How Arguments Work - A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College

Reviewed by Carl Smeller, Associate Professor, Texas Wesleyan University on 7/31/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers all the important concepts relevant to argumentation. In fact, it goes more in--depth than any one instructor might want. The advantage of the text is that each chapter is subdivided so that an instructor can assign just the sections that s/he thinks are most relevant or useful to the assignments in a given course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I didn't notice any glaring inaccuracies in the book's content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I like that most of the examples offered in the text concern issues that are of current concern. Unlike another text I reviewed, which contained several references to the 2008 Presidential election (when this year's freshmen were three years old), How Arguments Work has links to articles about immigration, Covid, transgender experience--issues that are still front of mind.

Clarity rating: 5

One of the most helpful facets of the text is the way it demonstrates the process of analyzing arguments. The author recommends that students take notes on arguments as they read; then the text provides examples of just this kind of note taking. If a concept might be unclear for a reader, an object lesson in how it works in practice is a great aid for clarity.

Consistency rating: 5

The book seems consistent in its terminology and in its address to the reader.

Modularity rating: 5

I think this text is more modular than most. Each chapter is divided into subsections, so students unaccustomed to long reading assignments are not likely to become overwhelmed. Another nice feature is the availability of an audio version of each page, which would be especially helpful for second-language students or those with dyslexia.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Each chapter starts with a concise statement of learning outcomes, then an outline of the chapter that aligns with those outcomes. The organization of the book as a whole is logically scaffolded from understanding and responding to others' arguments to formulating, researching, and writing one's own. Pretty standard stuff for a comp textbook, so this one is following long-established convention.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is very convenient in that it offers multiple ways to move through the text. A reader can easily access the overall table of contents, the outline of each chapter, and the next and previous subsections of each chapter. Everything displays as it should, as least when presented on a full-sized screen (not sure what happens on a phone).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Editing seems sound.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Although the book does allude to contentious socio-political issues, it does not do so in ways that are biased or culturally insensitive. Illustrations in the text portray people from a variety of backgrounds and ages.

Comments

One of things I like most about this book is how scrupulous it is with attribution and citation within the text, especially for photographs. It gives student readers a fantastic model of the attributive moves they will have to make within their own writing. And since most of these attributions are hyperlinked, they show students writing in a multi-modal classroom how to give credit where it is due in our contemporary world. I also like the large number of linked examples of argument in the real world, which this text seems to provide in greater abundance than other OER comp texts that I have reviewed.

Reviewed by Liz Onufer, English Instructor, College of Eastern Idaho on 5/4/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers a great breadth of content with the appropriate depth for 100-level writing courses. The chapters provide an introductory understanding of a wide range of composition content including argument, academic research, the writing process, and writing conventions.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate, unbiased, and error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The textbook provides a variety of examples of claims on relevant topics today. Some of the sample arguments and articles, though, may be too timely for the textbook to stand up well in the long term, such as the Coronavirus article. Updating this will not be easy as the articles and student response examples are threaded throughout the text in multiple chapters. The border argument is another example that would be difficult to update as it is referenced throughout the text and would require substantial revisions throughout the textbook if revised.

Clarity rating: 5

The brief introductions to evidence and logical fallacies are the right fit for 100-level composition students who are new to the rhetorical terminology. The definitions and examples are explained in simple terms. The overview of the research process, source evaluation, and MLA format is also simple and straightforward.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook’s framework for template phrases is used consistently. Each chapter ends with a reference sheet of phrases. The argument examples are also referenced consistently throughout, with chapters referencing the example text from the chapter before. This is great for consistency but can negatively impact longevity and modularity.

Modularity rating: 3

The textbook is organized in smaller reading sections. Chapters, though, are primarily set up for sequential reading as references are made to the examples and concepts covered in the previous chapter. Not only does this impact reading sequence, it also impacts being able to pull chapters/sections for reading independent of the textbook. Some chapter sections reference example texts or concepts from the previous chapter and would not make sense as an independent lesson.
The common phrases at the end of each chapter are an excellent standalone resources for pulling out or quick reference. If the entire textbook is not used, these sections at the end of chapters would still be useful for teaching students how to read, analyze, and incorporate common phrases in academic argument.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The textbook is organized with clear scaffolding and building of concepts. I do find it unusual that the pathos and ethos chapters are placed after evaluating an argument rather than with the logos chapter.

Interface rating: 4

The online version of the text is easy to read and navigate. When downloading and accessing as a PDF, the navigable table of contents and index hyperlink to the online text rather than within the PDF. This is problematic for students accessing the text offline and wishing to navigate with the TOC or index. Also, in the PDF version, sections 5.8 and 6.7 are blank.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

None

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text offers a diverse representation of students in images. One article and argument that is referenced multiple times is focused on border crossings and immigration. Because of the frequency of use of this argument, this may appear to single out immigrants.

Comments

The textbook has many assets for the 100-level composition course, specifically those focused on argument evaluation and development. The language is approachable, the breadth is comprehensive, and the depth is appropriate. The Teacher's Guide at the end offers excellent resources, including quizzes, assignments, course maps, and lesson plans.

In the model of They Say/ I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, the textbook leans heavily on teaching students how to read, analyze, and use the common phrases of academic writing. Having taught with They Say/I Say, this textbook develops many more concepts than Graff and Birkenstein, making it possible to use as the single text in the composition class. If one does not agree with the pedagogy of teaching template phrases, this textbook would not be a good fit.

The articles and arguments threaded throughout the text as recurring examples do pose a few problems for longevity, modularity, and cultural relevance. Another concern with these texts are that they are from popular sources (The New York Times and The Atlantic) rather than academic sources. The section that addresses academic sources refers to types of sources at tiers 1 – 4 rather than academic/scholarly sources and popular sources. While the explanation of the types of sources is accurate, the terminology of tiers is not common academic language.

Reviewed by Tim Marmack, Assistant Professor of English, University of Hawai’i Maui College on 12/12/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately and provides an effective index and/or glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion.

Interface rating: 5

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Comments

In the past, I have used, for my argumentative and research writing courses, several different 400-600-page textbooks whose primary focus was on the argumentative writing process approach. In every single instance, I felt guilty by the middle of the semester - first, for knowing that there would be no way that, as a class, we could or would cover all content within a 16-week time frame; as well, I felt guilty because my students spent a considerable amount of money on the textbook, even for a used copy. And, while probably 75% of the information in any given text would overlap with information from another text, each text, in itself, contained information that was unique to that particular text.

However, I have found that the How Arguments Work text covers most everything under the sun - a clearing house of sorts, content-wise, in the area of written/approach to argumentation. Yes, chapters do exist such as (#1) “Why Study Argument,” (#4) “Assessing the Strength of an Argument (Logos),” and (#8) “How Arguments Appeal to Emotion,” - but chapters also exist on the research process, (#6) “The Research Process,” and (#7) “Forming a Research-Based Argument) - and on (#11) “The Writing Process,” (#12) “Essay Organization,” and (#13) “Correcting Grammar and Punctuation.”

As well, each chapter has a number of sub-sections (easily delineated both on the Contents page and throughout the text), e.g., 1:1, 1:2, etc.; timed audio versions of each sub-section, e.g., 2.3, 2.4, etc.; and practice exercises for each sub-section, e.g., 3.2., 3.3., etc.

For sure, this OER text is a blessing. I can pull information to use not only in my argumentative and research writing courses, but in both my composition and business writing courses!