Argument in hypertext: Writing strategies and the problem of order in a nonsequential world

Abstract

The qualities of nonsequentiality that make hypertext so appealing to writers and readers of informative and literary texts are also those that problematize arguments in the same settings. For a hypertextual argument to succeed, it should clearly employ the fundamentals of giving good reasons and ample evidence. But such an essay should also deal with the loss of control over order by making use of recent developments in rhetoric and argument theory. Specifically, I present concepts of informal logic, stasis theory, primacy/recency/repetition effects, spatial metaphors, and textual coherence as a starting point for building a rhetorical understanding of argumentation strategies in hypertext.