Skip To Page Navigation|Skip To Page Content

Longman / Prentice Hall

English

My Instructor Resource Center : Log in or request access

Good Reasons: Designing and Writing Effective Arguments, 2/E
Lester Faigley, University of Texas at Austin
Jack Selzer, The Pennsylvania State University
Victoria Davis
Eric Lupfer

ISBN-10: 0321105311
ISBN-13: 9780321105318

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2003
Format: Paper; 352 pp
Published: 07/02/2002

Engaging and accessible to all students, Good Reasons is a brief, very readable introduction to argument by two of the country's foremost rhetoricians.

By stressing the rhetorical situation and the audience, this rhetoric avoids complicated schemes and terminology in favor of providing students with the practical means to find "good reasons" for the positions they want to advocate to their audiences. Supporting the authors' instruction are numerous readings by professional and student writers.

Good Reasons is distinctive in its emphasis on visual persuasion and the presentation of arguments in various media, including electronic media. It includes a thorough discussion of visual design and how good document design can support good reasons, as well as a unique introduction to arguments on the World Wide Web. Good Reasons is also distinctive in considering narratives as an important aspect of argument.

This product accompanies:
Faigley & Selzer, Good Reasons: Designing and Writing Effective Arguments, 3/E

Provides students with the practical means to find "good reasons" to write rather than giving them complicated schemes and terminology.

Concise, accessible introduction to how arguments work (Ch. 2).

Offers extensive treatment of audience (Ch.3).

Presents steps for writing six kinds of arguments and a rhetorical analysis (Chs. 5-10).

Provides an extensive discussion of the basics of visual design (Ch.12).

Includes an introduction to arguments on the Web and the basics of Web design (Ch.13).

Shows how to research arguments using both print sources and the Internet (Ch. 15).

Covers both MLA and APA documentation (Chs. 16 and 17).

Student and professional examples throughout illustrate a wide range of arguments.

New two-color design highlights pedagogical features more clearly.

New chapter, "Putting It All Together," describes how multiple lines of argument can be used and how arguments can be effectively revised (Ch. 11).

TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGE— New material on creating arguments on Web sites, including student examples (Ch.13).

New chapter on making effective oral arguments using visual aids (Ch. 14).

Updated discussion of MLA and APA documentation styles (Chs. 16 & 17), including latest 2001 APA documentation guidelines (Ch. 17).

New, more detailed instruction in writing a rhetorical analysis (Ch.4).

Seven new sample essays (Chs. 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, & 10)

Preface.

I. PERSUADING WITH GOOD REASONS.

What Do We Mean by Argument?

1. What to Argue About.

A Book that Changed the World.

Why Silent Spring Became a Classic.

Reading Arguments.

Finding Arguments.

Rachel Carson, "The Obligation to Endure."

2. Finding Good Reasons.

The Basics of Arguments.

The Basics of Reasoning.

Finding Good Reasons.

Supporting Good Reasons.

Deciding Which Good Reasons to Use.

Lani Guinier, "The Tyranny of the Majority."

3. Thinking More About Your Audience.

What Exactly is an "Audience?"

Who Will Read Your Argument?

Why People Reach Different Conclusions from the Same Evidence.

Creating Your Readers.

Letters to the Editor, Sports Illustrated, September 4, 2000.

Rick Reilly, "Bare in Mind."

"Got Milk?" ad with Mark McGwire.

4. The Rhetoric of Arguments.

Facts Alone Do Not Persuade.

Ethos: Creating an Effective Persona.

Choosing an Appropriate Voice.

Pathos: Appealing to Your Readers' Values.

The Language of Arguments.

Rhetorical Analysis.

E.B. White, "Education."

II. PUTTING GOOD REASONS INTO ACTION.

Options for Arguments.

5. Definition Arguments.

Kinds of Definitions.

Building a Definitional Argument.

Scott McDonald, "Understanding Comics."

Meghann O'Connor (student), "Cheerleading Is a Competitive Sport."

6. Causal Arguments.

Kinds of Definitions.

Building a Definitional Argument.

Edward R. Tufte, "The Cholera Epidemic in London, 1854."

7. Evaluation Argument.

Kinds of Evaluations.

Building an Evaluation Argument.

Eric Gable and Richard Handler, "In Colonial Williamsburg, the New History Meets the Old."

(student) Natascha Pocek, "The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place."

8. Narrative Arguments.

Kinds of Narratives.

Building a Narrative Argument.

Leslie Marmon Silko, "The Border Patrol State."

9. Rebuttal Arguments.

Critical Thinking.

Building a Rebuttal Argument.

Lance Armstrong, "A Defense of the Open Road."

10. Proposal Arguments.

Components of Proposals.

Building a Proposal Argument.

Donna Lopiano, "Don't Blame Title IX."

11. Putting It All Together.

Keep Your Goals in Mind—But Stay Flexible.

Read As You Write.

Switch from Writer to Reader.

Focus on Your Argument.

Focus on Your Style and Proofread Carefully.

Get Responses to Your Draft.

III. MAKING EFFECTIVE ARGUMENTS.

Designing, Presenting, and Documenting Arguments.

12. Effective Visual Design.

Understanding Visual Arguments.

Print Is a Visual Medium.

Design Basics.

Rhetoric of Type.

Graphic Presentation of Information.

13. Effective Web Design.

Arguments on the Web.

Creating a Web Site.

Principles of Web Design.

Navigational Design.

Audience Considerations on the Web.

14. Effective Oral Presentations.

Planning an Oral Presentation.

Delivering an Oral Presentation.

Multimedia Presentations.

15. Effective Research.

Research: Knowing What Information You Need.

Planning Your Research.

Finding What You Are Looking for in Print Sources.

Finding What You Are Looking for in Electronic Sources.

Evaluating Sources.

Taking Notes.

16. MLA Documentation.

Intellectual Property and Scholastic Honesty.

MLA Work-Cited List.

Citing Books.

Citing Periodicals.

Citing Online Sources.

Citing Other Sources.

Sample Argument Paper Using Sources:

(student) Chris Thomas, "Should Race Be a Qualification to Attend College?"

17. APA Documentation.

APA References List.

Citing Books.

Citing Periodicals.

Citing Online Sources.

Citing Other Sources.

Argument (Composition)
First-Year Composition - Rhetoric [ARGUMENT] (Composition)

Good Reasons: Designing and Writing Effective Arguments, 3/E
Faigley & Selzer
©2006 | Longman | Paper; 320 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321316819 | ISBN-13: 9780321316813
Suggested retail price: $53.33 Net price: $40.00 (What's this?)Brief Description

Engaging and accessible to all students, Good Reasons is a brief, very readable introduction to argument by two of the country's foremost rhetoricians.

By stressing the rhetorical situation and audience, this rhetoric avoids complicated schemes and terminology in favor of providing students with the practical means to find "good reasons" for the positions they want to advocate to their audiences. Good Reasons helps students write and understand various types of arguments, including visual as well as verbal arguments. Supporting the authors' instruction are numerous readings by professional and student writers and over 50 photographs.
Good Reasons is distinctive in providing the most thorough coverage of rhetorical analysis and visual analysis. It has a new emphasis on visual argument throughout that responds to the need for greater visual literacy in a media-saturated culture. Good Reasons is also distinctive in beginning with why people write arguments.
Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, 4/E
Faigley & Selzer
©2009 | Longman | Paper; 352 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321513908 | ISBN-13: 9780321513908
Net price: $40.00 (What's this?)Brief Description

Engaging and accessible to all students, Good Reasons is a brief, highly readable introduction to argument by two of the country's foremost rhetoricians.

By stressing the rhetorical situation and audience, this argument rhetoric avoids complicated schemes and terminology in favor of providing students with the practical means to find "good reasons" to argue for the positions they take. Good Reasons helps students read, analyze, and write various types of arguments, including visual, verbal, and written. Supporting the authors' instruction are readings by professional and student writers and over 75 visuals.

Good Reasons is distinctive for its discussion of why people write arguments, its coverage of rhetorical analysis and visual analysis in a brief format, its close attention to reading arguments, and its thorough attention to research.
Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, MLA Update, 4/E
Faigley & Selzer
©2009 | Longman | Paper; 352 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205743358 | ISBN-13: 9780205743353
Suggested retail price: $53.33 Net price: $40.00 (What's this?)Brief Description

This edition includes the most current MLA citation, documentation, and style guidelines.

Engaging and accessible to all students, Good Reasons is a brief, highly readable introduction to argument by two of the country's foremost rhetoricians.

By stressing the rhetorical situation and audience, this argument rhetoric avoids complicated schemes and terminology in favor of providing students with the practical means to find "good reasons" to argue for the positions they take. Good Reasons helps students read, analyze, and write various types of arguments, including visual, verbal, and written. Supporting the authors' instruction are readings by professional and student writers and over 75 visuals.

Good Reasons is distinctive for its discussion of why people write arguments, its coverage of rhetorical analysis and visual analysis in a brief format, its close attention to reading arguments, and its thorough attention to research.

Author Bios

When Lester Faigley started college, he thought he was going to become an architect. Instead, he wound up majoring in English and teaching middle school English and history. Three years after he received a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1976, he joined the faculty of the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin, where he now holds the Robert Adger Law and Thos. H. Law Professorship in Humanities. He has also been a visiting professor at several universities in the United States and abroad, and he is past chair of College Composition and Communication. Faigley served as the founding Director of both the Division of Rhetoric and Composition and the concentration in Technology, Literacy, and Culture at the University of Texas. He teaches undergraduate writing courses on writing and technology and graduate courses on rhetorical theory, discourse analysis, and issues of literacy and technology. He and his wife Linda have been married for more than three decades, and they have two grown sons. His sports passion is kayaking — both in rivers and on the ocean.

Companion Website, 2/E
Faigley & Selzer
©2003 | Longman | On-line Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321108892 | ISBN-13: 9780321108890

For the Composition Discipline

Analyzing Literature: A Guide for Students (Valuepack item only), 2/E
McGee
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321093380 | ISBN-13: 9780321093387
Net price: $14.40 (What's this?)

Building Bridges: The Allyn & Bacon Student Guide to Service-Learning
Hamner
©2002 | Longman | Paper; 128 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205319742 | ISBN-13: 9780205319749
Net price: $29.85 (What's this?)

Diagnostic and Editing Tests and Exercises for 2007 English Handbooks, 9/E
Pearson Longman
©2007 | Longman | Paper; 224 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321415248 | ISBN-13: 9780321415240
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?) View Downloadable Files

Diagnostic and Editing Tests and Exercises for 2009 English Composition Handbooks, 6/E
Zimmerman
©2009 | Longman | Paper; 258 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 020565536X | ISBN-13: 9780205655366
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?) View Downloadable Files

Essential Study Card for Grammar and Documentation
Pearson Longman
©2007 | Longman | Study Card; 10 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321463137 | ISBN-13: 9780321463135
Suggested retail price: $8.00Net price: $6.00 (What's this?)

iClicker Classroom Response System
iClicker & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2008 | Longman | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205594506 | ISBN-13: 9780205594504

InterWrite PRS RF (Personal Response System)
InterWrite PRS & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2005 | Longman | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205436951 | ISBN-13: 9780205436958

Literacy Library Series: Academic Literacy, 2/E
Neeley
©2005 | Longman | Paper; 216 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321183193 | ISBN-13: 9780321183194
Net price: $20.25 (What's this?)

Literacy Library Series: Workplace Literacy (Valuepack item only), 2/E
Spilka
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321127374 | ISBN-13: 9780321127372
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?)

Longman Composition Study Site (Open Access)
Pearson Longman
©2007 | Longman | Website | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205518281 | ISBN-13: 9780205518289

Longman Researcher's Journal, The (Valuepack item only)
Markus
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321095308 | ISBN-13: 9780321095305
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?)

Merriam Websters College Dictionary with CD-ROM, 11/E

©2007 | Longman | Paper Bound w/CD-ROM | Instock
ISBN-10: 0877798095 | ISBN-13: 9780877798095
Suggested retail price: $24.00Net price: $18.00 (What's this?)

Model Research Papers from Across the Disciplines, 5/E
Lester
©1999 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 032104603X | ISBN-13: 9780321046031
Net price: $24.15 (What's this?)

New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, The, 3/E
Penguin
©1998 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0451181662 | ISBN-13: 9780451181664
Suggested retail price: $7.00Net price: $5.25 (What's this?)

OXFORD AMERICAN DESK DICTIONARY&THESAURUS
OXFORD
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0425180689 | ISBN-13: 9780425180686
Suggested retail price: $7.20Net price: $5.40 (What's this?)

OXFORD ESSENTIAL THESAURUS
NONE
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0425164217 | ISBN-13: 9780425164211
Suggested retail price: $7.60Net price: $5.70 (What's this?)

Public Literacy, 2/E
Ervin
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321129989 | ISBN-13: 9780321129987
Net price: $23.70 (What's this?)

Real Visual: A Guide to Composing and Analyzing with Images (Valuepack item only)
Anderson, Cooper, Lupton & Meeks
©2007 | Longman | CD-ROM Only | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321423089 | ISBN-13: 9780321423085
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?)

ResearchNavigator.com Guide: English (Valuepack item only)
Branscomb & Trim
©2007 | Longman | Paper; 80 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321496019 | ISBN-13: 9780321496010
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?)

Study Card for Grammar and Documentation
Pearson Longman
©2005 | Longman | Study Card; 0 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321292030 | ISBN-13: 9780321292032
Net price: $6.00 (What's this?)

Teaching in Progress: Theories, Practices, and Scenarios, 3/E
Moore
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321085647 | ISBN-13: 9780321085641
Suggested retail price: $33.00Net price: $24.75 (What's this?)

Test Gen Diagnostic and Editing Tests and Exercises to accompany 2009 Handbooks, 6/E
Zimmerman
©2009 | Longman | On-line Supplement | Out of Stock
ISBN-10: 0205655351 | ISBN-13: 9780205655359
View Downloadable Files

TestGen Computerized Test Bank for Diagnostic and Editing Tests and Exercises for 2006 English Handbooks
Pearson Longman
©2006 | Longman | CD-ROM Only | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321364988 | ISBN-13: 9780321364982
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?) View Downloadable Files

TestGen Computerized Test Bank for Diagnostic and Editing Tests and Exercises for 2007 English Handbooks, 2/E
Pearson Longman
©2007 | Longman | CD-ROM Only | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321433238 | ISBN-13: 9780321433237
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00 (What's this?) View Downloadable Files

The Pearson Editing Exercises Answer Key, 2/E
Ingalls & Moody
©2009 | Longman | On-line Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205666175 | ISBN-13: 9780205666171
View Downloadable Files

Using Portfolios
McClelland
©2001 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321084128 | ISBN-13: 9780321084125
Net price: $44.40 (What's this?)

What Every Student Should Know About Creating Portfolios
Eyman
©2008 | Longman | Paper; 48 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205572502 | ISBN-13: 9780205572502
Net price: $6.00 (What's this?)

Companion Website, 2/E
Faigley & Selzer
©2003 | Longman | On-line Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321108892 | ISBN-13: 9780321108890

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students contact your Pearson Higher Education representative.