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English class...Thank You for Arguing, Jay Heinrichs


milkdrinker1 2 / 1  
Jan 24, 2010   #1
This is paper for rhetorical analysis essay. I'm really bad at grammar.. please help me.. I will be greatly appreciate for your help..

In his book Thank You for Arguing, Jay Heinrichs introduces rhetoric concepts and techniques that give us ability to present a clear, logical, eloquent defense in an argument. He is not just to tell his readers how to construct an effective argument but to make the readers more aware of why people argue and what purposes that argument serves in our lives. Heinrichs intends to show how to use rhetoric tools that was classified as a crucial skill for leaders to have in ancient Greece. In the first chapter, he exemplifies personal anecdotes of using the art of persuasion that serve to emphasize and illuminate the value of utilizing rhetoric tools.

Heinrichs' illustrative examples and usage of some rhetoric concepts, which are ethos, logos significantly convince his readers to influence their views, behavior, and move them to act to which they have agreed.

The author uses narratives to tell that everyone can benefit from the knowledge and use of rhetoric in order to obtain what they want to in an argument. One of the examples from "personal tales of unresisted persuasion" helps us to perceive the benefits of the rhetorical tactic called concession, which brings his son to get Hainrichs' point in the argument.

"George!" I yell. "Who used all the toothpaste?"
"That's not the point, is it, Dad? George says.
"The point is how we're going to keep this from happening again."
"You're right," I say. "You win. Now will you please get me some tooth paste?"
"Sure." George says (3).
Then, Hainrichs writes, "I achieved the height of persuasion: not just an agreement, but one that gets an audience- a teenaged one at that-to do my bidding. No, George, I win" (4). He creates an argument in a clear and convincing manner by agreeing with his son, and this supports his aptitude to defend himself from conflicts and get him what he wants. In this sense, he upholds that rhetoric may safeguard him from manipulation and indoctrination that happens in every day life. Descriptive examples and comprehensible explanations supports his argument that understanding of rhetoric builds on one's ability and experiences, allowing his or her to develop a more conscious. Therefore more judicious awareness of what one can achieve with argument.

Heinrichs uses three basic types of appeals not only to persuade readers to practice rhetoric skills in their lives but also create balanced tone to craft his argument effectively throughout the book. The first rhetoric tool he used in the book is ethos. In his sentence, "I have told him countless times how the most productive arguments use the future tense, the language of choices and decisions," he attempts to project his own character as wise, principled, practical by his words and actions in the dialogue. Another example of ethos can be found in the page four of the book.

After the ancient Greeks invented it, rhetoric helped create the world's first democracies. It trained Roman orators like Julius Caesar and Marcus Tullius Cicero and gave the Bible its finest language. It even inspired William Shakespeare (4).

Demonstrating well-known leaders and written texts helps Heinrichs to produce sufficient, high-quality evidence to back up connections between readers and the author in confidence. Second rhetoric concept is logos. Heinrichs uses logic, which appeals to the audience's reason and intellect.

The ancient Romans would call the Ironman's brand appeal argumentum a fortiori, "argument from strength." Its logic goes like this: If something works the hard way, it's more likely to work the easy way (7).

He provides definition of rhetoric subject to appeal readers with objectivity. It makes readers feel that the writer is well informed, so convincing them. He also represents other side of opinions on rhetoric fairly. "Rhetoric faded in academia during the 1800s, when social scientists dismissed the notion that an individual could stand up to the inexorable forces of history" (4). Then, he presents evidences that disprove those positions and show that the reasoning is inadequate or incoherent.

Imagine stumbling upon Newton's law of gravity and meeting face-to-face with the forces that drive the universe. Or imagine coming across Freud for the first time and suddenly becoming aware of the unconscious, where your Id, Ego, and Superego conduct their silent argument (5).

By revealing other side of opinions, he establishes a reasonable and objective tone that plays an important role in overcoming reader resistance to his own position. Using ethos and logos give impression of the author's honesty, and it convinces the readers.

Jay Heinrichs' argument in convincing his readers about art of persuasion is simple: he attempts to encourage readers to learn about values, advantages of studying rhetoric strategy to benefit their lives. The writer's character, style, tone, and artful use of language are required for persuasion. Jay Heinrichs helps for us to understand how, when, and why to use the rhetoric techniques by providing adequate examples. And he uses logos to make us feel confident, and encourages to translate our assent into action. Now, there's only one thing to decide. If we are persuaded by Jay Heinrich effectively, we should keep read this book, and some day, master the art of persuasion as his goal for this book.
EF_Kevin 8 / 13,321 129  
Jan 25, 2010   #2
He is not just to telling his readers how to construct an effective argument; he is also trying to make the readers more aware of why people argue and what purposes that argument serves in our lives.

Here are some errors:
...builds on one's ability and experiences, allowing him or her to develop a more conscious state of mind .

...and this is only the first half of a sentence:
Therefore more judicious awareness of what one can achieve with argument enables Heinrichs to be more effective in argument.

This is so fascinating, because it shows how powerful one can be if she can override her ego!

It also reminds me of what happened when Darth Vader fought with Obi Wan Kenobi in the Empire Strikes Back.

If you want to improve your grammar, read beautiful prose aloud once each day.

Don't give your essayforum threads meaningless titles or they will be deleted!

And He uses logos to make us feel confident (no comma necessary here) and encourages to translate our assent into action.

:-)


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