Chapter 47

When constructing a reasonable argument you need to start with a debatable issue. When you construct a reasonable argument your goal is to try to convince your readers to reconsider their view points. You never want to use a tone too aggressive nor too passive. The best method to use is an assertive tone. You should never assume that your readers already agree with you. In your introduction you want to establish your creditability. In order to do this you need to show your readers that you are knowledgeable and fair minded. In order for your thesis to be stronger you should use persuasive lines before your thesis sentence. You should always back up your claims with specific evidence, such as using facts and statistics like examples, illustrations, and citing expert opinions. You should always anticipate objections and counter opposing argument. Going over what someone might think will make you a stronger arguer. However, you don’t want to be too aggressive. You still need to show some concern for your readers. This will make your readers more likely to acknowledge the validity of your arguments.
I learned a lot of really good tips in chapter 47 for my own writing. I don’t think I would ever have the problem of being to aggressive. I do think that I could be to persuasive. In this chapter I learned how to use an assertive tone. Another tool I learned in this chapter, which I thought was really neat, was to view your readers as a panel of jurors. Additionally, I’ve learned that when you write a paper believing that the readers automatically disagree with you, then you will be more likely to write a persuasive argument rather than assertive.