See also Chapter 3:

ARGUMENT TO ADVANCE A THESIS

Stefan Casso, Worth the Lie

REFUTATION ARGUMENT

Bjørn Lomborg, The Limits of Panic

VISUAL ARGUMENT

Matt Bors, Can We Stop Worrying about Millennials Yet?

GENRE MOVES: ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

Sojourner Truth, From Ain’t I a Woman?

EDITORIAL

Maureen Dowd, Don’t Send in the Clones

ARGUMENTATIVE REPORT

Jeff Wise, The Sad Science of Hipsterism: The Psychology of Indie Bands, PBR, and Weird Facial Hair

ARGUMENT FOR CHANGE

Emily Bazelon, Hitting Bottom: Why America Should Outlaw Spanking

ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL VALUES

Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, The Young, the Rich, and the Famous: Individualism as an American Cultural Value

POLICY ARGUMENT

Daniel Engber, Glutton Intolerance

GENRE MOVES Argumentative Speech

SOJOURNER TRUTH

From “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ’twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?

Frame the problem.

This famous speech from 1851 begins when Sojourner Truth recognizes a “racket”: disenfranchised groups talking about rights and advocating for themselves in a way that’s perceived as disruptive by those in power. She then goes on to argue powerfully for women’s rights. The “racket” provides framing for the argument. We know there is an issue, problem, or current event that requires our attention, giving Truth occasion to address the issue, and telling the audience how important it is to pay attention.

To generate ideas for your own arguments, think about what “racket” can be heard around rights issues in our current society. What, as Truth would put it, is “out of kilter” in the world around us? Or, more simply, what are people making a racket about in news media, or on Twitter, or on the street? By starting with a question that lots of people are asking, you lend your argument immediacy and importance, allowing you to easily draw your readers in.

Once you’ve found a topic and explored the arguments others have made about it, begin your own essay by identifying the problem, as Truth does. Frame the problem in a way that showcases its urgency and importance. Then, in your argument, show what can be done to respond to this racket — or what might be at stake if we ignore it.