Contemporary & Classic Arguments
A Portable AnthologySecond Edition ©2014
In response to requests for briefer and less expensive argument readers, Contemporary & Classic Arguments offers an ample selection of readings in a compact size for less than half the price of full size books. Contemporary & Classic Arguments is flexibly organized into two ant...
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A very affordable argument anthology with surprising depth
A very affordable argument anthology with surprising depth
In response to requests for briefer and less expensive argument readers, Contemporary & Classic Arguments offers an ample selection of readings in a compact size for less than half the price of full size books. Contemporary & Classic Arguments is flexibly organized into two anthologies that model an extensive range of argumentative writing. Adapted from the best-selling full-size argument text/reader Current Issues & Enduring Questions, it offers two brief chapters on analyzing and writing arguments, a provocative selection of contemporary arguments and casebooks to engage students with some of today’s most pressing topics, and a collection of classic essays that provide time-tested models of effective argument. Like other volumes in the Bedford/St. Martin’s popular series of Portable Anthologies and Portable Guides, Contemporary & Classic Arguments offers the series’ trademark combination of high quality and great value for teachers of writing and their cost-conscious students.
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Table of Contents
Preface*PART ONE: ANALYZING AND WRITING ARGUMENTS*1 ANALYZING ARGUMENTS What Is Argument? Analyzing an Argument Examining the Author’s Thesis Examining the Author’s Purpose Examining the Author’s Methods Examining the Author’s Persona, Examining Persona and Intended Audience,A Checklist for Analyzing an Author’s AudienceA Checklist for Analyzing a TextAn Argument, Its Elements, and a Student’s Analysis of the Argument *Nicholas D. Kristof, For Environmental Balance, Pick Up a Rifle *Betsy Swinton (student essay) , Tracking KristofAn Analysis of the Student’s AnalysisA Checklist for Writing an Argument*2 WRITING ARGUMENTS Planning, Drafting, and Revising an ArgumentGetting Ideas: Argument as an Instrument of Inquiry The Thesis, or Main Point A Checklist for a Thesis StatementImagining an AudienceThe Audience as Collaborator A Checklist for Imagining an AudienceThe Title The Opening ParagraphsOrganizing and Revising the Body of the EssayThe Ending Two Uses of an OutlineA Checklist for Organizing an ArgumentTone and the Writer’s PersonaWe, One, or I? Avoiding Sexist LanguageA Checklist for Attending to the Needs of the AudienceA Peer Review Checklist for a Draft of an ArgumentPART TWO: CONTEMPORARY ARGUMENTS*3 CONTEMPORARY ARGUMENTS*Mark Bittman, Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables*Harlan Coben The Undercover Parent*Alfred Edmond Jr., Why Asking For a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password Is Fair Game*Nora Ephron, The Boston Photographs*Gerard Jones, Violent Media Is Good for Kids*Charles R. Lawrence III, On Racist Speech *Jena McGregor, Military Women in Combat: Why Making It Official Matters*James E. McWilliams, The Locavore Myth: Why Buying from Nearby Farmers Won’t Save the Planet*Ronald Takaki, The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority *Sherry Turkle, The Flight From Conversation*George F. Will, Being Green at Ben and Jerry’s *James Q. Wilson, Just Take Away Their Guns PART THREE: CASEBOOKS ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES*4 College Education: What Is Its Purpose?*Andrew Delbanco, Three Reasons College Still Matter*Alina Tugend, Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College*Mark Edmundson, Education’s Hungry Hearts*Marty Nemko, America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree5 The Death Penalty: Is It Ever Justified? Edward I. Koch, Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life David Bruck, The Death Penalty Helen Prejean, Executions Are Too Costly—Morally 6 Drugs: Should Their Sale and Use Be Legalized? William Bennett, Drug Policy and the Intellectuals Milton Friedman, There’s No Justice in the War on Drugs Elliott Currie, Toward a Policy on Drugs *7 Facebook: How Has Social Networking Changed How We Relate to Others?*Lauren Tarshis, Is Facebook Making You Mean?*Steven Levy, Facebook Reset*Jenna Wortham, It’s Not About You, Facebook. It’s About Us*Josh Rose, How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact On Our Culture*8 Genetic Modification of Human Beings: Is It Acceptable?*Ronald M. Green, Building Babies from the Genes Up*Richard Hayes, Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks*9 Immigration: What Is To Be Done? *David Cole, Five Myths about Immigration *Barry R. Chiswick, The Worker Next Door*John Tierney, Angels in America*Victor David Hanson, Our Brave New World of Immigration*10 Service: Should the United States Require Young People to Perform Public Service? *Peter Levine, The Case for "Service"*Thomas E. Ricks, Let’s Draft Our Kids *Dave Eggers, Serve or Fail*11 Student Loans: Should Some Indebtedness Be Forgiven?*Robert Applebaum, Debate on Student Loan Debt Doesn’t Go Far Enough*Kayla Webley, Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea?*Justin Wolfer, Forgive Student Loans? Worst Idea EverPART FOUR: CLASSIC ARGUMENTS12 CLASSIC ARGUMENTSPlato, Crito Plato, The Myth of the CaveJonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions George Orwell, Shooting an ElephantVirginia Woolf, Professions for WomenMartin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail Judy Brady, I Want a Wife Peter Singer, Animal Liberation Garrett Hardin, Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor Index
Authors
Sylvan Barnet
Sylvan Barnet was a professor of English and former director of writing at Tufts University. His several texts on writing and his numerous anthologies for introductory composition and literature courses have remained leaders in their field through many editions. His titles, with Hugo Bedau, include Current Issues and Enduring Questions; Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing; and From Critical Thinking to Argument.
Hugo Bedau
Hugo Bedau was a professor of philosophy at Tufts University and served as chair of the philosophy department and chair of the university’s committee on College Writing. An internationally respected expert on the death penalty, and on moral, legal, and political philosophy, he wrote or edited a number of books on these topics. He co-authored, with Sylvan Barnet, of Current Issues and Enduring Questions; Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing; and From Critical Thinking to Argument.
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