• her focus on career women casually and selfishly using the service of young
egg donors

• the notorious case of Jaycee Buzzanca, dubbed “Nobody’s Child” because
her adoptive p arents who commissioned her creation divorced before she
was born

• the legal contest between a dead man’s teen girlfriend and his ex-wife and
adult children over his vials of sperm

• the idea of taking eggs from aborted female fetuses

By keeping invisible the vast majority of ordinary couples who go to fer-
tility clinics out of last-hope desperation, Lopez uses extreme cases to create a
“brave new world” intended to evoke a vehement rejection of these reproductive
advances. Skeptical readers would offer the alternative view of the sad, ordinary
couples of all ages sitting week after week in fertility clinics, hoping to conceive
a child through the “miracle” of these reproductive advances and grateful to the
young women who have contributed their eggs.

CONCLUDING POINTS In short, we concluded that Lopez’s angle of vision,
although effectively in sync with her conservative readers of the National Review,
exaggerates and distorts her case against these reproductive advances. Lopez’s
traditional values and slanting of the evidence undermine her ethos, limit the
value of this argument for a wider audience, and compel that audience to seek
out alternative sources for a more complete view of egg donation.

Conclusion

This chapter explained how to think rhetorically about texts. The first step is to
reconstruct a text’s rhetorical context by focusing on the author, the author’s moti-
vating occasion and purpose, the targeted audience, the text’s genre, and its angle
of vision. We also explained how to apply a list of questions to a text to help you
conduct a rhetorical analysis. To analyze a text rhetorically means to determine

120 Chapter 7

how it works: what effect it has on readers and how it achieves or fails to achieve
its p ersuasiven ess through appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos.

The following writing assignment includes a student’ s rhetorical analysis of
another article about reproductive technology. In Chapter 8, w e provide more
detailed instruction on how to summarize and respond to source texts.

Writing Assignment
A Rhetorical Analysis
Write a thesis-driven rhetorical analysis essay in which you examine the rhetorical effectiveness of an argu-
ment specified by you r instructor. Unless otherwise stated, d irect your analysis to an audience of your class-
mates. In your introduction, establ ish the argumentative conversation to wh ich this argument is contributing.
Briefly summarize the argument and present your thesis high lighting the rhetorical features of the argument
that you f ind central to its effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Zachary Stumps’s analysis of Ellen Goodman’s
“Womb for Rent” (reproduced at the end of this chapter) is an example of this assignment.

Generating Ideas for Your Rhetorical Analysis
To develop ideas for your essay, you might follow these steps:

Step

Familiarize yourself with t he article you are
analyzing.

Place the article in its rheto rical context.

Summarize t he article.

Reread t he article , identifying “hot spots .”

Use t he list of q uestions in Table 7 .2 ,
“Questions for Rhetorical Analysis”

From your notes and freewriting , identify
t he focus for your analysis.

Write a thesis statement for your essay.

How to Do It

Read t he article several times .
Divide it into sections to und erstand its structure.

Reconstruct the article’s rhetorical context fo llowing t he advice in t his chapter.
Use the list of quest ions in Tab le 7 .2, “Questions for Rhetorical Analysis .”

If you have never written a summary before, you can find specific instruct ion in
Chapter 8 .

Note hot spots in the article-points t hat impress you, disturb you, confuse
you, o r puzzle you .

Choose several of these q uestions and freewrite responses to t hem.

Choose several features of t he article that you find particu larly important and
that you want to discuss in depth in your essay. Identify points t hat will bring
something new to your read ers and t hat wi ll help t hem see this artic le with new
understanding . You may want to list your ideas and then look for ways to group
them together aro und main poi nts .

Articulate your important points in o ne or two sentences, setting up t hese
points clearly fo r your audience .

In find ing a meaningful focus for your rhetor ical analysis essay, you will need to create a focusing thes is
statement that avoids w ishy-washy formulas such as, “This argument has some strengths and some weak-
nesses.” To avoid a vapid thesis statement, focus on the complexity of the argument, the writer’s

strategies

for persuading the target audience, and the features that might impede its persuasiveness for skeptics. The
best thesis statements articulate how their writers see the inner workings of these arguments as well as the
arguments’ contributions to their public conversations. For example:

Lopez’s angle of v ision, although effectively in sync with her conservative readers of the National
Review, exaggerates and distorts her case against certain reproductive advances, weakening
her ethos and the value of her argument for a w ider audience. [This is the thesis we wou ld use if
we were writing a stand-alone essay on the Lopez article.]

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 121

To make your rhetorical analysis of your article persuasive, you wil l need to develop each of the points stated
or impl ied in your thesis statement using textual evidence, including short quotations. Your essay should
show how you have listened carefully to the argument you are analyzing, summarized it fairly, and probed it
deeply.

Organizing Your Rhetorical Analysis
The organization plan in Figure 7.1 provides a possible structure for your rhetorical analysis.

Figure 7.1 Organizational plan for a rhetorical analysis of an argument
Organization Plan for a Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument

Introduction

Summary of Argument

Rhetorical Analysis
Conclusion

Readings

• Present the kairos of the article

• Engage reader’s interest in the issue of the article

• Indicate your interest and investment

• Present a thesis with three or four rhetorical points

about the article you will analyze in depth

• Briefly present the claim and main points of the

article you are analyzing to help readers understand

your analysis

• [Possibly include the summary of the article in your

introduction]

• Explain, develop, and discuss the rhetorical points in

your thesis, examining the author’s rhetorical

strategies

• Use examples and quotations from the article’s

argument you are analyzing to make your points

clear to your readers

• Wrap up your analysis

• Perhaps mention the stakes or importance of this

article’s contribution to the public conversation on

this issue

Our first reading is by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, author, and sp eaker
Ellen Goodman. In our second reading, student Zachary Stumps analyzes Good-
man’s op-ed piece rhetorically.

122 Chapter 7

Womb for Rent
ELLEN GOODMAN

By now we all have a story about a job outsourced beyond our reach in the global
economy. My own favorite is about the California publisher who hired two report-
ers in India to cover the Pasadena city government. Really.

There are times as well when the offshoring of jobs takes on a quite literal
meaning. When the labor we are talking about is, well, labor.

In the last few months we’ ve had a full nursery of international stories about
surrogate mothers. Hundreds of couples are crossing borders in search of lower-
cost ways to fill the family business. In turn, there’s a new coterie of international
workers who are gestating for a living.

Many of the stories about the globalization of baby production begin in India,
where the government seems to regard this as, literally, a growth industry. In the
little town of Anand, dubbed “The Cradle of the World,” 45 women were recently
on the books of a local clinic. For the production and delivery of a child, they will
earn $5,000 to $7,000, a decade’s worth of women’s wages in rural India.

s But even in America, some women, including Army wives, are supplementing
their income by contracting out their wombs. They have become surrogate
mothers for wealthy couples from European countries that ban the practice.

This globalization of baby-making comes at the peculiar intersection of a high
reproductive technology and a low-tech work force. The biotech business was
created in the same petri dish as Baby Louise, the first IVF baby. But since then,
we’ve seen conception outsourced to egg donors and sperm donors. We’ve had
motherhood divided into its parts from genetic mother to gestational mother to
birth mother and now contract mother.

We’ve also seen the growth of an international economy. Frozen sperm is
flown from one continent to another. And patients have become medical tourists,
searching for cheaper health care whether it’s a new hip in Thailand or an IVF
treatment in South Africa that comes with a photo safari thrown in for the same
price. Why not then rent a foreign womb?

I don’t make light of infertility. The primal desire to have a child underlies
this multinational Creation, Inc. On one side, couples who choose surrogacy want
a baby with at least half their own genes. On the other side, surrogate mothers,
who are rarely implanted with their own eggs, can believe that the child they bear
and deliver is not really theirs.

As one woman put it, “We give them a baby and they give us much-needed
money. It’s good for them and for us.” A surrogate in Anand used the money to
buy a heart operation for her son. Another raised a dowry for her daughter. And
before we talk about the “exploitation” of the pregnant woman, consider her
alternative in Anand: a job crushing glass in a factory for $25 a month.

10 Nevertheless, there is and there should be something uncomfortable about
a free-market approach to baby-making. It’s easier to accept surrogacy when it’s
a gift from one woman to another. But we rarely see a rich woman become a sur-
rogate for a poor family. Indeed, in Third World countries, some women sign these
contracts with a fingerprint because they are illiterate.

For that matter, we have not yet had stories about the contract workers for
whom pregnancy was a dangerous occupation, but we will. What obligation does
a family that simply contracted for a child have to its birth mother? What control

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 123

do should contractors have over their “employees”‘ lives while incubating
“their” children? What will we tell the offspring of this international trade?

“National boundaries are coming down,” says bioethicist Lori Andrews, “but
we can’t stop human emotions. We are expanding families and don’t even have
terms to deal with it.”

It’s the commercialism that is troubling. Some things we cannot sell no mat-
ter how good “the deal.” We cannot, for example, sell ourselves into slavery. We
cannot sell our children. But the surrogacy business comes perilously close to both
of these deals. And international surrogacy tips the scales.

So, these borders we are crossing are not just geographic ones. They are ethical
ones. Today the global economy sends everyone in search of the cheaper deal as if
that were the single common good. But in the biological search, humanity is sacri-
ficed to the economy and the person becomes the product. And, step by step, we
come to a stunning place in our ancient creation story. It’s called the marketplace.

“Womb for Rent” (Th e Globalization of Baby Making) by Ellen Goodman. From The
Washington Post, Aprilll © 2008 Washington Post Company. All rights reserved. Used by
permission and protected by the Copyrigh t Laws of the United States. Th e printing, copy-
ing, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission
is prohibited.

Critiquing “Won1b for Rent”
1. What is Goodman’s main claim and what are her reasons? In other words,

what ideas would you have to include in a short summary?

2. What appeals to pathos does Goodman make in this argument? How do these
appeals function in the argument?

3. Choose an additional focus from Table 7.2, “Questions for Rhetorical Analy-
sis,” to apply to “Womb for Rent.” How does this question affect your per-
spective on Goodman’s argument?

4. What strikes you as problematic, memorable, or disturbing in this argument?

Our second reading shows how student writer Zachary Stumps analyzed the
Ellen Goodman article.

Student Essay

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Ellen Goodman’s “Womb For Rent”

Zachary Stumps

With her op-ed piece “Womb for Rent,” published in the Seattle Times (and
earlier in The Washington Post), syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman enters
the murky debate about reproductive technology gone global. Because
Americans are outsourcing everything else, “Why not then rent a foreign
womb?” she asks. Goodman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the
Washington Post Writers Group, is known for helping readers understand

(continued)

Introduction provides
context and poses
issue to be addressed

Provides background
on Goodman

124 Chapter 7

Summarizes the
op-ed piece

Thesis paragraph

Develops first-point 5
in thesis: use of
pathos in exploring
perspective of poor
women

Develops second
point in thesis: the
complex contexts of
this issue- outsourc-
ing and medical
tourism

the “tumult of social change and its impact on families,” and for shattering
“the mold of men writing exclusively about politics” (“Ellen Goodman”).
This op-ed piece continues her tradition of examining social change from
the perspective of family issues.

Goodman launches her short piece by asserting that one of the most
recent and consequential “jobs” to be outsourced is having babies. She
explains how the “globalization of baby production” is thriving because it
brings together the reproductive desires of people in developed countries
and the bodily resources of women in developing countries such as India.
Briefly tracing how both reproductive technology and medical tourism have
taken advantage of global possibilities, Goodman acknowledges that the
thousands of dollars Indian women earn by carrying the babies of foreign
couples represent a much larger income than these women could earn in
any other available jobs.

After appearing to legitimize this global exchange, however, Good-
man shifts to her ethical concerns by raising some moral questions that
she says are not being addressed in this trade. She concludes with a full
statement of her claim that this global surrogacy is encroaching on human
respect and dignity, exploiting business-based science, and turning babies
into products.

In this piece, Goodman’s delay of her thesis has several rhetorical ben-
efits: It gives Goodman space to present the perspective of poor women,
enhanced by her appeals to pathos, and it invites readers to join her journey
into the complex contexts of this issue. However, this strategy is also risky
because it limits the development of her own argument.

Instead of presenting her thesis up front, Goodman devotes much of
the first part of her argument to looking at this issue from the perspec-
tive of foreign surrogate mothers. Using the strategies of pathos to evoke
sympathy for these women, she creates a compassionate and progressive-
minded argument that highlights the benefits to foreign surrogate mothers.
She cites factual evidence showing that the average job for a woman in
Anand, India, yields a tiny “$25 a month” gotten through the hard work
of “crushing glass in a factory,” compared to the “$5,000 to $7,000” made
carrying a baby to term. To carry a baby to term for a foreign couple rep-
resents “a decade’s worth of women’s wages in rural India.” Deepening
readers’ understanding of these women, Goodman cites one woman who
used her earnings to finance her son’s heart operation and another who
paid for her daughter’s dowry. In her fair presentation of these women,
Goodman both builds her own positive ethos and adds a dialogic dimen-
sion to her argument by helping readers walk in the shoes of impoverished
surrogate mothers.

The second rhetorical benefit of Goodman’s delayed thesis is that she
invites readers to explore this complex issue of global surrogacy with her
before she declares her own view. To help readers understand and think
through this issue, she relates it to two other familiar global topics: out-
sourcing and medical tourism. First, she introduces foreign surrogacy as
one of the latest forms of outsourcing: “This globalization of baby-making
comes at the peculiar intersection of a high reproductive technology and
a low-tech work force.” Presenting these women as workers, she explains

Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically 125

that women in India are getting paid for “the production and delivery of
a child” that is analogous to the production and delivery of sneakers or
bicycle parts. Goodman also sets this phenomenon in the context of global
medical tourism. If people can pursue lower-cost treatment for illnesses
and health conditions in other countries, why shouldn’t an infertile couple
seeking to start a family not also have such access to these more afford-
able and newly available means? This reasoning provides a foundation for
readers to begin understanding the many layers of the issue.

The result of Goodman’s delayed-thesis strategy is that the first two-
thirds of this piece seem to justify outsourcing surrogate motherhood. Only
after reading the whole op-ed piece can readers see clearly that Goodman
has been dropping hints about her view all along through her choice of
words. Although she clearly sees how outsourcing surrogacy can help
poor women economically, her use of market language such as “produc-
tion,” “delivery,” and “labor” carry a double meaning. On first reading of
this op-ed piece, readers don’t know if Goodman’s punning is meant to
be catchy and entertaining or serves another purpose. This other purpose
becomes clear in the last third of the article when Goodman forthrightly
asserts her criticism of the commercialism of the global marketplace that
promotes worldwide searching for a “cheaper deal”: “humanity is sacri-
ficed to the economy and the person becomes the product.” This is a bold
and big claim, but does the final third of her article support it?

In the final five paragraphs of this op-ed piece, Goodman begins to
develop the rational basis of her argument; however, the brevity of the
op-ed genre and her choice not to state her view openly initially have left
Goodman with little space to develop her own claim. The result is that she
presents some profound ideas very quickly. Some of the ethically complex
ideas she introduces but doesn’t explore much are these:

• The idea that there are ethical limits on what can be “sold”

• The idea that surrogate motherhood might be a “dangerous occupation”

• The idea that children born from this “international trade” may be
confused about their identities.

Goodman simply has not left herself enough space to develop these
issues and perhaps leaves readers with questions rather than with changed
views. I am particularly struck by several questions. Why have European
countries banned surrogacy in developing countries, and why has the
United States not banned this practice? Does Goodman intend to argue that
the United States should follow Europe’s lead? She could explore more how
this business of finding illiterate women to bear children for the wealthy
continues to exploit third-world citizens much as sex tourism exploits
women in the very same countries. It seems to perpetuate a tendency for
the developed world to regard developing countries as poor p laces of law-
lessness where practices outlawed in the rest of the world (e.g., child pros-
titution, slave-like working conditions) are somehow tolerable. Goodman
could have developed her argument more to state explicitly that a woman
who accepts payment for bearing a baby becomes an indentured servant to

(continued)

Shows how the
delayed -thesis struc-
ture creates two per-
spectives in conflict

Restates the third
point in his thesis:
lack of space lim-
its development of
Goodman’s argument

Discusses examples
of ideas raised by
Goodman but not
developed

126 Chapter 7

Conclusion

Uses MLA format to
list sources cited in
the essay

10

the family. Yet another way to think of this issue is to see that the old say-
ing of “a bun in the oven” is more literal than metaphorical when a woman
uses her womb as a factory to produce children, a body business not too
dissimilar to the commercialism of prostitution. Goodman teases readers
by mentioning these complex problems without producing an argument.

Still, although Goodman does not expand her criticism of outsourced
surrogate motherhood or explore the issues of human dignity and rights,
this argument does introduce the debate on surrogacy in the global mar-
ketplace, raise awareness, and begin to direct the conversation toward a
productive end of seeking a responsible, healthy, and ethical future. Her
op-ed piece lures readers into contemplating deep, perplexing ethical
and economic problems, and it lays a foundation for readers to create an
informed view of this issue.

Works Cited

“Ellen Goodman.” Washingtonpost.com, www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-srv /post/writersgroup/biogoodman.htm. Accessed 8 Apr. 2016.

Goodman, Ellen. “Womb for Rent.” The Wa shington Post, 11 Apr.
2008, p. B6.

Chapter 8

Rea din__,, Summarizin__,,
and S eakin Back

Learning Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn to:

8.1 Use exploratory strategies to find an engaging issue.

•

8.2 Summarize a stakeholder’s argument as an entry into the issue.

8.3 Respond to a stakeholder’s argument through believing,
doubting,

and dialectic thinking.

8.4 Delay closure by thinking dialectically.

This chapter, like the preceding one, focuses on the inquiring or truth-seeking aim
of argument. Truth-seeking is an antidote to locking ourselves up in echo chambers
of like-minded individuals who have little interest in other people’s views because
they believe they already know the truth. Dismayed by these echo chambers,
cultural critic Matt Miller recently posed the questions: “Is it possible in America
today to convince anyone of anything he doesn’t already believe? … [A]re there
enough places where this mingling of minds occurs to sustain a democracy?”*

Miller’s “mingling of minds” is essential for the truth-seeking process to work.
Argument as truth-seeking depends on the willingness of stakeholders to listen to
one another and to change their views in the face of new reasons and evidence. We
value the insight of rhetorician Wayne Booth, who proposes that when we enter
an argumentative conversation, we should not ask first “How can I change your
mind?” but rather “When should I change my mind?”**

Argument as truth-seeking is not easy because argumentative conversations
always entail disagreements. Whenever you argue, you necessarily bring your

*Matt Miller, “Is Persuasion Dead?” The New York Times, 4 June 2005, A29.
**Wayne Booth raised these questions in a featured session with Peter Elbow titled “Blind
Skepticism vs. the Rhetoric of Assent: Implications for Rhetoric, Argument, and Teaching,”
presented at the CCCC annual convention, Chicago, Illinois, March 2002.

127

128 Chapter 8

view into tension with some alternative view: “Although some stakeholders think X,
I am arguing Y.” Your view on an issue (which you will need to support with your
own reasons and evidence) pushes against an alternative view (which you must
be able to summarize fairly). When you first begin exploring an issue, you may
not know where you stand on the issue, and even if you do know, you should be
willing to change your mind as your research takes you deeper into the issue. To
participate thoughtfully in this inquiry process, you need two high-level skills:
(1) the ability to summarize each stakeholder’s view as you encounter it and (2)
the ability to formulate your own thoughtful response to that view. Eventually
this exploratory process of summary and response can help you stake out your
own claim in the conversation and determine your best means of supporting it.

This chapter teaches you these summary I response skills. After presenting
strategies to help you discover an engaging issue, we show you how to summa-
rize a stakeholder’s argument and then respond to it through believing, doubting,
and dialectic thinking. To illustrate argument as inquiry, we follow the thinking
process of student writer Trudie Makens as she explores the problem of whether
fast-food workers and other low-wage laborers should be paid a “living wage”
of $15 per hour.

Finding Issues to Explore
8.1 Use exploratory strategies to find an engaging issue.

Your engagement with a controversial issue might be sparked by personal expe-
rience, by conversations with others, or by something you listen to, see, or read.
Sometimes you will be confused about the issue, unable to take a stand. At other
times, you will have a visceral gut reaction that causes you to take an immediate
position, even though you haven’t thought through the issue in depth. At the start
of the arguing process, the confused or puzzled position is often the stronger one
because it promotes inquiry as truth-seeking. If you start with a firm stand, you
might be less disposed to uncover your issue’s complexity and let your position
evolve. In this section we examine some strategies you can use to find issues
worth exploring.

Do Some Initial Brainstorming
As a first step, make an inventory of issues that interest you. Many of the ideas
you develop may become subject matter for arguments that you will write later in
this course. The strategies suggested in Table 8.1 (Brainstorming Issues to Explore)
will help you generate a productive list.

Once you’ve made a list, add to it as new ideas strike you and return to it each
time you are given a new argumentative assignment.

Be Open to the Issues All Around You
We are surrounded by argumentative issues. You’ll start noticing them everywhere
once you get attuned to them. You will be invited into argumentative conversations
by posters, bumper stickers, tweets, blog sites, newspaper editorial pages, maga-
zine articles, the sports section, movie reviews, and song lyrics. When you read or
listen, watch for “hot spots” passages or moments that evoke strong agreement,

Table 8.1 Brainstorming Issues to Explore

What You Can Do

Make an inventory of the communities
to which you belong. Consider classroom
communities; clubs and organizations;
residence hall, apartment, neighborhood , or
family communities; church/ synagog ue or
work communities ; commun ities related to
your hobbies or avocations ; your city, state,
region, nation, and world communities.

Identify controversies within those
communities. Thi nk both big and small :

• Big issue in world community: What is the
best way to prevent destruction of rain
forests?

• Small issue in residence-hall community:
Should quiet hou rs be enforced?

Narrow your list to a handful of problem-
atic issues for which you don’t have a
position; share it with classmates. Identify
a few issues that you would like to explore
more deeply. When you share your list with
classmates , add their list of issues to yours .

Brainstorm a network of related issues.
A ny given issue is always embedded in a
network of other issues. To see how open-
ended and fluid an argumentative conversa-
tion can be, try connecting one of your issues
to a network of other issues, includ ing subis-
sues and side issues.

How It Works

Because arguments arise out of disagreements
w ithin communities, you can often th ink of issues
for arg ument by beginn ing with a list of the commu-
nities to which you belong.

To stimulate thinking , use prompts such as these :

• People in t his community frequently d isagree
about __

• Within my work commu nity, Person X believes
__ ; however, this view troubles me because

• In a recent residence-hall meeting, I didn’t know
where I stood on __

• The situation at __ cou ld be improved if

Sharing your list with classmates stimulates more
thi nking and encourages conversations. The more
you explore your views w ith others, the more ideas
you w ill develop. Good writi ng grows out of good
talking .

Brainstorm questions that compel you to look at
an issue in a variety of ways . For example, if you
explored t he controversy over w hether states
should legalize marijuana (see Chapter 1 ), you might
generate these q uestions about related issues:

• Is marijuana a gateway drug toward cocaine or
heroin?

• How wi ll legalizing marijuana affect the black
market in drugs?

• What should be the role of government in regulat-
ing the safety and potency of cannabis, including
both inhaled and edible versions?

• W hat has been the experience of states that
have already legalized marijuana?

Argument as Inquiry 129

disagreement, or confusion. As an illustration of how arguments are all around
us, try the following exercise on the issue of a living wage for low-wage workers.

Explore Ideas by Freewriting
Freewriting is useful at any stage of the writing process. When you freewrite, you
put fingers to keyboard (or p en to paper) and write rapidly nonstop, usually five
to ten minutes at a stretch, without worrying about structure, grammar, or correct-
ness. Your goal is to generate as many ideas as possible without stopping to edit
your work. If you can’ t think of anything to say, write “relax” or “I’ m stuck” over
and over until new ideas emerge. Here is Trudie Makens’ s freewrite in response
to the protest photo that introduces Part 2.

130 Chapter 8

Figure 8.1 Full-page ad opposed to raising the minimum
wage for fast-food workers

”

orkers Demanding a
lbghe -~•o ..

..

Newly developed robotic chef from Japan’s MOTOMAN prepares a dish,

Today’s union-organized protests against
fast food restaurants aren’t a battle against

management they’re a battle against technology.

Faced with a $15 wage mandate, restaurants have
to reduce the cost of service in order to maintain

the low prices customers demand.

That means fewer entry-level jobs and more
automated alternatives even in the kitchen.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOB LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH MINIMUM

WAGE

HIKES, GO TO:

•
PAID FOR BY THE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTE

Argument as Inquiry 131

For Writing and Discussion
Responding to Visual Arguments About a Living Wage
Suppose, in your initial search for a controvers ial issue, you encounter visual texts related to rais ing the
minimum wage for fast-food workers: photos of protestors, newspaper ads, cartoons, graphics, and
other forms of visual arguments (See Figures 8.1-8.3; see also the protest photo introducing Part 2,
just before Chapter 7). Working individually or in small groups, generate exploratory responses to these
questions:

1. What claim is each of these visual texts making?
2. What background information about the prob lems of minimum-wage workers do these visual texts

assume?
3. What network of issues do these visual texts suggest?
4. What puzzling questions do these visual texts raise for you?

Figure 8.2 Pol itical cartoon on minimum wage

WllllHIIl
1

RAISE
MINI MUM

WAGE

132 Chapter 8

Figure 8.3 Graph offering employment stat istics relevant
to minimum wage controversy

Adapted from Schmitt, John, and Janelle Jones, “Low-Wage Workers Are Older and
Better Educated than Ever.” Center for Economic and Policy Research. April 2012.

100

80

60
……
c
Q)
u
s-
Q)
0..

40

20

Percentage of Low-Wage Workers By Age Group,
1979 and 2011

4.6 4.2

———
17.5

… … … 22.1 … … …

… … … …

21. 1

… … … …

… … … … 23.7 … … … … … … … … … … 26.0

12.0

065

35-64

D 25-34

D 20-24

D 16-19

0+—–~——~—-~—-~——~–~

1979 20 II

TRUDIE’S FREEWRITE

Working in the food and service industry as a husser, I relate to the people in
the picture wearing union T-shirts and arguing for a $15 /hour minimum wage.
It’ s hard to live off of minimum wage, and if it weren’t for my tips, I wouldn’t be
able to pay some of my bills. And that is with help from my parents because I am
a college student. I can’t imagine what it would be like for full-time workers in the
fast-food industry where orders are taken via counter. I remember when I worked
counter service jobs, as a barista and at a dumpling cafe, no one ever tipped. They
didn’t feel like they needed to because it was not formal wait service. My work,
and my coworkers’ work, was not valued. What some people don’t realize is that
whether you are working at McDonald’s or in an upscale restaurant, you are still
working hard to provide good service. If anything, it is harder to work jobs like
McDonald’s where customers are dismissive and don’t value the service they are
receiving. Think, relax. Why do people not value the work of fast-food and counter
service workers? Because it is considered unskilled labor? A lot of the people I have
worked with didn’t have the time or money to go to college because they were
burdened with the financial strains of having children or caring for sick or elderly
relatives. I remember my coworker Maria who was always stressed out because she
couldn’t pay her rent and had a child to support. A living wage would help people
who haven’t been lucky enough to inherit wealth to pull themselves out of poverty.
And it wouldn’t hurt corporations like McDonald’s to live with a little less profit.

Argument as Inquiry 133

Explore Ideas by Idea Mapping
Another good technique for exploring ideas is idea mapping. To make an idea map,
draw a circle in the center of a page and write some trigger idea (a broad topic, a
question, or working thesis statement) in the center of the circle. Then record your
ideas on branches and subbranches extending from the center circle. As long as
you pursue one train of thought, keep recording your ideas on that branch. But
when that line of thinking gives out, start a new branch. Often your thoughts will
jump back and forth between branches. That’s a major advantage of “picturing”
your thoughts; you can see them as part of an emerging design rather than as
strings of unrelated ideas.

Idea maps usually generate more ideas, though less well-developed ones,
than freewrites. Figure 8.4 shows an idea map that Trudie Makens created on
the issue of the minimum wage after class discussion of the visual texts in
Figures 8.1-8.3.

Explore Ideas by Playing the Believing
and Deubting Gatne
The believing and doubting game, a critical-thinking strategy developed by rheto-
rician Peter Elbow that systematically stretches your thinking, is an excellent way
to imagine views different from your own and to anticipate responses to those

• v1ews.

• As a believer, your role is to be wholly sympathetic to an idea. You must listen
carefully to the idea and suspend all disbelief. You must identify all the ways
in which the idea may appeal to different audiences and all the reasons for
believing the idea. The believing game can be difficult, even frightening, if
you are asked to believe an idea that strikes you as false or threatening.

Figure 8.4 Trudie’s idea map

Could reduce

Increase
productivity

I
poverty among W ill sustain Create happier

More just

I
Produce

Need tips to
make enough

I
Busser,
barista

Had a child

I
Maria couldn’t No safety

payrent net

working poor a family workers income equality

——~ ~—- My experiences — Saw o lder
Pro-raising wage

Con-raising
wage

Should fast-food workers
make $ l 5 /hour

Questions

—-
Raise food Might lead to Might make

prices job layoffs or fast-foodjobs
reduced hours too attractive

Discourage people
from getting more
skills or education

How important is
cheap food to the

economy?

I
How much would

cost of food
actually rise?

coworkers
struggle

Are there better
ways to reduce

poverty?

134 Chapter 8

• As a doubter, your role is to be judgmental and critical, finding fault with an
idea. The doubting game is the opposite of the believing game. You do your
best to find counterexamples and inconsistencies that undermine the idea you
are examining. Again, it can be threatening to doubt ideas that you instinc-
tively want to believe.

When you play the believing and doubting game with an assertion, simply
write two different chunks, one chunk arguing for the assertion (the believing
game) and one chunk opposing it (the doubting game). Freewrite both chunks,
letting your ideas flow without censoring them. Or, alternatively, make an idea
map with believing and doubting branches. Here is how Trudie Makens played
the believing and doubting game with the assertion “Fast-food workers should
be paid $15 per hour.”

Trudie’s Believing and Doubting Game

Believing: I doubt anyone strives to become a full-time fast-food worker,
but many people become stuck in those jobs and can’t advance because
they don’ t have a college education or because there are no better jobs
available. Sometimes the workers are college students, so an increase in
minimum pay would help them not accrue so much debt and perhaps
have more time to study because they wouldn’t have to work so many
hours. But the real benefit would come to the uneducated, unskilled fast-
food worker whose financial situation has led him or her to the fast-food
job. The current minimum wage is barely livable. If fast-food workers
were to receive $15 per hour, there is far more of a chance for them to
support themselves and their family comfortably without the stress of
poverty. Even if full-time fast-food workers do not go on to get more skills
or go to college, it becomes more likely their children will be able to go to
college if the fast-food worker is receiving a higher wage. Thus, the cycle
of poverty as it is inherited generationally is, at least mildly, disrupted.

Doubting: If a $15 per hour minimum wage were to be implemented,
the fast-food corporations would have to find ways to compensate for
the loss of profits. The most obvious way would be to raise food prices.
If prices were to rise, fast food would no longer be affordable. This could
have damaging and reversing effects on the working class, which may
rely on cheap fast food. Another problem is that the $15 per hour mini-
mum wage may encourage workers to stay put in their jobs and not
strive for a career. Student workers may no longer see the benefit of going
into debt to get a degree and be satisfied with their current fast-food job.
The effect of more desirable fast-food jobs may put pressure on other
companies to raise the hourly wage of their entry-level positions. The
rise in wage may, again, have the ripple effect of higher-priced products,
thus reducing sales and forcing these companies to lay off some workers.
No matter what scenario is dreamt up, it would seem that raising the
minimum wage to $15 per hour, even if just for fast-food workers, might
have damaging effects on the economy that would diminish any benefits
or advantages that theoretically come from receiving a higher wage.

Although Trudie sees the injustice of paying low wages to fast-food workers,
she also sees that paying such workers $15 per hour might raise the cost of food,

Argument as Inquiry 135

reduce the number of jobs available, or have other negative consequences. Playing
the believing and doubting game has helped her articulate the dilemma and see
the issue in more complex terms.

For Writing and Discussion
Playing the Believing and Doubting Game

Individual task:
Choose one or more of the following controversial claims and play the believing and doubting game with it,
through either freewriting or idea mapping.

1. A student should report a fellow student who is cheating on an exam or plagiarizing an essay.
2. Federal law should forbid the purchase of assault weapons or other f irearms with high-capacity

•
magaz1nes.

3. Athletes should be allowed to take steroids and human growth hormone under a doctor’s supervision.
4. Il legal immigrants already living in the United States should be granted amnesty and placed on a fast

track to U.S. citizenship.
5. Respond to a claim from a controversial reading in your class.

Group task:
Working in pairs, in small groups, or as a class, share your results with c lassmates.

Summarizing a Stakeholder’s
Argument
8.2 Summarize a stakeholder’s argument as an entry into the issue.

When you research an issue, you will encounter the conflicting views of many
different stakeholders. You will eventually push against some of these stakeholders
with your own claim and reasons (“Although Jones and Lopez argue X, I argue Y”).
But you may also be in full or partial agreement with other stakeholders, drawing
on them for support or evidence. In either case, you have to understand thor-
oughly the sources you are engaging with.

One way to show this understanding is to summarize a stakeholder’s
argument in your own words. A summary (also called an abstract, a precis, or a
synopsis) presents only a text’s major points and eliminates supporting details.
Summaries can be any length, depending on the writer’s purpose, but usually
they range from several sentences to one or two paragraphs. To maintain your own
credibility, your summary should be as neutral and fair to that piece as possible.

To explain how to write a summary, we will continue with our example of
raising the minimum wage. The following article, “The Pay Is Too Damn Low,”
appeared in The New Yorker, a magazine with a liberal perspective. It was written
by James Surowiecki, an American journalist who writes the “Financial Page”
column for The New Yorker. Please read this article carefully in preparation for the
exercises and examples that follow.

136 Chapter 8

The Pay Is Too Damn Lo”W
JAMES SUROWIECKI

A few weeks ago, Washington, D.C., passed a living-wage bill designed to make
Walmart pay its workers a minimum of $12.50 an hour. Then President Obama
called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage (which is currently $7.25
an hour). McDonald’s was widely derided for releasing a budget to help its
employees plan financially, since that only underscored how brutally hard it is to
live on a McDonald’s wage. And last week fast-food workers across the country
staged walkouts, calling for an increase in their pay to fifteen dollars an hour.
Low-wage earners have long been the hardest workers to organize and the easiest
to ignore. Now they’re front-page news.

The workers’ grievances are simple: low wages, few (if any) benefits, and lit-
tle full-time work. In inflation-adjusted terms, the minimum wage, though higher
than it was a decade ago, is still well below its 1968 peak (when it was worth about
$10.70 an hour in today’s dollars), and it’s still poverty-level pay. To make mat-
ters worse, most fast-food and retail work is part time, and the weak job market
has eroded what little bargaining power low-wage workers had: their earnings
actually fell between 2009 and last year, according to the National Employment
Law Project.

Still, the reason this has become a big political issue is not that the jobs have
5 changed; it’s that the people doing the jobs have. Historically, low-wage work

tended to be done either by the young or by women looking for part-time jobs to
supplement family income. As the historian Bethany Moreton has shown, Walmart
in its early days sought explicitly to hire underemployed married women. Fast-
food workforces, meanwhile, were dominated by teenagers. Now, though, plenty
of family breadwinners are stuck in these jobs. That’s because, over the past three
decades, the U.S. economy has done a poor job of creating good middle-class jobs;
five of the six fastest-growing job categories today pay less than the median wage.
That’s why, as a recent study by the economists John Schmitt and Janelle Jones
has shown, low-wage workers are older and better educated than ever. More
important, more of them are relying on their paychecks not for pin money or to
pay for Friday-night dates but, rather, to support families. Forty years ago, there
was no expectation that fast-food or discount-retail jobs would provide a living
wage, because these were not jobs that, in the main, adult heads of household did.
Today, low-wage workers provide 46 percent of their family’s income. It is that
change which is driving the demand for higher pay.

The situation is the result of a tectonic shift in the American economy. In
1960, the country’s biggest employer, General Motors, was also its most profit-
able company and one of its best-paying. It had high profit margins and real
pricing power, even as it was paying its workers union wages. And it was not
alone: firms such as Ford, Standard Oil, and Bethlehem Steel employed huge
numbers of well-paid workers while earning big profits. Today, the country’s big-
gest employers are retailers and fast-food chains, almost all of which have built
their businesses on low pay they’ve striven to keep wages down and unions
out and low prices.

This complicates things, in part because of the nature of these businesses.
They make plenty of money, but most have slim profit margins: Walmart and

Argument as Inquiry 137

Target earn between three and four cents on the dollar; a typical McDonald’s
franchise restaurant earns around six cents on the dollar before taxes, according
to an analysis from Janney Capital Markets. In fact, the combined profits of all the
major retailers, restaurant chains, and supermarkets in the Fortune 500 are smaller
than the profits of Apple alone. Yet Apple employs just 76,000 people, while the
retailers, supermarkets, and restaurant chains employ 5.6 million. The grim truth
of those numbers is that low wages are a big part of why these companies are able
to stay profitable while offering low prices. Congress is currently considering a
bill increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 over the next three years. That’s an
increase that the companies can easily tolerate, and it would make a significant
difference in the lives of low-wage workers. But that’s still a long way from turn-
ing these jobs into the kind of employment that can support a middle-class family.
If you want to accomplish that, you have to change the entire way these compa-
nies do business. Above all, you have to get consumers to accept significantly
higher, and steadily rising, prices. After decades in which we’ve grown used to
cheap stuff, that won’t be easy.

Realistically, then, a higher minimum wage can be only part of the solution.
We also need to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and strengthen the social-
insurance system, including child care and health care (the advent of Obamacare
will help in this regard). Fast-food jobs in Germany and the Netherlands aren’t
much better-paid than in the United States, but a stronger safety net makes work-
ers much better off. We also need many more of the “middle-class jobs” we’re
always hearing about. A recent McKinsey report suggested that the government
should invest almost a trillion dollars over the next five years in repairing and
upgrading the national infrastructure, which seems like a good place to start.
And we really need the economy as a whole to grow faster, because that would
both increase the supply of good jobs and improve the bargaining power of low-
wage workers. As Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Center for Budget and
Policy Priorities told me, “The best friend that low-wage workers have is a strong
economy and a tight job market.” It isn’t enough to make bad jobs better. We need
to create better jobs.

Thinking Steps for Writing a Sutntnary
To help you write an effective summary, we recommend the following steps:

Step 1: Read the argument for general meaning. Don’t judge it. Put your objec-
tions aside; just follow the writer’s meaning, trying to see the issue from the
writer’s perspective. Try to adopt the writer’s values and belief system. Walk
in the writer’s shoes.

Step 2: Reread the article slowly, writing brief does and says statements for each
paragraph (or group of closely connected paragraphs). A does statement identifies
a paragraph’s function, such as “summarizes an opposing view,” “introduces
a supporting reason,” “gives an example,” or “uses statistics to support the
previous point.” A says statement summarizes a paragraph’s content. Your
challenge in writing says statements is to identify the main idea in each para-
graph and translate that idea into your own words, most likely condensing
it at the same time. This process may be easier with an academic article that

138 Chapter 8

uses long, developed paragraphs headed by clear topic sentences than with
more informal, journalistic articles that use shorter, less developed paragraphs.
What follows are does and says statements for the first three paragraphs of
Surowiecki ‘s article:

Does/Says Analysis of Surowiecki’s Article

Paragraph 1: Does: Gives examples of recent news stories about protests of
low-wage workers. Says: Hard-to-organize, low-wage earners are now in the
news demanding an increase in the minimum wage.

Paragraph 2: Does: Provides details about the workers’ grievances. Says: A
weakening job market combined with low wages, lack of benefits, and mainly
part-time hours keeps low-wage workers at poverty levels.

Paragraph 3: Does: Explains the changing demographics of those who hold
low-wage jobs. Says: In the past, minimum-wage jobs were held primarily
by teenagers or by women desiring part-time work to supplement family
incomes, but today many primary breadwinners depend on minimum-wage
jobs to support a family.

For Writing and Discussion
Does/Says Statements
Working individually or in small groups, w rite does and says statements for the remaining parag raphs of
Surowiecki’s article.

Step 3: Examine your does and says statements to determine the major sections of the
argument. Create a list of the major points (and subpoints) that must appear in
a summary in order to represent that argument accurately. If you are visually
oriented, you may prefer to make a diagram, flowchart, or scratch outline of
the sections of Surowiecki’s argument.

Step 4: Turn your list, outline, flowchart, or diagram into a prose summary. Typi-
cally, writers do this in one of two ways. Some start by joining all their says
statements into a lengthy paragraph-by-paragraph summary and then prune
it and streamline it. They combine ideas into sentences and then revise those
sentences to make them clearer and more tightly structured. Others start with a
one-sentence summary of the argument’s thesis and major supporting reasons
and then flesh it out with more supporting ideas. Your goal is to be as neu-
tral and objective as possible by keeping your own response to the writer’s
ideas out of your summary. To be fair to the writer, you also need to cover all
the writer’s main points and give them the same emphasis as in the original
article.

Step 5: Revise your summary until it is the desired length and is sufficiently
clear, concise, and complete. Your goal is to spend your words w isely, making
every word count. In a summary of several hundred words, you w ill often
need transitions to indicate structure and create a coherent flow of ideas:
“Surowiecki ‘s second point is that … ” or “Surowiecki concludes by …. ”

Argument as Inquiry 139

However, don’t waste words with meaningless transitions such as “Surowiecki
goes on to say …. “When you incorporate a summary into your own essay, you
must distinguish the author’s views from your own by using attributive tags
(expressions such as “Surowiecki asserts” or “according to Surowiecki”). You
must also put any directly borrowed wording in quotation marks. Finally, you
must cite the original author using appropriate conventions for documenting
sources.

Exam_ples of Sum_m_aries
What follows are two summaries of Surowiecki’s article a one-paragraph
version and a one-sentence version by student writer Trudie Makens. Trudie’s
one-paragraph version illustrates the MLA documentation system, with complete
bibliographic information placed in a Works Cited list at the end of the paper.
The in-text citations do not have page numbers because the work cited is from
a web source. See Chapter 18 for a complete explanation of the MLA and APA
documentation systems.

TRUDIE’S ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY OF SUROWIECKI’S ARGUMENT

In his The New Yorker article “The Pay Is Too Damn Low,” James Surowiecki
analyzes the grievances of workers at fast-food franchises, Walmart, or Target. In
the past, it didn’t matter that these jobs were low-pay, part-time, and without ben-
efits because they were held mainly by teenagers or married women seeking to
supplement a husband’s wages. But today, says Surowiecki, a growing number of
primary breadwinners rely on these poverty-level wages to support families. The
problem stems from a “tectonic shift in the American economy.” While in 1960,
“firms such as Ford, Standard Oil, and Bethlehem Steel employed huge numbers of
well-paid workers while earning big profits,” nowadays America’s biggest employ-
ers are fast-food and retail companies with low profit margins. These companies
depend on low-wage workers to keep prices cheap for the American consumer.
Paying living wages to workers would completely change the business model,
resulting in steadily rising prices. According to Surowiecki, raising the minimum
wage is only one tool for fighting poverty. America also needs to create a social
insurance system like that of Germany or the Netherlands. Surowiecki calls for an
increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit, universal health insurance, affordable
child care, and investment of almost a trillion dollars in infrastructure to create
good middle-class jobs.

Works Cited

Surowiecki, James. “The Pay Is Too Damn Low.” The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2013,
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/08/12/the-pay-is-too-damn-low.

TRUDIE’S ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY OF SUROWIECKI’S ARGUMENT

In his The New Yorker article, “The Pay Is Too Damn Low,” James Surowiecki
argues that raising the minimum wage is only a partial solution to the problem
of poverty and needs to be supplemented with a European-style social security
network including an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit, universal health
insurance, affordable child care, and investment of almost a trillion dollars in infra-
structure to create good middle-class jobs.

140 Chapter 8

Responding to a Stakeholder’s
Argument
8.3 Respond to a stakeholder’s argument through believing, doubting,

and dialectic thinking.

Once you have summarized an argument, you need to respond to it in thoughtful
ways that go beyond simple agreement (“I like it”), disagreement (“I don’t like it”),
or partial agreement (“It has good parts and bad parts”). To help you resist these
simple responses, we urge you to follow the spirit of the believing and doubting
game, which will stretch your critical thinking in powerful ways.

Practicing Believing: Willing Your Own Acceptance
of the Wr=iter’s Views
A powerful strategy for reading an argument rhetorically is to will yourself to
“believe” a stakeholder’s argument even if you tend to doubt it. When you read
to believe an argument, you practice what psychologist Carl Rogers calls empathic
listening. Empathic listening requires that you see the world through the author ‘ s
eyes, temporarily adopt the author’s beliefs and values, and suspend your skepti-
cism and biases in order to hear what the author is saying.

Although writing an accurate summary of an argument shows that you have
listened to it effectively and understood it, summary writing by itself doesn’t
mean that you have actively tried to enter the writer’s world view. Rhetorician
Peter Elbow reminds us that before we doubt a text, we should try to “dwell with”
and “dwell in” the writer’s ideas play the believing game in order to “earn”
our right to criticize.* He asserts, and we agree, that this use of the believing game
to engage with strange, threatening, or unfamiliar views can lead to a deeper
understanding and may provide a new vantage point on our own knowledge,
assumptions, and values. To believe a writer and dwell with his or her ideas, find
places in the text that resonate positively for you, look for values and beliefs you
hold in common (however few), and search for personal experiences and values
that affirm his or her argument.

Practicing Doubting: Willing Your Own Resistance
to the Writer’s Views
After willing yourself to believe an argument, will yourself to doubt it. Turn your
mental energies toward raising objections, asking questions, expressing skepti-
cism, and withholding your assent. When you read as a doubter, you question the
writer’s logic, the writer’s evidence and assumptions, and the writer’s strategies
for developing the argument. You also think about what is not in the argument by
noting what the author has glossed over, left unexplained, or left out entirely. You

*Peter Elbow, “Bringing the Rhetoric of Assent and the Believing Game Together Into the
Classroom,” College English, 67.4 (March 2005), 389.

Argument as Inquiry 141

add a new layer of marginal notes, articulating what is bothering you, demanding
proof, doubting evidence, and challenging the author’s assumptions and values.
Writing your own notes helps you read a text actively, bringing your own voice
into conversation with the author.

For Writing and Discussion
Raising Doubts About Surowiecki’s Argument
Return now to Surowiecki’s art icle and read it skeptically. Raise questions, offer objections, and express
doubts. Then, working as a c lass or in smal l groups, list all the doubt s you have about Surowiecki’s
argument.

Now that you have doubted Surowiecki’s article, compare your questions
and doubts to some raised by Trudie Makens.

Trudie’s Doubts about Surowiecki’s Article

• In his second paragraph, Surowiecki outlines three workers’
grievances: “low wages, few (if any) benefits, and little full-time
work.” But increasing the minimum wage addresses only one of the
grievances. A higher minimum wage might make it less likely for a
worker to receive benefits or obtain full-time rather than part-time
work. Moreover, with a higher wage, large companies may try to
maintain profits by cutting jobs.

• Surowiecki asserts that large retailers and fast-food companies would
absorb the cost of a higher minimum wage by raising prices on con-
sumer goods. But if low-wage workers are also consumers, won’t
higher prices on previously cheap products defeat the benefits of a
higher wage?

• Though he ends his article by calling for a multifaceted solution to
poverty, he does so without offering a way to accomplish this goal.
Where would the money come from in order to expand the Earned
Income Tax Credit, strengthen the United States’ current social insur-
ance system, or invest in infrastructure? Further, how would the
United States effectively implement and sustain these nationwide
social programs without upsetting the already delicate economy?

• In his article, Surowiecki mentions several studies, but there is no
way to tell if these are widely respected studies or controversial ones.
Would other studies, for example, conclude that low-wage workers
today are responsible for 46 percent of their family’s income?

These are only some of the objections that might be raised against Surow-
iecki’ s argument. The point here is that doubting as well as believing is a key
part of the exploratory process and purpose. Believing takes you into the views
of others so that you can expand your views and perhaps see them differently
and modify or even change them. Doubting helps protect you from becoming

142 Chapter 8

overpowered by others’ arguments and teaches you to stand back, consider, and
weigh points carefully. It also leads you to new questions and points you might
want to explore further.

Thinking Dialectically
8.4 Delay closure by thinking dialectically.

This chapter’s final strategy thinking dialectically to bring texts into conversa-
tion with one another encompasses all the previous strategies and can have
a powerful effect on your growth as a thinker and arguer. The term dialectic
is associated with the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,
who postulated that each thesis prompts an opposing thesis (which he calls
an “antithesis”) and that the conflict between these views can lead thinkers to
a new claim (a “synthesis”) that incorporates aspects of both views. Dialectic
thinking is the philosophical underpinning of the believing and doubting game,
pushing us toward new and better ideas. As Peter Elbow puts it, “Because it’s
so hard to let go of an idea we are holding (or more to the point, an idea that’s
holding us), our best hope for leverage in learning to doubt such ideas is to take
on different ideas.”*

This is why expert thinkers actively seek out alternative views not to shout
them down but to listen to them. If you were an arbitrator, you wouldn’t settle
a dispute between A and Bon the basis of A’s testimony only. You would also
insist on hearing B’ s side of the story (and perhaps also C’ s and D’s if they are
stakeholders in the dispute). Dialectic thinking means playing ideas against one
another, creating a tension that forces you to keep expanding your perspective. It
helps you achieve the “mingling of minds” that we discussed in the introduction
to this chapter.

As you listen to differing views, try to identify sources of disagreement
among arguers, which often fall into two categories: (1) disagreement about the
facts or truths of the case and (2) disagreement about underlying values, beliefs,
or assumptions. We saw these disagreements in Chapter 1 in the conversation
about legalizing marijuana. At the level of fact and truth, disputants disagreed
about whether marijuana was a dangerous drug. At the level of values, disputants
disagreed on their vision of a good society. As you try to determine your own
position on an issue, consider what research you might have to do to resolve ques-
tions of fact or truth; also try to articulate your own underlying values, beliefs,
and assumptions.

As you consider multiple points of view on an issue, try using the questions
in Table 8.2 to promote dialectic thinking:

Responding to questions like these either through class discussion or
through exploratory writing can help you work your way into a public contro-
versy. Earlier in this chapter you read James Surowiecki ‘s article expressing liberal
support for raising the minimum wage and enacting other government measures

*Peter Elbow, “Bringing the Rhetoric of Assent and the Believing Game Together Into the
Classroom,” College English 67.4 (March 2005), 390.

Table 8.2 Questions to Promote Dialectic Thinking

1. What wou ld writer A say to writer B?

2. After I read writer A, I thought ; however, after I read writer B, my thi nking on this issue had
changed in these ways: .

3. To what extent do writer A and writer B disagree about facts and interpretations of facts?

4. To what extent do writer A and writer B disagree about underlying beliefs, assumptions, and
values?

5. Can I find any areas of agreement , including shared values and beliefs, between writer A and
writer B?

6. What new, significant questions do these texts raise for me?

7. After I have wrestled with the ideas in these two texts, what are my current views on this issue?

Argument as Inquiry 143

to h elp the poor. Now consider an article expressing a quite different point of
view, an opinion piece appearing in The Huffington Post written by Michael Salts-
man, the research director at the Employment Policies Institute a pro-business,
free-market think tank opposed to raising the minimum wage. We ask you to read
the article and then use the questions in Table 8.2 to stimulate dialectic thinking
about Surowiecki versus Saltsman.

For Writing and Discussion
Practicing Dialectic Thinking with Two Articles

Individual task:
Freewrite your responses to the questions in Table 8.2, in which Surowiecki is writer A and Saltsman is
writer B.

Group task:
Working as a class or in small groups, share your responses to the two artic les, guided by the dialectic
questions.

To Help the Poor, Move Beyond “Minimum”
Gestures
MICHAEL SALTSMAN

Actor and director Ben Affleck made n ew s this w eek with the announcement
that h e’ll spend five days living on just $1.50 the U.S.-dollar daily equivalent of
extreme poverty, according to the Global Poverty Project.

Affleck’s heart is in the right place, but his actions won’t provide a m ea-
surable ben efit for people who actually live in poverty. On that score, Affleck’s
actions are not unlike a series of recently-introduced proposals to raise the federal
minimum wage well-intentioned but ultimately empty gestures that will do
little to raise poor families out of poverty.

144 Chapter 8

For poverty-reducing policies to benefit the poor, the benefits first have to be
properly targeted to people living in poverty. On this count, a higher minimum
wage fails m iserably. Census Bureau data shows that over 60 percent of people
living below the poverty line don’t work. They don’t need a raise they need
a job.

Among those who do earn the minimum wage, a majority actually don’t
live in poverty. According to a forthcoming Employment Policies Institute analy-
sis of Census Bureau data, over half of those covered by President Obama’ s
$9 proposal live in households with income at least twice the poverty level-
and one-third are in households with an income three times or greater than the
poverty level.

s That’s because nearly 60 percent of affected employees aren’t single earners,
according to the EPI report they’re living in households where a parent or
a spouse often earns an income far above the minimum. (The average family
income of this group is $50,789.) By contrast, we found that only 9 percent of
people covered by President Obama’s $9 minimum wage are single parents with
children.

It’s for reasons like these that the majority of academic research shows little
connection between a higher minimum wage and reductions in poverty. For
instance, economists from American and Cornell Universities examined data from
the 28 states that raised their minimum wages between 2003 and 2007, and found
no associated reductions in poverty.

Of course, poor targeting isn’t the only problem. The vast majority of eco-
nomic research including 85 percent of the most credible studies from the last
two decades finds that job loss for the least-skilled employees follows on the
heels of minimum wage hikes.

That’s why better-targeted policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
deserve the support of politicians and public figures who want to do something
about poverty. It’s been empirically proven to boost employment and incomes,
w ithout the unintended consequences of a wage hike. Accounting for the EITC,
the full-time hourly wage for many minimum wage earners is already above the
$9 figure that President Obama has proposed.

Three Ways to Foster Dialectic Thinking
In this concluding section, we suggest three ways to stimulate and sustain the pro-
cess of dialectic thinking: Effective discussions (in class, over coffee, or online); a
reading log in which you make texts speak to one another; or a formal exploratory
essay. We’ll look briefly at each in turn.

EFFECTIVE DISCUSSIONS Good, rich talk is one of the most powerful ways to
stimulate dialectic thinking and foster a “mingling of minds.” The key is to keep
these discussions from becoming shouting matches or bully pulpits for those
who like to dominate the airtime. Discussions are most productive if people are
willing to express different points of view or to role-play those views for the
purpose of advancing the conversation. Try Rogerian listening, in which you
summarize someone else’s position before you offer your own, different posi-
tion. (See Chapter 10 for more explanation of Rogerian listening.) Probe deeply

Argument as Inquiry 145

to discover whether disagreements are primarily about facts and evidence or
about underlying values and beliefs. Be respectful of others’ views, but don’t
hesitate to point out where you see problems or weaknesses. Good discussions
can occur in class, in late-night coffee shops, or in online chat rooms or on dis-
cussion boards.

READING LOGS In our classes, we require students to keep reading logs or
journals in which they use freewriting and idea mapping to explore their ideas as
they encounter multiple perspectives on an issue. One part of a journal or reading
log should include summaries of each article you read. Another part should focus
on your own dialectic thinking as you interact with your sources while you are
reading them. Adapt the questions in Table 8.2 for promoting dialectic thinking.

A FORMAL EXPLORATORY ESSAY A formal exploratory essay tells the story
of an intellectual journey. It is both a way of promoting dialectical thinking and a
way of narrating one’s struggle to negotiate multiple views. The keys to writing
successful exploratory essays are: (1) choosing an issue to explore on which you
don’t yet have an answer or position (or on which you are open to changing your
mind); (2) wrestling with an issue or problem by resisting quick, simple answers
and by exploring diverse perspectives; and (3) letting your thinking evolve and
your own stance on the issue grow out of this exploration.

Exploratory essays can be powerful thinking and writing experiences in
their own right, but they can also be a valuable precursor to a formal argument.
Many instructors assign a formal exploratory paper as the first stage of a course
research project what we might call a “thesis-seeking” stage. (The second stage
is a formal argument that converts your exploratory thinking into a hierarchically
organized argument using reasons and evidence to support your claim.) Although
often used as part of a research project, exploratory essays can also be low-stakes
reflective pieces narrating the evolution of a writer’s thinking.

An exploratory essay includes these thinking moves and parts:

• The essay is opened and driven by the writer’s issue question or research
problem not a thesis.

• The introduction to the essay presents the question and shows why it interests
the writer, why it is significant, and why it is problematic rather than clear-cut
or easy to resolve.

• The body of the essay shows the writer’s inquiry process. It demonstrates
how the writer has kept the question open, sincerely wrestled with different
views on the question, accepted uncertainty and ambiguity, and possibly
redefined the question in the midst of reading and reflecting on multiple
perspectives.

• The body of the essay includes summaries of the different views or sources
that the writer explored and often includes believing and doubting responses
to them.

• In the essay’s conclusion, the writer may clarify his or her thinking and dis-
cover a thesis to be developed and supported in a subsequent argument.
But the conclusion can also remain open because the writer may not have
discovered his or her own position on the issue and may acknowledge the
need or desire for more exploration.

146 Chapter 8

One of the writing assignment options for this chapter is a formal exploratory
paper. Trudie Makens’s exploratory essay at the end of this chapter shows how
she explored different voices in the controversy over raising the minimum wage
to $15 per hour.

Conclusion
This chapter has focused on inquiry as a way to enrich your reading and writ-
ing of arguments. It offered four main strategies for deep reading: (1) use a
variety of questions and prompts to find an issue to explore; (2) demonstrate
careful listening by summarizing a stakeholder’s argument; (3) respond to the
argument through believing, doubting, and dialectic thinking; and (4) prac-
tice various methods for sustaining dialectic thinking. This chapter has also
explained how to summarize an article and incorporate summaries into your
own writing, using attributive tags to distinguish the ideas you are summariz-
ing from your own ideas. Finally, it has offered the exploratory essay as a way
to encourage wrestling with multiple perspectives rather than seeking early
closure.

Writing Assignment
An Argument Summary or a Formal Exploratory Essay

Option 1: An Argument Summary
Write a 250-word summary of an argument selected by your instructor. Then write a one-sentence summary
of the same argument. Use as models Trud ie Makens’s summaries of James Surowiecki’s argument on
raising the minimum wage earlier in this chapter.

Option 2: A Formal Exploratory Essay
Write an exploratory essay in which you narrate in f irst-person, chronological order the evolution through
time of your thinking about an issue or problem. Rather than state a thesis or claim, begin with a ques-
tion or problem. Then describe your inquiry process as you worked your way through sources or differ-
ent views. Follow the guidelines for an exploratory paper shown in Figure 8.5. When you cite the sources
you have considered, be sure to use attributive tags so that the reader can distinguish between your
own ideas and those of the sources you have summarized. If you use research sources, use MLA docu-
mentation for c iting ideas and quotations and for creating a Works Cited at the end of your essay (see
Chapter 18).

Explanation and Organization
An exploratory essay cou ld grow out of class discussion, course readings, fieldwork and interviews, or
simply the writer’s role-playing of alternative views. In all cases, the purpose of an exploratory paper is
not to state and defend a thesis. Instead, its purpose is to think dialectically about multiple perspectives,
narrating the evolution through time of the writer’s thought process. Many students are inspired by the
open, “behind-the-scenes” feel of an exploratory essay. They enjoy taking readers on the same intellectual
and emotional journey they have just traveled.

Argument as Inquiry 147

Figure 8.5 Organization plan for an exploratory essay

Introduction
(one to
several paragraphs)

Body section 1 :
First view or source

Body section 2:
Second view or source

Body sections 3, 4, 5, etc.

Conclusion

• Establish that your question is complex, problematic,

and significant.

• Show why you are interested in it.

• Present relevant background on your issue.

Begin with your question or build up to it, using it to end

your introductory section.

• Introduce your first source and show why you started with it.

• Provide rhetorical context and information about it.

• Summarize the source’s content and argument.

• Offer your response to this source, including both

believing and doubting points.

• Talk about what this source contributes to your

understanding of your question: What did you learn? What

value does this source have for you? What is missing from this

source that you want to consider? Where do you want to go

from here?

• Repeat the process with a new source selected to advance

the inquiry.

• Explain why you selected this source (to find an alternative

view, pursue a subquestion, find more data, and so forth).

• Summarize the source’s argument.

• Respond to the source’s ideas. Look for points of agreement

and disagreement with other sources.

• Show how your cumulative reading of sources is shaping

your thinking or leading to more questions.

• Continue exploring views or sources.

• Wrap up your intellectual journey and explain where you

are now in your thinking and how your understanding of your

problem has changed.

• Present your current answer to your question based on all

that you have learned so far, or explain why you still can’t

answer your question, or explain what research you might

pursue further.

148 Chapter 8

Title as question indi-
cates an exploratory
purposec

Introduction
identifies the issue,
explains the writer’s
interest in it, and
acknowledges its
complexity

Writer states her
research question
Writer identif-i-es her
first source

Writer summarizes
the article

Reading
What follows is Trudie Makens’s exploratory essay on the subject of raising the
minimum wage. Her research begins with the articles by Surowiecki and Salts-
man that you have already read and discussed. She then moves off in her own
direction.

Student Essay

Should Fast-Food Workers Be Paid $15 per Hour?

Trudie Makens

Having worked as a busser in a pizza restaurant, a part-time barista,
and a server at a dumpling cafe, I was immediately attracted to our class
discussions of minimum wage, sparked by recent protests of fast-food
workers demanding pay of $15 per hour. My first job as a barista exposed
me to the harsh reality of living on today’s existing minimum wage as I
witnessed my coworker Maria lose her home because she couldn’t pay
rent and support her kids at the same time. As a single mother of two,
Maria had to bounce from relative to relative, which put a strain on her
family relations, her image of herself as an able provider, and her children.
I am lucky because, as a student, I am blessed to have my family operate
as a safety net for me. If I am ever short on a bill or get sick or hurt, my
parents will assist me financially. Many of the individuals I have worked
with do not have that same safety net. These individuals are often older
and have children or are beginning a family. Understanding the hardships
of minimum-wage jobs, I entered our class discussions in support of the
$15 /hour demand because this pay rate would give workers a living wage.
However, despite my personal affinities with these workers, I also under-
stood that raising the minimum wage might have negative consequences
for our economy. I wanted to explore this issue in more depth so I decided
to pose my research question as “Should fast-food workers be paid a living
wage of $15 per hour?”

My exploration began with an article that our instructor assigned to the
whole class: “The Pay Is Too Damn Low” by James Surowiecki from The
New Yorker. In the past, according to Surowiecki, it didn’t matter that jobs
at Walmart, Target, or fast-food franchises were low-pay, part-time, and
without benefits because they were held mainly by teenagers or married
women seeking to supplement a husband’s wages. But today, says Surow-
iecki, a growing number of primary breadwinners rely on these poverty-
level wages to support families. The problem stems from a “tectonic shift in
the American economy.” While in 1960, “firms such as Ford, Standard Oil,
and Bethlehem Steel employed huge numbers of well-paid workers while
earning big profits,” nowadays America’s biggest employers are fast-food
and retail companies with low profit margins. While Surowiecki acknowl-
edges that these retail companies and food franchises depend on low-wage

workers to keep prices cheap for the American consumer, he still supports
increasing the minimum wage but sees it as only one tool for fighting pov-
erty. He argues that America also needs to create a European-style safety-net
system and calls for an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit, universal
health insurance, affordable child care, and investment of almost a trillion
dollars in infrastructure to create good middle-class jobs.

Surowiecki’s concluding remarks about a safety net system resonated
with me. I understood that what protected me from a financial crisis was my
family acting as a safety net. The government, Surowiecki argues, should
perform the same function for low-wage earners through such programs
as child care and health care. He points to Germany and the Netherlands,
arguing the stronger safety net put in place for workers by these European
governments provides a better economic and social situation for low-wage
workers, even though they are paid around the same amount as U.S. low-
wage workers. Surowiecki also addressed some of my concerns regarding
the economic consequences of implementing a living wage. Even though
some low-wage jobs might be eliminated and food costs might go up,
government investment in infrastructure might create more high-paying,
middle-class jobs, resulting in a net benefit. But I still wasn’t convinced or
completely satisfied. How exactly would the government raise the money
for a redesigned social insurance system? Would the country accept the
needed higher taxes? While Surowiecki had convinced me that the govern-
ment had an important role to play in creating the conditions for a living
wage, I still was unclear on how the government could effectively do so
without having a negative impact on the economy.

I wanted to know more about raising the minimum wage from the
business perspective, so I Googled “living wage” and found an anti-
minimum wage article from Michael Saltsman, the research director of the
Employment Policy Institute. The opinion piece was published online in
The Huffington Post and entitled “To Help the Poor, Move Beyond ‘Mini-
mum’ Gestures.” I also found a full-page ad from the same conservative
institute depicting a robot doing the work of a fast-food employee. Salts-
man believes that despite the good intentions of living-wage proponents,
a higher federal minimum wage will do more harm than good. Within
his piece, Saltsman equates the symbolic value of Ben Affleck’s pledge to
live five days on $1.50, “the U.S.-dollar equivalent of extreme poverty,” to
proposals for a higher federal minimum wage. Both, according to Salts-
man, are “ultimately empty gestures” that do little to lift families out of
poverty. What the poor need, Saltsman asserts, is “not a raise” but a job.
Saltsman claims that over “60°/o of people living below the poverty line
don’t work,” and those who do earn a minimum wage don’t live in house-
holds whose total wages are below the poverty line. Even if a member of
the working poor were to receive a living wage, Saltsman argues, “job loss
for the least-skilled employees follows on the heels of a minimum wage
hike.” What helps to reduce poverty, according to Saltsman, is not a higher
minimum wage but the Earned Income Tax Credit, “empirically proven to
boost employment and incomes” and thus providing “a measurable differ-
ence for the poor.”

(continued)

Argument as Inquiry 149

Writer shows how
this article has
advanced her think-
ing by strengthening
her previous mention
of “safety nets”

Writer includes
doubting points by
identifying problems
not resolved in first
source

Writer shows
rhetorical thinking
by purposely seeking
an argument from a
business perspective;
she identifies the
author’s conservative
credentials and sum-
marizes his argument

Writer summarizes
second source

150 Chapter 8

Writer includes both 5
believing and doubt-
ing points

Writer shows dia-
lectic thinking by
comparing and con-
trasting views of first
two sources

Writer again seeks
sources purposefully;
she shows how she
found the source and
places it in rhetorical
context

Writer summarizes
the article

Writer shows how
the pro-business
sources have com-
plica ted her initial
tentative position

Writer uses believing
and doubting
strategies to think
dialectically, looking
for a synthesis

Prior to reading Saltsman, I had not fully considered the potential that
workers would be laid off because it would be cheaper for businesses to use
robots or other automation than to employ higher-wage workers. Though
Saltsman got me thinking about the dangers of job displacement, I wasn’t
convinced by his argument that an increased minimum wage would primar-
ily benefit people who didn’t need it, such as teenagers or second earners in
an already middle-class family. I could see that an increased minimum wage
wouldn’t help the 60 percent of the poor who are unemployed, but I also
realized that the Earned Income Tax Credit wouldn’t help the unemployed
either because it goes only to poor people who report income. (I Googled
“earned income tax credit” just to make sure I understood how it works by
giving a boost of income to poor but working tax filers.) Though Saltsman
persuaded me to consider the negative economic consequences of a living
wage, I wasn’t convinced the living wage was entirely ineffective. I thought
back to Surowiecki who, unlike Saltsman, saw a living wage as one compo-
nent in a larger solution to reduce poverty. Both recommended an expanded
Earned Income Tax Credit, but Surowiecki went further and also encouraged
a stronger social-insurance system in addition to a higher minimum wage.
Neither article persuaded me the living wage was either fully beneficial or
fully injurious. To clarify my position, I needed to do more research.

I wanted another economist’s perspective, so I typed “economic impact
and living wage” into ProQuest, an interdisciplinary research database. One of
the articles that caught my attention was “Living Wage: Some Gain, Neediest
Lose Out.” The article was an interview with labor economist Richard
Toikka by author Charles Oliver featured in Investor’s Business Daily, a con-
servative financial newspaper focused on stock and bond investments. In the
interview, Oliver prompts Toikka to discuss the unintended consequences of
a higher minimum wage. Toikka asserts that in order to absorb the cost of a
higher wage, companies seek to hire higher-skilled workers who require less
training, and thus cost the company less money. With a higher wage offered,
Toikka argues, more high-skilled workers, such as college students, seek
these jobs, increasing “the competition low-skilled workers face.” Thus an
increased minimum wage reduces the number of low-skilled jobs available.
Toikka also makes the same argument as Saltsman, concluding that the bene-
fits of a higher wage don’t go towards the families who need it, but instead to
second-earners who aren’t living below the poverty line. Toikka cites a survey
among labor economists asked to rate the efficiency of anti-poverty measures,
and “69°/o said living wages weren’t at all efficient in meeting the needs of
poor families.” The more efficient way to combat poverty, Toikka argues, is
not a living wage but an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Putting Oliver /Toikka in conversation with Saltsman, I began to under-
stand and heed the warnings of both economists. Though well-intentioned,
increasing the minimum wage by itself is not apt to reduce poverty and
would ultimately injure the poor rather than helping them. If a living wage
does lead to heightened competition and employers slashing jobs, then per-
haps a living wage is ineffective and therefore should be abandoned in favor
of the Earned Income Tax Credit. So far, all the articles agreed the Earned
Income Tax Credit is a good way to reduce poverty, even though it too bene-
fits only those with jobs. Even so, I couldn’t help but think that abandoning

a living wage was a concession to a flawed economic system that doesn’t
value the working poor or impoverished, unemployed people enough. I
thought back to Surowiecki when he praised Germany and the Netherlands
for providing a strong social-insurance system that serves as a safety net
for those in low-wage jobs. If Europe can ensure dignity and security to its
citizens, then why can’t the United States? Although 69 percent of labor
economists say that a living wage is an inefficient way to alleviate pov-
erty, we don’t know what they would say if the government also invested
in infrastructure to create well-paying jobs. Right now, it seems from my
readings, that the current market doesn’t value low-wage workers. What is
valued in our economy is capital, profit, and cheap goods, all of which come
at the expense of millions of workers. Is the structure of the economy where
wealth is unequally d istributed and workers are exploited really inevitable?
Or is it an economic trend that can be reversed? I wanted to believe the lat-
ter, so I returned to ProQuest to find another article addressing the economic
impact of a living wage but from a pro-labor perspective.

In my search, I found an article entitled “The Task Rabbit Economy,”
authored by Robert Kuttner and published in the progressive magazine The
American Prospect. Kuttner begins by describing a successful San Francisco
company whose website matches people who have an odd job they need
done w ith people who will do the work for a fee. The company, named
Task Rabbit, is like an online temp agency that operates by having would-
be workers bid against one another, driving the price down for their labor.
Kuttner argues that Task Rabbit’s business model, which produces cheap
labor, is analogous to our current economy, where workers have lost “bar-
gaining power” and work has become casual and unstable (46). Kuttner
argues that this low-wage economy has produced less economic growth, less
prosperity, and more unemployment than earlier eras when there was more
job stability and higher wages. According to Kuttner, the claim made by
labor economists that a higher minimum wage leaves low-skilled workers
without a job ignores how an unregulated labor market has allowed cor-
porations to “weaken labor … and extract abnormal profits” (47). Kuttner
draws on the economy of Sweden to provide an example where a living
wage, full employment, and a “deliberate effort to narrow wage gaps” has
been implemented effectively (48). What’s more, Kuttner addresses the con-
cern of rising prices by citing a Demos study that found raising wages so
retail workers “earned at least $25,000 a year” only cost large retailers “1
percent of their $2.17 trillion annual sales” (52). Kuttner closes his article by
emphasizing that “organized labor” is what will change the labor market,
using both collective bargaining and “political force” (55).

Kuttner’s article moved me in a way that Oliver /Toikka and Saltsman’s
pieces could not. Instead of accepting an economic system where low-
wage workers are exploited for stockholder profits and cheap goods,
Kuttner criticizes the labor market for its failure to value workers. Kuttner
acknowledges that a higher minimum wage will upset the present econ-
omy, but he argues that the present economic system isn’t inevitable but
rather the result of large employers choosing to value capital over people
in the absence of strong governmental policies protecting labor and the

(continued)

Argument as Inquiry 151

Writer purposefully
seeks a different
perspective

Writer identifies next
source and places it
in rhetorical context

Writer summarizes
the article

Writer shows how
this source has
advanced and
solidified her own
thinking

152 Chapter 8

Writer again shows
purposeful search for
next source

10
Writer identifies next
source and places it
in rhetorical context

Writer pulls together
the results of her
dialectic thinking,
which has resulted in
a synthesis

poor. Moreover, Kuttner’s article illuminates the inefficiency of our econ-
omy. The studies Kuttner references reveal that the United States was bet-
ter off in the years after World War II, when jobs were stable, plentiful,
and paid a living wage. Most of all, I appreciated Kuttner’s concluding
call to action, and his assurance that such action will not lead to eco-
nomic suicide but instead create the “dynamic, supple, and innovative”
economy our nation strives for. According to Kuttner, we can choose
to allow the market to continue unregulated, or, through organizing
workers, we can push towards policies that value people their rights,
health, and dignity. As I read Kuttner, I wondered what current labor move-
ments are in existence today and the progress they are making in their fight
to gain rights and a living wage. I again turned to ProQuest.

My search handed me a long list of results, but I found one article
that provided a relevant look into a labor campaign organized by Walmart
sales associates. Titled “Job Insecurity,” the article was written by Kevin
Clarke and published in the Catholic magazine America. Clarke begins by
introducing William Fletcher, a twenty-three-year-old retail sales associate
at Walmart. According to Fletcher, he loves his job and “working with the
public” but, he says, he and other employees constantly struggle with “low
wages, chaotic scheduling, and insensitive management.” Both Fletcher
and Clarke wonder why being a retail sales associate for Walmart warrants
not receiving enough to “have a home, have health insurance, have all the
basic things in life.” In order to improve his working conditions, Fletcher
joined Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OUR Walmart. OUR
Walmart, Clarke states, is “part of an emerging labor phenomenon of non-
union activism against Walmart and other powerful, profitable U.S. corpo-
rations that maintain large, low-paid work forces.” Walmart, according to
both Fletcher and Clarke, is a trend-setting company. If labor conditions
improve at Walmart, other companies could follow suit. The organiza-
tion draws from the tactics of “community organizing and the civil rights
movement.” Unfortunately, Clarke states, Walmart management continues
to thwart protests or walkouts. Despite obstacles, OUR Walmart persists,
marking a major moment in the contemporary labor movement. The article
ends with Clarke’s appeal to the Catholic social justice tradition of solidarity
with the poor. He notes that Walmart sales associates depend on govern-
ment support programs such as food stamps and housing assistance. He
reminds his readers that our continual search for the cheapest goods makes
us partially guilty of the exploitation of workers. He urges us to shop con-
scientiously and thoughtfully.

I reached the end of the article feeling shocked. I was amazed that
Walmart could dismiss the demands of OUR Walmart. Clarke states the
owners of Walmart, the Walton family, possess “48°/o of Walmart stock
and [are] the richest family on earth, with over $107 billion in net worth.”
Hearing numbers like these confirmed my forming conviction that the
unregulated labor market dangerously exploits workers in order to gain
cheap labor, cheap goods, and bloated profits. What’s more, Walmart
actively tries to scare workers from organizing threatening to take away
their jobs. Though there is much more to read and learn about the growing
labor movement in the United States, Clarke’s article, as well as Surowiecki,

Saltsman, Oliver/Toikka, and Kuttner’s pieces, allowed me to round out
my position on a higher minimum wage. As I end my exploratory paper, I
understand that a living wage is possible and should be provided to service
workers as a basic human right. But it also needs to be supplemented with
the kinds of social insurance systems stressed by Surowiecki and Kuttner.

Works Cited

Clarke, Kevin. “Job Insecurity.” America, 18 Feb. 2013, americamagazine
.org/issue/ article/job-insecurity.

Kuttner, Robert. “The Task Rabbit Economy.” The American Prospect,
24 Sept. 2013, pp. 45-55.

Oliver, Charles. “Living Wage: Some Gain, Neediest Lose Out.” Investor ‘s
Business Daily, 5 Sept. 2000. ProQuest, 10 Jan. 2014, search.proquest
.com/ docview /1026806044/ fulltext/DA48476FOF254E4CPQ/1 ?accou
ntid=10226.

Saltsman, Michael. “To Help the Poor, Move Beyond ‘Minimum’ Ges-
tures.” The Huffington Post, 26 Apr. 2013, updated 26 June 2013, www
.huffingtonpost.com/ michael-saltsman/ earned-income-tax-credit-
minimum-wage_b_3165459.html.

Surowiecki, James. “The Pay Is Too Damn Low.” The New Yorker,
12 Aug. 2013, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/08/12/
the-pay-is-too-damn-low.

Argument as Inquiry 153

Final sentences
reveal synthesis that
goes beyond origi-
nalleanings in first
paragraph

Writer compiles
an MLA-formatted
“Works Cited” page
that lists alphabeti-
cally all the sources
discussed in the
paper. Page numbers
are included only
for sources in print
format; most web
a-rticles do not have
page numbers

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PART THREE

9 Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments

10 An Alternative to Argument: Collaborative Rhetoric

Increasingly, countries are employing hydraulic fracturing (called £r acking), which extracts
natural gas from deeply buried sh ale, to meet their energy needs. Burning n atural gas is cleaner
than burning gasoline, oil, and coal and emits less carbon dioxide. However, each £rackin g site
uses millions of gallons of water, leaves contaminated waste water, and often emits methane.
Also environmentalists fear that £racking may contamin ate aquifers. This photo depicts anti-
fracking views in a protest near Manchester, England, in January 2014. To what extent does
the garb of the protestors make effe ctive appeals to logos and pathos to turn viewers against
£racking?

155

156

Chapter 9
•

Learning Objectives
In this chapter you will learn to:

9.1 Explain the visual design elements in multimodal arguments.

9.2 Analyze the compositional features of photographs and
drawings rhetorically.

9.3 Explain the genres of multimodal argument.

9.4 Construct your own multimodal arguments.

9.5 Use information graphics rhetorically in arguments.

This chapter focuses on the rhetorical persuasiveness of images, either by
themselves or in combination with words to create multimodal arguments. A
multimodal argument is an argument that combines two or more modes of
communication, such as words (written or spoken), images, sounds, or numeri-
cal graphics. The term multimodal is derived from “multi” (many) and “modal”
(modes or modalities of communication). Multimodal arguments most commonly
combine words with images (as in posters or print ads), but other combinations
are also possible: spoken text and sounds (as in a podcast), sounds and images (as
in a photographic slide show set to music), or words and graphics (as in a Power-
Point slide featuring words and a pie chart). Advocacy videos typically combine
three modes (words, images, and music and other sounds).

To appreciate the power of multimodal arguments, consider Figure 9.1 a
photo of demonstrators protesting a federal travel ban on persons from certain
Muslim-majority countries. The photograph contains several layers of multi-
modal arguments. The protest itself is a multimodal argument in which the pro-
testors shout slogans, sing chants, and wave banners emphasizing the value of
cultural and religious diversity. In this photograph, the poster carried by one of

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 157

Figure 9.1 A multimodal argument about cu ltural and relig ious diversity

·WE THE PEO PLE
ARE GREATER THAN FEAR

the protestors is also a multimodal argument combining words (“We the people
are greater than fear” set in different type sizes for rhetorical effect) with the
drawing of a Muslim woman wearing the American flag as a hijab. The poster
visually identifies and welcomes the Muslim woman as an American whose flag
hijab is just as legitimate as a flag cowboy hat or a flag T-shirt.

The poster in Figure 9.1 makes use of all three classical appeals. It appeals
to logos by arguing that this woman is one of the “us” in “we the people” (high-
lighted in bold capital letters) based on the constitutional claim that the United
States is a nation of diverse peoples. It appeals to pathos by taking a patriotic
symbol beloved by Americans (the flag) and associating it with groups of people
whom the government has labeled as a threat. It also appeals to ethos by show-
ing citizens courageously protesting and rejecting fear. The striking multimodal
poster and the surrounding protesters in the photo create a memorable social and
political argument.

Understanding Visual Design
Elements in Multimodal Argument
9.1 Explain the visual design elements in multimodal arguments.

To understand how visual images can produce an argument, you need to under-
stand the design elements that work together to create a visual text. In this section
we explain and illustrate the four basic components of visual design: use of type,
use of space and layout, use of color, and use of images and graphics.

158 Chapter 9

Use of Type
Type is an important visual element of written arguments. Variations in type, such
as size, boldface, italics, underlining, or ALL CAPS, can direct a reader’s attention
to an argument’s structure and h ighlight main points. In arguments designed
specifically for visual impact, such as posters or advocacy advertisements, type
is often used in eye-catching and meaningful ways.

In choosing type, you need to consider the typeface or font style, the size of
the type, and formatting options. The main typefaces or fonts are classified as serif,
sans serif, and specialty type. Serif type has little extensions on the letters, as on
the bottom of the letter “p” in “type.” (This text is set in serif type.) Sans serif type
lacks these extensions. Specialty type includes script fonts and special symbols.

In addition to font style, type comes in different sizes. It is measured in points,
with 1 point equal to 1/72 of an inch. Most text-based arguments consisting
mainly of body text are set in 10- to 12-point type, while more image-based argu-
ments may use a mixture of type sizes that interact with the images for persuasive
effect. Table 9.1 shows examples of type styles, as well as their typical uses.

The following basic principles for choosing type for visual arguments can
help you achieve the three key goals of readability, visual appeal, and suitability.

PRINCIPLES FOR CHOOSING TYPE FOR VISUAL ARGUMENTS

1. If you are creating a poster or advocacy advertisement, you will need to
decide how much of your argument will be displayed in words and how
much in images. For longer passages of text that must be easy on the eyes,
choose body or text type (serif). For titles, headings, and slogans, display type
(sans serif) or specialty fonts can be effective.

2. Make type functional and appealing by using only two or three font styles
per document.

3. Use consistent patterns of type (similar type styles, sizes, and formats) to
indicate relationships among similar items or different levels of importance.

4. Choose type to project a specific impression (a structured combination of serif
and sans serif type to create a formal, serious, or businesslike impression; sans
serif and specialty type to create a casual, informal, or playful impression).

Besides these general principles, rhetorical considerations of genre and audi-
ence expectations should govern decisions about type. Text-based arguments in
scholarly publications generally use plain, conservative fonts with little variation,

Table 9.1 Examples and Uses of Type Styles

Serif fonts Times New Roman Use type wisely.
Palatino Use type w isely.
G aramond Use type wisely.

Sans serif fonts Aria I Use type w isely.
Ca li bri Use type wisely.

Specialty fonts Papyrus Use t~pe wisel_y.
Lucida Calligraphy Use type wise ly.

Easy to read; good for long
documents; good for body type , or
t he main verbal parts of a document

Ti ring to read for long stret ches; good
for display type such as headings,
t itles, and slogans

Difficult to read for long stretches;
effective when used sparingly for
playful or decorative effect

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 159

whereas text-based arguments in popular magazines may use more variations in
font style and size, especially in headings and opening leads. Visual arguments
such as posters, fliers, and advocacy ads exploit the aesthetic potential of type.

Use of Space and Layout
A second component of visual design is layout, which is critical for creating the
visual appeal of an argument and for conveying meaning. Even visual arguments
that are mainly textual should use space very purposefully. By spacing and layout
we mean all of the following elements:

• Page size and type of paper

• Proportion of text to white space

• Proportion of text to image(s) and graphics

• Arrangement of text on page (space, margins, columns, length of paragraphs,
spaces between lines and paragraphs, justification of margins)

• Use of highlighting elements such as bulleted lists, tables, sidebars, and boxes

• Use of headings and other means of breaking text into visual elements

In arguments that don’t use visuals directly, the writer’s primary visual con-
cern is document design, in which the writer tries to meet the conventions of a
genre and the expectations of the intended audience. For example, Jesse Gon-
calves’s researched argument in Chapter 13 is designed to meet the document
conventions of the American Psychological Association (APA). That paper uses
a plain, conventional typeface (for easy reading); double spacing and one-inch
margins (to leave room for editorial marking and notations); and a special title
page, headers, and page number locations (to meet the expectations of readers
familiar with APA documents, which all look exactly the same).

But in moving from verbal-only arguments to visual arguments that use
visual elements for direct persuasive effect for example, posters, fliers, or advo-
cacy ads creative use of layout is vital. Here are some ideas to help you think
about the layout of a visual argument.

PRINCIPLES FOR LAYING OUT PARTS OF A VISUAL TEXT

1. Choose a layout that avoids clutter and confusion by limiting how much text
and how many visual items you put on a page.

2. Focus on using layout to create coherence and meaning.

3. Develop an ordering or structuring principle that clarifies the relationships
among the parts.

4. Use layout and spacing to indicate the importance of items and to emphasize
key ideas. Because Western readers read from left to right and top to bottom,
top and center are positions that readily draw readers’ eyes.

AN ANALYSIS OF A MULTIMODAL ARGUMENT USING TYPE AND SPATIAL
ELEMENTS To illustrate the persuasive power of type and layout, we ask you
to consider Figure 9.2, which reproduces a public affairs ad sponsored by the Ad
Council and an advocacy organization, StopBullying.gov. This advocacy piece,
which is part of an ongoing campaign to curtail bullying among young people,
is aimed at parents, urging them to encourage their children to actively oppose
bullying.

160 Chapter 9

Figure 9.2 Anti-bullying public affairs ad

This ad demonstrates how the use of type can create powerful visual effects
that combine with the words to convey its argument. The ad’s creators chose to
use lettering rather than a photograph or a drawing to illustrate bullying. The
type style, presentation of the letters, and words themselves create a strange rhe-
torical effect simultaneously personal and impersonal that draws viewers into
the ad more than an image would. The type style and font make strong appeals
to pathos through the blend of the shocking abusive language and disturbing let-
tering style. The words “dumb,” “piece,” and “trash” are all harshly derogatory.
The direct address to the viewer in the word “you” conveys that bullying is an
attack, sometimes verbal and often physical.

Note how the blurring of the message in the large bold type makes a visual
statement about the act of bullying, how bullying is perceived, and the psycho-
logical damage it causes. These large, heavy, blurred letters convey multiple mes-
sages. Bullying can be crude and forceful, but it is often carried on covertly where

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 161

authority figures cannot see or stop it. The lettering itself bullies the viewers while
at the same time reinforcing the idea that not everyone is aware of bullying. The
blurring of these letters also suggests that bullying washes out the personhood
of its v ictims. In addition, the ad makes it look as though these dark letters have
smudged and stained the yellow background, suggesting that bullying also harms
society.

The layout of this ad also contributes to its logos and ethos. The shock of
reading the bold message propels readers to the black sidebar in the ad’s lower
right side, where the message in smaller type interprets and explains themes-
sage of the blurred letters. The text speaks d irectly to parents’ unawareness of
the hostility in their kids’ environment and makes an urgent app eal to parental
responsibility. While the lettering and layout convey the causal reasons behind
the need for action, the message in the smaller letters states the proposal claim:
Instruct your kids how to become more than passive observers of bullying: “Teach
your kids to be more than a bystander.” In addition to delivering a strong mes-
sage, this ad conveys a p ositive ethos by demonstrating knowledge of the problem
and d irecting readers to authoritative sources of information that w ill help them
engage w ith this serious social issue.

Use of -Color
A third important element of visual design is use of color, which can contribute
significantly to an argument’s visual appeal by moving readers emotionally and
imaginatively. In considering color in visual arguments, writers are especially con-
trolled by genre conventions. For example, academic arguments make minimal
use of color, whereas pop ular magazines often use color lavishly. The appeal and
the associations of colors for specific audiences are also important. For instance,
the psychedelic colors of 1960s rock concert posters would probably not be effec-
tive in poster arguments directed toward conservative voters.

Sometimes the color choices in visual arguments mean having no color at
all for example, the use of a black-and-white image instead of a color image.
As you will see in our discussions of color throughout this chapter, makers of
visual arguments need to decide whether color will be primarily decorative (using
colors to create visual appeal), functional (for example, using colors to indicate
relationships), realistic (using colors like a documentary photo), emotional (for
example, using colors that are soothing, exciting, or disturbing), or some inten-
tional combination of these.

Use of lmages and Graphics
The fourth design element includes images and graphics, which can powerfully
condense information into striking and memorable visuals; clarify ideas; and add
depth, liveliness, and emotion to your arguments. Keep in mind this important
point when using images: A few simple images may be more powerful than com-
plicated and numerous images. Other key considerations are (1) how you intend
an image to work in your argument (for example, to convey an idea, illustrate a
point, or evoke an emotional response) and (2) how you will establish the relation-
ship between the image or graphic and the verbal text.

Because using images and graphics effectively can be especially challeng-
ing, we devote the rest of this chapter to explaining how you can incorporate

162 Chapter 9

images and graphics into visual arguments. We discuss the use of photographs
and drawings in the next main section of the chapter, and we examine the use of
quantitative graphics in the chapter’s final section.

AN ANALYSIS OF A MULTIMODAL ARGUMENT USING ALL THE DESIGN
COMPONENTS Before we discuss the use of images and graphics in detail,
we illustrate how all four of the design components use of type, layout, color,
and images can reinforce and support one another to achieve a rhetorical effect
in a multimodal argument as shown in the advocacy ad in Figure 9.3. Because
the intricacies of copyright law restrict our reproduction of advertisements in

Figure 9.3 Advocacy ad: Morement um

MOBILITY IS MORE THAN AN APP

–
L— ————‘”—-=—-

Morementum provides care, training, and specialized equipment for injured vets.
You r donation can help a hero find a new horizon .

MOREMENTUM. THE DIFFERENCE IS US.
‘

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 163

this textb ook, we commissioned an ad team to create this advocacy piece for a
fictitious organization, “Morementum.” This ad is intended for publication in a
regional magazine or in the ad insert of a major regional newspaper. It highligh ts
the design features of image, color, and layout, with type used to interpret and
reinforce the message delivered by the other features.

Let’s examine the ad in more detail. The layout highlights the connection
between the w heel-chair-bound p erson in the lower-left center of the ad, the scene
he is viewing, and readers who take in the whole scene. The text in the band of
color at the top (“Mobility is more than an app”) arouses curiosity and plays on
words: For many people, mobility is an app simply touch Uber or Lyft on your
smartphone. However, the words “more than” suggest that this ad looks more
deeply at the idea of “mobility.” What is at stake, as the “story” of the ad makes
clear, is a different kind of dependence and independence. The ad’s story is sug-
gested by the text in smaller print at the bottom of the ad, which leads readers
to reconsider the person in the w heelchair: “Morementum p rovides care, train-
ing, and specialized equipment for injured vets.” The next line of text further
interprets the African American man as a m ilitary hero and clarifies the purpose
of the ad: to elicit donations to help these vets enlarge their options and expand
their quality of life It says, “Your donation can help a hero find a new horizon.”

This advocacy ad works on readers by blending three themes the hop e for
mobility and independence in the face of disability; a subtle patriotic appeal; and
the symbolic meaning of “new horizons” to convey h ow people’s support of
Morementum can empower veterans with disabilities to help themselves. These
themes are portrayed through various visual strategies. The focus on one figure a
man in a wheelchair on a boardwalk underscores the fact that he has maneuvered
himself to the sp ot on his own. He sits in the kind of athletic wheelchair used in bas-
ketball games, and his special leather gloves highlight his ability to roll this wheel-
chair himself, emphasizing his desire to be independent, active, and mobile. He is
out and about on a nice day, listening to music and taking photos of the attractive
view from the side of the lake. This equipment has op ened up activities for him.

The man’s identity as a veteran is further developed by the ad’s color scheme,
which is both realistic and symbolic in its subtle patriotism. The white lettering on
a red background relates well with the deep blue of the man’s shirt and the white
of his shorts, framing the ad in America’s colors: red, white, and blue. Finally, the
symbolism of horizons infuses this whole advocacy ad. For the photo of the scene
itself, the ad designers positioned the camera behind the man in the wheelchair so
that the scene includes the disabled veteran but also reaches outward to the view
that the man sees, compelling readers to consider the w h ole scene. The fact that
the man takes up much of the foreground makes him central to the ad’s message.
However, the camera’s position behind the man also forces readers’ gaze out to
w h at the man sees, converting the d isabled veteran from a particular individual
into an “every veteran.”

Note that the man is looking off to the horizon on the other side of the lake.
Even the industrial pier with refueling and loading stations for boats and the
buildings in the d istance across the lake h ave a subtle symbolism: This is not
a resort or vacation setting, but rather a place for jobs and productive activ-
ity. Th e brightness of the scene and the deep aqua color of the water combined
with the man’s engagement w ith the scene capture the sense of hop e and new
possibilities inherent in the concep t of horizon. The text itself ties the whole ad
together. The organization’s title, “Morementum,” encomp asses the concept of

164 Chapter 9

For Writing and Discussion
Analyzing an Advocacy Ad

Individual Task
Using your knowledge of type, layout, color, and image, analyze the Buzzed Driving advocacy ad sponsored
by the Ad Counci l and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration in Figure 9.4. The following
questions can guide your response:

1. What story does this ad tell? What is the ad’s core argument?

Figure 9.4 Advocacy ad against drunk driving

YOU JUST BLEW $10,000.
Buzzed. Busted. Broke.
Get caught, and you could be paying around $10,000 in fines, legal fees and increased insurance rates.

Buzzed driving is drunk driving.
buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org

***** NHTSA
——

wv.’\v, nbtsa. gov

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 165

2. How does th is ad use type, layout, image, and color for persuasive effect?

• Layout and Image: Does the image convey an idea, illustrate a point, or evoke an emotional
response? Why do you think the ad designer chose to give spatial preference to the image?

• Color: Is the use of color in th is ad decorative, real istic, aesthetic, or some combination of these?
Explain. How does the use of color contribute to the ad’s message?

• Type: What is the relationship between the image and the type? Look at the words and ideas in
each line of type. What is the effect of using different font sizes?

3. How does th is ad appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos?

Group Task:
Working in pairs or as a class, share your analysis of this multimodal advocacy ad. Consider alternative
designs for ads warn ing against driving under the influence of alcohol. What other images, layouts, use of
type, and color might be effective in conveying the same message as th is ad?

momentum moving and the altering of “momentum” to include the word
“more” suggests a reaching forward to a better and bigger life, not one restricted
by disability. It also asks readers to participate by adding something “more” to
these veterans’ lives through awareness, concern, and donations.

The rhetorical design choices in the construction of this advocacy ad explain
its positive effect on readers. The ad portrays an upbeat scene of a veteran enjoy-
ing his ability to get around on a city boardwalk to experience the nice weather
and lake view. The image, layout, and color scheme work in conjunction with
the positive words “help,” “hero,” and “new horizon.” The tagline of the piece-
“MOREMENTUM. THE DIFFERENCE IS US” continues the positive feelings by
encouraging readers to contribute money so that more veterans can find pleasure
in life and move forward.

The Compositional Features
of Photographs and Drawings
9.2 Analyze the compositional features of photographs and drawings

rhetorically.

Now that we have introduced you to the four major elements of visual design-
type, layout, color, and images we turn to an in-depth discussion of photo-
graphic images and drawings. Used with great shrewdness in most product
advertisements, photos and drawings can be employed with equal shrewdness
in posters, fliers, advocacy ads, and websites. When an image is created specifi-
cally for the purpose of advancing an argument, almost nothing is left to chance.
Although such images are often made to seem spontaneous and “natural,” they
are almost always composed. That is, designers consciously select the details of
staging and composition. They also use camera techniques (filters, camera angle,
lighting) and digital or chemical development techniques (airbrushing, merging
of images) to control the message.

Even news photography can have a composed feel. For example, public
officials often try to control the effect of photographs by creating “photo opps”

166 Chapter 9

(photographing opportunities), wherein reporters are allowed to photograph
an event only during certain times and only from certain angles. Political pho-
tographs appearing in newspapers often come from press releases officially
approved by the politician’s staff.

To analyze a photograph or drawing, or to create visual images to include
with your own arguments, you need to think both about the composition of the
image and about the camera’s relationship to the subject. Because drawings pro-
duce a perspective on a scene analogous to that of a camera, you can apply design
considerations for photographs to drawings as well. The following list can guide
your analysis of any persuasive image.

Coinpositional Features to Exainine in Photos
and Drawings

• Type of photograph or drawing: Is the image documentary-like (representing
a real event), fiction-like (intending to tell a story or dramatize a scene), or con-
ceptual (illustrating or symbolizing an idea or theme)? The photo of factory
farming at the start of Part 1, the photo of the protest for higher wages for fast-
food workers at the start of Part 2, and the photo of the anti-fracking march
at the start of Part 3 are documentary photos capturing real events in action.

• In contrast, the cartoonish drawing of the fly in the health poster in Figure 9.5
is both a fictional narrative telling a story and a conceptual drawing illustrating
a concept. The vaping ad at the start of Part 4 is yet another type of drawing.
The drawing of a woman’s face, showing her perfect make-up, healthy skin,
and vapor-wreathed lips, tries to persuade us visually that vaping is safer
and healthier than smoking cigarettes.

• Distance from the subject: Is the image a close-up, medium shot, or long
shot? Close-ups tend to increase the image’s intensity and suggest its impor-
tance; long shots tend to blend the subject into the background. The photo
of the fast-food containers spilling out of the garbage can and scattered on
the ground (at the start of Part 5) is intensified by the close-up shot without
background. In contrast, the medium shot of the boy holding the toy he has
found in the wreckage caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Figure 5.1) focuses on
both the boy and his surroundings. While the photo captures the magnitude
of the disaster, it also shows the child’s interests and his attempt to recover
some of his past life.

• Image orientation and camera angle: Is the camera (or artist) positioned in
front of or behind the subject? Is the camera positioned below the subject,
looking up (a low-angle shot)? Or is it above the subject, looking down (a
high-angle shot)? Front-view shots (for example, the photo of the £racking
protestor at the start of Part 3) tend to emphasize the persons being photo-
graphed. In contrast, rear-view shots often emphasize the scene or setting. A
low-angle perspective tends to make the subject look superior and powerful,
whereas a high-angle perspective can reduce the size and by implication,
the importance of the subject. A level angle tends to imply equality.

• Point of view: Does the camera or artist stand outside the scene and create an
objective effect? Or is the camera or artist inside the scene as if the photogra-
pher or artist is an actor in the scene, creating a subjective effect?

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 167

Figure 9.5 Health poster from the War Department in
World War II

r oo
‘

NEVER GIVE A GERM A BREAK!

•

• Use of color: Is the image in color or in black and white? Is this choice deter-
mined by the restrictions of the medium (such as images designed to run in
b lack-and-white in newspapers), or is it the choice of the photographer or
artist? Are the colors realistic or muted? Have special filters been used (for
example, a photo made to look old through the use of brown tints)? Are bright
colors intended to be catchy, attractive, dominant, or disturbing?

• Compositional special effects: Is the entire image clear and realistic? Is any
portion of it b lurred? Is it blended with other realistic or nonrealistic images
(for example, a car ad that b lends a city and a desert; a body lotion ad that
merges a woman and a cactus)? Is the image an imitation of some other famous

168 Chapter 9

image such as a classic painting (as in parodies)? The image of the Muslim
woman wearing the American flag (Figure 9.1) as a hi jab makes a visual asso-
ciation between an image of a beautiful woman and American patriotism.

• Juxtaposition of images: Are several different images juxtaposed (that is,
placed closed together or side by side), suggesting relationships between
them? Juxtaposition can suggest sequential or causal relationships, or it can
metaphorically transfer the identity of a nearby image or background to the
subject (as when a bath soap is associated with a meadow). Juxtaposition of
images is frequently used to shape viewers’ perceptions of political figures,
as when political figures are photographed with patriotic monuments.

• Manipulation of images: Are staged images made to appear real, natural,
or documentary-like? Are images altered with airbrushing? Are the images
a series of composites of a number of images (for instance, using images of
different women’s bodies to create one perfect model in an ad or film)? Are
images cropped for emphasis? That is, has any part of the original photo been
cut out? If so, what is left out? Are images downsized or enlarged?

• Settings, furnishings, props: Is the photo or drawing an outdoor scene or an
indoor scene? What is in the background and foreground? What furnishings
and props (such as furniture, objects in a room, pets, and landscape features)
help create the scene? What social associations of class, race, and gender are
attached to these settings and props?

• Characters, roles, actions: Does the photo or drawing tell a story? Are
the people in the scene models? Are the models instrumental (acting out
real-life roles), or are they decorative (extra and included for visual or sex
appeal)? What are the people’s facial expressions, gestures, and poses? What
are the figures’ spatial relationships? (Who is in the foreground, center, and
background? Who is large and prominent?) What social relationships are
implied by these poses and positions? In the “Morementum” advocacy ad
in Figure 9.3, the solitary man in the wheelchair enjoying the view from the
wooden boardwalk tells the story of hoped-for independence.

• Presentation of images: Are images separated from one another in a larger
composition or connected to one another? Are the images large in proportion
to written text? How are images labeled, if at all? How does the text relate
to the image(s)? Does the image illustrate the text? Does the text explain or
comment on the image?

An Analysis of a Multi111edia Video Argu111ent
Using Words, I111ages, and Music
To show you how to analyze a multimodal argument with images and text, let’s
examine a student advocacy video, “It’s a Toilet, Not a Trash Can,” made for a
first-year inquiry seminar on water and citizenship. Eight stills from this advocacy
video are shown in Figures 9.6-9.13. The assignment asked students to construct
an advocacy video addressing a public problem related to water, inviting them to
explore questions such as: What should responsible citizens know about where
their water comes from, where it goes, and what it costs? How should we manage
water to be certain that it is clean, safe, and available? How do we allot available
water to different stakeholders such as households, industry, agriculture, and rec-
reation? For this assignment, students were asked to construct a video to encourage

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 169

a sp ecific audience to act responsibly in their water usage. Having taken a class
trip to a local wastewater treatment plant, the students in this class became aware
of how nonbiodegradable trash enters the wastewater system instead of going to
a landfill or a recycling p lant. One group of students chose to attack one cause of
this problem: the casual flushing of trash items down residence hall toilets.

This v ideo uses humorous exaggeration to underscore its serious p oint. Th e
video begins with scenes from a wind y fall day, with d ifferent groups of students
returning to a residence hall with what seem to be full grocery bags. Students walk
and talk with friends, take the residence hall elevator, and walk down their hall-
way toward their rooms (Figures 9.6 and 9.7). At this point, the advocacy video
spins off into hyperbole (exaggeration) and absurdity. Some students, instead of
carrying groceries in their shopping bags, have been carrying garbage, which they
proceed to dump into the toilet (Figure 9.8). The humorous shock value of this
action is intensified through close-ups of a large amount of garbage emptied into
the toilet (Figures 9.9 and 9.11 ). Interspersed between action scenes are a few ver-
bal text screens that explain the problem of trash in the sewage system and drive
home the costs of the problem (such as the verbal text screen in Figure 9.10). The
final screens use text to state the video’s message explicitly (Figures 9.12 and 9.13) .

As the story builds intensity, this advocacy video combines ap peals to pathos,
ethos, and logos. The app eals to pathos begin w ith the simple, fast-paced, haunting
instrumental music that plays in the background throughout the video; the music
is both pleasant and somewhat disturbing, the kind that lingers in the mind.
Student v iewers can also easily relate to the characters in the video (a quality of
pathos) in that the student actors wear ordinary clothing and the residence hall

Figure 9.6 Student s carrying p lastic bags
into a residence hall elevator

Figure 9.8 Student d umpin g garbage in
residence hall t oi let

Figure 9.7 St udent s in residence hallway
carrying t he same bags

Figure 9.9 Garbage fi ll in g t he toilet

170 Chapter 9

Figure 9.10 Screen explaining why th is
trash is harmfu l

Figure 9.11 Hand adding more garbage to
the to ilet

Figure 9.12 Screen stating the absurd ity of
the actions in the v ideo

Figure 9.13 Final screen w ith tagline that
summarizes the advocacy v ideo’s point

elevator and hallway are so generic that they could be found anywhere in the
country. Once the surprise of the garbage dumping starts, the mild shock and
humor stir different kinds of emotions. Viewers can no longer predict where the
video is going. The dumping of garbage into the toilet is so puzzling and so over
the top that it elicits both laughs and gasps from the audience. Close-ups of toilets
filled with floating bottles and garbage are ridiculously distressing.

In addition to appeals to pathos, the video includes appeals to logos through
the interspersed text-based screens (stark in their white type on a black back-
ground) that explain the harm done by trash in the sewage system. Several of
these screens also appeal to ethos by citing facts from authorities such as the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (as in Figure 9.10) and the Clean Watersheds Needs
Survey (not shown in the sequence of still photos), which explain the burden and
cost of garbage in wastewater treatment plants. In fact, all kinds of items pieces
of clothing and plastic, combs, condoms, sanitary products, diapers, even dollar
bills find their way into these treatment systems and need to be fished out. The
message conveyed by the video emerges from the actions portrayed and confronts
readers directly in the final screens. The video does not state its proposal claim
initially because the creators of the video did not want viewers to dismiss the
claim outright or arouse defensiveness. The final tagline (“It’s a toilet, not a trash
can”) plays on viewers’ emotions through its memorable, catchy alliteration (“toi-
let” and “trash can”). This line just might come to mind the next time someone is
about to drop a piece of trash in the toilet.

For Writing and Discussion
Thinking Rhetorically about Photos

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 171

Working individually or in groups, imagine that you have been asked to compose a brochure that either sup-
ports or opposes a state proposal to ban the use of plastic bags in grocery stores. Your task is to choose
two to four of the fo llowing images for your brochure. First analyze the composit ion of the images. Then
explain which ones you would choose to ach ieve the most persuasive impact in your brochure. How would
you arrange these images?

1. Study the six images in Figures 9.14 through 9.1 9, and then answer the fo llowing questions:
a. What camera techn iques and composit ion features do you see in each photo or image? For each

image, consider the list of compositional features earlier in this chapter.
b. What do you think is the dominant impression of each photo? In other words, what is each photo’s

implicit argument?
2. Once you have analyzed the images, decide which are the most striking or memorable and try to reach

consensus about your choices for a rhetorically effective brochure.
3. Sometimes designers and ad creators choose cartoon ish images to deliver their arguments. How might

you use a cartoon drawing in your brochure? For ideas, you might consider the cartoon f ly in the War
Department’s health poster in Figure 9.5.

Figure 9.14 Photo of plast ic bags blowing in
a forest

Figure 9.16 Photo of a shopper carrying
purchases in plastic bags

Figure 9.15 Photo of dump with p lastic
bags and seagulls

Figure 9.17 Photo of ch ildren picking up
plast ic bags in a forest

(continued)

172 Chapter 9

Figure 9.18 Photo of a plastic bag tangled
in flowers

Figure 9.19 Photo of plastic bags
packed for recycling

The Genres of Multimodal
Argument
9.3 Explain the genres of multimodal argument.

In some cases, multimodal texts are primarily written text with inserted photo-
graphs or drawings that enhance the logos or pathos of the argument. For example,
a verbal argument promoting help for AIDS victims in Africa might be accom-
panied by a photograph of a dying mother and child. In contrast, in some multi-
modal genres the visual design carries most of the argumentative weight; verbal
text is used primarily for labeling, for focusing the argument’s claim, or for com-
menting on the images. In this section, we describe a variety of multimodal genres
that rely primarily on visual elements.

Posters and Fliers
To persuade audiences, an arguer might create a poster or flier to rally support
for a cause. For example, during World War II, posters asked Americans to invest
in war bonds and urged women to join the workforce in order to free men for
active combat. During the Vietnam War, famous posters used slogans such as
“Make Love, Not War” or “Girls say yes to boys who say no” to increase national
resistance to the war.

The hallmark of an effective poster is the way it uses a visual-verbal text to
focus and encode a complex meaning, often with one or more striking images.
These images are often symbolic for example, using children to symbolize fam-
ily and home, a soaring bird to symbolize freedom, or three firefighters raising
the American flag over the World Trade Center rubble on September 11, 2001,
to symbolize American heroism, patriotism, and resistance to terrorism. These
symbols derive potency from the values they share with their target audience.
Posters tend to use words sparingly, either as slogans or as short, memorable

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 173

Figure 9.20 Poster for The Humble Assessment

directives. This concise verbal text augments the message encoded in an eye-
catching, dominant image.

As an example of a contemporary poster urging people to see a recent inde-
pendent film, consider The Humble Assessment poster in Figure 9.20. Because this
film is new and unknown, the poster must arouse curiosity and elicit interest. In
this poster, the text creates the context the competitive job market and the finan-
cial anxieties of applicants. The poster shows a man in a business suit, white shirt,
and tie in a sitting position, possibly waiting for an interview. However, the poster
leaves viewers with many questions: Is the man sitting on a chair or cramped into
a coffin-like space? Why doesn’t the man have a head? Why is he playing with a
Rubik’s cube? Why do his hands look tense? Why are the clock’s hands replaced
by a spider whose eight legs point to a bewildering number of time possibilities?
Why are the clock with the spider and the line “The job market has gone to hell”
placed between the man’s knees? How do the wavering letters of the film’s title
contribute to the claustrophobic, unsettling impression produced by the text and
image? How does the use of the words “stomach for it,” “you,” “we,” and “gone
to hell” both draw viewers in and put them on edge? “Assessment” means a

17 4 Chapter 9

judgment of value. What does that word have to do with “humble,” and why
would a job interview be called “an assessment”? In short, this film poster uses
text and image to pique curiosity and suggest disturbing content in this absurdist,
surreal postmodern depiction of the demoralizing and dehumanizing corporate
job market.

Public Affairs Advocacy Advertisem.ents
Public affairs advocacy advertisements share with posters an emphasis on visual
elements, but they are designed specifically for publication in newspapers and
magazines (and are often reproduced on websites). In their persuasive strategies,
they are very similar to product advertisements. Public affairs advocacy ads are
usually sponsored by a corporation or an advocacy organization, often are part
of a particular campaign with a theme, and have a more immediate and defined
target audience than posters do. Designed as condensed arguments aimed at
influencing public opinion on civic issues, these ads are characterized by their
brevity, audience-based appeals, and succinct, “sound bite” style. Often, in order
to put forth their claim and reasons clearly and concisely, they employ headings
and subheadings, bulleted lists, different sizes and styles of type, and a clever,
pleasing layout on the page. They usually have an attention-getting slogan or
headline such as “MORE KIDS ARE GETTING BRAIN CANCER. WHY?” or
“STOP THE TAX REVOLT JUGGERNAUT!” And they usually include a call to
action, such as a donation, a letter of protest to legislators, or an invitation to join
the advocacy group.

The balance between verbal and visual elements in an advocacy advertise-
ment varies. Some advocacy ads are verbal only, with visual concerns focused on
document design (for example, an “open letter” from the president of a corpora-
tion appearing as a full-page newspaper ad). Other advocacy ads are primarily
visual, using images and other design elements with the same shrewdness as
advertisements.

This text reproduces a variety of public affairs advocacy ads across chapters.
We have already examined the anti-bullying ad in Figure 9.2, the anti-drunk
driving ad in Figure 9 .4, and the fictionalized Morementum ad in Figure 9 .3.
These ads use text and images in different ways to present their messages.
Although it is designed more like a poster than an advocacy ad, the World
War II health warning about the spread of germs (Figure 9 .5) uses a humorous
cartoon drawing to accompany its alarming message about the dangers of infec-
tious disease.

As another example of a public affairs advocacy ad, consider the ad featuring
a coat hanger at the beginning of Chapter 15. This ad attempts to raise fears about
the negative consequences of the pro-life movement’s campaign against abortion.
As you can see, this ad is dominated by one stark image: a question mark formed
by the hook of a coat hanger. The shape of the hook draws the reader’s eye to the
concentrated type centered below it. The hook carries most of the weight of the
argument. Simple, bold, and harsh, the image of the hanger taps readers’ cultural
know ledge and evokes the dangerous scenario of illegal abortions performed
crudely by nonmedical people in the dark backstreets of cities. The ad wants
viewers to think of the dangerous last resorts to which desperate women would
have to turn if they could not obtain abortions legally. Also consider the hanger

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 175

itself. It is in the shape of a question mark, thereby suggesting a question about
what will happen if abortions are made illegal. The coat hanger itself provides
the ad’s disturbing answer to the printed question desperate women will go to
backstreet abortionists who use coat hangers as abortion tools.

Cartoons
An especially charged kind of visual argument is the editorial or political cartoon
and its extended forms, the comic strip and the graphic novel. Here we focus on
political cartoons, which are often mini-narratives portraying an issue dramati-
cally, compactly, and humorously, through images and a few well-chosen words
that dramatize conflicts and problems. Using caricature, exaggeration, and dis-
tortion, a cartoonist distills an issue down to an image that boldly reveals the
cartoonist’s perspective on the issue. The purpose of political cartoons is usually
satirical, often criticizing some groups of people or ideas while delighting and
inspiring those who agree with the cartoonist’s viewpoint. Because they are so
condensed and are often connected to current affairs, political cartoons are par-
ticularly dependent on the audience’s background knowledge of cultural and
political events. When political cartoons work well, their perceptive combination
of images and words flashes a brilliant, clarifying light or opens a new lens on an
issue, often giving readers a shock of insight.

As an example, note the cartoon by Milt Priggee in Figure 9.22. The setting of
the cartoon envisions a humorous blend of prehistoric and contemporary times.
This cartoon responds to recent scientific discussions of the creation and develop-
ment of the universe and the age of the Earth. (Note the mention of dark matter,
which is an energy-mass concept from physics and astronomy.) However, the
main story of the cartoon connects the dinosaur characters with the behavior of
people today who go about walking and tweeting, oblivious to everything around
them, including dangerous environments. Thus, the cartoon links discussions of
evolution to discussions of the contemporary obsession with smartphones and
social media.

For Writing and Discussion
Analyzing Posters Rhetorically
Working individually or in groups, examine the the poster shown in Figure 9.21, which shows a photo of an
attractive girl behind the line “HEATHER’S LIFE ENDED TOO SOON.” This poster, which appears on the
TxtResponsibly.org website, reaches out to young drivers and their parents, using both images and text.

a. What visual features of this poster im mediately attract your attention? What principles for the effective
use of type, layout, color, and image does this ad exemplify?

b. What is this ad’s core argument?
c. Why did Heather’s parents choose a large photo of her? How does that photo work with the other

photo of a mangled car?
d. How does the frankness of the text and the size and use of color lettering combine to convey the ad’s

message?
e. How would you design a poster warning against texting while driving? Consider the use of type, layout,

and image; the core of its argument; and its appeals to ethos, pathos, and kairos.
(continued)

176 Chapter 9

Figure 9.21 Poster argument warning against text ing while driving

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 177

Figure 9.22 Tweeting and evolution cartoon
wur-w.-M;~~~-e-.

u–

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•

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For Writing and Discussion
Analyzing Cartoons
Cartoons can provide insight into how the public is lining up on issues. Choose a current issue such as
healthcare reform, use of drones, immigration policy, tax policy, or identity theft. Then, using an online car-
toon index such as Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonists Index (www.cagle.com) or a web search of your
own, find several cartoons that capture different perspectives on your issue.

1. What is the mini-narrative in each cartoon? What is the main claim? How are caricature, exaggeration,
and/ or distortion used in each cartoon?

2. How is kairos, or t imel iness, important to each cartoon?

Websites
So far we have only hinted at how the World Wide Web has accelerated the use of
visual images in argument. Multimodal websites exhibit the web’s complex mix
of text and image, a mix that has changed the way many writers think of argu-
ment. For example, the home page of an advocacy site often has many features
of a poster argument, with hypertext links to galleries of images on the one hand
and to verbal arguments on the other. These verbal arguments themselves often
contain photographs, drawings, and graphics. The strategies discussed in this
chapter for analyzing and interpreting visual texts also apply to websites.

178 Chapter 9

Because the web is such an important tool in research, we have p laced our
main discussion of websites in Chapter 16. In that chapter you will find detailed
explanations for reading, analyzing, and evaluating websites.

Advocacy Videos
Advocacy videos, often posted on YouTube, are perhaps the most influential of
all multimodal arguments. Whether professionally made or quickly planned and
produced by amateurs using video production software, advocacy videos allow
powerful combinations of sounds, images, and verbal text (either as spoken dia-
logue, as voice-overs, or as inserted written text). Advocacy websites (and their
parallel Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram sites) frequently link to advocacy videos.
Earlier in this chapter, we described and analyzed a student advocacy video, “It’s
a Toilet, Not a Trash Can,” and reproduced stills from the video. In the next section
we offer guidelines for constructing your own advocacy video.

Constructing Your Own Multimodal
Arguments
9.4 Construct your own multimodal arguments.

The most common multimodal arguments you are likely to create are posters,
fliers, public affairs advocacy ads, and advocacy videos. The following guidelines
will help you apply your understanding of visual elements to the construction of
your own multimodal arguments.

Guidelines for Creating the Visual Elem.ents
in Posters, Fliers, and Advocacy Ads
1. Genre: Determine where this visual argument is going to appear (on a

bulletin board, circulated as a flier, on one page of a magazine or newspaper,
or on a website).

2. Audience-based appeals: Determine who your target audience is.

• What values and background knowledge regarding your issue can you
assume that your audience has?

• What specifically do you want your audience to think or do after reading
your visual argument?

• If you are promoting a specific course of action (sign a petition, send
money, vote for or against a bill, attend a meeting), how can you make
that request clear and direct?

3. Core of your argument: Determine what clear claim and reasons will form
the core of your argument; decide whether this claim and these reasons will
be explicitly stated or implicit in your visuals and slogans.

• How much verbal text will you use?
• If the core of your argument will be largely implicit, how can you make it

readily apparent and clear for your audience?

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 179

4. Visual design: What visual design and layout will grab your audience’s
attention and be persuasive?

• How can font sizes and styles, layout, and color be used in this argument
to create a strong impression?

• What balance and harmony can you create between the visual and verbal
elements of your argument? Will your verbal elements be a slogan, express
the core of the argument, or summarize and comment on the image(s)?

5. Use of images: If your argument lends itself to images, what photo or draw-
ing would support your claim or have emotional appeal? (If you want to use
more than one image, be careful that you don’t clutter your page and confuse
your message. Simplicity and clarity are important.)

• What image would be memorable and meaningful to your audience?
Which would be more effective: a photo or a drawing?

• Will your image(s) be used to provide evidence for your claim, illustrate
a main idea, evoke emotions, or enhance your credibility and authority?

Guidelines for Creating Video Arguments
1. Rhetorical situation: Consider your purpose and audience, your core argu-

ment, and the effect you want your video to have on your targeted audience.

• What is your core argument?

• Are you imagining a sympathetic, neutral, or opposing audience?

• How do you plan to appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos?

• What role will you assume? Will you stay behind the scenes or appear in
the video?

• Does your rhetorical purpose call for one point of view or multiple points
of view to move your audience toward your view?

2. Use of a storyboard to map out scenes: Storyboards (rough sketch drawings of
intended scenes) are like graphic organizers that help you plan your video scene
by scene. When creating a storyboard, you plan the scenes you will use to tell
a story and plan the camera angles you will use to create the visual narrative.

• How will you organize individual shots?
• How will you use camera angles to create a narrative story?
• How would zooming, fading, or rapid cuts to a different angle help you

create transitions between scenes?

3. Priority on visual elements: Audiences of video texts expect to be engaged
visually at all times.

• How will your sequence of scenes convey your message visually? Con-
sider using different camera angles establishing shots (medium or long
shots), point-of-view shots (through a character’s eyes), and reaction shots
(close-ups of faces) to tell a story.

• While keeping priority on images, how might you use words to help read-
ers interpret images? Consider using captions, inserted text screens, or

•
voice-overs.

• Have you paced your video effectively so that it leaves your audience
neither confused nor bored?

180 Chapter 9

4. Incorporation of effective verbal and written text: You can incorporate
verbal text into a video through spoken dialogue, voice-overs, or printed
text inserted as captions or as separate screens. Video technology allows for
more versatile text options than just about any other multimodal form.

• How might spoken or written text underscore the intended rhetorical
effect of images by emphasizing main points and highlighting important
information?

• If you use voice-overs, how will you avoid using monotonous or uninter-
esting visuals as filler during stretches of spoken text?

• If you insert written text, how will you make your points vivid and clear,
avoiding both text density and vagueness?

5. Use of musical elements and other sound options: Sound options can under-
score important rhetorical goals with auditory effects. Sound or the choice of
silence can have a subtle but powerful impact on the viewers of a video text.

• Have you matched sound effects to the meaning and rhetorical effect you
want to achieve? Consider how you will use music, background sounds
(street noise, cafe buzz, bird chirps, sudden silence), and voice qualities
(accent, pitch, emotional emphasis).

• If you have used separate microphones, are they well placed? Is the sound
too soft or too loud? Is voice audible rather than muffled?

For Writing and Discussion
Developing Ideas for an Advocacy Ad or Poster Argument
This exercise asks you to do the thinking and planning for an advocacy ad, poster argument, or advocacy
video for your college or university campus. Working indivi dually, in smal l groups, or as a class, choose an
issue that is controversial on you r campus (or in your town or city), and fol low the Guidelines for Creating
Visual Arguments or the Guidelines for Creating Advocacy Videos to envision the v iew you want to advocate
on that issue. For an advocacy video, map your argument as scenes using a storyboard. What might the
core of your argument be? Who is your target audience? Are you representing a group, club, or other orga-
nization? What image(s) might be effective in attracting and moving your audience? Possible issues might
be commuter parking; poor conditions in the computer lab; student reluctance to use the counseling center;
problems w ith residence hal l life; financial aid programs; intramural sports; ways to improve orientation pro-
grams for new students; work-study programs; travel-abroad opportunities; or new initiatives such as study
groups for big lecture courses or new service-learning opportunities.

Using Information Graphics
in Arguments
9.5 Use information graphics rhetorically in arguments.

Besides images in the form of photographs and drawings, writers often use quan-
titative graphics to support number-based arguments. In Chapter 4 we introduced
the use of quantitative data in arguments, showing how stakeholders can use
numbers for evidence, often framing those numbers to support their angle of
vision. Using spreadsheet and presentation programs, today’s writers often create

Making Visual and Mult imodal Arguments 181

and import quantitative graphics into their documents. These visuals such as
tables, pie charts, and line graphs or bar graphs can have great rhetorical power
by using numbers to tell a story at a glance. In this section, we show you how
to make numbers speak with quantitative graphics. We also show you how to
analyze graphics, incorporate them into your text, and reference them effectively.

How Tables Contain a Variety of Stories
Data used in arguments usually have their origins in raw numbers collected
from surveys, questionnaires, observational studies, scientific experiments, and
so forth. Through a series of calculations, the numbers are combined, sorted, and
arranged in a meaningful fashion, often in detailed tables. Some of the tables pub-
lished by the U.S. Census Bureau, for example, stretch across dozens of pages. The
denser the table, the more its use is restricted to statistical experts who pore over
the data to analyze and interpret them. More useful to the public are shorter tables
contained on one or two pages that report data at a higher level of abstraction.

Consider, for example, Table 9.2, which reproduces data from a more detailed
table published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This table shows
the amount of energy consumed in the United States during selected years from
1950 to 2016 from specified primary sources such as coal, natural gas, nuclear
power, wind, or the sun (solar energy).

Take a few moments to peruse the table and be certain you know how to
read it. You read tables in two directions: from top to bottom and from left to

Table 9.2 U.S. Primary Energy Consumption by Source, 1950 to 2016 (Quadrill ion BTUs)

Fossil Fuels

Natural Petro-
Coal Gas leum

Total

1950 12.35 5 .97 13.32 3 1.63

1955 11.17 9 .00 17.26 37.41

1960 9.84 12.39 19.92 42.14

1965 11.58 15.77 23.25 50.58

1970 12.27 21 .80 29.52 63.52

1975 12.66 19.95 32.73 65.36

1980 15.42 20 .24 34.2 1 69.83

1985 17.48 17.70 30.93 66.09

1990 19.17 19.60 33.55 72.33

1995 20.09 22 .67 34.44 77.26

2000 22.58 23 .82 38.27 84.74

2005 22 .80 22 .57 40.30 85.71

2010 20.83 24 .58 35.49 80.89

2015 15.55 28 .20 35.60 79.33

2016 14.23 28.42 35.94 78.57

*Note: Grand totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.

Nuclear
Energy

Nuclear
Electric
Power

0.00

0.00

0 .0 1

0.04

0 .24

1.90

2.74

4 .08

6.10

7 .08

7.86

8.16

8.43

8.34

8.42

Hydro-
Electric
Power

1.42

1.36

1.61

2.06

2.63

3.16

2.90

2.97

3.05

3.21

2.8 1

2.70

2.54

2.32

2.48

Renewable Sources

Geo-
Thermal Solar Wind

0 .01

0 .03

0 .05

0 .10

0 .17 0.06 0.03

0 .15 0.07 0.03

0 .16 0.06 0.06

0 .18 0.06 0.18

0 .21 0.09 0.92

0 .21 0.43 1.78

0 .23 0.59 2.11

Bio-
mass

1.56

1.42

1.32

1.34

1.43

1.50

2.48

3 .02

2.74

3 .10

3 .01

3 .11

4 .27

4 .73

4 .76

Total

2.98

2.78

2.93

3.40

4.07

4.69

5.43

6.08

6.04

6.56

6.10

6.23

8.03

9.47

10.16

Grand
Total*

34.62

40.21

45.09

54.02

67.84

71.97

78.07

76.39

84.48

91.03

98.82

100.19

97.45

97.37

97.40

182 Chapter 9

right. Always begin with the title, which tells you what the table contains by
including elements from the table’s vertical and horizontal dimensions and by
indicating the table’s unit(s) of measure. In Table 9.2, the unit of measure is a
quadrillion British thermal units (BTU). (A quadrillion is one million billions-
that is, a 1 followed by 15 zeros. A BTU is the amount of energy needed to raise
the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.) In Table 9.2, the
vertical dimension shows years (every fifth year from 1950 to 2015, plus 2016).
The horizontal dimension shows various sources of energy. The highest level of
this horizontal dimension identifies the three primary energy sources: fossil fuels,
nuclear energy, and renewable sources. Fossil fuels and renewable sources are
then further divided into subcategories.

To make sure you know how to read the table, pick a couple of rows at ran-
dom and explain what each number means. For example, the 1970 row shows
that in 1970 Americans consumed 12.27 quadrillion BTUs of energy from coal,
21.8 quadrillion BTUs from natural gas, and 29.52 quadrillion BTUs from petro-
leum for a total of 63.52 quadrillion BTUs of fossil fuel energy. That same year,
Americans used .24 quadrillion BTU s from nuclear energy and a total of 4.07
quadrillion BTUs from renewable energy. Renewable energy in 1970 was limited
to hydropower (2.63 quadrillion BTUs), geothermal (.01 quadrillion BTUs) and
biomass (1.43 quadrillion BTUs). (In 1970, biomass meant primarily the burning of
wood and charcoal; in more recent years it has included the use of biofuels such
as ethanol.) The total U.S. consumption of energy from that year obtained by
adding fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and renewable sources is shown in the far
right column: 67.84 quadrillion BTUs.

Now that you know how to read the table, examine it carefully to identify the
kinds of questions it raises and stories it tells. What does the table show us, for
example, about trends in total energy consumption in the United States? Is our use
of natural gas increasing or decreasing? How about our use of nuclear energy or
solar energy? In addition to looking just at the numbers on the table, you could con-
vert numbers to percentages. For example, in any given year, what percent of total
energy consumption came from renewable sources versus fossil fuels? Table 9.2
can also initiate interesting causal questions: In 2005, Americans consumed 22.8
quadrillion BTUs of coal energy. But by 2016 that number dropped to 14.23 quadril-
lion BTUs. Why has the use of coal declined? (Some people attribute the decline to
anti-coal environmental regulations imposed by the Obama administration. Others
attribute the decline to cheap natural gas made possible by £racking.)

Using a Graph to Tell a Story
Table 9.2 has many embedded energy stories, but you must tease them out from
the dense columns of numbers. If you want to make a story pop out for readers,
you can convert it to a graph. Three common types of graphs are bar graphs, pie
charts, and line graphs.

BAR GRAPHS Bar graphs use bars of varying length, extending either horizon-
tally or vertically, to contrast two or more quantities. As with any graphic presen-
tation, you must create a comprehensive title. In the case of bar graphs, titles tell
readers what is being compared. Most bar graphs also have legends, which explain
what the different features on the graph represent. Bars are typically distinguished
from one another by use of different colors, shades, or patterns of crosshatching.

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 183

Figure 9.23 U.S. consumption of energy from coal and natural gas, 2005 and
2016 (quadrillion BTUs)

SOURCE: United States Energy Information Agency

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Bar graphs can help readers make quick comparisons. Suppose you want to
link the recent decline in coal consumption to increased use of natural gas. You
could tell this story at a glance with a bar graph, as in Figure 9.23. The first set
of bars shows that in 2005 Americans used almost equal amounts of coal and
natural gas. However, in the second set of bars (2016), the bar for coal has shrunk
significantly while the bar for natural gas has grown.

PIE CHARTS Another vivid kind of graph is a pie chart or circle graph, which
depicts different percentages of a total (the pie) in the form of slices. Pie charts are
often used to show how a whole is divided up into parts. For example, suppose
that you wanted your readers to notice the percentage of U.S. energy consump-
tion that carne from each of the primary sectors in 2016. You could use a pie chart
to make that percentage quickly visible through a pie chart like the one shown
in Figure 9.24, which is based on the data in Table 9.2 As you can see, a pie chart
shows at a glance how the whole of something is divided into segments. In this
case there are only three segments.

A general note: The effectiveness of pie charts diminishes as you add more
slices. In most cases, a pie chart becomes ineffective if you include more the five
or six slices.

LINE GRAPHS Another powerful quantitative graphic is a line graph, which
converts numerical data into a series of points on a grid and then connects them to
create flat, rising, or falling lines. The result is a picture of the relationship between
the variables represented on the horizontal and vertical axes. By convention, the
horizontal axis of a line graph contains the predictable, known variable, which
has no surprises what researchers call the independent variable. The vertical axis
contains the unpredictable variable (what researchers call the dependent variable),
which tells the graph’s story.

Imagine that you want to create a line graph that compares use of energy
sources that emit greenhouse gases with those that don’t. Greenhouse-gas-
emitting sources include both fossil fuels and biomass fuels. (Although biomass

184 Chapter 9

Figure 9.24 Consumption of energy by percentage from fossil fuel, nuclear,
and renewal sources, 2016

SOURCE: United States Energy Information Agency.

9.7

• Fossil fuels • Nuclear • Renewable

fuels such as wood and ethanol are listed in Table 9.2 as “renewable energy
sources,” they nevertheless emit greenhouse gases.) The energy sources that don’t
emit greenhouse gases are nuclear, hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and wind.
Using a spreadsheet you can move the biomass data from the “renewable energy”
data and add it to the fossil fuel data. You can then add the nuclear power data
into the remaining renewable sources data. You can then use the spreadsheet to
create a line graph that compares these two variables over time (see Figure 9.25).

Figure 9.25 U.S. energy consumption from greenhouse-gas-emitting sources
versus zero emission sources, 1950-2016 (quadrill ion BTUs)

NOTE: “Greenhouse-gas-emitting” sources of energy are fossil fuels and biomass fuels . “Zero emission” sources
of energy are nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind power.

SOURCE: United States Energy Information Agency

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20.0

100.0

80.0

60.0

40.0

20.0

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1.0
1.0
0′–

0
-a
0′–

1.0
-a
0′–

0
r—
0′–

— Greenhouse Gas Emitting

1.0
r—
0′–

0
CX)
0′–

1.0
CX)
0′–

0
0′-
0′–

— Zero Emissions

1.0
0′-
0′–

0
0
0
N

1.0
0
0
N

0 -0
N

1.0 -a – -0 0
N N

–Total Energy Consumed

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 185

To determine what this graph is telling you, you need to clarify what’s
represented on the two axes. The horizontal axis lists years from 1950 to 2016
while the vertical axis shows the amount of energy consumed in any given year
as measured in quadrillion BTUs. The graph’s “story” is shown in the three
lines: The top line (in gray) shows the total amount of energy consumed in a
given year; the blue line below it represents the amount consumed from green-
house-gas-emitting sources, and the red line represents energy consumed from
zero-emission sources. The good news in this graph is that U.S. energy consump-
tion appears to have peaked around 2005 and then declined slightly despite
increases in population. Another piece of good news is that the consumption
of zero-emission sources is slowly increasing while the use of greenhouse-gas-
emitting sources is slowly decreasing. The bad news is that the gap between
them is still huge.

Incorporating Graphics into Your Argutnent
Today, writers working with quantitative data usually use graphing software that
automatically creates tables, graphs, or charts from data entered into the cells of
a spreadsheet. For college papers, some instructors may allow you to make your
graphs with pencil and ruler and paste them into your document. The following
suggestions will be helpful as you think about the best ways to incorporate graph-
ics into your argument.

DESIGNING THE GRAPHIC When you design your graphic, your goal is to
have a specific rhetorical effect on your readers, not to demonstrate all the bells
and whistles available on your software. Adding extraneous data to the graph or
chart, or using such features as a three-dimensional effect, can often distract from
your graph’s story. Keep the graphic as uncluttered and simple as possible, and
design it so that it reinforces the point you are making.

NUMBERING, LABELING, AND TITLING THE GRAPHIC In newspapers and
popular magazines, writers often include graphics in boxes or sidebars with-
out specifically referring to them in the text itself. However, in academic and
professional workplace writing, graphics are always labeled, numbered, titled,
and referred to directly in the text. By convention, tables are listed as “Tables,”
whereas line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, and any other kinds of drawings
or photographs are labeled as “Figures.” Suppose you create a document that
includes four graphics a table, a bar graph, a pie chart, and a photograph.
The table would be labeled as Table 1. The others would be labeled as Figure 1,
Figure 2, and Figure 3.

In addition to numbering and labeling, every graphic needs a comprehensive
title that explains fully what information is being displayed. In a line graph show-
ing changes over time, for example, a typical title will identify the information on
both the horizontal and vertical axes (including the years covered). Bar graphs
may also include a legend explaining how the bars are coded. When you import
the graphic into your own text, be consistent in where you place the title either
above the graphic or below it.

Look again at the tables and figures in this chapter and compare their titles
to the information in the graphics.

186 Chapter 9

Figure 9.26 Example of a student text with a referenced graph

Althou gh wind a n d sola r powe r sti ll compri se only a f r ac – }– Writer’s point
t i on o f the e ne r gy consumed i n the Un i ted States , it is
the f astes t growing e n e r gy segment . As Figu r e 1 shows , References the figure
wind and sola r provided nonex i stent o r only negligi b l e
ene r gy unt i l the end o f the 20 t h cen tury . In 2000 , wind
and sola r combined t o p r ovi de a me r e . 12 quadr illion BTUs
o f ene r gy . I n 2005 , howeve r, the contribu t ion o f wi nd and
sola r i nc r eased r ap i dly . By 20 1 0 , Ame r icans consumed 1 . 01
quadr illion BTUs f rom wind and solar. By 2016 , that
number had nearl y t r ipled to 2 . 7 quadri l lion BTUs . There
i s no gua r antee t ha t wi nd and sola r can conti nue to g r ow
a t this ra t e , but the futu r e i s p r omi s i ng as t echnology
i mp r oves and produc t ion costs decline .

States in words the
significant
information shown
in the graph
(independent
redundancy)

Fi g . 1 U. S . consumpti on o f energy fr om wi nd and sola r Title
(quadr i ll i on BTUs) , 1950- 20 1 6

·—·c
“0
r:u
::::1 a

3.00 ———————————————-

/ 2.50 ——————————————~–+—

2.00 —————————————-+—–

1. 50 —————————————+——

0.50 ——————j- ,1——

0.00
0 LO 0 LO 0 LO 0 LO 0 LO 0 LO 0 LO -o
LO LO -o -o [‘. [‘. 00 00 o- o- 0 0 – – -o- o- o- o- o- o- o- o- o- o- 0 0 0 0 0 – – – – – – – – – – N N N N N

So u rce : Un i ted S t a tes Energy In forma t i on Agency

Line telling the
graph’s story

Source

REFERENCING THE GRAPHIC IN YOUR TEXT Academic and professional
writers follow a referencing convention called independent redundancy. The gen-
eral rule is this: The graphic should be understandable without the text; the text
should be understandable without the graphic; the text should repeat the most
important information in the graphic. Figure 9.26 provides an example.

A Note on How Graphics Fratne Data Rhetorically
Note that graphs are designed to tell a story hidden in a much larger set of
data. Any graph necessarily selects some data from a larger set and omits other
data. Because no graph can tell the whole story, it always frames its designer’s
selected data for rhetorical emphasis. The graph shown in the student example
in Figure 9.26 (called Figure 1 in the example) tells a true story about the rapid
increase in the use of wind and solar energy. But that graph doesn’t tell the whole
story. One of the things it omits is the gap between solar and wind production
and the total energy needs of the United States. A graph telling this larger story
appears in Figure 9.27.

Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments 187

Figure 9.27 Total U.S. energy consumption versus consumption of energy from
wind and solar (quadrill ion BTUs), 1950-2016

Vl

::::>
~
c
0 ·—·-1-
“0
cv
::1
(j

1

20.00

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00
0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 00 00 ~ ~ 0 0 – – –
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 0 0 0 0
– – – – – – – – – – N N N N N

Wind and Solar use

Total energy use

This graph no longer emphasizes the steep upward slope of solar and wind
power usage. Rather, it emphasizes the huge difference between the total energy
consumed in the United States and the comparatively tiny amount of wind and
solar usage. Note that the vertical axis in Figure 9.27 goes from 0 to 120 quadril-
lion BTU s in increments of 20, while the same axis in the student graph in Figure
9.26 goes from 0 to 3 in increments of .5. The result in Figure 9.27 is to flatten
out the wind/ solar line until it is almost a straight, horizontal line. Both of these
graphs (Figures 9.26 and 9.27) accurately use the original data in Table 9.2. Both
are “true,” but they tell different stories.

Conclusion
In this chapter we have explained the challenge and power of using visuals
to create multimodal arguments. We have examined the components of visual
design use of type, layout, color, and images and have shown how these com-
ponents can be used for persuasive effect in arguments. We have also described
the argumentative genres that depend on effective use of visuals posters and
fliers, advocacy advertisements, videos, cartoons, and websites and invited
you to produce your own multimodal argument. Finally, we showed you that
graphics can tell a numeric story in a focused and dramatic way. Specifically,
we explained the functions of tables, bar graphs, pie charts, and line graphs,
showed you how to reference graphics and incorporate them into your own
prose, and noted how graphs frame data rhetorically to tell a story but never
the whole story.

188 Chapter 9

Writing Assignment
A Visual Argument Rhetorical Analysis, a Visual Argument, or a Short
Argument Using Quantitative Data

Option 1:
Writing a Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Argument
Write a thesis-driven rhetorical analysis essay in wh ich you examine the rhetorical effectiveness of a visual
argument, either one of the visual arguments in this text or one specified by your instructor. Unless otherwise
stated, direct your analysis to an aud ience of your c lassmates. In your introduction, establish the argumenta-
t ive conversation to wh ich this argument is contributing. Briefly summarize the argument and describe the
visual text. Present your thesis, highlighting two or more rhetorical features of the argument-such as the
way the argument appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos-that you find central to the effectiveness or ineffective-
ness of this argument. To develop and support your own points, you will need to include v isual features and
details (such as color, design, camera angle, framing, and special effects) as well as short quotations from
any verbal parts of the argument.

Option 2:
Multi modal Assignment: A Public Affairs Advocacy Ad, a Poster Argument, or an Advocacy Video
Working w ith the idea of an advocacy ad or poster argument that you explored in the For Writing and
Discussion activ ity earlier in this chapter, use the visual design principles throughout the chapter; your
understanding of v isual argument and its genres; the Guidelines for Creating the Visual Elements in Posters,
Fliers, and Advocacy Ads; the Guidel ines for Creating Video Arguments; and your own creativity to produce
a visual argument that can be displayed on your campus or in your town or c ity and/or posted somewhere
on the web. Consider whether you wi ll use photos or drawings. Try out the draft of your advocacy ad, poster,
or video argument on people who are part of your target aud ience. Based on these ind iv iduals’ sugges-
t ions for improving the clarity and impact of this visual argument, prepare a f inal version of your mult imodal
argument.

Option 3:
Multimodal Assignment: Cartoon
Choose a controversial issue important to you and create a sing le-frame political cartoon that presents your
perspective on the issue in a memorable way. Use the cartoon strategies of m ini-narrative, caricature, exag-
geration, distortion, and the interaction between image and text.

Option 4:
A Short Argument Using a Quantitative Graphic
Write a short argument of one to two paragraphs that tells a story based on data you select from Table 9.2 or
from some other table provided by your instructor or located by you. Include in your argument at least one
quantitative graphic (table, line graph, bar graph, pie chart), which should be labeled and referenced accord-
ing to standard conventions. Use as a model the short piece shown in Figure 9.26.

• Part Two Entering an Argumentative Conversation

7 Analyzing Arguments Rhetorically
8 Argument as Inquiry:Reading,Summarizing,and Speaking Back

• Part Three Expanding Our Understanding of Argument

9 Making Visual and Multimodal Arguments

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