Practical Argumentation

Pattee, George K. (George Kynett), 1879-1926Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 433K words
Chapters: 44

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Practical Argumentation by George K. PatteeAuthor: Pattee, George K. (George Kynett), 1879-1926,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Sep 1, 2004

Editor's review

Written in English, this book is a guide to argumentation, centered on how to construct, organize, and evaluate arguments; it belongs to the English writing and rhetoric category within language and literature. As an early practical textbook, its value lies not in a novel theoretical framework but in explaining the basic elements of argumentation in a direct, actionable way: how to establish a thesis, how to organize evidence, how to avoid common logical fallacies, and how to maintain clarity and coherence in written expression. The style is instructional, with a strong emphasis on examples and exercises, making it suitable as a supplementary aid for writing training. There is no need to read it quickly; treat it as a reference book and consult chapters as specific writing tasks arise. Because it was published early, some examples and corpus bear the marks of their era; readers should focus on the methodological skeleton rather than the specific cases. Overall, this is an introductory argumentation handbook suitable for repeated consultation, and it still has reference value for those who wish to build a solid foundation in English argumentative writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and self-learners who need to improve their English argumentative writing skills
Readers who want a systematic understanding of argument structure and common logical fallacies
English writing teachers who can use it as classroom supplementary material
Test-takers preparing for English writing who need training in organizing thesis and evidence

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for contemporary argumentation theory or the latest research in rhetoric
Casual readers who only want light reading and are unwilling to do writing exercises
Beginners with weak English foundations who would find it difficult to read an English textbook directly

Reading tips

First read through the table of contents, mark chapters related to your current writing task, and consult as needed rather than reading every page.
After finishing each chapter, use its methods to revise one of your old essays and check whether the argument becomes clearer.
Keep a notebook specifically for recording the logical fallacies mentioned in the book, and practice identifying them while reading the news.
Skip examples that feel strongly dated and focus on the argumentation steps and organizational framework.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English learners with zero foundation?

Not very suitable. The book is written in English and is an instructional textbook, so a certain level of English reading ability is needed to understand argumentation terminology and example sentences. If your English foundation is weak, it is advisable to first build up basic grammar and writing knowledge, or read it alongside a Chinese writing textbook for comparison; otherwise, you may remain at the level of literal understanding and find it hard to absorb the methods.

Are the argumentation methods in the book still applicable today?

The basic elements of argumentation, such as thesis, evidence, reasoning, and fallacy identification, are universal across eras, and this part remains applicable. However, the examples and corpus in the book carry the social background of the era in which it was written, and some cases may feel unfamiliar. It is recommended to focus on the methodological framework and replace the examples with contemporary news, commentary, or academic articles for practice.

How is the e-book reading experience, and is it suitable for note-taking?

This book comes from a public-domain e-book project and usually provides plain text or common e-book formats, making it easy to search and copy. Because it is an instructional textbook with a clear structure, it is suitable for chapter-by-chapter skimming and annotation on electronic devices. If you prefer handwritten notes, you can print the relevant chapters; if you use a reader, it is recommended to use bookmarks and highlighting to organize the key points of argumentation.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Pattee, George K. (George Kynett), 1879-1926 Author · 1879–1926

George K. Pattee (full name George Kynett Pattee, 1879–1926) is the author of Practical Argumentation. Public information about his life is limited: only his birth and death years can be confirmed, while his nationality, education, and professional career remain unknown. Judging from the surviving work, he was concerned with the practical methods of argumentation and with training in logic. The book addresses how to construct, organize, and evaluate arguments, and is aimed at learners who wish to improve their reasoning and writing skills, making it a practical reader in the field of writing and rhetoric education. Since only this one work is held in the collection, it is difficult to judge his overall writing style or intellectual development, or to assess the book's actual influence in its time; its subject matter is closer to argumentation training for classroom and self-study use than to a work of theoretical speculation.