This ebook has been updated to provide you with the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021).

More than ever, successful argumentation is a major part of academic success—and has plenty of real-world application in our sometimes contentious sociopolitical landscape. But some argument books get bogged down in technical jargon and abstraction—and that’s where Practical Argument comes in.

Bestselling authors Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell make argumentative writing accessible with an exercise-driven, step-by-step approach to convey what students need to understand about argument, in understandable language. The short fourth edition includes a more contemporary and diverse array of readings than ever, as well as expanded coverage of visual arguments.