Definition Essay: The Meaning Of Argument

In the world today, the word “argument” is used on a daily basis and usually carries a bad meaning. In fact, the word is used so much that people often mistaken it’s true meaning. According to the book Writing Arguments by John Ramage, John Bean and June Johnson, there is no universally accepted definition of “argument.” The meaning of the term is rather complex, and it has been remained a controversial issue of philosophers and rhetoricians over the centuries (2). Because of the complexity of the word, we need to examine three important points in order to understand what “argument” truly meant: the misconceptions about the meaning of argument, the features of argument, and the relationship of argument to the problem of truth. First of all, let’s talk about the common misconceptions of the word “argument.” When mentioning “argument,” people usually picture two or more people yelling at each other in anger and disagreement. However, the book Writing Arguments suggests, “Argument does not imply anger. In fact, arguing is often pleasurable.” (2). Argument is often mistaken with a fight or a debate. These words are often used interchangeably in everyday situations and, to many people, convey the same meaning. Nevertheless, according to the book Writing Arguments: a rhetoric with readings, “argument is a creative and
In accordance with the book Writing Arguments, “explicit argument directly states its controversial claim and supports it with reasons and evidence”, while an implicit argument are often in different forms such as an image, a poem, or a song lyric that carries an argumentative message. (3) Despite their difference, both explicit and implicit argument persuades its audience toward a certain belief or a point of view. In any situation, the goal of an argument is trying to influence the audience’s belief on an issue and convince the audience to take the same stance as the