Making Arguments

Return to Course Outline

Previous Lecture

Anything You Want to Talk About?

(No.)

Making a Convincing Argument

Background

A schema for argument that I tend to look for and use: evidence for the claim you want to make feeds reasons why the evidence supports that claim, which feed the conclusion you can reach about it:

In some fields, this plays out clearly in the form of data or assumptions subjected to some sort of analysis to support a conclusion:

Even in less quantitative settings, the same plan shows up in simple prose arguments (to highlight the plan, I marked the conclusion in a large bold red font, evidence is underlined in a regular size blue font, and reasons are purple but otherwise unmarked):

“Right from the start, ’Breaking the Code’ portrays the police as part of a bureaucratic system. In the opening lines of Act 1, Ross gets Turing’s name wrong, addressing him as ’Mr. Spurling.’ He explains this mistake as being due to the poor handwriting of the policeman who took Turing’s original complaint, thereby showing how complaints pass from person to person according to their individual jobs. As the name and handwriting show, accuracy may get lost in the process. In short, a classic bureaucracy, favoring adherence to established procedure over quality of results.”

As theses and arguments get more complicated, conclusions from one section can feed into others as evidence, so you can nest small versions of this argument schema inside bigger ones:

Try It

Try writing one-paragraph partial arguments for why college students should or should not be allowed to keep pets in dormitory rooms. You can take any position you like on this, and only need to write the part that states and justifies one conclusion (which might be only part of a complete essay on the subject).

Use a Google doc to collect paragraphs.

You may use any of the following as sources of evidence (I chose these to be easy to find and reasonably quick to read rather than because they are strong scholarly research sources; if you want to find your own evidence you may, but in the interests of time and focus on argument, similarly emphasize finding something you can use quickly over doing a really thorough search):

• On stress and anxiety among college students: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/anxiety-in-college-what-we-know-and-how-to-cope-2019052816729
• On mental health benefits of pets: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/pets-and-mental-health
• On dangers of keeping pets: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/292829#Cat-scratch-disease
• On neglect/abandonment of pets: https://oxfordobserver.org/756/health-safety/animal-neglect-common-in-college-towns/

Discussion

How do the collected examples make effective arguments?

• One of the paragraphs made a move in which it opened with a common reason for wanting to keep pets, and then turned around and explained why that reason doesn’t work. This can be a good way to rebut an objection to your position that you foresee; it’s a variation on what They Say I Say calls “planting a naysayer” in your argument.
• Your position may be qualified (e.g., students should be allowed to keep pets, as long as they are able to take care of them). Acknowledge such qualifications in your argument.
• Another good move is to begin with a recognized problem, and then have your evidence and reasons lead to the conclusion that your position solves that problem.

Here are some other examples that we can analyze and “workshop”:

“The mental health advantages make a compelling case for allowing college students to keep pets at college. As the UK Mental Health Organization points out, pets can reduce anxiety, which has been identified by the Harvard Health Blog as a major problem for many college students. Pets can also help their owners meet new people, one of the coping strategies recommended by the Harvard Health Blog. Increased pet ownership among college students would therefore help to reduce the psychological burdens those students feel these days.”

“Although everyone likes pets, the health considerations make it unwise to keep pets in college dormitories. As described by Medical News Today, domestic animals carry a number of diseases that they can pass on to humans. In crowded facilities such as dormitories, which already encourage the spread of disease person-to-person, adding another source of contagion makes no sense. And, as Medical News Today further points out, disease transmission is not the only health hazard presented by pets: bites and scratches also endanger humans and other animals. So while it’s sad, it’s better in the interests of health not to allow college students to keep pets in dormitories.”

Next

Analyze and “workshop” the above example arguments for and against pets in dorms. Think about the examples and ways in which they could be better, and be ready to make suggestions in class Monday.

Next Lecture