Argumentative Essay: QuickStudy Digital Reference Guide to Planning, Researching, and Writing

By Kathryn Jacobs

Extremely important essay form that lays the groundwork for persuading others to see your side. Students will be asked to write this essay type (also known as a persuasive essay) from grade school through college, and definitely on standardized tests. Beyond school, much of a career can be spent debating points to persuade your peers, coworkers, colleagues, customers, vendors, constituents, etc. Which is why the skill is important enough to be tested nationwide. Great for school, this digital guide can last to support the process of persuasion for a lifetime.
Digital guide includes:

• Understanding Argument & the Writing process
  • Logic in Argument
  • Six Evidences of a Good Argument
  • Types of Arguments
  • What an Argument Requires
  • Arguable Issues
  • Reading Argumentative Materials
  • Writing Your Own Argument
  • Critical Thinking Prompts
  • Purpose & Parts of an Argument
  • Types of Claims
  • Types of Evidence
  • Types of Fallacies
  • Questions for Reading/Writing an Argument
• Writing the Argumentative Essay
  • Understanding the Audience
  • Research
  • Model Essay Outline
  • Sample Essay

• Language: English
• Publisher: BarCharts, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781423243229

Book preview

title

UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENT & THE WRITING PROCESS

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

Product of an investigation:

Prior to writing, the investigator collects, generates, and evaluates evidence.

The investigator comes to a tentative conclusion based on the evidence.

An argumentative essay thus begins at the end of the process, after the investigation and evaluation are complete. The writer:

States his or her position.

Marshals the evidence collected. Here it is proper to:

Identify and explain common misunderstandings, particularly those readers are likely to hold.

Acknowledge any facts that seems to contradict your conclusion and explain how they fit in.

Demonstrate how the evidence (properly understood) leads to the conclusion.

Purpose: Attempts to convince an audience to:

Agree with facts.

Share values.

Accept arguments and conclusions.

Undermine prejudices and preconceptions.

Adopt a way of thinking.

Arguments are generally built around a specific statement (a claim or thesis). When writing or evaluating such claims, be sure to ask yourself:

Is the claim debatable within the field of study?

Is the claim susceptible of proof? If so,

What sort of evidence could support the claim?

What sort of evidence (if any) has been omitted, and why?

Most arguments contain debatable statements (e.g., arguments, assertions, propositions, and premises). Other people may or may not agree with these statements.

EX: Damage to the ozone layer is probably irreversible.

Most arguments contain non-debatable statements (also known as facts). These are statements that no reasonable person would challenge.

EX: Inflation is not good for the economy.

Logic in Argument

Logic is a way of reasoning devised to establish what can or cannot be proved true.

Logic offers basic rules for coming to correct conclusions in an argument.

Logic offers correctives to faulty thinking.

Classical logic: The three basic laws of reason

Law of Identity (LI): All things possess their own unique features. This is true of both universal and individual objects and is expressed mathematically as A = A. Each object is thus identical to itself.

Law of Non-Contradiction (LNC): Contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time and in the same manner. Thus A is B and A is not B are contradictions.

Law of Excluded Middle (LEM): For any claim, either that claim or its opposite must be true; Either A or not-A. If something is true, it must exclude something (namely falsity).

Syllogistic Logic

Deductive