Companion Website for Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, Brief Edition Chapter 18 -- Writing Strategy: Using Claim-Type Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument

Writer's Toolbox For Building Arguments
Writing Strategy: Using Claim-Type Strategy to Develop a Proposal Argument

Use the following exercise to help you generate support for your proposal argument by exploring claims of category, cause, and resemblance.

Argument from category: This proposal should (should not) be enacted because the proposed action is __________.

[Fill the blank with a noun, adjective, or phrase that appeals in some way to your audience's values. Your purpose is to show that your proposed action fits into a category or fulfills a principle that your audience adheres to.]

Argument from consequence: This proposal should (should not) be enacted because this proposed action will lead to the following good (or bad) consequences:

(List as many good or bad consequences as you can think of.)

Argument from resemblance: This proposal should (should not) be enacted because the proposed action is like (similar to) ___________.

[Fill the blank with an analogy or precedent that will have a favorable (or unfavorable) impact on your audience. Your purpose is to transfer your audience's favorable (or unfavorable) attitude to the precedent or analogy back to your proposed action.]