THE ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

1. THE ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY • An essay is argumentative when it argues in favour of a particular position. • The essay’s arguments are designed to support the position argued for in the essay. • Remember that an argument is a set of claims, the conclusion of which is supported by one or more premises. • Thus, arguments consist of claims, and recall that a claim is a statement which is true or false. • If an argumentative essay is good, then it contains credible claims, that is, those which are known to be true, or for which there is good even if not conclusive evidence.

2. PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY I • 1. Focus. State what you are addressing, and what your position is on the matter. Thus ‘focus’ states in a single word the need to inform your reader of the subject matter of your essay. • Avoid trite phrases. • Be as concise as possible. • 2. Stick to the issue. Say only what needs to be said in relation to the topic being considered, and avoid irrelevancies. • Points made in an essay should either “support, illustrate, explain, clarify, elaborate on, or emphasize” the position being argued for; or • “serve as responses to anticipate objections.”

3. PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY II • 3. Order. Arrange the essay’s parts in a logical sequence. • Make a point before you attempt to clarify it, if such clarification is required. • Put the clarification after the point which requires it, and not in some other spot in the essay. • Support points with examples, if necessary, and put the examples after the point which requires them. • A reader should be able to follow through the points of the essay in an order which makes sense and is not confusing.

4. PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY III • 4. Be complete. The position argued for should be supported “fully and adequately,” but not exhaustively if the topic is too large for such thorough treatment. • “anticipate and respond to possible objections.” • “sentences should be complete, and paragraphs should be unified wholes.” • Both a sentence and a paragraph should usually have a single point to keep things as clear and simple as possible for comprehension. • “the essay should reach a conclusion.” (Note that a conclusion and a summary are different things. Only a long and complicated essay will require a summary.)

5. SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ESSAY ORGANIZATION • Focus. Inform the reader of the issue of the essay and your position on it. • Stick to the issue. Say only what needs to be said in relation to the topic being considered, and avoid irrelevancies. (Less is more.) • Order. Arrange the essay’s parts in a logical sequence. • Be complete. • The last three points taken together mean that you should say what needs to be said and only what needs to be said, and do so in an order which makes sense.

6. ESSAY PROBLEMS I • 1. The windy preamble. In this problem the writer delays getting to the point of the paper with introductory remarks that are unnecessary. • Solution – Avoid the unnecessary, and get to the point. • 2. The stream-of-consciousness ramble. Here thoughts are written simply as they occur. • Solution – Organize your thoughts in logical order. • 3. The knee-jerk reaction. Here only the author’s initial response to an issue is considered. • Solution – Consider the issue in the depth required to treat it properly.

7. ESSAY PROBLEMS II • 4. The glancing blow. Issues are addressed indirectly rather than directly. • Solution – Address issues head on. • 5. Let the reader do the work.Reading is made difficult by bad writing involving “non sequiturs, abrupt shifts in direction, and huge gaps in logic.” • Solution – Make your writing reader-friendly by writing in a linear, logical fashion.

8. SIMPLICITY AND COMPLEXITY IN WRITING • A general rule of thumb in good writing is to be as simple as possible. Don’t use two words if one will do, don’t use a longer word if a shorter one will get the meaning across. Avoid repetition and unnecessary complexity. Thus writing should be direct and to the point when possible. • However, complicated ideas can demand complicated expression. And there may be cases where to attempt to simply an idea may pervert the idea or destroy its force. It may even be necessary at times to be complicated to be clear. And some repetition may be necessary to get across novel and difficult ideas. • Also, to write simply need not mean to write for an uneducated audience. There is nothing wrong with good academic writing which shows a command of vocabulary as it expresses intelligently difficult concepts.

9. PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASIVE WRITING • M&P: “The primary aim of argumentation and an argumentative essay is to establish something, to support a position on an issue.” • To do this in a critical essay: • 1. Discuss issues, not personal considerations. • 2. Anticipate and discuss possible criticisms of your view. • 3. Don’t be rude or insulting. • 4. Admit that an opponent’s argument is good if it is good. • 5. Concentrate on those things which are most important. • 6. Refute objections to your position before presenting arguments for your view. • 7. If you have a number of arguments for your position, put your stronger arguments first.