Structure of Arguments and Argumentative essays

An illustration of various Argument Structures and Argumentative Essays

Presenting your point of view appropriately is a skill, which requires a lot of precision and carefulness. More than just the presentation, putting the points in a convincing manner is yet another challenge, which requires a lot of efforts, to be achieved efficiently. Being a student, you are required to write a number of argumentative essays as a part of your college curriculum. These essays along with testing your ability to write, are also meant to do a thorough check on your communication skills. Thus, to be able to score high in argumentative essay assignments, you should possess strong persuasive skills and the competence to cite those points together in an understandable way.

Further, every writing assignment has its own pattern, which prominently decides its course of action and the impact it makes on the reader. Especially argumentative essays are supposed to be written with utmost precision, by following each and every step very carefully. This is to make sure that no gap is left unfilled in communicating to your audience, because even a small divide can effect strongly on the influence of your write- up.

This blog is meant to introduce you with the various patterns which are used for writing argumentative essays. Also, it tells you about various types of arguments and how you can present all the types in a much capable way.

What is an Argument?

An argument is any refutation that you present over a point or a subject matter. It generally carries your point of view in a convincing manner so as to make sure that your listener or reader agrees to your point. Moreover, the motive of an argument is generally to put your point forth, which is different from the one which has been presented originally. Further, to support your point of view, you put a number of points, which are called the supporting arguments.

While writing your college assignments, you need to make sure that the arguments you present in your argumentative essay should be highly convincing. Also, they should be backed with strong examples, which prove your argument authentically. Additionally, the rational promotion of your ideas in the form of argument, is better accepted by the audience because it carries the logical idealis, which have the power to easily convince the audience.You can also share your ideas on social media platfroms like Instagram, Snapchat and with your Snapchat friends using Snapchat Planet orders.

Thus, the importance of evidence in argument is always high and should never be ignored by you, while you draft your essays for your college assignments. If you have a short assignment deadline and cannot invest much time in the writing of your arguments in an essay, then you can quickly contact our team at Assignment help 4 me. We are determined to answer each of your queries with sheer commitment and adherence.

What are the types of Arguments?

As discussed above, an argument is a piece of communication that you present to your reader to convince about your point of view. According to the Aristotle Rhetorical Triangle, an argument is of three types. This section will talk about the three types of arguments and how you can inculcate the respective style in your writing draft.

Classical Argument

In the classical argument, you simply grab the attention of your reader by presenting your claim in the form of a question. To illustrate in brief, in case, you need to write an essay on abortion then the claim can be raised in a form of question like "Why is pro-choice the right of a woman?". It is further followed by background and supportive evidence, to prove your point of view. The descriptive structure of a classical argument is as follows

• Introduction

  This is an introductory paragraph which is meant to catch the attention of the audience. Here you as a writer are required to introduce the topic and create the need for your claim. You can do this by raising questions like why this issue is important and why should your readers look into that matter.

• Background statement

  In this section, you need to provide the background information, which helps the reader in understanding your case. Here you can mention about the conditions, factors and circumstances that your audience should be aware of.

• Proposition

  Here you need to present your thesis statement. This should be based on the information you have shared earlier and detail the points that would be talked about in the rest of the essay.

• Proof

  moving further, this section demands you to write down the reasons, sub points and the evidence that prove your take. Also, you need to successfully form a relation between the support you provide and the inference you want your audience to conclude. Additionally, all the assumptions you make should be clarified wherever possible.

• Refutation

  This section of your argument refutes the opposition view. This should be done by thoroughly anticipating the argument and providing a detailed analysis of the thought and the reason why you are opposing it.

• Conclusion

  This is the point, where you need to sum up with the points you have already mentioned, but in a more persuasive manner. You can connect with your audience here with an emotional angle, which absolutely supports your take.

Example of Classical Argument

• Roger! (Scolding) ( Introduction- to catch the attention)

• Stop disturbing the class. There is an exam going on. (Background- introducing with the context)

• If you will now speak in between the exam, you will see yourself sitting out of the class. Proposition (Claim/ Thesis)

• This is the second time you are standing from your seat. Students around get distracted when you stand without no reason. (Proof)

• I know it is tough for you to sit continuously for so long and writing at a stretch can be tough at times. But, you have to remember it is an exam going on and you are ought to sit peacefully at your seat and complete your test. Refutation (presented along with concession and a counter argument)

• The next time you stand up, you will be out of the class. I do not care if you get low scores in your exams or even get failed for that matter. (Conclusion)

Rogerian Argument

This argument is based on the problem perspective method. Here you pose your take as a problem and aim to gain more attention for the same.

• Introduction

  In the introductory part, you introduce the problem, which you wish to resolve. It is by presenting the issue in the form of a problem that you increase the chances of achieving positive change through your action. Many times, even the opponents take interest in solving the problem.

• Opponents views summary

  This section covers the views of the opponents in a much neutral tone. It is because, when you present your opponents view without criticizing them, then you secure a position of a fair listener and writer.

• A statement of understanding

  his is also referred to as the statement of validity, which is presented to showcase that you comprehend the situations in which the opponents views might look agreeable to you. This further helps you in promoting yourself as a neutral writer.

• Your positioning statement

  This is the pace where you introduce your view point. It is after you have formed a strong place for yourself in the reader's mind, here in this point, you introduce your take. This helps in making a stronger impact on the readers and they tend to read or listen to your points with more concentration.

• Present the contexts of your statement

  This is the point, where you need to talk about the spaces, where your point of view is valid. Here you can explicitly talk about the grounds where your point of view can hold high importance.

• Statement of benefits

  In this concluding section, you are ought to mention the points, which prove beneficial for your opponents. Here, you can detail them about the points, which can be useful for them if they agree with your take.

Example of Rogerian Argument

• George, you have an exam of Mathematics on coming Monday and you are not yet prepared for it. (Problem)

• I know that you have other subjects for homework and you don’t like maths much. Also you want to go and play with your friends. (Summary of opposing views)

• If you study your maths first and complete the practise syllabus then you will have a lot of time to complete other subject homework. Afterwards you can even take out time to play. (Statement of understanding)

• Right now, I want you to finish your maths practise, then you can move forward to your other work and playing. (Statement of your position)

• I am listing out the homework and doing the research work for you, so that you can easily complete the wok, once you are done with your exam preparation. (Statement of Contexts)

• After successfully preparing for your exam and doing your homework, you can assuredly get good grades in your school. (Statement of benefits)

Toulmin Argument

This argument structure has been proposed by Stephen Toulmin, who is a British Philosopher of the 20th century. According to him, to present a realistic and good essay, it should be divided into six parts.

• Data

  This consists of all the facts and the arguments, which are necessary to prove your argument. The data mentioned here is helpful in presenting your facts. Also, these add credibility to your argument. Further, you need to make sure that the facts must be checked thoroughly.

• Claim

  In this part, you need to put your thesis statement or the claim. The structure of the thesis statement should be followed properly. It should be able to convey your message right. This forms the most important part of your argument. So, you must give high importance on framing it appropriately.

• Warrants

  This comprises the logical statements, which help to bridge the gap between the data and your thesis statement. These are generally hypothetical, but must be given with a valid logic. The proper explanation of these points make your reader understand your point of view. Also, he gets more interested in the topic with such valid explanations.

• Qualifiers

  This part needs to mention the situations where your argument is valid and stands strong for that particular condition. This particular section makes your argument highly agreeable. Thus, you should ensure that you write your qualifiers with precision.

• Rebuttals

  This particular section needs to talk about the counter arguments or the situations, where the general argument does not stand true. If you present these arguments clearly. It gets very convenient for your reader to visualise the difference, where your points stand true and where they do not.

• Backing

  This part of the argument, writes about the evidence or the supportive statements, which prove helpful to validate the warrants. Also, these allow you to gain the confidence of your reader. He starts believing your concepts all the more after reading this.

Example of Toulmin Argument

• Megan, when was the last time you finished your lunch plate?

  Megan, I don’t know, I mean I don’t remember exactly!

  Me: It means it's been long then. (Data)

• You need to finish your lunch. (Claim)

• You are becoming too thin and your face is also looking very dull. (Warrants)

• Your immune system will get weak if you will not eat properly and you can have a number of health problems in future. (Qualifiers)

• Roger, her friend trying to take her side, “She tries to eat as much as she can.”

  Me- “ No she does not, she is always in a rush to play with you.”

• Megan, you are a beautiful girl, playing is important, but eating is at the same time very important for health. (Backing)

All the above types, guides us, how we should structure an argument in an essay and helps to effectively present our point of view in a much persuasive manner. Also, these help us to grab and withhold the attention of the reader till the end.

What is an Argumentative essay?

An argumentative essay is a draft that presents your view point over a topic, with the help of supportive arguments and evidence. The entire essay is meant to be designed and written in a way that it catches the interest of the audience and makes them read your article further. Adding on, the grip of your article should be so strong, that it leaves an influential mark on the mind of the reader or the listener. This impact should further be witnessed in their speech and how they present their ideas further, on the same topic.

The assignments on argumentative essays that you get in your college are highly demanding and require you to dive deeply into the subject, to be able to understand it thoroughly and exhibit your take accordingly. In fact the grades you get in your argumentative essay college assignments are largely based on your presentation style and convincing scale of the points you have presented in your assignment.

Types of Argumentative essays:

The argumentative essays that you get in college, may vary according to your subject and purpose of the assignment. On a broader view, argumentative essays can be divided into four types, all of which are explained below.

• Persuasive essays

  To ‘persuade’ means to convince someone to believe something. On a similar note, persuasive essays are aimed at convincing the readers to accept the particular view of the argument, which is being discussed by you. It is for this purpose that the argumentative essays are supplied with all the required evidence, logic and reasoning which support the views being presented by you, being the essay writer. Not only this, persuasive essays also highlight why the other views revolving around the central argument are incorrect as compared to those, which have been presented by you. So, persuasive essays revolve around persuading the readers that your views of the argument are the righteous.

• Research Paper

  Argumentative research papers involve supporting the main argument with well researched evidence from different sources. So, a lot of research work is done before penning them down. Further, it is by presenting properly researched evidence in support of the main argument, that a definite conclusion for the research paper is drafted. The conclusion of the research paper in particular, gives it a decisive ending. Thus, while writing an argumentative research paper, you make sure to essentially support the central topic of discussion, with accurate evidence and then derive a proper conclusion for it. You can refer to our guide on how to write an effective conclusion for more details.

• Analysis Essays

  An analysis essay is a type of argumentative essay which is written for the purpose of analyzing another essay, which has already been written by some author. For writing an analysis essay you need to meticulously examine the views presented by the author, and then present some sort of argument about it. So, analysis essays are written with the purpose of helping the readers get acquainted with what an essay is all about and then making them familiar with your own views about it. Thus, being the writer of an analysis essay, you are required to formulate a complete evaluation of the essay and present your views about its persuasiveness and appeal.

• Personal essays

  Personal essays are written on the basis of your personal experiences in life. So, these essays include sharing about your personal details, feelings and opinions about something. As these essays are based on personal experiences, they do not necessarily involve conducting research work, but you still require some sort of research to incorporate the personal information with a touch of greater validity. Furthermore, writing personal essays is something which gives you the complete freedom to present everything you intend to, in a way which you find it most appealing. For instance you need to write an essay on cultural values then your personal experiance in relation to culture needs to be depicted in the essay.

You may get any of the essay types as a part of your assignment for your college. However, what you need to make sure is that you must present your assignment in a well structured and organised manner. This not only helps your reader in understanding your point well but also increases your scope of scoring high grades for your college assignment.

Structure of an Argumentative essay

As discussed in the introduction section, it is very important for you to be clear about your take of the argumentative essay. This precision can be exhibited well in your writing, only when you draft your essay in a much defined way. Further, an accurate presentation requires a proper orientation and a conclusive structure to make an impact on your reader.

A thesis statement

The introduction part of an argumentative essay should clearly define your thesis statement. The structure of the first paragraph can further be divided into three parts

• A general introduction

  of the topic, wherein you can lay a strong foundation for structuring the essay right. Here you can present the general context of the essay topic.

• Importance of the issue

  Here you need to mention the prominence of the issue and why people should actually care about the topic in concern.

• Thesis statement

  A thesis statement clearly describes your take on the essay. Most importantly, it should be written strictly as per the guidelines of your assignment. Also, you must remember that this part carries a strong weightage of the assignment, therefore you must write it appropriately.

Body paragraphs

Before moving to the body paragraphs, you need to assure that the transition between one paragraph and the other is smooth and there is no gap between the flow of your communication. By doing this, you not only excel in the art of writing an impressive argumentative essay but also enable yourself to score high in your assignments.

There can be 3-4 body paragraphs, depending on the number of evidences you have collected to support your argument. This should be done in a very authentic way and each paragraph should highlight one main point, which is backed by the supportive arguments. These warrants, which you highlight in your body paragraph, are the main ideas, which link your point back to your thesis. Thus, your each body paragraph should be well documented and warrants of all paragraphs must be directed towards increasing the weightage of your thesis statement.

Further, other than presenting your point of view in the body paragraphs, you also need to refute opponents arguments in the body of your essay. All these together should be able to display a strong bond between your understanding of the subject and the reason why you stand strong on your take of the thesis.

Additionally, being a student, you are required to analyse the situations, where, how and when your take would be valid and others' take would be invalid, in accordance to your point of view. Moreover, while writing the argumentative essay, you must not make any predictions and should not degrade the content or viewpoint of any author.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the argumentative essay should include the restatement of the thesis with inclusion of the supportive arguments you have mentioned in your body paragraphs. In addition to this, you can include a suggestion to any further probe that should be made into the respective topic. However, you must remember, that conclusion is not the place to introduce any new information. So, you should present the already discussed points in a more determined and convincing manner.

As rightly quoted by William H. Newton- Smith, logical reasoning is the basis of winning over an argument. Therefore, you must take into account this suggestion and should always try to present your take with valuable points, which are well supported with relatable and rational arguments.