Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury

Argumentation in Everyday Life (AIEL)

DESCRIPTION FROM SAGE	KEY PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES
Argumentation in Everyday Life provides students with the tools they need to argue effectively in the classroom and beyond. Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury provides rich coverage of theory while balancing everyday applicability, allowing students to use their skills soundly. Drury introduces the fundamentals of constructing and refuting arguments using the Toulmin model and ARG conditions (Acceptability, Relevance, and Grounds). He also provides a grounded framework for the theories of rhetoric and argumentation discussed by linking them to real-world examples throughout the text in order to demonstrate how these tools may be used in personal, civic, and professional contexts, as well as traditional academic debates.	Key Terms, Definitions, and Glossary: A list of key terms is at the end of each chapter. The definitions of these terms are emphasized on the page they are first introduced and included in Appendix III: Glossary. Everyday Life Examples: Each chapter features at least one “Everyday Life Example,” a case study that illustrates the lessons or content from that chapter in action. These will come from a variety of contexts to show the utility of the material. Find Your Voice Prompts: Beyond illustrating how others have used the concepts, readers encounter brief thought experiments to help them apply the ideas to their own lives. These are subjective prompts that encourage reflection and hone the reader's connection to the topic. Build Your Skill Prompts: Whereas Find Your Voice prompts are largely subjective, Build Your Skill prompts tend to be objective applications that test how well readers have learned the information. They offer a chance to apply the material to additional examples with the answers provided in Appendix II. Application Exercises: The conclusion of each chapter offers two exercises designed to offer more extensive engagement with the material. These might be assignments class instructors use or something readers complete on their own to facilitate more extensive understanding and application of the material.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS
"The Debate Situation" AIEL contributes the idea of the “the debate situation,” a birds-eye view of any given debate organized around three necessary components: arguments, issues, and the proposition. Easy to Use Standards for Evaluating Arguments AIEL combines a prominent argument model (named after logician Stephen Toulmin) with a standards-based approach (the ARG conditions) to test of quality of an argument. These questions are best served by research but don’t necessary require it, and thus they provide a useful posture for critically assessing the arguments you encounter. Emphasis on Context AIEL emphasizes multiple contexts of argumentation (the “everyday life” element of the title). Since people argue in numerous personal, professional, and public contexts and inhabit numerous roles, AIEL uses examples from and theoretical discussions about a variety of situations. Especially important for contemporary society, AIEL considers strategies for and examples of online argumentation, particularly through social media Emphasis on Choice & Empowerment AIEL approaches argumentation and debate as a series of choices people must make. These choices exist as both arguer and audience member and they range from whether to engage in the first place to the stance arguers have toward co-arguers to when, where, and how to advance arguments. This book offers strategies to help readers find their voice and make argumentation an empowering skill.

DESCRIPTION FROM SAGE

KEY PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES

Argumentation in Everyday Life provides students with the tools they need to argue effectively in the classroom and beyond. Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury provides rich coverage of theory while balancing everyday applicability, allowing students to use their skills soundly. Drury introduces the fundamentals of constructing and refuting arguments using the Toulmin model and ARG conditions (Acceptability, Relevance, and Grounds). He also provides a grounded framework for the theories of rhetoric and argumentation discussed by linking them to real-world examples throughout the text in order to demonstrate how these tools may be used in personal, civic, and professional contexts, as well as traditional academic debates.

Key Terms, Definitions, and Glossary: A list of key terms is at the end of each chapter. The definitions of these terms are emphasized on the page they are first introduced and included in Appendix III: Glossary.

Everyday Life Examples: Each chapter features at least one “Everyday Life Example,” a case study that illustrates the lessons or content from that chapter in action. These will come from a variety of contexts to show the utility of the material.

Find Your Voice Prompts: Beyond illustrating how others have used the concepts, readers encounter brief thought experiments to help them apply the ideas to their own lives. These are subjective prompts that encourage reflection and hone the reader's connection to the topic.

Build Your Skill Prompts: Whereas Find Your Voice prompts are largely subjective, Build Your Skill prompts tend to be objective applications that test how well readers have learned the information. They offer a chance to apply the material to additional examples with the answers provided in Appendix II.

Application Exercises: The conclusion of each chapter offers two exercises designed to offer more extensive engagement with the material. These might be assignments class instructors use or something readers complete on their own to facilitate more extensive understanding and application of the material.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

"The Debate Situation"
AIEL contributes the idea of the “the debate situation,” a birds-eye view of any given debate organized around three necessary components: arguments, issues, and the proposition.

Easy to Use Standards for Evaluating Arguments
AIEL combines a prominent argument model (named after logician Stephen Toulmin) with a standards-based approach (the ARG conditions) to test of quality of an argument. These questions are best served by research but don’t necessary require it, and thus they provide a useful posture for critically assessing the arguments you encounter.

Emphasis on Context
AIEL emphasizes multiple contexts of argumentation (the “everyday life” element of the title). Since people argue in numerous personal, professional, and public contexts and inhabit numerous roles, AIEL uses examples from and theoretical discussions about a variety of situations. Especially important for contemporary society, AIEL considers strategies for and examples of online argumentation, particularly through social media

Emphasis on Choice & Empowerment
AIEL approaches argumentation and debate as a series of choices people must make. These choices exist as both arguer and audience member and they range from whether to engage in the first place to the stance arguers have toward co-arguers to when, where, and how to advance arguments. This book offers strategies to help readers find their voice and make argumentation an empowering skill.