Emphasizing the practical and the local, THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, BRIEF EDITION, 2E effectively brings argument into real life with community-based writing activities, illustrating that the tools and skills of argument are critical to success in school-and well beyond. With a focus on accessibility, the text encourages students to argue in response to issues in a variety of environments-school, workplace, family, neighborhood, social-cultural, consumer, and concerned citizen-and learn how argument can become an essential negotiating skill in everyday life. It offers thorough treatments of Toulmin-based and Rogerian approaches to argument as well as teaches the value of fully understanding the opposition, the importance of aiming for the middle ground, and how to use a micro-history to forge an unconventional position. The only introduction to argument written with the today's diverse student body in mind, THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT uses vivid explanations, detailed examples, and practical exercises to guide students step by step through the process of building an effective argument. Each student text is packaged with a free Cengage Essential Reference Card to the MLA HANDBOOK, Eighth Edition.

Part I: HOW TO APPROACH ARGUMENT IN REAL LIFE.
1. Argue with a Purpose.
What Argument Is and What Argument Is Not. “Graduating Debtors” by Thomas Frank. Recognize Where Argument Is Appropriate in Real Life. Argue About Issues that Matter to You. Establish Local Context for an Issue Through the Research Process. Recognize Why Arguments Break Down. Match Argument with Purpose.
2. Explore an Issue that Matters to You.
Determine What Matters to You and Why. Choose an Issue within a Topic. Pre-Think About Your Issue. Define and Target Your Audience. Stake, Defend, and Justify Your Claim. Vary the Support You Bring to an Argument. Working with a Target Audience: Two Examples. Argue at the Right Moment. Getting Started.
Part II: HOW TO ESTABLISH CONTEXT THROUGH RESEARCH.
3. Develop a Research Plan.
Use Reference Works, Encyclopedias, and Topic Overviews Profitably. Gather Search Terms. Use Search Engines to Find Internet Sources on the Surface Web and on the Deep Web. Perform Keyword Queries. Find News Sites and Use RSS Feeds to Receive Updates. Find and Use Databases in Libraries. Find and Use Primary Sources. Find and Use Government Sources. Find and Use Multimedia Sources. Find Books.
4. Evaluate and Engage with Your Sources.
Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Internet Sites. Take Notes, Read Critically, and Evaluate Articles. Take Notes and Read Books Critically. Take Notes and Evaluate Primary Sources. Introduce and Comment on Sources. Quote and Cite Quotations. Summarize and Cite Summaries. Paraphrase and Cite Paraphrases. Avoid Plagiarism. Documentation: Works Cited Page.
5. Read Critically and Avoid Fallacies.
Define Fallacies. Identify and Avoid Fallacies. Avoid Fallacies of Choice. Avoid Fallacies of Support. Avoid Fallacies of Emotion. Avoid Fallacies of Inconsistency.
6. Work Fairly with the Opposition.
Why the Opposition Matters. Resist Easy Generalizations. Listen to Local Voices. Summarize Other Voices Fairly. Value Expertise Over Advocacy. Avoid Bias When You Summarize. Find Points of Overlap. Respond to Other Views.
Part III: HOW TO PLAN, STRUCTURE AND DELIVER AN ARGUMENT.
7. Develop a Strategy.
8. Consider Toulmin-Based Argument.
9. Consider Middle Ground and Rogerian Argument, and Argument based on Microhistory.
10. Build Arguments.
11. Support an Argument with Fact (Logos), Credibility (Ethos), and Emotion (Pathos).
Part IV: HOW TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR ARGUMENT: A STYLE GUIDE.
12. Enhance Your Argument with Visuals and Humor.
What Are Visual Arguments? Read Visual Arguments. Use Humor in Your Argument. When Is Humor Appropriate?
12. Develop and Edit Argument Structure and Style.

Emphasizing the practical and the local, THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, BRIEF EDITION, 2E effectively brings argument into real life with community-based writing activities, illustrating that the tools and skills of argument are critical to success in school-and well beyond. With a focus on accessibility, the text encourages students to argue in response to issues in a variety of environments-school, workplace, family, neighborhood, social-cultural, consumer, and concerned citizen-and learn how argument can become an essential negotiating skill in everyday life. It offers thorough treatments of Toulmin-based and Rogerian approaches to argument as well as teaches the value of fully understanding the opposition, the importance of aiming for the middle ground, and how to use a micro-history to forge an unconventional position. The only introduction to argument written with the today's diverse student body in mind, THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT uses vivid explanations, detailed examples, and practical exercises to guide students step by step through the process of building an effective argument. Each student text is packaged with a free Cengage Essential Reference Card to the MLA HANDBOOK, Eighth Edition. New examples vividly illustrate each of the four types of arguments covered in THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, BRIEF EDITION, 2E. These argument types are now spread over two chapters, with Chapter 8 devoted to Toulmin-based argument and Chapter 9 focused on middle-ground argument, Rogerian argument, and argument based on a micro-history. Research is now consolidated in Part II, giving instructors more flexibility to assign when it best fits their class needs. New assignments in end-of-chapter Keeping It Local boxes enable students to put chapter strategies into action on an issue relevant to their own communities. Helping students maximize their study time, new checklists throughout the text consolidate the key features of particular kinds of argumentative writing and research. Part IV: “How to Take Ownership of Your Argument: A Style Guide” now includes a guide for obtaining peer reviews of one's writing. Easily create, assign, and grade writing assignments with Enhanced InSite™ for THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT. From a single, easy-to-navigate site, you and your students can manage the flow of papers online, check for originality, and conduct peer reviews. Access a fully customizable, interactive and true-to-page eBook (YouBook), writing prompts for each chapter, private tutoring options, and resources for writers that include anti-plagiarism tutorials and downloadable grammar podcasts. The text's companion website includes an Instructor's Manual, written by the authors, as well as sample syllabi. Providing a practical approach and local focus throughout, THE PURPOSEFUL ARGUMENT first teaches students to analyze and identify argument, then work to plan and develop an argument using the specific strategies, and finally to stylistically understand their work. The text's depth and breadth of examples help students understand the immediate application of argument in real life so that the concepts and thinking strategies are more accessible.