Envision:Writing and Researching Arguments, 5th Edition
Discipline
Copyright
2017
Imprint
Pearson
Author(s)
Christine L. Alfano, Alyssa J. O'Brien
For courses in Argument.
Explores writing, rhetoric, and research by considering the different modes of argument in contemporary culture
A concise and practical guide, Envision: Writing and Researching Arguments, Fifth Edition is ideal for composition courses focusing on argumentation and research-based writing. Each chapter uses interactive and engaging lessons, and focuses both on analyzing and producing words (print materials, articles, blog posts, and even tweets) as well as on writing about images and other contemporary media (cartoons, ads, photographs, films, video games, websites, and more). In this way, it teaches critical literacy about all kinds of texts.
Additionally, numerous student writing examples and professional, published readings–both with annotations–are provided to reinforce the writing lessons in each chapter and to demonstrate how students might successfully implement such strategies in their own texts. Students using Envisionwill learn how to analyze and compose arguments, design and conduct research projects, and produce persuasive visual and oral presentations.
Features and Benefits
- NEW! New and updated annotated articles and student writing show readers exactly how to move from invention to argument, whether they are analyzing a written text, a visual text, or developing a research-based argument.
- REVISED! The refreshed section in Chapter 3 on classical argumentation, Toulmin logic, and Rogerian argument offers students guidance in exploring different strategies of arrangement to construct effective arguments.
- REVISED! In addition to the focus on rhetorical appeals and the canons of rhetoric found in prior editions, the Fifth Edition features expanded coverage of ethos and logos, as well as more detailed examination of persona and rhetorical stance.
- REVISED! Expanded sections on invention in Chapters 3, 4, and 6, complete with additional student samples, encourage students to find modes of prewriting that best suit their learning style, writing habits, and the parameters of their writing tasks.
- REVISED! Student writing in the chapters showcase ways to analyze a variety of types of argument, from written to visual arguments. In addition to guided instruction in the body of each chapter, the “Spotlighted Analysis” feature offers students the opportunity to apply strategies of rhetorical analysis to a diverse range of texts, from traditional written arguments, to political cartoons, advertisements, photographs, posters, websites, and even film trailers.
- REVISED! A refreshed section on search methodologies includes discussion of adapting search methodology to different search engines (i.e., Google vs. academic databases) and how to effectively conduct Boolean searches.
- In addition, the streamlined discussion of evaluating sources is designed to provide students with a useful process for assessing materials for their own research once they find them.
- Lastly, discussion of Joseph Bizzup’s BEAM approach to research encourages students to move beyond categorizing sources in terms of primary and secondary materials to considering how to use those sources to produce effective research-based arguments.
Authors
Christine Alfano has been a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric since 1998. She holds a BA from Brown University and PhD from Stanford and specializes in digital rhetoric. In her recent PWR courses, “The Rhetoric of Gaming,” “Networked Rhetoric,” "Technologies of iDentity" and "Cultural Interfaces," Christine challenges students to explore how writing in different technological modes (from traditional Microsoft Word documents, to blogs, threaded discussions, social network profiles, video blogs, and wikis) transforms the modern practice of communication and how we represent ourselves online and off. In addition, Christine is the technology specialist for the Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Project, a project that allows Stanford PWR students to engage in intercultural collaboration with students from other universities around the world using video conferencing and other modes of communication technologies.
Dr. Alyssa J. O'Brien is a Lecturer in the Program and Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, where she directs the Cross-Cultural Rhetoric initiative and publishes scholarship and textbooks on visual rhetoric, writing pedagogy, and global learning. She has been an invited speaker in Asia and Europe on subjects such as global learning, communication for leadership, visual rhetoric, and “mapping a change in writing.” In 2006, Alyssa won the Phi Beta Kappa Outstanding Teaching Award, and what she enjoys most is helping people discover their voices in writing of all kinds. Her current first- and second-year writing courses focus on visual rhetoric, cross-cultural rhetoric, globalization, and communication for leadership. Before coming to Stanford in 2001, she taught composition, creative writing, literature, and business writing at Cornell University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Rochester.
Table of Contents
I: ANALYSIS AND ARGUMENT
1. Analyzing Texts and Writing Thesis Statements
2. Understanding Strategies of Persuasion
3. Composing Arguments
II: PLANNING AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH
4. Planning and Proposing Research Arguments
5. Finding and Evaluating Research Sources
III: DRAFTING AND DESIGNING ARGUMENTS
6. Organizing and Writing Research Arguments
7. Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources
8. Designing Arguments
IV: READINGS
9. You Are What You Eat
10. Life Online
11. Playing Against Stereotypes
12. Crisis and Resilience
13. Claiming Citizenship