Reading Response Chapter 9

        Throughout reading chapter 9 this week the one thing that stuck out to me the most was, having to state your opinion, or take a stand in your writing. I always thought that when writing or delivering a speech the writer/speaker had to keep his/her personal beliefs aside and just deliver information. I stood corrected. With that being said, it made me excited for future essays and presentations because, now I know it's okay to take a side when delivering information to others. By taking a side in the topic you're writing about, the writer is able to get more personal with it, and have the passion towards the topic show through. The example essays given were great examples to show how writers take sides without making it seem as if they are forcing their audience to take the same side.
          The most important tips in chapter 9 in my opinion would be to always have great evidence to support your claim. Because when you have strong evidence to support your claim, your claim becomes more credible. I think chapter 9 did an excellent job, and nothing needed any further elaboration.

Yazmin O

One of the most useful skills a person can learn is how to construct a persuasive argument.  It is important because in order to get things done in a group setting, there has to be an agreement.  The easiest way to come to an agreement is to come to a consensus.  People have to agree to a decision everyone can live with, even if not everyone agrees 100%.  The first step is to examine the issue and take a stand.

Chapter 9 gives readers a quick overview of how to build a logical argument and also lists 13 logical fallacies.  It’s interesting because the book correctly points them out and warns that they lead to faulty reasoning, but what isn’t mentioned is that they are used every day in order to BUILD convincing arguments.  The vast majority of people are not trained to recognize a fallacy when they hear one, so one can build a very convincing argument using both solid logic with a fallacy or two weaved in, in order to ultimately convince others to see things their way.  Just prepare for a rebuttal if challenged.
There is also a nice, practical layout of how to plan, execute, and review an argumentative essay.  The chapter gives step by step instructions that a student can follow and produce a well-written essay.  One of the most important lessons is to think about your audience and what their reaction will be.  It does no good to write a great argumentative essay when you know the reader is going to shut you down immediately, if you present the argument in the wrong order.  There is a lot of valuable advice in this chapter.

Dustan S