Writing an Argument

The Argumentative Research Project

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What is an argument?

An Argument is much less than people imagine. It is usually not…

--an absolute truth.--a revelation or brand new insight.--the last word.--bad-tempered complaining.--an exercise in pure logic.--a chance to prove that you’re smarter

than someone else.

Most importantly…

It is not necessarily about some grand issue of concern to humankind in general.It might be of importance to a particular group but not the entire world.

What an Argument is.

An essay that has a thesisYour audience might disagree with this thesisYou seek to convince your audience that you are right

To know your essay is a good Argument, do 3 things…

Include an opposition statementInclude an implied “should”Include a call to action but do not demand or become emotional

Overcoming “Arguer’s” Block

Notice that you make arguments all the time every dayShake the false notion or wrong assumption that there is an absolute right or wrong or only one truthShake the false notion of the final wordBegin with arguments that are easy to make

Avoid three logical fallacy’s

“After it, therefore because of it”- don’t assume that just because y follows x, that x causes y!Either/Or thinking- complex situations are

not just “black or white”; there are gray areasFalse analogy (using one thing to represent another thing)- x and y are alike, but not in features that matter to your argument

Try to spot the false logic of the following.

“Herbert Hoover single-handedly created the depression.”

He was the president, but could just one man bring about that kind of devastation in a democratic society?

“If you’re not for recycling laws, then you don’t care about the environment.”

Laws cost money. Perhaps you feel there are other ways to care.

“People trapped in the ghetto have two choice: be a menial laborer and starve or turn to crime.”

This is just too extreme! Doing menial labor does not mean you will starve. Secondly, turning to crime is not the only thing to do to avoid starvation!

Development suggestions:

The introduction has three jobs: 1) to capture your audience’s interest, 2) establish their perception of you as a writer, 3) set out your point of view for the argument

These multiple roles require careful planning on your part

Capturing interest

You might capture interest by using a focusing anecdote or quotation,

A shocking statistic, or

By restating a problem or controversy in a new way.

You could also begin with an analogy or parallel case, a personal statement, or

(If you genuinely believe your audience will agree with you) a bold statement of your thesis.

Language choices

Conveys a great deal about your image to your audience; for instance, if you’re writing about abortion, audiences will react differently to language about "pro-lifers" than they will to language about "people who oppose abortion" or "pro-family supporters." This introduction usually funnels down into a solid, clear thesis statement; if you can’t find a sentence in this chunk that explicitly says what point you are supporting, you need to keep refining the introduction.

Narration (body of paper)

establish a context for your argument explain the situation to which your argument is responding Give relevant background information, history, statistics, and so on that affect it

the readers should understand what’s at stake in this argument

Body continued…

The confirmation section allows you to explain why you believe in your thesisIt takes up several supporting claims individually, so that you can develop each one by bringing in facts, examples, testimony, definitions, and so onexplain why the evidence for each claim supports it and the larger thesisthis builds a chain of reasoning in support of your argument

Refute your argument

This is a hard section to write… who wants to tell why their argument might be wrong?

But it can often be the strongest part of an argument.

Why? When you show an audience that you have anticipated potential opposition and objections, and have an answer for them, you defuse the audience’s ability to oppose you and persuade them to accept your point of view

Your Conclusion

Don’t just restate your thesis!Refer back to the narration and the issues–remind your readers what’s at stake here Show why your thesis provides the best solution to the issue being faced This gives an impression of the rightness and importance of your argument, and suggests its larger significance or long-range impactIt gives the reader closure.