In Academic Writing What Is An Argument Text

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What is an argument? think about attorneys arguing a criminal who dunnit? the prosecutor claims the gardener did it: the gardener 39 s attorney says, prove it! the burden falls on the prosecutor arguing the case to supply the damning evidence. The defense need only counter the claim with an argument casting doubt on the prosecution. The verdict will either be: guilty the evidence is overwhelming the gardener did it or, not it 39 s doubtful the gardener did it the evidence was insufficient. An argument is a formal presentation of evidence that supports a particular claim or position regarding an issue of interest to a specific audience. Its persuasive strength rests on the rhetorical skills of the author the art of wielding the rational, emotional and stylistic tools of language in a skillful and conscious effort to persuade. Its logic is built upon rational premises and follows to a conclusion reasonable people are willing to accept.

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Support your arguments with reasoning, library and internet research, and original research, including questionnaires, interviews, and ethnographies. Writers make specific claims and support these claims with reasoning library and internet research and original research, including questionnaires, interviews, and ethnographies. There are three main types:

why write an argument?

on a daily basis, we all deal with family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who try to persuade or even manipulate us. According to some psychologists, we experiment with persuasion from the moment we realize as babies that people respond to us when we cry. As a student, citizen, and professional, you'll need to be adept at creating and critiquing arguments. Throughout your life, you will respond to persuasive arguments on a range of topics from child raising practices to more abstract arguments regarding our nation's foreign and social policies. Politicians will try to convince you of the need for tougher immigration restrictions, for more money for education, for improved roads.

Much of what you read in newspapers, magazines, textbooks, research reports, procedural manuals, and sales catalogs was produced to influence you to do something or believe something. As illustrated in the table below, people write arguments for many different reasons, addressing varied audiences, and employing diverse media. People argue in informal writing spaces bumper stickers, post it notes, junk mail, email, instant messages and formal writing spaces letters, speeches, business proposals. Other frequently assigned papers there are basically two types of argument: aristotelian, or adversarial, and rogerian, or consensus building. aristotelian argument based on the teachings of the greek philosopher aristotle is made to confirm a position or hypothesis or to refute an existing argument. Using the techniques at hand, the writer attempts to persuade the reader to a particular point of view. The writer uses logic, appeals to the rational in the audience, and provides empirical and commonsense evidence to persuade the audience members to change their beliefs, attitudes, and actions.

rogerian argument based on american psychologist carl rogerss studies in psychotherapy is a bit differentits goal is to develop consensus among readers rather than establish an adversarial relationship. Avoiding all emotionally sensitive language, the writer phrases statements in as neutral a way as possible to avoid alienating readers by minimizing threat and establishing trust. The analysis of the oppositions point of view is carefully and objectively worded, demonstrating that the writer understands the position and reasons for believing it.

In preparation for the conclusion, the writer points out the common characteristics, goals, and values of the arguments and persons involved. Finally, the writer proposes a resolution that recognizes the interests of all interested parties. Aims to develop commonality among readers rather than establish an adversarial relationship. Student services: 1616 mccormick drive, largo, md 20774

important terms for you to know include:

relate information to real life examples ask how information works in a different context. academic argument is constructed to make a point, not to argue heatedly.

The characteristics of academic argument include language that is: impersonal no personal references logical evidence based examples the purposes of academic argument are to: analyze an issue or a situation make a case for your point of view convince your reader or listener of the truth of something.

a convincing academic argument has two elements:

    assertion your argument, what you are trying to prove , such as: x is better than y.
in written argument, the argument usually is crystallized in an essay's thesis sentence. proof evidence to show the truth of the argument the concept is simple: you state your point and back it up. But the backing it up part is trickier, because so many things can go askew between point and backup, the relationship between assertion and proof. there are different types of assertions you need to choose one that can be proven logically. There are different types of proof you need to choose the appropriate type/s for your particular case.

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There are lots of ways to influence the argument through language you need to choose language that is dispassionate and unbiased so that you're focusing your proof on evidence instead of emotion. an argument can be called: an assertion a claim a thesis whatever term you choose, it needs to be proven. three examples of assertions: x is better than y. scents in the office can affect people's work is an argument that probably can be proven. there have been some studies done on the use of scents, especially in japan, and their effect on workplace actions, workers' emotions and productivity. It's likely that you will be able to find information on this in scientific or business journals that are written for professionals in those fields. it's hard to determine whether the first example, x is better than y, is provable, as it's not specific enough an assertion. You'd need to define x and y precisely, and you'd need to define the term better precisely in order even to approach having a provable argument.