Rhetorical Precis Chapter 9

In Chapter 9 of "Good Reasons Researching and Writing Effective Arguments" Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer assert that finding a casual claim on a controversial trend, event, or phenomenon is key to building a strong argument. Faigley and Selzer support their claim by suggesting that by picking a controversial topic the writer can choose a side and think of possible causes of this trend, event, or phenomenon. The writers soon suggest that by analyzing your potential readers the writer can figure out how in depth they should go on the background of the topic and identify how likely the readers are to accept the casual explanation. Faigley and Selzer seem to have a supportive tone towards providing students with steps to writing a casual argument. They seem to keep their audience in mind by outlining each step and giving key details about each step that can help a writer become successful when writing a casual argument.