UNC Writing Center Handout 2/18/09 6:30 PM
The Writing Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb
Argument
What this handout is about
This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic
essays.
Arguments are everywhere
You may be surprised to hear that the word "argument" does not have to be written anywhere in your
assignment for it to be an important part of your task. In fact, making an argument—expressing a point of
view on a subject and supporting it with evidence—is often the aim of academic writing. Your instructors
may assume that you know this and thus may not explain the importance of arguments to you in class.
Nevertheless, if your writing assignment asks you to respond to readings and class discussion, your
instructor likely expects you to produce an argument in your paper.
Most material you learn in college is or has been debated by someone, somewhere, at some time. Even when
the material you read or hear is presented as simple "fact," it may actually be one person's interpretation of a
set of information. In your writing, instructors may call on you to question that interpretation and defend it,
refute it, or offer some new view of your own. In writing assignments, you will almost always need to do
more than just present information that you have gathered or regurgitate facts that were discussed in class.
You will need to select a point of view and provide evidence (in other words, use "argument") to shape the
material and offer your interpretation of the material.
If you think that "fact," not argument, rules intelligent thinking, consider these examples. At one point, the
great minds of Western Europe firmly believed the Earth was flat. They assumed this was simply an
uncontroversial fact. You are able to disagree now because people who saw that argument as faulty set out
to make a better argument and proved it. Differences of opinion are how human knowledge develops, and
scholars like your instructors spend their lives engaged in debate over what may be counted as "true,"
"real," or "right" in their fields. In their courses, they want you to engage in similar kinds of critical thinking
and debate.
Argumentation is not just what your instructors do. We all use argumentation on a daily basis, and you
probably already have some skill at crafting an argument. The more you improve your skills in this area, the
better you will be at thinking critically, reasoning, making choices, and weighing evidence.
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Making a claim
What is an argument? In academic writing, an argument is usually a main idea, often called a "claim" or
"thesis statement," backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In the majority of college papers, you
will need to make some sort of claim and use evidence to support it, and your ability to do this well will
separate your papers from those of students who see assignments as mere accumulations of fact and detail.
In other words, gone are the happy days of being given a "topic" about which you can write anything. It is
time to stake out a position and prove why it is a good position for a thinking person to hold.
Claims can be as simple as "Protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged," with
evidence such as, "In this experiment, protons and electrons acted in such and such a way." Claims can also
be as complex as "The end of the South African system of apartheid was inevitable," using reasoning and
evidence such as, "Every successful revolution in the modern era has come about after the government in
power has given and then removed small concessions to the uprising group." In either case, the rest of your
paper will detail the reasoning and evidence that have led you to believe that your position is best.
When beginning to write a paper, ask yourself, "What is my point?" For example, the point of this handout
is to help you become a better writer, and we are arguing that an important step in the process of writing
effective arguments is understanding the concept of argumentation. If your papers do not have a main point,
they cannot be arguing for anything. Asking yourself what your point is can help you avoid a mere
"information dump." Consider this: your instructors probably know a lot more than you do about your
subject matter. Why, then, would you want to provide them with material they already know? Instructors are
usually looking for two things:
1. Proof that you understand the material, AND
2. A demonstration of your ability to use or apply the material in ways that go beyond what you have
read or heard.
This second part can be done in many ways: you can critique the material, apply it to something else, or
even just explain it in a different way. In order to succeed at this second step, though, you must have a
particular point to argue.
Arguments in academic writing are usually complex and take time to develop. Your argument will need to
be more than a simple or obvious statement such as "Frank Lloyd Wright was a great architect." Such a
statement might capture your initial impressions of Wright as you have studied him in class; however, you
need to look deeper and express specifically what caused that "greatness." Your instructor will probably
expect something more complicated, such as "Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture combines elements of
European modernism, Asian aesthetic form, and locally found materials to create a unique new style," or
"There are many strong similarities between Wright's building designs and those of his mother, which
suggests that he may have borrowed some of her ideas." To develop your argument, you would then define
your terms and prove your claim with evidence from Wright's drawings and buildings and those of the other
architects you mentioned.
Evidence
Do not stop with having a point. You have to back up your point with evidence. The strength of your
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evidence, and your use of it, can make or break your argument. You already have the natural inclination for
this type of thinking, if not in an academic setting. Think about how you talked your parents into letting you
borrow the family car. Did you present them with lots of instances of your past trustworthiness? Did you
make them feel guilty because your friends' parents all let them drive? Did you whine until they just wanted
you to shut up? Did you look up statistics on teen driving and use them to show how you didn't fit the
dangerous-driver profile? These are all types of argumentation, and they exist in academia in similar forms.
Every field has slightly different requirements for acceptable evidence, so familiarize yourself with some
arguments from within that field instead of just applying whatever evidence you like best. Pay attention to
your textbooks and your instructor's lectures. What types of argument and evidence are they using? The
type of evidence that sways an English instructor may not work to convince a sociology instructor. Find out
what counts as proof that something is true in that field. Is it statistics, a logical development of points,
something from the object being discussed (art work, text, culture, or atom), the way something works, or
some combination of more than one of these things?
Be consistent with your evidence. Unlike negotiating for the use of your parents' car, a college paper is not
the place for an all-out blitz of every type of argument. You can often use more than one type of evidence
within a paper, but make sure that within each section you are providing the reader with evidence
appropriate to each claim. So, if you start a paragraph or section with a statement like "Putting the student
section closer to the court in the Dean Dome will raise player performance," do not follow with your
evidence on how much more money the university could raise by letting more students go to games for free.
Information about how fan support raises player morale, which then results in better play, would be a better
follow-up. Your next section could offer clear reasons why undergraduates have as much or more right to
attend an undergraduate event as wealthy alumni—but this information would not go in the same section as
the fan support stuff. You cannot convince a confused person, so keep things tidy and ordered.
Counterargument
One way to strengthen your argument and show that you have a deep understanding of the issue you are
discussing is to anticipate and address counterarguments or objections. By considering what someone who
disagrees with your position might have to say about your argument, you show that you have thought things
through, and you dispose of some of the reasons your audience might have for not accepting your argument.
Recall our discussion of student seating in the Dean Dome. To make the most effective argument possible,
you should consider not only what students would say about seating but also what alumni who have paid a
lot to get good seats might say.
You can generate counterarguments by asking yourself how someone who disagrees with you might respond
to each of the points you've made or your position as a whole. If you can't immediately imagine another
position, here are some strategies to try:
Do some research. It may seem to you that no one could possibly disagree with the position you are
arguing, but someone probably has. For example, some people argue that the American Civil War
never ended. If you are making an argument concerning, for example, the outcomes of the Civil War,
you might wish to see what some of these people have to say.
Talk with a friend or with your teacher. Another person may be able to imagine counterarguments
that haven't occurred to you.
Consider your conclusion or claim and the premises of your argument and imagine someone who
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denies each of them. For example, if you argued "Cats make the best pets. This is because they are
clean and independent," you might imagine someone saying "Cats do not make the best pets. They are
dirty and needy."
Once you have thought up some counterarguments, consider how you will respond to them—will you
concede that your opponent has a point but explain why your audience should nonetheless accept your
argument? Will you reject the counterargument and explain why it is mistaken? Either way, you will want
to leave your reader with a sense that your argument is stronger than opposing arguments.
When you are summarizing opposing arguments, be charitable. Present each argument fairly and
objectively, rather than trying to make it look foolish. You want to show that you have seriously considered
the many sides of the issue and that you are not simply attacking or caricaturing your opponents.
It is usually better to consider one or two serious counterarguments in some depth, rather than to give a long
but superficial list of many different counterarguments and replies.
Be sure that your reply is consistent with your original argument. If considering a counterargument changes
your position, you will need to go back and revise your original argument accordingly.
Audience
Audience is a very important consideration in argument. A lifetime of dealing with your family members
has helped you figure out which arguments work best to persuade each of them. Maybe whining works with
one parent, but the other will only accept cold, hard statistics. Your kid brother may listen only to the sound
of money in his palm. It's usually wise to think of your audience in an academic setting as someone who is
perfectly smart but who doesn't necessarily agree with you. You are not just expressing your opinion in an
argument ("It's true because I said so"), and in most cases your audience will know something about the
subject at hand—so you will need sturdy proof. At the same time, do not think of your audience as
clairvoyant. You have to come out and state both your claim and your evidence clearly. Do not assume that
because the instructor knows the material, he or she understands what part of it you are using, what you
think about it, and why you have taken the position you've chosen.
Critical reading
Critical reading is a big part of understanding argument. Although some of the material you read will be
very persuasive, do not fall under the spell of the printed word as authority. Very few of your instructors
think of the texts they assign as the last word on the subject. Remember that the author of every text has an
agenda, something that he or she wants you to believe. This is OK—everything is written from someone's
perspective—but it's a good thing to be aware of. (For more information on objectivity and bias, please read
our handout on evaluating print sources (evidence.html) ).
Take notes either in the margins of your source (if you are using a photocopy or your own book) or on a
separate sheet as you read. Put away that highlighter! Simply highlighting a text is good for memorizing the
main ideas in that text—it does not encourage critical reading. Part of your goal as a reader should be to put
the author's ideas in your own words. Then you can stop thinking of these ideas as facts and start thinking of
them as arguments.
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When you read, ask yourself questions like "What is the author trying to prove?" and "What is the author
assuming I will agree with?" Do you agree with the author? Does the author adequately defend her
argument? What kind of proof does she use? Is there something she leaves out that you would put in? Does
putting it in hurt her argument? As you get used to reading critically, you will start to see the sometimes
hidden agendas of other writers, and you can use this skill to improve your own ability to craft effective
arguments.
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing the original version of this handout. This is not a comprehensive
list of resources on the handout's topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find the latest
publications on this topic. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as
it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC
Libraries citation tutorial (http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/citations/) .
Anson, Chris M. and Robert A Schwegler. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers. 2nd ed. New
York, Longman, 2000.
Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Ede, Lisa. Work in Progress. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.
Gage, John T. The Shape of Reason: Argumentative Writing in College. New York: Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1991.
Lunsford, Andrea and John Ruszkiewicz. Everything's an Argument. Boston/New York: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 1999.
Rosen, Leonard J. and Laurence Behrens. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1997.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
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