0.7 Writing module three: five essential parts of argument

Module three objectives

• Why Argument?
• The Five Parts of Argument
• Using the Five Parts of Argument
• Assessing and Revising Your Argument

Why does lrs view writing as argument?

When we disagree about an issue, care deeply about an outcome, or try to convince others of the validity of our approach, we often resort to argument. Argument as it is depicted on television and experienced in times of stress or conflict carries with it many negative connotations of anger, high emotion, and even irrationality. But each of us also makes arguments every day, and in settings that help us become more rational, better informed, and more clearly understood. Arguments help us to gather information from our own experience and that of others, to make judgments based on evidence, and to marshal information toward sound conclusions. Argument is appropriate when we seek understanding or agreement, when we want to solve a problem or answer a question, and when we want others to act or think in ways we deem beneficial, suitable, or necessary. Argument also comes in handy when we seek to convince, persuade, or produce change in our audience, and when circumstances require trust, respect, belief in our evidence or agreement with our reasoning.

Argument is everywhere—on television and radio, in politics and publications, and also in our day-to-day decisions about what to have for dinner, when to schedule the next meeting, and who should walk the family dog. As Colomb and Williams point out, the common notion that argument must be combative is built into our very language: opposing sides “attack,” “defend,” “hold off,” “triumph,” “struggle,” “crush” objections and “slaughter” competitors. On the other hand, in order to use argument as productive and collaborative communication, we must certainly find a way to transcend the vocabulary of argument-as-war. We must negotiate the audience’s needs along with the speaker’s agenda.

Argument is also about conversation. Although sometimes we forget, the best arguments are a forum for:

• Obtaining and expressing information
• Airing and sharing assumptions and reasons
• Establishing common ground
• Coming to mutual agreement

Productive argumentation starts with a problem. It makes us realize why we have an interest in seeing that problem solved. It also claims a solution, convincing its audience of the validity of that solution with evidence and reasons that it will accept.

Writing and argument

The LRS focus on argumentation raises writers’ and readers’ awareness of:

• the importance of audience;
• the intersecting languages of information and persuasion; and
• the reading process through which we share the tasks of critical thinking and decision-making.

Argument structure also helps writers to avoid:

• the formulaic “Five Paragraph Essay” that is often assigned in high school (“Scientific progress is good. Here are several reasons why scientific progress is good. In conclusion, scientific progress is good.”);
• the default structure of chronological order (First I set up the lab, then I opened my notebook, then performed the first step in my experiment…);
• simple summary with no “So what”; and
• binary structures where two issues or ideas are described without connection to each other.