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What is an Argument?
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To make an argument is to take a stance on a topic in order to effect change. An effective argument is concise yet convincing. Once a topic has been thoroughly researched, the argument can be constructed. According to Robert Goldbort, one must ask themselves a variety of questions when constructing an argument, such as “What are the topic, thesis, and conclusion? What points, reasoning, and methodologies support the conclusion? How strongly does the evidence support the conclusion?"(Goldbort pp. 115). This process outlines the foundation of constructing an argument.
In STEM, most arguments are limited to evidence from personal experimentation or research from professionals. Sourcing reliable and corroborated evidence enhances an argument significantly, while sourcing weak evidence can diminish the quality of an argument. One must relate evidence to the argument itself through analysis to persuade the audience. A successful analysis demonstrates how and why the evidence is relevant to the argument.
Research
“Given its social and collaborative nature, scientific inquiry is virtually independent on publication” (Goldbort pp. 240)
Figure 1.
An example of the Cal Poly OneSearch search engine (https://csu-calpoly.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01CALS_PSU:01CALS_PSU)
Research is an essential stage in developing an argumentative essay. A common mistake in essay writing is to begin an essay without collecting sufficient or valuable evidence. Theoretically anyone can make a claim, however scientists use research and experimentation to prove them. When writing essays about STEM topics, the same process is utilized. If one does not have the capability or knowledge to conduct their own experiment, they must find their information from scientists who do. Peer-reviewed journals are valuable resources for those without access to their own methods of experimentation.
Cal Poly offers a search engine called OneSearch that allows students to easily access this research. OneSearch allows students to filter their search results in order to only view peer reviewed and open access sources. This allows students to more accurately and efficiently research. The most common resources that students will find on OneSearch are scientific journal articles. Scientific journal articles are valuable resources, especially if they are peer reviewed, because the authors of journal articles plausibly include sections about the methods, results, and conclusions of experiments that they conduct. Scientific journals are a beneficial method of finding evidence and raw data even if one cannot collect the data themselves. When using OneSearch, record key words that are entered into the search engine. Key words are beneficial additions to a works cited page.
In the Argument of Evaluation essay, students evaluate the effects of journalist media on scientific topics. This essay requires slightly different research methods than the Argument of Fact essay. Students will need to research news sources and compare the information they find with actual scientific results. Scientific journals are an accommodating resource for finding said results and will aid the process of evaluation.
Argumentative Essays
Everyone has different opinions regarding several topics and may often debate with each other to prove that they are right. While there are numerous mediums one can convey their argument through, an argumentative essay can be an effective way to accomplish such a task. Argumentative essays present arguments and support them through evidence and analysis. An effective argumentative essay requires a strong thesis in order to make the argument cohesive from the beginning. An argumentative essay also requires a strong body section, which provides the evidence and analysis that will support the thesis. A concluding paragraph reiterates principal ideas from the body section and concludes the essay. An argumentative essay’s sole purpose is to utilize facts and logic, usually backed up with credible sources, and elaborate on their reasoning to provide a meaningful and convincing argument that persuades the reader to agree with the author’s side. In English 147, students will be required to write two types of argumentative essays: an argument of fact and an argument of evaluation. Each essay requires different approaches towards authoring an argument correlating their objectives, which the following sections will go more in-depth into.
Argument of Fact
An Argument of Fact essay can be constructed in multiple different ways. These include making a claim about a fact or existence that’s controversial or surprising, correcting an error or fact, challenging societal myths, wishing to discover the state of knowledge about a subject, or examining a range of perspectives and points of view (W2D1 slides). Argument of Fact essays are written on one specific topic and must make a claim about that topic using scholarly sources as evidence. The essay should be trying to convince the reader to adopt a certain viewpoint on the subject. This goal is best accomplished using a typical essay structure, containing an introduction paragraph with a thesis which must have, “This essay will present the argument that…,”, body paragraphs which cite peer-reviewed articles to support the argument made, and a conclusion paragraph which briefly sums up the argument presented.
Argument of Evaluation
Journal articles are published often, detailing people’s research on assorted topics and how their results are relevant to current times. While these articles may not directly influence the public’s perception regarding the researched topic, they are more significant when mentioned in news articles. As such, journal articles can have the power to influence how people think about certain topics, which can be used to either further or hinder the agendas of many people. Primarily, an argument of evaluation has the central objective of evaluating something, such as a piece of media or an argument presented within that media, and examining various aspects of them to determine if the arguments are valid and presented properly.
In terms of the objective for this essay in this course, the pieces of media to be examined are journal articles and the news articles that cite those journal articles. After identifying the pieces of media that will be analyzed, the next step is to observe and note down any signs of improper writing in terms of the way the information is provided or the way the argument is phrased and defended. After that, a general outline of the general flaws within the piece of media and the analysis of those flaws should be prepared to aid in the authoring of the essay.
As the book “From Critical Thinking to Argument” mentions, “in writing your analysis, you will want to tell readers something about the author’s purpose and something about the author’s methods” (Barnet 175). Examining the author’s purpose can aid in identifying any contradictions or faulty logic that may be present in their writing that discredit their viewpoint. Examining the author’s methods will help discover their writing strategies utilized to persuade the reader. Analyzing the effectiveness of these strategies and the convincing nature of the author’s whole argument is a crucial part of the essay, along with identifying any weaknesses present in those strategies. Overall, using a combination of quotes or excerpts from the piece of media being analyzed along with a proper analysis deconstructing the writing strategies and logic used to convey their argument will satisfy the objective of evaluating a piece of media for an argument of evaluation.
Informal Writing and Technicalities
Wordiness
Using more words than what is necessary to convey the meaning of the sentence should be avoided. Wordiness is one of Morris Freedman’s sins in “The Seven Sins of Technical Writing.” Freedman explains that using more words than necessary along with jargon is not efficient (Freedman 13). Freedman's cure for the sin is, “say what you have in the fewest words.” The page ‘Formal Writing’ on the English 147 website contains a section on wordiness with examples on what to replace common wordy phrases with.
Paragraph Structure
Constructing your body paragraphs in an effective structure is crucial to effectively convincing your readers that your argument is valid. A slide from the W5D1 slide presentation states, “Structure of an argument-based essay contains three aspects: [D]escription, [E]xplanation, [A]rgumentation.” The sentences that fall under these three aspects are expanded upon by the Uneven-U paragraph structure. Each sentence has a level, numbered 1-5, that refers to how abstract or concrete the sentence is. More general sentences that make an argument have a level of 5 while sentences with more data and citations have a level of 1. Paragraphs should be constructed such that sentences start off with a value of 4, decrease to level 1, and increase so that they end with a level 5 sentence. The page ‘Podcast Writing’ on the English 147 website expands further on the topic with examples included. Refer to that page for more information.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are often overlooked by those aiming to avoid informal writing. A phrasal verb is a phrase that contains a verb and another redundant element. Formal writing promotes concise yet meaningful writing while phrasal verbs are detrimental to the succinctness and clarity of argumentative essays. Phrasal verbs are often missed in revision because they are typically two-to-three-word phrases. The page “Phrasal Verbs” elaborates on the topic of phrasal verbs and how to identify them.
Works Cited
Barnet, Sylvan, et al. From Critical Thinking to Argument. 5th edition., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Golbort, Robert. Writing for Science. Yale University Press, UP. New Haven and London, 2006
Freedman, Morris. “The Seven Sins of Technical Writing.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 9, no. 1, 1958, pp. 10–16. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/354087. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.
Hamilton, Scott. “Scientific Literacy W2D1.” Canvas, 19 January 2023, https://canvas.calpoly.edu/courses/93369/files/folder/Slides?preview=9183928.
Hamilton, Scott. “Generalizations/Over-Generalizations/Paragraph Structure W5D1.” Canvas, 7 February 2023, https://canvas.calpoly.edu/courses/93369/files/folder/Slides?preview=9388023.
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