Argumentation

Abby Wambach’s commencement address “Make Failure Your Fuel” mostly relies on indirect argumentation, as much of her speech is focused on sharing personal stories that are meant to empower the women in the audience and inspire them to follow her example. However, there are also occasional examples of more direct arguments.  

For example, she introduces her first main claim through indirect argumentation, by telling a story about an awards ceremony when she realized that her male counterparts in sports earned much more money than she did (ll. 30-58). Through this personal story, she shows that, like other women in the US, women in sports are affected by the gender pay gap. It is only afterward that Wambach puts forward more direct arguments ab...