a smarter way to learn argument analysis

For success in Argument Analysis, please see our latest workbook, Arguments and Persuasive Language: analysing and presenting opinion-based texts (Dr Jennifer Minter, English Works, 2020)

This workbook streamlines the task. It helps students hone in on the author’s key argument points, helped by a knowledge of the basic structure of opinion-based texts:

• problem-solution;
• defence-attack; and/or
• compare-and-contrast.

This knowledge helps students focus on the most important persuasive techniques and more effectively analyse the purpose of persuasive word choices.

In contrast to most textbooks in this area of study, this workbook does not isolate techniques, which leads to a meaning-supports-techniques approach. This makes it difficult for students to elucidate the purpose and effect of persuasive techniques/words.

Rather, it is important for students to work with the meaning of the text, and to make sure that their choice of an author’s significant techniques and word choices support the author’s overall persuasive argument, their structure and intentions.