The Craft of Argument, Third Edition, from the authors of such successful composition texts as Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Longman) and The Craft of Research (U of Chicago Press), is designed to help students integrate the skills of writing, critical thinking, and arguing so that they can write arguments that are clear, sound, and persuasive. Rooted in the rhetorical tradition of Aristotle and earlier, this text focuses on argument as civic conversation and addresses problem finding and problem solving as the heart of planning, drafting, and revising written arguments. The Craft of Argument is rich with examples and readings that provide the bridge between the kind of pragmatic arguments students are used to making and the conceptual arguments they will be asked to write in college. Part 1 presents an overview of the nature of argument. Part 2 offers a detailed discussion of the five elements of argument (finding and stating a claim, reasons and evidence, reporting evidence, acknowledgments and responses, and warranting claims and reasons). Part 3 focuses on meaning and causation. Part 4 emphasizes language-how to write clearly and vividly, and how to use language persuasively. Finally, Part 5, Readings, comprises a wide range of sample arguments for analysis and springboards for discussion and further writing.