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| Preface | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Composing a Short Argument: Some General Rules | |
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| Distinguish premises and conclusion | |
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| Present your ideas in a natural order | |
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| Start from reliable premises | |
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| Be concrete and concise | |
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| Avoid loaded language | |
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| Use consistent terms | |
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| Stick to one meaning for each term | |
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| Arguments by Example | |
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| Give more than one example | |
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| Use representative examples | |
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| Background information is crucial | |
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| Consider counterexamples | |
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| Arguments by Analogy | |
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| Analogy requires a relevantly similar example | |
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| Arguments from Authority | |
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| Sources should be cited | |
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| Seek informed sources | |
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| Seek impartial sources | |
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| Cross-check sources | |
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| Personal attacks do not disqualify a source | |
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| Arguments about Causes | |
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| Explain how cause leads to effect | |
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| Propose the most likely cause | |
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| Correlated events are not necessarily related | |
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| Correlated events may have a common cause | |
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| Either of two correlated events may cause the other | |
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| Causes may be complex | |
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| Deductive Arguments | |
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| Modus Ponens | |
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| Modus Tollens | |
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| Hypothetical Syllogism | |
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| Disjunctive Syllogism | |
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| Dilemma | |
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| Reductio ad absurdum | |
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| Deductive arguments in several steps | |
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| Composing an Argumentative Essay | |
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| Exploring the Issue | |
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| Explore the arguments on all sides of the issue | |
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| Question and defend each argument's premises | |
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| Revise and rethink arguments as they emerge | |
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| Composing an Argumentative Essay | |
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| Main Points of the Essay | |
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| Explain the question | |
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| Make a definite claim or proposal | |
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| Develop your arguments fully | |
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| Consider objections | |
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| Consider alternatives | |
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| Composing an Argumentative Essay | |
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| Writing | |
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| Follow your outline | |
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| Keep the introduction brief | |
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| Give your arguments one at a time | |
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| Clarify, clarify, clarify | |
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| Support objections with arguments | |
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| Don't claim more than you have shown | |
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| Fallacies | |
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| The Two Great Fallacies | |
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| Some Classical Fallacies | |
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| Definition | |
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| When terms are unclear, get specific | |
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| When terms are contested, work from the clear cases | |
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| Don't expect definitions to do the work of arguments | |
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| Next Steps | |