Reading Response 1

Greene – Argument as Conversation

Summary

Greene’s article, Argument as Conversation, attempts to explain how research and study is necessary to have a productive conversation through descriptions of a proper frame of focus, as well as giving examples that show proper techniques. He feels that a new and unique focus created by research into the conversation adds to the overall conversation, and makes the reader a more productive benefit to society.

Synthesis

This reading is similar to several “self-help” books that I have read, though their topics elude me. The similarity is where not only does the author mention what you should do and support it with facts, but gives you examples of how it applies, counter-arguments, and key steps to look for.

Pre-reading

The definition of argument is dependent on the context of the situation. Is most everyday conversation, it is a conversation gone bad, with no information being passed back and forth, and full of yelling which has the potential to turn violent. The connotation of this is not very good generally. In an academic setting, an argument is the evidence behind a discussion, debate, or conversation. The big difference is that to have a conversation, you need an argument, but if you are having an argument, there probably is no reason, just yelling.

QD

2. Greene quotes Kenneth Burke’s passage once again because the metaphor that he uses is very easy to understand and explains everything perfectly. This metaphor emphasizes the fact that no one in the conversation was there the entire time, so no one knows the whole conversation. It is the job of whoever is joining to listen to the present strain; relating to Greene’s statement that research is necessary to make an educated addition to any conversation. This metaphor shows the conversation as never ending, so even if you contribute your whole life, the discussion will still go on. This can be applied to writing, because even after you are gone, people will still be discussing the topics you brought up and discussed, bringing up the idea that writing is flexible. He also mentions that the discussion is interminable, probably shattering some people’s belief that certain things are set in stone, while the reality is nothing is fixed forever.

3. The concept of framing is to find a focus that no one else has or hasn’t given appropriate attention to, and to introduce it to the conversation. The metaphor that it represents is one of perspective, because there are many different frames of the same picture. Framing is important to Greene because he feels that framing allows better understanding of a topic, as well as to more productive additions to conversations, making the reader(s) contributors to society.

AE

2. Greene’s article is indeed a conversation, because he presents both sides of the issue in a format that follows most logical thought and questions the reader may have to the points he brings up. Greene most definitely practices what he preaches, because he has researched enough to have a conversation with the reader over the subject matter through his knowledge of the whole subject.

Thoughts

The reading was interesting, because it gave a lot of thought to a subject that I and many others have only given a cursory glance, so it is good food for thought, and will definitely help me later on because it will remind me to think and research more and to discover what those before me have written before I write anything and risk sounding stale. Though this is the first time I’ve thought about most of these concepts in great depth, they ring surprisingly true in many aspects, and have a good message that many things are fluid and change.