Writers and speakers don’t typically begin an argument by choosing their genre or type. The argument they want to make, the conversation they want to join in that particular rhetorical situation, is more important than the label. That being said, though, considering type or genre can provide another way of thinking about argument, helping with topic choice as well as with development of the argument once it’s under construction.
Use this chart to think through three different topics that interest you from a variety of angles. If you have to leave a few boxes blank, use AI to fill in as many as you can. Considering potential topics in different ways can help you figure out the most effective approach from which to make your argument and convince your audience. As you work through your prewriting chart, use the following examples and categories to help you think through your own argumentative approach. Consider which types might best serve your rhetorical situation, and remember that you may find yourself blending elements from multiple approaches to create the most effective argument for your specific context.
The following examples include some common approaches you’ll find in real-world persuasive writing. Notice that some of these examples seem to be blurring the line between informative and persuasive; they don’t sound like hardcore argument. You’ll also notice that the list is not exhaustive and that many real-world arguments may blend more than one type in the same piece of writing or speech.
RAISING AWARENESS: inform / persuade audience that a problem, phenomenon, etc. exists and needs to be discussed
Examples:
- Failure to spay and neuter pets results in severe pet overpopulation problem.
- Inadequate regulation of our food supply is a much more severe problem than people realize.
DEFINITION: persuade audience to accept your definition
Examples:
- Is fan fiction literature?
- Is cheerleading a sport?
CAUSAL ARGUMENT: explore causes or effects
Examples:
- Why do teens start smoking?
- Why are rates of cosmetic surgery for teens rising?
- Does texting affect teen writing habits?
EVALUATION: persuade an audience to accept your judgment about whether
something is successful or effective in its field
Examples:
-Book, movie, restaurant, etc. review
-Evaluation of product (running shoes, 5K, soccer store, vacation place, freshman/
transfer orientation program at MC, etc.)
PROPOSAL/RECOMMENDATION (PERSONAL): persuade audience to take action (not legislative)
Examples:
- Persuade audience to run for exercise, take yoga lessons, stop texting while driving, back up their hard drives
PROPOSAL/POLICY: propose a specific solution or course of action
Examples:
- Pearson’s should be open longer each day.
- MC Orientation should be altered.
- MC should become a dry campus.
POSITION PAPER: persuade audience to accept or consider your opinion
This is something of a catch-all category, including arguments that don’t fit neatly into the other categories.
Example:
- YA novels can be excellent additions to the high school literature classroom.
Once you have completed the prewriting chart, select the topic you want to use for your pitch and written argument. Then, identify at least three different genre approaches from your chart that could work for this topic.
As you can read in the instructions, your video pitch will focus on presenting these different genre options and arguing for which approach you believe will be most effective for your written piece. If you're having difficulty developing multiple approaches or deciding between them, you can discuss your options with your instructor and peers. Ultimately, you want to choose a topic you're genuinely invested in and a genre approach that you can argue for persuasively in your pitch and execute effectively in your written work.