Examples, precedents, and narratives.
Examples, precedents, and narratives. Just as a picture can sometimes be worth a thousand words, so can a well-conceived example be extremely valuable in arguing a point. Examples are used most often to support generalizations or to bring abstractions to life. In making the general statement that popular media send the message that a woman must be thin to be attractive, you might include these examples:
At the supermarket checkout, a tabloid publishes unflattering photographs of a young singer and comments on her apparent weight gain in shocked captions that ask, “What happened?!?” Another praises a star for quickly shedding “ugly pounds” after the recent birth of a child. The cover of Cosmopolitan features a glamorously made-up and airbrushed actress in an outfit that reveals her remarkably tiny waist and flat stomach. Every woman in every advertisement in the magazine is thin—and the context makes it clear that we’re supposed to think that she is beautiful.
Precedents are examples taken from the past. If, as part of a proposal for increasing lighting in the library garage, you point out that the university has increased lighting in four other garages in the past year, you are arguing on the basis of precedent.
The following questions can help you check any use of example or precedent:
- How representative are the examples?
- Are they sufficient in strength or number to lead to a generalization?
- In what ways do they support your point?
- How closely does a precedent relate to the point you’re trying to make? Are the situations really similar?
- How timely is the precedent? (What would have been applicable in 1920 is not necessarily applicable today.)
Because storytelling is universal, narratives can be very persuasive in helping readers understand and accept the logic of an argument. Narratives that use video and audio to capture the faces and voices of the people involved are often particularly compelling. In As We Sow, a documentary arguing against corporate pork production methods, the farmers shown here tell stories of their struggle to continue raising animals as their families have for generations.
Stories drawn from your own experience can appeal particularly to readers, for they not only help make your point in true-to-life, human terms but also help readers know you better and therefore identify with you more closely.
When you include stories in an argument, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the narrative support your thesis?
- Will the story’s significance to the argument be clear to your readers?
- Is the story one of several good reasons or pieces of evidence—or does it have to carry the main burden of the argument?
In research writing, you must identify your sources for any examples, precedents, or narratives that are not based on your own knowledge.