ABSTRACT
Context and convention provide clues which are helpful and sometimes essential when interpreting argument and evidence. The perspective from which a situation is observed influences the selection of words used to describe it. For example, the military groups in Nicara-gua, known as the ‘Contras’, are described by some as terrorists and by others as freedom fighters. The different impressions arise because the words have a contrasting emotive content; the one of disapproval and the other of approval. The acknowledgement of conventions helps one to interpret verbal expressions as they are intended. Students of people and society pay attention to body language for this reason. Conventions also set the protocol for critical appraisal by influencing the ways in which discourse is conducted. Context and convention have an important bearing on how argument and evidence are to be understood and on the effectiveness of communication.
