A Rulebook for Arguments is a succinct introduction to the art of writing and assessing arguments, organized around specific rules, each illustrated and explained soundly but briefly. This widely popular primer--translated into eight languages--remains the first choice in all disciplines for writers who seek straightforward guidance about how to assess arguments and how to cogently construct them.

From academic writing to personal and public discourse, the need for good arguments and better ways of arguing is greater than ever before.

This timely fifth edition of A Rulebook for Arguments sharpens an already-classic text, adding updated examples and a new chapter on public debates that provides rules for the etiquette and ethics of sound public dialogue as well as clear and sound thinking in general.

Contents:

Some General Rules

II Arguments by Example

III Arguments by Analogy

IV Arguments from Authority

V Arguments about Causes

VI Deductive Arguments

VII Extended Argument

VIII Argumentative Essays

IX Oral Arguments

X Public Debates

Some Common Fallacies

Definitions

Resources