More than merely a writing text, The Imaginative Argument offers
writers instruction on how to use their imaginations to improve their
prose. Cioffi shows writers how they can enliven argument—the
organizing rubric of all persuasive writing—by drawing on emotion,
soul, and creativity, the wellsprings of imagination. While Cioffi
suggests that argument should become a natural habit of mind for
writers, he goes still further, inspiring writers to adopt as their
gold standard the imaginative argument: the surprising yet strikingly
apt insight that organizes disparate noises into music, that makes out
of chaos, chaos theory. Rather than offering a model of writing based
on established formulas or templates, Cioffi urges writers to envision
argument as an active parsing of experience that imaginatively
reinvents the world. Cioffi's manifesto asserts that successful
argument also requires writers to explore their own deep-seated
feelings, to exploit the fuzzy but often profoundly insightful logic
of the imagination. But expression is not all that matters: Cioffi's
work anchors itself in the actual. Drawing on Louis Kahn's notion that
a good architect never has all the answers to a building's problems
before its physical construction, Cioffi maintains that in argument,
too, answers must be forged along the way, as the writer inventively
deals with emergent problems and unforeseen complexities. Indeed,
discovery, imagination, and invention suffuse all stages of the
process. The Imaginative Argument offers all the intellectual kindling
that writers need to ignite this creativity, from insights on
developing ideas to avoiding bland assertions or logical leaps. It
cites exemplary nonfiction prose stylists, including William James,
Ruth Benedict, and Erving Goffman, as well as literary sources to
demonstrate the dynamic of persuasive writing. Provocative and lively,
it will prove not only essential reading but also inspiration for all
those interested in arguing more imaginatively more successfully. This
edition features new chapters that cover the revision process in
greater depth, as well as the particular challenges of researching and
writing in the digital age, such as working with technology and
avoiding plagiarism. The book also includes new sample essays, an
appendix to help instructors use the book in the classroom, and much
more.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400888191
Publisert
2017
Utgave
2. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter