Argumentative Essay

Any time you take a stand on an issue, you are arguing. When you write to an employer stating that you are the best candidate for a job, when you explain to your parents why you want to attend a particular college, when you suggest a change in your child's school, you are arguing. In arguments, you take a position and present reasons supported by evidence to convince others that your claim is valid. We argue many times during a day: in our conversations with friends and family, collaborations with coworkers, or discussion with classmates. In our everyday lives, arguments are usually friendly and reasonable explorations of our opinions and beliefs about ordinary experiences.

Writers also often find that they are arguing- making claims-about their topics. In fact, many comparison -contrast, causal analysis, illustration, or classification papers also are arguments: A comparison/contrast many claim that one motorcycle is better than another; a causal analysis many claim that poor marketing analysis led to low sales; an illustration may give examples of children hurt by skateboards to justify the ban of skateboards from city streets; a classification may claim that community college students belong in a different category from students at four-year liberal arts colleges and universities. Like the other rhetorical strategies discussed in this section, argument can be part of a larger piece of writing or can stand alone.

An effective argument rests on accurate audience analysis, sound logical reasoning, strong evidence, and precisely worded sentences. The following guidelines will help you construct an argument:

•  Carefully consider your claim. What exactly do you want to assert? Writing an argument requires you to question yourself repeatedly throughout the writing process to make certain that you are claiming what you really think about the topic. For example, on the topic of required courses you may begin with a claim: "Colleges should no force students to take required courses." But as you analyze your audience, assemble your evidence, and evaluate the opposing claims, you may realize that your claim is too vague and broad. Should no courses be required? What is reasonable for colleges to require? Should students graduate taking only art courses? You may revise your claim to state, "College degree requirements should be few and flexible." Careful writing and rewriting of your claim will prevent you from trying to prove something you don't believe or can't support.

•  Analyze your audience. In order to convince your readers, you need to understand them. What do they believe about your topic? Will they be more convinced by statistics, facts, examples, experts, appeals to emotion? Do they need definitions or explanations? Will they have objections to your reasons? Will they share your assumptions? You will make your choices about your argument's content, organization, and tone based on answers to questions like these.

•  Present logical reasons for your claim. Logical reasons are based on induction or deduction. Inductive reasons rest on a proliferation of evidence. If three out of four children who watch five hours of TV a day show antisocial behavior, you may infer, that extensive TV viewing can cause antisocial behavior. The specific evidence leads to the conclusion. On the other hand. Deductive reasons follow from widely held assumptions of truth. For example, the claim that beginning drivers should not drive after midnight is based on the assumptions that beginning drivers are less competent than experienced ones and that driving after midnight is more challenging for drivers. Notice that when you use deductive reasoning, you assume that readers agree with your assumptions; otherwise, your assumptions must be defended before your argument can be considered valid.

•  Provide evidence. Facts can be the strongest pieces of evidence in a logical argument because they cannot be challenged. However, supporting facts can be hard to come by because if there were sufficient facts, there would be no argument; everyone would agree with your claim. Other evidence includes statistics, expert opinions, and personal experiences. You must provide enough evidence to be convincing.

•  Refute the opposition. To make an argument complete, you must recognize and refute opposing arguments. Realize that opposing arguments may be varied. There are usually more than two sides to an issue. Some people may agree with some parts of your claim but not others. Some may disagree entirely. The more you know about other points of view on your topic, the more clearly and honestly you can understand and present your argument.

•  Maintain a reasonable tone. In real life, when arguments become mean or aggressive, neither side is likely to listen to the other. The is is true in writing. To keep your audience attentive and open-minded, you need to maintain a reasonable tone. You must assume the stance of someone having a reasonable, even friendly, discussion with another reasonable person, If you present your argument with confidence and authority, you will be more effective than if you sound strident or superior.