Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?

(Impossible Argument)

Problem: Some arguments are impossible to solve; i.e., no single answer will be satisfactory to everyone because the truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

This may be true of all arguments, now that I think about it, but let’s not think about those other arguments for now. Let’s think about an impossible argument.

Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Yes, absolutely? No, of course not? I bet you already feel passionately one way or another about this pressing issue and think those who differ are horribly misguided.

Good, let’s argue.

Convince the audience your position on the question of whether a hot dog’s a sandwich is correct. You must do this without relying on any outside research or additional sources. You will do it entirely based on your own experience and knowledge.

AUDIENCE

You are making your case to people who are interested and invested in this question, so pretty much anyone.

PURPOSE

The idea is to be persuasive. You want the audience to walk away agreeing with you. At the same time, exposure to the argument should leave your audience more knowledgeable about the subject than they were previously, even if they end up disagreeing with you.

PROCESS

1. What is a sandwich?

If you’re going to argue about whether a hot dog is a sandwich, you might first need to define what makes a sandwich a sandwich. Spend some time figuring this out based on your own understanding of sandwiches.

2. Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Now decide where you stand. You’ve defined a sandwich. Does a hot dog fit the criteria?

3. Argue the opposite.

What is the best argument against your position? Take your arguments for your position and imagine someone saying, “Yeah, but . . .” What do you say in response to their “Yeah, but . . .”?

4. Write your argument.

Draft, revise, and edit a persuasive argument where you come down definitively on one side of this issue. Remember, no sources allowed.

REFLECT

Try the argument again, only this time you’re allowed to use outside sources to bolster your case. Where will you go for information? Why? What effect do you think these particular sources will have on your audience? What will be persuasive and why?

How much more effective is the argument when you use these sources?

Did any of the sources alter your opinion? Are you tempted to switch sides in the debate based on your review of the sources?

REMIX

See if you can come up with your own “impossible argument.” What’s something people could argue about endlessly that would be interesting and where the argument itself may help them to better understand the subject being argued over?

Hint: arguments about whether someone or something is best often work.

USING SOURCES

The remix of the impossible argument calls for the integration of sources, and yet I gave no instruction about how this should be done.

If you did it, how did you do it? When the purpose of the writing and the needs of the audience are driving the experience, I find even relatively inexperienced writers have little trouble figuring out how to integrate a source into their argument.

One might argue, for example, that according to a Google Internet dictionary search, a sandwich is defined as “An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or other filling between them, eaten as a light meal.” While a hot dog does consist of a bread-like substance surrounding meat, even if a hot dog bun can be defined as bread (which is debatable), it is a single piece of bread, therefore, a hot dog is not a sandwich.

The source is clear in the context of the argument. In order to get a definition of a sandwich, the author has turned to a possible authority on sandwiches.

Citation is a tool to inform the reader where supporting information and sources come from. This helps the audience judge the credibility and appropriateness of the sources and allows others to go back and check our work.

Different occasions, different audiences, require different approaches to sourcing. These approaches evolve all the time. When I was in college, the Internet as a widely available resource didn’t exist. Now millions of people carry a connection to the Internet on their bodies all day long.

In English classes, Modern Language Association (MLA) style is the dominant citation scheme. American Psychological Association (APA) style is used in education, psychology, and other sciences.

Chicago style is used in business and fine arts.

In academic writing, citations are more formal because the places where academic writing is published require a uniform system so people who are going to make use of those publications don’t have to worry about making those choices.

When writing for print media, you’re expected to give as much information as the audience needs to evaluate the credibility of the information at the time of reading, as they’re very unlikely to go looking for themselves. Journalists must keep their sources organized in case someone does question an aspect of the story, and are often asked to demonstrate the accuracy to their editors prior to publication.

If you’re publishing on the Internet, the expectation is that you will link your sources directly to what you’re citing, while including any relevant information in the text itself.

Look at how what you’re reading handles sources, and emulate those practices. When you cite sources, keep your audience and purpose in mind. What information do they need in order to be persuaded? What is the authority that makes the source trustworthy? Put that in the text.

If you think about sources from your audience’s point of view, you can’t go wrong in giving them the information about your sources they need.

This includes teachers who want you to use MLA or APA or Chicago style. Yes, the specifics can seem tricky or arcane, but once you understand why you’re citing something, how to cite it becomes much easier.

I once knew MLA style backward and forward, but over time, as I’ve written for publications with different guidelines, the rules of the different citation schemes have become jumbled in my brain. Fortunately, the answers are easily accessible thanks to that miracle machine in my pocket.

Try not to think about citing sources as a minefield of rules you have to tiptoe through in order to keep from running afoul of the authorities, like a teacher, editor, or publisher, who are there to enforce an orderly system. Sources are part of the raw material of your writing. They’re something to be used, not just tracked or listed.

Citing the work of others that we reference in our own writing is a matter of ethics: giving credit where it’s due is the right thing to do. Intentionally taking credit for the work of others is wrong.

It’s also a sign of respect for the audience to leave them as informed as possible and provide them access to additional resources on your subject.

Integrating sources is nothing to fear. The sources are there to work for you, rather than the other way around.