David Zarefsky is Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, Illinois, where he has taught for over forty years. Two of his many books won the Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, an award of the National Communication Association: President Johnson's War on Poverty: Rhetoric and History (1986) and Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate (1990).

'… Zarefsky (Northwestern Univ.) provides yet another thoroughly researched, well-written work on argumentation and persuasion … While reading through these chapters, readers are likely to feel as if they are being intellectually fed by a master teacher. One can find many well-written textbooks and secondary studies on this topic … What sets Zarefsky's book apart from other texts is his infusion of nuanced ideas, such as preemptive moves and intensity. Exercises at the end of each chapter are well suited for classroom discussions … The well-developed index will be a valuable resource.' K. L. Majocha, Choice

• Preface; 1. The argumentative perspective; 2. What arguments look like; 3. The emergence of controversy; 4. Evidence in argumentation; 5. Argument schemes; 6. Fallacies; 7. Case construction; 8. Attack and defense; 9. Language, style, and presentation; 10. Where and why we argue; Appendix: learning argumentation through debate.

David Zarefsky is Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, Illinois, where he has taught for over forty years. Two of his many books won the Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, an award of the National Communication Association: President Johnson's War on Poverty: Rhetoric and History (1986) and Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate (1990).

'… Zarefsky (Northwestern Univ.) provides yet another thoroughly researched, well-written work on argumentation and persuasion … While reading through these chapters, readers are likely to feel as if they are being intellectually fed by a master teacher. One can find many well-written textbooks and secondary studies on this topic … What sets Zarefsky's book apart from other texts is his infusion of nuanced ideas, such as preemptive moves and intensity. Exercises at the end of each chapter are well suited for classroom discussions … The well-developed index will be a valuable resource.' K. L. Majocha, Choice

• Preface; 1. The argumentative perspective; 2. What arguments look like; 3. The emergence of controversy; 4. Evidence in argumentation; 5. Argument schemes; 6. Fallacies; 7. Case construction; 8. Attack and defense; 9. Language, style, and presentation; 10. Where and why we argue; Appendix: learning argumentation through debate.