Argumentation

Argumentation is the art of influencing others through the medium of reasoned discourse, to believe or act as we wish them to believe or act. It is also a process of influencing the belief or behavior of a hearer or reader, through spoken or written speech by supplying him with reasons and stirring his feelings.

There are two methods of approach in the work of argumentation. First, conviction or appeal to reason whose purpose is to create belief or intellectual agreement. In this phase the arguer directs his words to the reasoning faculty of man in order to drive the him to accept the truth. Second, method of approach is called persuasion or appeal to emotions. In this phase the disputants direct his words to the emotions. The purpose is to stir those desires to influence to act in the way one wishes the to act.

Furthermore, Toulmin method is important in argumentation for it will certainly help us understand how effective or ineffective an argument is. It is a type of textual "dissection" that allows us to break an argument into its different parts (such as claim, reasons, and evidence) so that we can make judgments on how well the different parts work together.

Basically, the five parts of argument are the following:

1. Claim - Being the main point you should ensure that your claim is clear and concise. Readers should be able to tell what is at stake and what principles you intend to use to argue your point.

2. Reasons - If a reason is effective (or "good"), it invokes a value we can believe in and agree with. Value judgments, because they are by necessity somewhat subjective, are often the most difficult to make in arguments. It is, therefore, always a good idea to restate the value being invoked as clearly as possible in your own terms. Then you'll be able to evaluate whether or not the value is good in itself or worth pursuing.

3. Evidence - is also important to convince the audience since it offers tangible support. Hence, to be believable and convincing, evidence should satisfy three conditions. It should be sufficient, credible , and accurate.

4. Anticipated Objections and Rebuttal -included to ensure that you are prepared for potential objections to the argument's reasons, objections which the writer expects his or her opponents to make. Usually, these are included in arguments as opportunities for the writer to present her or his own reasons as refutations/rebuttals.

5. Drawing Conclusions - Once you have completed a Toulmin analysis of an argument, your task is to collect your "results" into an overall, coherent statement about the effectiveness of that argument. In other words, if you are attempting to respond to that argumen.