Vocabulary for Writing an Argument

Vocabulary for Writing an Argument Word Meanings and Uses (Uses in italics) accurate Free of errors; precise adequate Enough; ample It is adequate to say… advantage Benefit; superior position; factor favoring something One advantage of …is… ample Plenty There is ample evidence to support… analogy Comparison An analogy for this would be… argument A claim or proposition put forward along with reasons or evidence supporting it The argument is… aspect One side or part One aspect of this is… 1. assert 1. Verb – To state something 2. assertion 2. Noun - A confident forceful statement of fact or belief I assert that… This assertion claims… Such an assertion means… 1. assume 1. Verb - To believe without proof 2. assumption 2. Noun - Something taken for granted To assume this is wrong because… This assumption is wrong because… authority Source(s) of reliable information authorities Authorities in the field say… benefit Advantage The benefit of this is… bias Prejudice; favoritism This bias proves… breach A failure to maintain something; a break This view is a breach to our belief in… calculate To work something out If you were to calculate… claim An assertion of the truth of something, typically one that is disputed or in doubt The claim that…is…because… coherent Logical; consistent (same throughout) The argument is not coherent because… comparison Finding similarities and differences By/In comparison… compelling Forceful; persuasive There is compelling evidence to believe… conflict To be at odds The conflict here is… consideration Important matter Consideration must also be given to…because…

1. convince 1. Verb - To persuade 2. convincing 2. Adjective – Persuasive Convincing as it seems, the counterclaim is… because… contrast Marked difference In contrast to this…is… counterclaim An opposing or opposite claim defend Support; back defensible Able to justify or defend definitive Final; most authoritative This definitive evidence shows… deliberate To think about something or reflect After one deliberates on…it is obvious that… disadvantage Having no benefit; no advantage downside Negative side of something emotional appeal An argument that affects a person’s emotions erroneous Mistaken; incorrect It is erroneous logic to think… evidence Proof All the evidence indicates/points to… fact something known to be true fallacy mistaken belief; invalid argument faulty Flawed; with faults It is faulty to think… favorable Positive; advantageous The evidence is favorable for… flawed Faulty; defective This is flawed reasoning… foolish Not sensible; unwise It is foolish to think… fortunate Lucky It is fortunate that… impress To affect somebody greatly; to emphasize I must impress upon you the idea that… inaccurate Not correct inadequate Insufficient; not enough There is inadequate evidence to suggest… incomprehensible Beyond understanding It is incomprehensible to think… indefensible Not able to defend This view is indefensible because… indicate(s) To point to something; to be a sign of This fact indicates that… interpret Understand; take to mean invalid Unacceptable; flawed This argument is invalid because… irrelevant Not related; beside the point This information is irrelevant because… irresponsible Careless; foolish It is irresponsible to allow…because… issue Topic, subject, or concern This issue is important because… logical Sensible (makes sense) and based on facts misconstrue To misunderstand Do not let the other side misconstrue the facts. 1. misleading 1. Adjective - Confusing or deceptive 2. misled 2. Verb – To give the wrong impression It is misleading to say… Don’t be misled by… negative Harmful; bad 1. necessary 1. Adjective - Required; logically true 2. necessarily 2. Adverb - Inevitably 3. necessitate 3. Verb - To require; to make necessary obfuscate To confuse; complicate Those on the other side will try to obfuscate the issue by… objective Free of bias; fact-based 1. obvious 1. Easy to see or understand 2. obviously 2. Clearly opportunity Favorable conditions; advantageous chance This is our opportunity to… opposition Disagreement persuade To convince position Opinion; view; stance positive Helpful precise Exact problem Difficulty; trouble The problem with this is… 1. reason 1. Noun – The cause that explains something 2. reasoning 2. Noun - Way of thinking Only flawed reasoning leads to… 1. proof 1. Evidence 2. prove 2. To show to be true rebut To refute or disprove rebuttal Negation; disproof In rebuttal to this, the evidence says… refuse To say no; to not accept something I refuse to believe… refute To disprove or deny To refute this is illogical/wrong/ridiculous because… relevant Important; related This information is not relevant because… reliable Trustworthy research Organized studies responsible Reliable; answerable to someone The only responsible thing to do is… result Consequence; outcome The result of this is… statistic(s) Collection of numerical data subjective Slanted; biased suffer To feel pain; to undergo something unpleasant sufficient Enough; ample; adequate suggest(s) To hint at or imply something This suggests that… topic Subject upside Advantage; benefit The upside of this is… viable Worthwhile; possible The only viable reason for this is… view Belief; opinion 1. violate(s) 1. Verb - To disturb; to break 2. violation 2. Noun - A disturbance This violates our idea of… It is a violation of our… willingness Readiness; offered voluntarily There is a willingness on the part of … woeful Causing grief; unhappy It is woeful to think…

Sentence Starters for Argument Writing

For Stating Your Evidence and Defending the Claim: The first thing the evidence shows is… First and foremost… After this… Secondly… Then there is the fact that… The point is… As a result… Next, consider this… Now, consider this… In addition to that… Also important to remember is the fact that… Additionally… One reason for this is… One cause is… Furthermore… Needless to say… In spite of this… Tragically… By doing this… When this happens the result is… Another compelling reason to…is…because… The other side says… ; however, the reality is… It is viable to think…because… Supporting this is the fact that…. The evidence suggests… Research indicates… Studies show… Regardless of what the opposition says… Even though…say(s), in reality… If we really want to make a difference… We would all benefit from… The evidence shows/proves/indicates… One positive aspects of this argument is… Convincing evidence points to/includes… Consideration must also be given to…because… The upside/downside of this is… These are advantages/disadvantages to this kind of action/thinking… Without being overly emotional, the opposing side is wrong because… Careful consideration of the facts will show… There are many favorable results associated with… The result of this is… An analogy for this is… It is only logical to think… Reason suggests… Technology allows us to… Let the facts show… Studies suggest… Experts think… Statistics show… This proves… Statistically speaking... It should be obvious that…because… Authorities in the field say… Reliable studies show… There is only one way to interpret… Just because…doesn’t mean…

For Acknowledging the Counterclaim and Rebuttal The problem with this is… Where the conflict comes in is in the thinking that… In contrast, this view… Don’t assume that… Although it is tempting to believe… This thinking is flawed because… Contrary to the evidence presented by (the other side)… To think this puts us at odds with… It clouds the issue to say… Consequently… The problem with this view is… In spite of all the evidence, those on the other side continue to claim… To allow this is to… To see it any other way is to… It is a mistake to assume… The claim that…is wrong…because… Don’t be misled into thinking that… It is misleading to think… It is irresponsible to let…because…

For Rhetorical Questions: How can anyone think…? Why is it acceptable to…? When will people…? Why would people think…? What leads to…?

For Concluding Sentences: Most people are in agreement that… Without…we will… It is time for… When all is said and done… In the end… In today’s world… Without this…we would…because… There has to be a willingness to see… It is only right to… Let’s not miss the opportunity to… If only… Finally… It’s about time for us to…because… It is only a matter of time before… Altogether, the evidence indicates that… Considering all of the evidence, the only logical position on this claim is… The only responsible position to have is…because… On balance, the evidence shows… All in all… It only right to… Do the right thing and… Take a stand and… We must go forth and… Now is the time to… This is the moment to… Don’t miss the chance to…