Lesson 4.02: Using additional argument elements

Constructing an argument 

The use of other elements, in addition to reasons and intermediate conclusions, may strengthen your argument. These may include examples, evidence, analogies, hypothetical reasoning and consideration of counterpositions.

Examples make an argument easier to understand by relating it to experience. If readers or listeners can relate to the examples, they may be more sympathetic to the point of view being expressed. The first sentence of the argument supporting the claim that the punishment for crime should be so harsh that people will not risk it could be made more persuasive by being illustrated by examples, as follows:

Those who consider breaking the law contemplate the possible gains - such as comfortable lifestyle and celebrity status - against what might happen to them if they are caught, 

for example, forfeiting their wealth and their liberty.

The only evidence likely to be available to you under exam conditions is what is provided in the sources. You should use that evidence when asked to do so. If the topic happens to be one in which you have a particular interest and expertise, you should feel free to use any evidence you may happen to know. You should not invent evidence if you do not have any.

For example, the third paragraph of the argument supporting the claim that the punishment for crime should be so harsh that people will not risk it could be strengthened by adding:
Recent surveys have shown that people, especially the elderly, consistently overestimate their risk of being victims of crime.

This is the kind of evidence which a student might possibly remember in an exam.

Analogies can sometimes be used to make the meaning of an unfamiliar or difficult idea clearer by comparing it with something which is familiar. They may also be used in order to persuade people to accept an unfamiliar or superficially objectionable proposal by comparing it with something familiar and unobjectionable. For example, the second paragraph of the argument supporting the claim that the punishment for crime should be so harsh that people will not risk it could be strengthened by adding:

Just as loving parents force themselves to punish their children for disobeying them, even though it distresses them to do so, so the judicial system must punish citizens who 

disobey the law, in order to teach them to behave better in the future.

Hypothetical reasoning begins with 'if' or a word of similar meaning, such as 'unless'. It supports or opposes a proposal by suggesting what the consequences of various events or courses of action would be. For example, the second paragraph of the argument supporting the claim that the punishment for crime should be so harsh that people will not risk it could be strengthened by adding:

If people receive only a light punishment, such as a small fine, for committing a crime, they will conclude that the crime was not important.

Considering counterpositions 

An argument can be strengthened by considering and rebutting counterpositions. For example, the second paragraph of the argument supporting the claim that the punishment for crime should be so harsh that people will not risk it could be strengthened by adding:

It is sometimes suggested that punishments do not need to be severe in order to fulfil this educational function, but people do not take seriously punishments which do not hurt 

them.

When this process consists of forestalling an objection which might occur to a reader or listener, this is a risky strategy, because some people would probably not have thought of this objection if you had not suggested it to them. However, if the objection or counterposition has actually already been put forward, it may be essential to acknowledge and rebut it. Drawing attention to a counterposition without an effective rebuttal weakens the reasoning, instead of strengthening it.