The Craft of Argument (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Crafty Guide to Analyzing Arguments
Review: A superb addition to the rapidly expanding "informal logic" textbook market. The book tries to familiarize the reader with a (rather original) interpretation of the so-called "Toulmin scheme" for analyzing arguments and combines this approach with a judicious dose of advice on "how to write arguments gracefully," the latter echoing Joseph Williams's well-known textbook (Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace). I liked in particular the book's easygoing tone (people writing on argumentation often come across as rather highbrow) and the excellent selection of readings. If this kind of stuff interests you, this book, perhaps combined with David Zarefsky's recently released (Teaching Company) course on "Argument: The Study of Effective Reasoning," could put you in the fast lane.