This essay is an analysis of Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrichs, a full-time advocate for the lost art of rhetoric. The three major topics to cover are which tools he uses frequently, which chapter was the most valuable and crucial to arguing effectively, and the argument for the book’s continued use or refutation of its value. Jay Heinrichs is teaching us the art of persuasion and other tools that come with it. Heinrichs uses many famous people, from Bart Simpson to Aristotle, to send his message and teach about The Art of Persuasion. He also teaches what to use, when to use it, and who to use it with. He uses a lot of rhetoric which has three kinds; forensic, demonstrative, and deliberative. Deliberative rhetoric is what you use when …show more content…
The first canon is where you invent what you intend to say to your audience. The second canon is where you decide what order you will deliver the speech. The third canon is the style you will use to make it appeal to the audience. The fourth canon is to memorize all of it and the fifth canon is to deliver it to the audience. Heinrichs conveys this by using Obama’s speech and how he followed Cicero to a T (295) by using the classical outline: introduction, narration, division, proof, refutation, and conclusion. Obama started off by establishing himself at the beginning and claimed, “‘My presence on this stage is pretty unlikely’”(Heinrichs 295), which was a very modest but smart choice. He then proceeds to tells a story about his parents and links his character with the American Way using pathos in his speech. He divides his side from the opponent’s side, without blaming anyone, to make him sound more mature and reasonable by saying I say to you tonight: we have more work to do (296). He then goes on to prove that statement by naming a list of things that need to be done. Then he gives the refutation, by attacking the Republicans indirectly who seek to divide Americans ( Heinrichs 296). He raises his voice for the first time that night to say that there are not two different Americas, but only one: The United States of America. He concludes with a summary and a call to action. The …show more content…
Throughout this book, you learn the tools and skills you can use to argue your way out of anything from a loved one to a cop. This book has been one of the top ten books assigned at Harvard and a New York Times bestseller. Middlebury College has also named him a Professor of the Practice in Rhetoric and Oratory. He is a great source for credibility and he is aware of his audience and knows how to appeal to their level. The book provides the reader with tips and tricks to use in everyday problems and Heinrichs gives guidelines to essays and arguments you may do in public. He explains what tenses to use when facing three main issues: blame, values, and choices. He also teaches how to make your audience attentive, receptive, and more trusting. There are so many more skills that Heinrichs teaches us, but parents may question what this book will teach children. The reading level for this book is 7.0 meaning it can be read by a seventh grader to a college student. Seventh grade is the time where teenagers start to fight back with parents and they are usually unsuccessful, which is a good thing depending on the circumstances. But once the teens convince their parents to do something that they want which isn’t potentially safe, they won’t be able to go back. This book is not meant to mislead any readers into doing the wrong thing, but rather how to put it
Many people have a certain opinion when it comes to their standing on tattoos, whether they see them as beautiful pieces of art, or body mutilation, everyone subscribes to a different belief. Many people who see teenagers, believe that these teens are “troubled”, or impulsive and impressionable, which at that point in the brain’s development that may be true, but they never consider that maybe that teen is ready, or is willing to commit to the tattoo simply because it is something that has importance to them. Andres Martin, a child psychiatrist, wrote an article in a 2000 edition of the magazine “Reclaiming Our Children and Youth” about teenagers and tattoos, where he directly addresses the reasons that would support the ideas behind teens getting tattoos. Andres
The book is full of speechwriting teachings for public speakers. In particular, it is based on the knowledge of the past such as Aristotle’s logos, pathos, and ethos concepts, and yet tailored for contemporary public speakers with a broad range of references to day-to-day persuasive instances (Heinrichs 231). Besides being highly informative, Jay Heinrichs’ book (Chapters 1 to 10) is also hilarious and dynamic. As earlier mentioned, the book covers the central rhetorical lessons of both Cicero and Aristotle. However, the author further cites fresh examples, centers on workplace, cultural, marketing and political references.
In Jay Heinrichs’ Thank You For Arguing: The Seven Deadly Logical Sins the text presents false comparison, bad example, ignorance as proof, tautology, false choice, red herring and wrong ending. Heinrichs goes into details about how each of these logical fallacies are sins. I agree with Heinrichs claim that all logical fallacies eventually turn into bad logic. I also agree with Heinrichs idea of using bad proof, wrong number choices, and disconnect between proof and conclusion to detect a fallacy.
Now, the framework I decided to use for this article through analyzing is Lloyd Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation. In his rhetorical situation, he explains how every situation can be analyzed rhetorically by looking at the interactions between speakers, subjects, audience and purpose. A rhetoric piece of work comes into existence for the sake of something far greater than the piece itself. In each rhetoric situation, he explains how there’s three main variables that come into play. First, you gave the exigence, which is the “reason.”
The introduction of They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein outlines the basic template of the authors’ approach to rhetorical writing. The central template the book focuses on is “they say, I say”, as the title suggests. This technique requires the writer to assess and evaluate the author’s argument and paraphrase it in his or her own words. Then, the writer must respond to the argument with her own stance, provide evidence, and formulate an opinion. By going through this process, the writer is forced to think critically and read closely, improving not only their own opinion, but also a better understanding of the original piece and the original author’s ideas.
Jay Heinrichs unveils the hidden truths that we often overlook, in Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach us About the Art of Persuasion, allowing you to liberate your mind to the wonders our rhetorical world offers. This informative piece works on reintroducing the 3,000 year old art throughout the nation- being taught in elite schools. From the witty, realistic scenarios he presents, we are able to visualize the hundreds of rhetoric tools that date back to Cicero and Aristotle. By providing examples from personal experiences, political figures, celebrities, and even hypothetical situations we could encounter- we are allowed to truly see how persuasion is and can be implemented into everyday life. Heinrichs
Throughout the course of history there has been a few basic pioneer traits which have become habitual and a way for humans to express themselves. One of the main and core habits which is an important way of expressing ourselves is through communication. Furthermore, as one becomes more precise about communication, they soon realize that they might not have the same views on certain topics. Hence, this leads to argumentation, which is the process of supporting an idea or simply a means for one to express and communicate themselves. Typically, an argument does not consist of name calling, and as a matter of fact disapproves ideas without evidence.
The Toulmin method is an effective tool that helps determine the efficacy of an argument by using this method the author’s argumentative strategies are evaluated to determine their strength. This essay will use the Toulmin method in order to assess the strength of James E. McWilliams’ argument. The Toulmin method will break down the author’s argument into components—the claim, evidence, warrant, qualifiers, and rebuttal. Through using the Toulmin method, Williams’ argument and the components of his argument will be dissected and individually analyzed to determine each component’s effectiveness and how it contributes to the overall power and credibility of Williams’ argument.
Thank You for Arguing is a popular substitute textbooks for upper level English classes written by Jay Heinrichs, a journalist that has taught the art of persuasion to numerous Ivy League schools, the Pentagon, and even NASA. In attempt to restore that art of persuasion, Heinrichs submerges the modern world into the ancient realm of persuasion in the most entertaining way possible. Based on the teachings of Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson, this clever approach to teachings displays the best of rhetoric through the eyes of the twenty-first century. Despite other unique methods, Heinrichs primarily utilizes anecdotes to convey various techniques which is best displayed in Chapter 21: Lead Your Tribe.
Introduction Hook: I never knew that one day, one idea could have such a big impact. That one thing could change the history, set up the rest of the country to follow suit with this specific topic, and things that need a change in general. Background: Over 50 years ago, on March 7, 1965, now known as bloody Sunday, segregation was still prevalent. At the time it was not allowed for blacks to vote at the time.
Which bring us to the next rhetorical strategy, parallelism. Some of the parallelism used in Obama’s speech such as “…we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction.” (Pg. 688) makes the reader feel a sense of emotion from the writer and get an overview of the past. It allows them to be more engaged and gives them something to relate to. Which in this case, lead to a better approach of Obama getting his audience to interact and connect with him, and helped to put forth
The upper hand in arguments Dad yells at his son George stating who used all the toothpaste. Dad does not want to go down to the freezing basement because, he has only a towel around his waist. On the other hand, his son george has the appropriate clothes to go down the basement. His son uses the strategies that his dad taught him using the future tense. In this book, the author helps you understand all the strategies and tools not only to win arguments, but teach you about tricks you can use in everyday life to win arguments and discussions.
The 44th and first African American President, Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Address, promotes a call to action. Obama’s purpose is to express his gratitude for his opportunity to become president and discuss his plans for economic advancement. In order to reach the American people of the U.S., Obama adopts a serious and thought-provoking tone to urge them to support his plans for advancement. During this time of economic crisis, Obama clearly conveys to the American people through his use of metaphor, allusion, and anaphora, that it is time to take a stand and make a change in America.
Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).
His speech is similar to the one he gave in 2008 and contains repetition and conveys his political views. We notice how Obama opens his sentence with the same words such as: “We want”, “You’ll hear” and “That’s”. His speech is followed by the ideas about the USA, Americans or what the future holds for them. The first rhetorical device used by Barack Obama in his speech is an Anaphora. He starts his sentences with the same lines.