Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, 7th edition

Lester Faigley University of Texas at Austin
Jack Selzer The Pennsylvania State University

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For courses in rhetoric and arguments.

A practical, visually engaging introduction to argument supported by provocative readings on contemporary issues

Nothing you learn in college will prove to be more important than the ability to create an effective argument. That’s the philosophy embodied in Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, 7th Edition, an argument rhetoric/reader which avoids complicated schemes and terminology in favor of providing students with the practical ways of finding "good reasons" to argue for the positions they take. The text uses lively, nontechnical language, an attractive visual design, numerous examples, and fresh, timely readings to engage students’ interest. The revised 7th Edition includes new readings, multimedia coverage, and projects.

Lively, nontechnical language is used throughout the text, and technical jargon is avoided, in order to explain concepts and techniques as clearly as possible. Explanations, examples, captions, and exercises are all written with the goal of keeping language straightforward and accessible.
An attractive design and visual arguments are emphasized throughout the text, which is liberally illustrated with graphics, photos, and other visuals.
Annotated student writing samples and numerous other examples: In line with the text’s philosophy of showing rather than telling, chapters covering types of arguments include annotated student and professional essays. The latter illustrates six basic types of arguments: definition, causal, evaluation, narrative, rebuttal, and proposal arguments.
Fresh, timely readings–including academic readings–on current issues are included. These demonstrate how complex conversations develop around important issues of interest to students today. Readings span a wide range of material from canonical essays to contemporary journal articles and give different points of view on issues such as the food industry, plagiarism, obesity, and the “American Dream.”
NEW! A new emphasis on inquiry as an important aspect of argument is incorporated throughout Parts 1 to 3.
NEW! A new student sample analysis in Chapter 7 demonstrates how to analyze visual and multimedia arguments
NEW! New professional readings included in:

Chapter 10, “Evaluation Arguments,”
Chapter 11, “Narrative Arguments,”
Chapter 12, “Rebuttal Arguments,”
Chapter 13, “Proposal Arguments”

UPDATED! Updated MLA coverage in Chapter 20 reflects the new guidelines in the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition, including how to cite social media and various online-only sources.
NEW! New Projects at the end of the chapters in Part 3 offer opportunities for students to practice each argument strategy and develop persuasive essays and multimedia texts of their own.
NEW! New coverage of audio media is included in Chapter 14, “Designing Multimedia Arguments.”

Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, 7th Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Learn more.

A new emphasis on inquiry as an important aspect of argument is incorporated throughout Parts 1 to 3.
A new student sample analysis in Chapter 7 demonstrates how to analyze visual and multimedia arguments
New professional readings included in:

Chapter 10, “Evaluation Arguments,”
Chapter 11, “Narrative Arguments,”
Chapter 12, “Rebuttal Arguments,”
Chapter 13, “Proposal Arguments”

Updated MLA coverage in Chapter 20 reflects the new guidelines in the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition, including how to cite social media and various online-only sources.
New Projects at the end of the chapters in Part 3 offer opportunities for students to practice each argument strategy and develop persuasive essays and multimedia texts of their own.
New coverage of audio media is included in Chapter 14, “Designing Multimedia Arguments.”

Brief Contents

I. Reading and Discovering Arguments

Making an Effective Argument
Reading Arguments
Finding Arguments
Drafting Arguments
Revising and Editing Arguments

II. Analyzing Arguments

Analyzing Written Arguments
Analyzing Visual and Multimedia Arguments

III. Writing Arguments

Definition Arguments
Causal Arguments
Evaluation Arguments
Narrative Arguments
Rebuttal Arguments
Proposal Arguments

IV. Designing and Presenting Arguments

Designing Multimedia Arguments
Presenting Arguments

V. Researching Arguments

Planning Research
Finding Sources
Evaluating and Recording Sources
Writing the Research Project
Documenting Sources in MLA Style
Documenting Sources in APA Style

Lester Faigley holds the Robert Adger Law and Thos. H. Law Professorship in Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the founding director of the Division (now Department) of Rhetoric and Writing at Texas in 1993, and he later served as Director of the University Writing Center. He was the 1996 Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. Faigley has published over 30 books and editions, including Fragments of Rationality (Pittsburgh, 1992), which received the MLA Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize.

Jack Selzer has collaborated with colleagues at Penn State and elsewhere in all kinds of ways. With his long-time friend Lester Faigley, he has written two Pearson books, Good Reasons and Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments, now in their 7th Editions, and he also has edited a number of versions of Conversations: Readings for Writing, currently in its 8th Edition (now edited by Dominic Delli Carpini). A Fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America, once a president of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, and the creator of Penn State’s innovative Paterno Fellows Program, he has published or edited a number scholarly articles and books, including Rhetorical Bodies (with Sharon Crowley), Kenneth Burke in the 1930s (with Ann George), and Kenneth Burke in Greenwich Village. He enjoys teaching a first-year seminar on the rhetoric of the civil rights movement, and happens to be a charter member of the longest continuously running fantasy sports league on the face of the earth.

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Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments, 7th edition

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Brief Contents

I. Reading and Discovering Arguments

II. Analyzing Arguments

III. Writing Arguments

IV. Designing and Presenting Arguments

V. Researching Arguments

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