Argumentation
Warm-up
• Death penalty is still practiced worldwide,
but it is not without controversies. Are you
for or against death penalty? Why?
Nature of argumentative essay
1. To present an opinion to the reader.
2. To explain, clarify, and illustrate that opinion.
3. To persuade the reader that your opinion is valid.
a. to move the reader to action;
b. to convince the reader that the opinion is correct or
c. to persuade the reader that your opinion is at least
worth considering.
Types of writing
Narration
Description
Exposition
Argumentation
Purpose
To tell a
story
To describe
To inform
To convince
Tone
More emotion
More matterof-fact
More
academic or
explanatory
More
argumentative
Development
By time
By space
By general
logic
By deduction
or induction
Content
Narration often
involves
description.
Exposition often includes
description and narration.
Argumentation
often
involves
explanation.
Exposition vs. Argumentation
• While an expository paper makes known something
and explains it to make the reader understand, an
argumentative essay tries to make the reader agree
with its point of view and support it, to persuade him
to change his mind or behavior, and to approve a
policy or a course of action that it proposes. Speeches
on polices, editorials of newspapers, articles on
political or theoretical questions, and various
proposals are often argumentative.
• Argumentation frequently makes use of the
other three types of writing — description,
narration, and above all exposition, for
argumentation and exposition are very closely
related— argumentation is actually exposition
with the additional purpose of convincing or
persuading.
What it involves
What it aims at
Expo 1.Presenting a point of view
sition 2. Explaining, clarifying, and
illustrating the point of view
Getting readers to
understand the point of
view
Argu 1. Assuming controversy
ment 2. Presenting a point of view
ation 3. Explaining, clarifying, and
illustrating the point of view
4. Supplying proof for the point of
view
5. Refuting opposing viewpoints
1. Convincing readers that
the point of view is sound
2. Encouraging readers to
accept the point of view,
and/or
3. Encouraging readers to
take action
Argumentation or Exposition
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Examination – Harmful or Useful?
My Views on Examinations
Which Weighs More – School Brand or Major?
Why I Came to College
Should Class Attendance Be Required?
Laid-off Workers Have to Face Reality
Internet – a Coin of Two Sides
Internet – the Indispensable of Our Life
Should Euthanasia Be Legalized?
A
E
A
E
A
E
E
E
A
Steps in writing an argumentative essay
• To decide basically what your opinion/standpoint is on
the question.
• To think what the main points of your argument
(PROs) would be and try to find evidence to back up
your points,
• To note down counter-arguments (CONs) and
contradictory evidence.
• To present both sides of the argument (PROs and
CONs) in a logical, coherent manner and clearly mark
the shift from the opposing argument to your own
supporting argument.
Notes:
• You should make completely clear where you
stand. Don’t “sit on the fence” and take an
indecisive approach.
• Your argument must be well-balanced and
recognize different opinions and approaches.
• In an argumentative essay, the conclusion is
probably the most important part, so don’t make
it too short.
How to write a good argumentation？
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Argumentation ≠ Quarrel
A debatable point
Sufficient evidence
The logical appeal
The emotional appeal
Essential elements
Outline of a proposition argument
Fallacies in argumentative writing
1. An honest and friendly attitude
• To argue is not to quarrel. The force of an argument
does not come from abuse, sarcasm, exaggeration, or
fierce attacks, but from solid evidence, logical
reasoning, and careful analysis. A domineering or
hostile tone could only raise doubts about your good
faith and impair the credibility of your argument,
whereas an honest and friendly attitude will help win
the trust of your readers.
• Take care that you neither overstate or understate, and
avoid overuse of such words and phrases as
“perhaps”, “maybe”, “sometimes”, “most often”,
“nearly always,” “I think “, “in my opinion”, which
invariably weaken the force of your argument.
2. A debatable point
•
It is imperative that the paper should have a
debatable point, that is, something which can be
viewed from more than one angle and is therefore
open to dispute. Generally speaking, the following
are not good themes：



Mere statements of facts
Statements of personal taste
Viewpoints that can be readily verified
Examples
• 1) Mere statement of facts.
– “Chinese doctors use acupuncture anesthesia（针
刺麻醉） to perform certain operations.”
– “Acupuncture anesthesia should replace
conventional anesthesia in all operations.”
Examples
• 2) Statements of personal preference
– “Ba Jin is my favorite author.”
– “Ba Jin is the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th
century.”
Examples
• 3) Viewpoints that are generally accepted or
can be easily verified
– “Noise pollution is harmful to people’s health.”
– “Noise pollution is the most harmful of all
environmental pollution.”
Are they debatable?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Computers and automation increase unemployment.
Smoking is harmful to people’s health.
Plants produce oxygen that the world needs to
sustain life.
Shakespeare died in 1616.
Every student should be required to become
computer literate.
Computer courses are boring.
How to write a debatable thesis statement
• topic + your position/stand
• topic + opposing arguments + your position/stand
Although many young people would agree that those
who are old enough to vote, fight, and die for their
country are old enough to drive responsibly, the
drinking age should remain twenty-one because of the
dangers of alcohol-related accidents and the lack of
alcohol education programs.
Practice:
Topic: owning a gun
• Opposing arguments • Your position/stand
(CONs):
(PROs):
• Owning a gun is a
• The presence of a gun
necessary step for
in the home increases
security of property
the chances of
accidental deaths,
and self-defense.
suicides, and homicides.
• Although some argue that the presence of a gun in
the home increases the chances of accidental deaths,
suicides, and homicides, owning a gun is a necessary
step for security of property and self-defense.
• Although some argue that owing a gun is a
necessary step to the security of property and selfdefense, the presence of a gun in the home increases
the chances of accidental deaths, suicides, and
homicides.
3. Sufficient evidence
• Examples: concrete, illustrative, representative
• Facts: readily accepted, be based on personal
observation
• Statistics: avoid presenting a long list of figures
• Authorities: those who are experienced and
knowledgeable in certain fields
Some faulty supports we should avoid:
• Thesis: Leaving the university and starting to
work is good for the adolescent.
• 1. Feelings, emotional arguments
– It makes one feel much better.
• 2. Irrelevant examples (wandering off the topic)
– He would then be able to take his girlfriend to
expensive restaurants.
• 3. Oversimplification
– Only then would he understand what it means to
be an adult.
• 4. Hasty generalizations
– It is a widely known fact that all adolescents look
forward to earning money.
• 5. Unreliable, even false outside sources
– According to www.doubtme.com, 80% of working
men wish they quit school when they were at
university and started working at an earlier age.
4. The logical appeal
• From the least important to the most important
• From the most familiar to the least familiar
• From the easiest for the reader to accept or
comprehend to the most difficult
Inductive Reasoning
• When you use induction, you start with facts
and proceed from facts to a general
conclusion. In other words, you move from
specific examples to a general statement.
• From specific to general
Deductive Reasoning
• The process is just the opposite of inductive
reasoning – it moves from a general statement to
a specific conclusion. It works on the model of
syllogism ([逻]三段论法, 推论法, 演绎)– a threepart argument in which there are two statements,
known as the major premise前提 and the minor
premise, and a conclusion.
• From general to specific
Examples
Major premise: Big cities can be dangerous.
Minor premise: New York is one of the big cities.
Conclusion: New York can be dangerous.
Or
Major premise: All human beings make mistakes.
Minor premise: X is a human being.
Conclusion: Therefore, X makes mistakes.
Or
Major premise: People can’t be trusted.
Minor premise: Jerry is a person.
(Faulty syllogism)
Conclusion: Jerry can’t be trusted.
5. The emotional appeal
• An effective emotional appeal can be made in
four common ways:
• Showing empathy:
– Identify with the reader’s feelings and express real
interest in their interest.
• Showing respect for views other than yours:
– The purpose is to win readers to your side. By showing
respect for the merit in their position, you are
decreasing readers’ resistance to your own position.
Besides, it also proves that you understand that no
arguable position is absolutely right.
• Maintaining a moderate tone:
– The purpose of doing this is to ease any potential
attack on your argument.
• Using vivid examples:
– The purpose is to attract the attention of readers to
the issue you are discussing.
6. Essential elements
•
•
•
•
The issue
The claim
The support
The refutation
A. The issue
• A controversy, a problem, or an idea about
which people disagree and hold different points
of view.
– Smoking should be banned in workplace.
– The greenhouse effect has significantly affected the
environment.
– “Home” means different things to different people.
– More effective measures should be adopted to crack
down on（处罚、制裁） cyber crime.
– There should be stricter laws against fishing in city
canals.
– Competent teachers shouldn’t be forced to retire at
age 60.
B. The claim
• the point of view the writer tries to prove about the
issue, usually the writer’s view on the issue.
• Tips on how to make a claim:
– Be sure that the claim – what you are trying to prove – is
clearly stated, preferably at the beginning of your paper.
– When necessary, define terms that may cause confusion
before making a claim.
– Qualify a claim of fact, when necessary, with a word such as
generally, usually, probably, or as a rule, that limits the claim,
e.g. Generally, college graduates earn more than high school
graduates who didn’t go to college.
– In the case of claims of value, adhere to the values you
defend.
– State a claim of policy with a word such as should or must.
C. The support
• ---The three common types of support are
reasons, evidence and emotional appeal.
– Reasons: general statements that back up a
claim, explaining why a viewpoint on an issue
is reasonable or correct. Reasons should be
logical (i.e. making sense) and reasonable (i.e.
fair)
• Evidence: what writers use to support or
verify reasons. Evidence should be
– relevant (i.e. appropriate to the case in hand)
– sufficient (i.e. as much as you need to verify a reason)
• Emotional appeal: which evoke the needs or
values that readers care deeply about.
– appealing to needs
– appealing to values
Types of evidence exemplified:
• Claim: Reading aloud to preschool and kindergarten
children improves their chances of success in school.
• Facts: e.g. First-grade children who were read to as
preschoolers learn to read earlier than children who
were not read to.
• Statistics: e.g. A 1998 study demonstrated that
reading aloud to children produced a 16 percent
improvement in the children’s ability to recognize
words used in a story.
• Expert opinion, e.g. Dr. Maria Morealle, a child
psychologist, urges parents to read two or three
children’s stories to their children daily.
• Examples, e.g. Stories about unfamiliar places or
activities increase a child’s vocabulary. For
example, reading a story about a farm to a child
who lives in a city apartment will acquaint the child
with such new terms as barn, plow, and tractor.
• Observation from personal experience, e.g. When I
read to my three-year-old son, I notice that he tries
to repeat words.
D. The refutation
• recognizes / acknowledges and argues against
opposing viewpoints.
• Guiding principle: finding a weakness in the
opponent’s argument.
• Eg.
– by casting doubt on the opponent’s reasons;
– by questioning the accuracy, relevancy, and sufficiency
of the opponent’s evidence (facts, examples, statistics
and expert testimony)
Structure of the refutation:
• Briefly acknowledge the opposing views.
• Then respond and point out why it/they is/are
wrong.
7. Organization of an argumentation
• All argumentative topics have PROs and
CONs.
• Three possible organizational patterns:
A University in Every Town
• However, while the already existing 85 universities are
wrestling with financial and academic difficulties, it does not
Thesistostatement:
seem to be a good idea to add new universities
the
system of higher education.
• First of all, the new universities will experience staffing
PRO idea 1:
problems.
• In addition to recruitment problems, small town universities
PRO idea 2:
will have financial difficulties.
• It is argued that the establishment of a university in a
developing town will contribute to the development of local
CON
Refutation:
culture, community and economy. However,
if a+university
is
wrestling with staff recruitment problems, or if it cannot solve
its financial difficulties it means that it cannot be of any help
to the local community or economy either.
On Student Lovers’ Living Together
•
According to official statistics, the number of college student
lovers living together off campus in Beijing has increased by
four times between 1997 and 2001. This is undeniably true of
many other places in China. Although many students do not
strongly object to it, I don’t think it is advisable for college
student lovers to live together away from campus.
•
Some lovers say that living together can help them study
better, for it can help them get rid of the interference of other
students. This is actually not true. When living away from
campus, the lovers will always think of each other rather than
the teachers’ assignment, and other unavoidable family chores
such as cooking and washing will also take much time away
that might have been spent on study. Besides, many courses
now require group work or cooperation. If they stay away from
other classmates, how can they study these courses well?
•
Some lovers say that living together can relieve their
loneliness and pressure, but it is not really the best choice. On
the one hand, the real reason for their loneliness is that they
are not focusing their mind on study. Study, the most important
task for university students, can prove to be fascinating if you
really focus on it./ On the other hand, even if their loneliness is
real, there are many better ways to deal with it./ For instance,
they can find friends to take part in sports or other entertaining
activities. By staying away from other classmates, living
together can be a source of rather than solution to loneliness.
•
Other lovers argue that they mean to get married after
graduation, and this experience can help them test each other
to see if they are suitable for married life. But this mentality
does not hold water. The two lovers may really love each other,
but living together can actually spoil a good relationship,
because it enters into weakness rather strength, doubt rather
than conviction. / A follow-up study shows that few couples
living together really end in marriage.
•
In a word, those student lovers cannot find enough
reasons to justify their choice. What they can offer all
represent self-deception or misconception（错误想
法）. Although universities are not allowed to forbid
students to live off campus, they can still find more
effective ways to convince this lost group of
disadvantages, and improve teaching and after-class
activities to attract them back to campus.
On Student Lovers’ Living Together
•
According to official statistics, the number of college student
lovers living together off campus in Beijing has increased by
four times between 1997 and 2001. This is undeniably true of
many other places in China. Although many students do not
strongly object to it, I don’t think it is advisable for college
student lovers to live together away from campus.
•
Some lovers say that living together can help them study
better, for it can help them get rid of the interference of other
students. This is actually not true. When living away from
campus, the lovers will always think of each other rather than
the teachers’ assignment, and other unavoidable family chores
Refutation:
such as cooking and washing will also takeCON
much+time
away
that might have been spent on study. Besides, many courses
now require group work or cooperation. If they stay away from
other classmates, how can they study these courses well?
•
Some lovers say that living together can relieve their
loneliness and pressure, but it is not really the best choice. On
the one hand, the real reason for their loneliness is that they
are not focusing their mind on study. Study, the most important
task for university students, can prove to be CON
fascinating
if you
+ Refutation:
really focus on it./ On the other hand, even if their loneliness is
real, there are many better ways to deal with it./ For instance,
they can find friends to take part in sports or other entertaining
activities. By staying away from other classmates, living
together can be a source of rather than solution to loneliness.
•
Other lovers argue that they mean to get married after
graduation, and this experience can help them test each other
to see if they are suitable for married life. But this mentality
does not hold water. The two lovers may really
each other,
CONlove
+ Refutation:
but living together can actually spoil a good relationship,
because it enters into weakness rather strength, doubt rather
than conviction. / A follow-up study shows that few couples
living together really end in marriage.
•
In a word, those student lovers cannot find enough
reasons to justify their choice. What they can offer all
represent self-deception or misconception（错误想
法）. Although universities are not allowed to forbid
students to live off campus, they can still find more
effective ways to convince this lost group of
disadvantages, and improve teaching and after-class
activities to attract them back to campus.
• Pattern 1:
Thesis statement:
PRO idea 1
PRO idea 2
CON(s) + Refutation(s)
Conclusion
• Pattern 2:
Thesis statement:
CON(s) + Refutation(s)
PRO idea 1
PRO idea 2
Conclusion
• Pattern 3:
Thesis statement:
CON idea 1
----->Refutation
CON idea 2
----->Refutation
CON idea 3
----->Refutation
Conclusion
Example: Childcare
CON Idea 1
• It has been argued that children who attend
childcare centers at an early age miss out on
important early learning that occurs in parent-child
interaction.
Refutation
• However, childcare centers may actually assist
children in their early learning. They give children
an opportunity to mix with other children and to
develop social skills at an early age. Indeed, a
whole range of learning occurs in childcare centers.
• CON idea 2
• Another argument against the use of childcare
facilities is that children can be emotionally
deprived in these facilities compared to the
home.
• However, parents and children need to spend
some time apart. Moreover, children become
less dependent on their parents and parents
themselves are less stressed and more
effective care-givers when there are periods of
separation.
Providing Opposing Arguments
• It is important to include opposing arguments to show
your reader that
– you have considered both sides of the argument;
– you are able to anticipate and criticize any opposing
arguments before they are even stated.
Refuting opposing arguments:
• Before we start saying that the opponents are
wrong, we should specify their opposing ideas.
• E.g. Some people may say that adolescents
should not leave university education; however,
they are wrong.
• (What they say is not wrong. Maybe their
supporting idea is wrong /irrelevant /insufficient.
We should state their supporting idea specifically
to be able to refute it.)
• Some people may say that adolescents should not
leave university education because they are not
physically and psychologically mature enough to
cope with the problems of the real world. However,
they forget one fact: adolescents can vote or start
driving at the age of 18 (in some countries even
before that age!), which proves that they are
considered physically and psychologically mature at
that age.
• When stating specifically why they think like that:
– They put forward this idea because …
– They claim that … since …
Strategies used in refuting the opposing idea:
• To compromise but prove that their argument is not
powerful enough:
– They have a point in thinking like that…
– To a certain extent they are right…
• To completely disagree:
– After seeing this evidence, there is no way we can agree with
what they say.
• To say that their argument is irrelevant to the topic:
– What we are discussing here is not what they are trying to
prove.
– Their argument is irrelevant.
• Avoid overusing “perhaps, maybe,
sometimes, most often, nearly always, I
think, in my opinion”. They will weaken the
force of your argument.
Thesis: Do Reiki instead of taking medicine.
Counter arguments
People should trust
medicine since it is
effective and
scientifically proven.
Refutation
-->
Reiki is also scientifically
proven and does not have
side effects.
(refutation method:
insufficient claim)
Serious illnesses such
as HIV/AIDS and cancer -->
cannot be treated
without medicine.
Reiki, like alternative
-->
healing methods,
requires a lot of time.
Medicine also cannot treat
serious illnesses if not
diagnosed at an early
stage.
(refutation method: opponents
are partially correct)
Reiki requires less time if
done regularly.
(refutation method:
opponents are completely
wrong)
Fallacies in argumentative writings
•
•
•
False analogy
Circular argument
A loose argument
• To be successful, your argument
/position paper should present:
– A thorough understanding of the issue;
– A clear, specific thesis;
– A focused argument that effectively supports
your thesis;
• Clear topic sentences which state exactly what
body paragraphs intend to accomplish;
• Credible, relevant source material which
supplements and assists your argument;
• Parenthetical documentation which clearly cites
all quotes, summaries, and paraphrases from
your source material;
• No logical fallacies.
Teenagers and jobs
• Outline:
– Thesis:____________________
– Body:
• Point 1______________________
• Point 2______________________
• Point 3______________________
– Conclusion
Ban the things. Ban them all.
• Are you in support of private gun ownership?
Why or why not?
• What is the 2nd Amendment about?
• What is the writer’s thesis? How did she
support it?
• Is there any problem in her reasoning?
Practice
• Death penalty
• Gun ownership
• Writing assignments 1, 2, 3
Thank You!