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DOs and DONTs in an Argumentative essay

DONTs

In trying to demonstrate something, base your argumentation on logic and on proof. Try and avoid the following

logical fallacies (errors in logic):

Begging the question: a circular argument in which the question is treated as if it has already been answered. Anargument is a form of reasoning whereby one gives a reason or reasons in support of some claim. The reasons are

called premises and the claim one tries to support with them is called the conclusion. If one's premises entail one's

conclusion, and one's premises are questionable, one is said to beg the question.

Example

Abortion is the unjustified killing of a human being and as such is murder. Murder is illegal. So abortion should be

illegal.Paranormal phenomena exist because I have had experiences that can only be described as paranormal.

Past-life memories of children prove that past lives exist because the children could have no other source for their

memories besides having lived in the past.

Post hoc fallacy: in full, post hoc ergo propter hoc after this therefore because of this.

Example

60% of students who obtained a distinction for a particular examination reported that they had been out and had

more than three standard drinks the previous night. Clearly, drinking alcohol is good for calming pre-exam nerves.

John ate two sandwiches in the morning. He then drove to work and had an accident. Eating sandwiches in the

morning causes accidents.

Non-sequitur: Literal meaning It does not follow. When two logically unrelated ideas are treated as if they arerelated.

Example

Apes are able to learn syntactic sign language. One cannot trace the evolution of language from an armchair inIndiana

Hasty generalization: where a conclusion is based on insufficient evidence or faulty evidence.

Example

"I had a rotten sandwich on the flight. Therefore, all airline food is substandard."Smith, who is from England, decides to attend graduate school at Ohio State University. He has never been to the

US before. The day after he arrives, he is walking back from an orientation session and sees two white (albino)

squirrels chasing each other around a tree. In his next letter home, he tells his family that American squirrels are

white.

Oversimplification: of cause and effect relations, due to careless reasoning. When there are many causes but only

one is highlighted.

Example

"Worship has dropped in the past 50 years, and not surprisingly, divorce has shot up. So, couples should pray more

to improve their marriage's chances."

Education today isn't as good as it used to be - obviously, our teachers are not doing their jobs.

Bandwagon appeal: the encouragement to adopt a particular view because it is current or is gaining in size orpower.

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Example

Its alright for me to cheat on my taxes because everyone else does it.

Four out of five dentists surveyed preferred Crest toothpaste.

Ad hominem: this happens where the focus is on attacking the person rather than the points made. The attack is onthe credibility of the opponent instead of an evaluation of their ideas.

Example

Fred claims that the Earth is round. But he is a Liberal, so his claim is false

Red herring: an argument that is not relevant to the claim or thesis, but serves as a distraction that does nothing toadvance the case.

ExampleWe should legalize cocaine. After all, caffeine is legal

You may think that he cheated on the test, but look at the poor little thing! How would he feel if you made him sit

it again?

Straw man / strawperson: this is when a counterargument is misrepresented so as to make it easier to rebut.

Example

French philosophers believe in the supremacy of French culture, the French language and francophone civilization.

This is untenable in the modern US-dominated world.

Butch claims that, generally speaking, women are far more concerned about their personal appearances than men,

pointing out that most make-up is sold to women and that popular women's clothing is often very uncomfortable, but

women buy it because it is attractive to men.. Barb replies: "That's totally ridiculous, not all women wear that kind

of stuff and lots of men are using make-up these days, too." This is a straw person because Butch didn't make a

claim about all women or men. Understood in this way, Butch's statements are obviously false.

DOs

Signposting, or signaling, is a way of making your essay text more reader-friendly by providing links betweensections and paragraphs, and indicating where you are in the presentation of your argument.

Phrases and expressions used for this purpose include

"There are three main causes of structural inequality ... The first is ..."

"Having outlined arguments in favour of ..., we now turn to some arguments against .. .."

"To summarise ..."

"Before refuting these arguments, mention should be made of ..."

Signalling words and phrases for particular purposes:

Chronological (temporal) sequence

At first, first, firstly, second, secondly, then, next, eventually, in the end, lastly, later, subsequently, at the same time,

simultaneously, afterwards, finally

Additive

And, in addition, moreover, besides, above all, further, furthermore, not only but also, what is more, in the same

way

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Comparison

Likewise, equally, similarly, in comparison, correspondingly, in the same way

Comparison / Contrastive

But, however, whereas, conversely, in contrast, unlike, on the contrary, on the other hand, yet

Concessive

However, nevertheless, even though, still, yet

Expressing an alternative

Alternatively, on the other hand, rather

Causal (result/consequence)

Consequently, so, accordingly, as a result, for this reason, hence, thus, owing to this/that, due to this/that, because of

this/that, therefore, with this in mind, under these circumstances

Example / illustration

For example, that is, such as, for instance, thus, as follows, the following, in this case

hrasing

Explanation / rephrasing

That is to say, in other words, namely, this means, to put it in another way, to put it simply

Thematising/starting a new point

With regard to, with reference to, turning to, as for, as far as is concerned

Generalisation / hedging

Generally, in general, on the whole, in most cases, normally, as a rule, in most cases, usually, for the most part

Interpersonal

Fortunately, unfortunately, certainly, luckily, needless to say, strangely enough

Emphasis/highlighting

Mainly, especially, notably, in particular, particularly, clearly then

Conclusion

In conclusion, to conclude, finally, to sum up, in brief, therefore

Condition/deduction

Otherwise, under the circumstances, if so, if not, in that case, otherwise