#2

When I think of argument, the first image that comes to mind is a couple of politicians yelling at each other, almost to the point of calling each other names. But Nancy Wood explains in Essentials of Argument that argument is exactly not a shouting contest, which gets people nowhere. Her definition of argument is described as “making a claim (expressing a point of view on an issue that is communicated by the arguer) and supporting it with reasons and evidence to convince an audience to change the way it thinks about the issue” (4-5) Wood is doing just that—trying to convince me to change my perception of argument—and admittedly, she does that quite well. While I always looked at advertisements and brand names as some sort of propaganda or marketing tool, I didn’t really think of them as argument. Wood explains that argument is found nearly everywhere, wherever there is an issue or a product to sell, and that there are different types of argument, including public debate, courtroom argument, single-perspective argument, academic inquiry, dialectic, and not just one-on-one everyday argument.

I chose the September issue of Wired for my magazine to analyze in class, partly because it looked genuinely interesting to read, partly because its highlighter orange color beckoned me to buy it (there’s argument!), and partly because it seemed like something I should be reading, as a Digital Technology and Culture major. Actually, when I was browsing magazines I didn’t sit there and think of the reasons why I should buy Wired. I processed that I needed to buy Wired so automatically and unconsciously that before long I was standing in the checkout line.