your position. Never
allow your attempts at refutation to descend to mere denial or
quibbling. Be prepared to support, to prove everything you say.

Three Phases of Refutation. In general, refutation consists of three
phases:

1. The analysis of the opposite side.
2. The classification of the arguments according to importance.
3. The answering of only the strongest points.

Analysis of Opposing Side for Accuracy. In the first analysis, you
will probably examine the opposing statements to test their accuracy.
Mere slips, so evident that they deceive no one, you may disregard
entirely, but gross error of fact or conclusion you should note and
correct in unmistakably plain terms. The kind of statement which
gives insufficient data should be classed in analysis with this same
kind of erroneous statement. A shoe dealer in arguing for increased
prices might quote correctly the rising cost of materials, but if he
stopped there, you in refutation should be able to show that profits
had already risen to 57%, and so turn his own figures against him.
Another class of refutation similar to this is the questioning of
authorities. Something concerning this has already been said. In a
recent trial a lawyer cast doubt upon the value of a passage read from
a book by declaring its author could never have written such a thing.
In refutation the opposing lawyer said, "You will find that passage on
page 253 of his _Essays and Letters."_ Public speakers, realizing that
errors of statement are likely to be the first to be picked out for
correction, and recognizing the damaging effect of such conviction in
error of fact and testimony, are extremely careful not to render
themselves liable to attack upon such points. Yet they may. We are
told by Webster's biographers that in later periods of his life he was
detected in errors of law in cases being argued before the court, and
refuted in statement. To catch such slips requires two things of the
successful speaker. He must be in possession of the facts himself. He
must be mentally alert to see the falsity and know how to answer it.

Begging the Question. The expression "begging the question" is often
heard as a fallacy in argument. In its simplest form it is similar to
inaccurate statement, for it includes assertions introduced without
proof, and the statement of things as taken for granted without
attempting to prove them, yet using them to prove other statements.
Sometimes, also, a careles