COMM 1117 Lecture 1: COMM 1117- Chapter one
2 May 2018
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Chapter One
Argumentation is a continuing process of changing issues, claims, and propositions
Adherence: the informed support of others
• Informed- people have committed themselves to your claim and are consciously aware of the
reasons for doing so
• Support- people are ready to act on your claims, not just talk about it
• Arguments must gain adherence of those who really make the decisions
Decision Maker: those necessary to the implementation of the decision and the achievement of the
ultimate purpose
• Ex. State legislators, US Congress, the President in making policy decisions, the TA on the letter
grade- it’s the audiee
• When you make an argument, you must address it to the appropriate decision makers if you
expect to achieve what you are trying to accomplish (your ultimate purpose)
Claim: is a statement that you want others to accept and act on (to grant their adherence)
• A claim is a dingle statement- it is possible to have several claims in one sentence
• Subclaim: when a claim is used to justify a claim
*Issue: the paralleling of two opposing claims stated as a question
• Has both yes and no (positive and negative) in the question (should, are, does)
o Should weed be legal for recreation purpose?
▪ Yes, it should be legal
▪ No, it should not be legal
o Does marijuana have significant health benefit?
o Should marijuana be accessible to minors?
• An issue is more important claim
• Issues identify the significant points where controversy exists
• Should be stated only allowing a yes or no response
• Best stated with words such as: should, will, does, can, whether, is (these words clearly imply a
yes or no answer)
• Never begin with words such as: who, what, when, where, why, how (these words lead to open-
ended questions and does not focus on the analysis)
• Not all claims result in issues, but any claim (policy, fact, or value) may become an issue
*Proposition: a claim that expresses the judgement that decision makers are asked to accept or reject
• Usually the big claim you are working from (the main claim you are making)
• May be a fact, value, or policy claim
• In a debate- it’s what the two side ae fightig aout
• Propositions cannot be subclaims because it represents the point where you want the decision
maker to be when your argument is finished
• Claims accumulate to form other claims, these claims support a proposition
• At the point in your cases where you select a judgment for decision makers to accept or reject,
that claim that states the judgement, is the proposition
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Argumentation is a continuing process of changing issues, claims, and propositions. Decision maker: those necessary to the implementation of the decision and the achievement of the ultimate purpose: ex. Evidence: strengthen a claim and increase potential for adherence if you add examples, stats, or testimony. Values: generalized conceptions of what are desirable ends or ways of behaving-claims are supported when they are identified with social values of the decision makers. Argumentativeness: (cid:396)e(cid:395)ui(cid:396)es you to (cid:272)o(cid:374)side(cid:396) othe(cid:396)s" disag(cid:396)ee(cid:373)e(cid:374)t a(cid:374)d say why you do o(cid:396) do (cid:374)ot fi(cid:374)d them worthy of your adherence. Verbal aggression: is a construct found to be associated with people perceiving themselves as being less competent in communication skills. Criticism: argumentation involves criticism of claims with the open potential for modifying them: does not destroy a claim, people adapt to criticism. Modification: changing the nature of a claim so that is becomes more acceptable to an audience. Levels of argumentation (hierarchy) (claims on bottom: claims, ex.
