Argumentative Writing
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
TOPIC
Find an issue: The topic for this paper should be an issue or controversy that interests both you and your readers.
*Tip to find topic: Look at headlines of newspaper or magazine
*Make sure it interests you and your readers
*Do not make it too broad or too complex
Start with a Question and a Claim: Many writers find it useful to pose the issue as a question–a question that will be answered through the position they take. Remember that you need to skip vague questions that most readers wouldn’t debate or convert them to questions that allow different stands. You can help focus your position by stating it in a sentence–a thesis, or statement of your stand.
Vague Question: Are cell phones bad?
Clearly Debatable: Should I allow my 12 year old to have a cell phone?
Your claim should invite continued debate, not state a fact, by taking a strong position that could be argued.
Then create your CLAIM statement: Position + Reasons.
Example CLAIM: Young teenagers should not have cell phones because they do not need them, it distracts them from what is important, and they learn poor communication skills.
EVIDENCE
Assemble supporting evidence:
Evidence is anything that demonstrates the soundness of your position and the points you make in your argument.
The four most important sources of evidence are these:
1. Research or Primary/Secondary Sources
- Facts or statistics
- Quotes
- paraphrase
2. expert testimony
3. firsthand observation. (not allowed in argumentative writing)
4. Anecdotes
Evidence to support your position:
* Offer evidence that agrees with your stance up to a point, then add to it with ideas of your own.
* Present evidence that contradicts your stance in order to argue against (refute) it and therefore strengthen your position.
* Use quotations to support your assertion, not merely to state or restate your claim.
How to Incorporate Evidence:
· State your subclaim/topic sentence
o topic sentence: main idea + slant.
o Example: Teenagers do not need cell phones since they have other ways to contact people.
· Give your evidence, remembering to relate it to the claim.
o Example: At this age, their friends live near them, and they can easily communicate at school or walk to their friend’s house.
· Comment (warrant) on the evidence to show how it supports the claim.
o (answer so what? So what how does my evidence prove my claim?)
o Example: Teenagers like to get together and party, and they often say they need their cell phone to spread the word, but since they see everyone at school, they can distribute flyers or just simply spread the word in the halls. Since the majority of their friends live within walking distance, a cell phone, which is handy for long distance, is not needed.
· *Evidence & Warrant repeat
o Granted not all communication can take place at school, and it is not feasible to walk to a friend’s house just to ask a question, but most teenagers have access to email, online chat forums, and home phones. According to Lance Whitney, a noted journalist and computer programmer, 68% of all households have internet access, and the San Francisco The Economist journal states 75% of all households in America contain land lines. If a teenager needs to ask their friend a question, any of these modes are available. When I was a teenager, I used the home phone to call my friends and arrange plans. This was not an inconvenience; it was quite easy to do. Sometimes they don’t have time to hang out with friends, but they still want to talk. This is the strongest reason for a cell phone. Kids claim they need a cell phone, so they can text and have interaction with their friends when they are unable to hang out. Well, this is when they can use email, facebook chat, or myspace. If they don’t have internet, then they can go without. I certainly did not have these chatting means available to me as a kid, and I survived.
Evaluate Effectiveness:
Evidence is useful and trustworthy when it is
Accurate
reliable,
up-to-date
to the point,
strong enough to back the claim and persuade your readers.
Appeals to your AUDIENCE (THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE)
Weak Use of Evidence:
1) Today, we are too self-centered. Most families no longer sit down to eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.
This is a weak example of evidence because the evidence is not related to the claim. What does the claim about self-centeredness have to do with families eating together? The writer doesn’t explain the connection.
The same evidence, however, can be used to support the same claim, but only with the addition of a clear connection between claim and evidence, and some analysis of the quotation’s content.
Strong Use of Evidence:
2) Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence. In fact, the evidence shows that most American families no longer eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity.
This is a far better example, as the evidence is more smoothly integrated into the text, the link between the claim and the evidence is strengthened, and the evidence itself is analyzed to provide support for the claim.
Ethos, Logos, Pathos
Ethos: the source's credibility, the speaker's/author's authority
Logos: the logic used to support a claim (induction and deduction); can also be the facts and statistics used to help support the argument.
Pathos: the emotional or motivational appeals; vivid language, emotional language and numerous sensory details.
To appeal to Logic (logos) / To develop ethos / To appeal to emotion(pathos)Theoretical, abstract language
Denotative meanings/reasons
Literal and historical analogies
Definitions
Factual data and statistics
Quotations
Citations from experts and authorities
Informed opinions / Language appropriate to audience and subject
Restrained, sincere, fair minded presentation
Appropriate level of vocabulary
Correct grammar / Vivid, concrete language
Emotionally loaded language
Connotative meanings
Emotional examples
Vivid descriptions
Narratives of emotional events
Emotional tone
Figurative language
Evokes a cognitive, rationale response / Demonstrates author's reliability, competence, and respect for the audience's ideas and values through reliable and appropriate use of support and general accuracy / Evokes an emotional response
How to Organize Essay
One useful pattern is the classical form of argument:
INTRO
(1) Introduce the subject to gain readers’ interest---HOOK
(2) State your main point---CLAIM
(3) If useful, supply the historical background or an overview of the situation
BODY:
(4) 2-3 Supporting Paragraphs
TRANSITION
SUBCLAIM/TOPIC SENTENCE
Evidence
Warrant
Evidence
Warrant
(repeat evidence/warrant until listed all of them)
Concluding Line
*only ONE subclaim per paragraph. Then list ONE evidence at a time, then comment. Repeat the evidence/warrant structure until you have given all your evidence to support that one claim. Then go to a new paragraph.
(5) 1-2 paragraphs Refute the Opposite ( introduce argument, give a valid point, and in a fair way refute them)
CONCLUSION:
(6)Reaffirm your main point.
You may want to take the opposite approach if you expect readers to be hostile to your position: refute the opposition first, then replace those views by building a logical chain of evidence that leads to your main point, and finally state your position.
Other papers might even alternate refutation and confirmation rather than separating them.
Define your terms: To prevent misunderstanding, make clear any unfamiliar or questionable terms used in your thesis. If your position is “humanists are dangerous” give a short definition of what you mean by humanists and dangerous early in the paper.