Most Pictures Are More Appealing, When Put in the Proper Frame

     Although reading the assigned material every week is not as enjoyable as losing myself in a great political novel or memoir of my choosing, I find it to have much more education value that I can refer to in the future. I have found that many of the reading materials that are required for the classes, in which I have enrolled, are beneficial for the proper execution of my assignments, but have no substantial value for me as I move on to other subjects and courses. I cannot say the same about the book Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, written by Ramage, Bean and Johnson.

     When I discovered my requirements for completing my degree included Composition I and Composition II, I choose to take both of these classes my first semester as to get, what I felt would be a painful process, out of the way earlier rather than later. I feared that the material was going to be fraught with the application of proper sentence structure, and Basic English rules that applied to such items as the use of nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc., an area of English that I less than enjoyed and excelled at in high school. But, I have been pleasantly surprised at how useful the reading material has been, and how often I refer to the book in which I have mentioned, as well as the Penguin Handbook written by Lester Faigley. Both books have been very useful in my learning process in regards to how I shape and frame my writings.

     The structure and framing of ones arguments in writings is of the upmost importance when it comes to supporting your position on a topic or issue. As stated in chapter three The Core of an Argument, “When you write an argument, your task is to take a position on the issue and to support it with reasons and evidence” (Ramage, Bean and Johnson). I have found that many writers articles that can be found today either ignore this fundamental process, or do not frame the information in a way that provides for a clear understanding and reasoning for the position in which they have taken. I feel that providing evidence of why a particular position has been taken is of crucial importance in regards to appealing to the expertise and character of the author. I agree that “besides being knowledgeable about your issue, you need to demonstrate fairness and courtesy to alternative views” (Ramage, Bean and Johnson). Approaching a subject from an objective point of view can go a long way in establishing credibility for the author. I also find that using analogies in ones writings can be a very useful tool in the art of persuasion. Out of respect for your readers, you should always endeavor to properly structure and frame your arguments properly.

Works Citied

Ramage, John, John Bean and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric With Reading. New York: Longman, 2010.