Influencing Through Argument

Book excerpt: Annotation A basic text for citizens, professionals, and debaters of all types. This book introduces readers to the basic types of arguments and how to criticize and engage them, including induction, deduction, and causation. Readers will be familiarized with the ways in which advocates support their arguments and how to criticize and engage these forms of support, including historical data, statistics, examples, anecdotes, expert testimony and common experience. Readers will also encounter how to prepare for argumentative situations and how to conduct themselves within them, including debates, panel discussion, public speeches and informal settings. The original 1964 text has been updated and filled with new examples and activities.