Developing Arguments

in Your Writing

Dr. Tamara O’Connor

[email protected]
Learning Objectives

• Identify components of arguments

• Consider aspects of critical, analytical
writing
• Look at the structure, signposts and
direction of argument
• Look at writing samples
• Relate ideas of developing critical
arguments to your own writing
Small group exercise

• In groups of 2 or 3, discuss the importance

(or not) of the statements in the brown
envelopes in terms of the development of
critical arguments
• Work as quickly as you can
• Some of the statements are completely
incorrect
Why is argument important?

Examiner comment on the literature review

in Ph.D. theses.

Holbrook et al (2007), Studies in Higher

Education, 32 (3), pp. 337-356.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/
03075070701346899#tabModule
What is an argument?

• Main claim or premise

– What follows from other statements

• Reasons or evidence
– Statements that support claim
Recognising Argument Structure

• This • Conclusion/claim
• Because of • Inference
• Those reasons • Reasons/evidence

Smoking should be banned

because
it is harmful to everyone’s
health.
Exercise
If any government becomes tyrannical, then the
people under that government have a right to
revolt. The government of England has become
tyrannical. Therefore, the people of these
colonies have a right to revolt.

Conclusion?
Reasons?
Example From O’Toole (2009)

Argument:
School-based management must be implemented because
it empowers school teachers which leads to improved
student outcomes
Conclusion:
School-based management must be implemented…
Inference Statement:
…because…

Claim or premise 1
…it empowers school teachers
Inference statement
…which leads to …
Claim or premise 2
…improved student outcomes (which are desirable).
Order of presentation of argument

Sample: There should be no control over the right of newspapers

to publish photographs and stories about public figures. The
lives of people who are public figures are of considerable interest
to the general public. People have a right to information about
how public figures conduct their lives.

Rewritten: The lives of people who are public figures are of

considerable interest to the general public. People have a right
to information about how public figures conduct their lives.
Therefore, there should be no control over the right of
newspapers to publish photographs and stories about public
figures.

(From Dunn, 2007, p.5)

Building up your argument
An alternative feminist approach suggests that
women may stay in violent relationships even
when they are not ‘weak’. [Claim/thesis] For
these women a constituent of being a woman
involves being there for their men and being
able to maintain a relationship despite obstacles.
[Evidence/explanation] These women tried to
understand their violent partners and felt duty
bound to cope the best way they could, for
walking out would have been an admission of
failure. [Further evidence/elaboration]
Assertion versus Argument
Assertion/Opinion
Between 1945 and 1980, the Australian Senate prevented the Labor
Party from governing effectively by persistently failing to pass important
legislation.

Supported Statement
Between 1945 and 1980, the Australian Senate prevented the Labor
Party from governing effectively by persistently failing to pass important
legislation (Brown, 28; Smith 36-6).

Argument
Between 1945 and 1980, the Australian Senate prevented the Labor
Party from governing effectively by persistently failing to pass important
legislation. For instance, in 1974 the Senate blocked eighty pieces of
important legislation (Smith, 23). McGuire’s analysis of Senate voting
between 1950 and 1980 shows that the Senate blocked 850 Labor bills
but only five of the non-Labor party bills (41).
(From Dunn, 2007, p. 7)
Critical Reading
“As you take notes on others’ work, you
are writing about your topic and
experimenting with your academic voice
before your internal critic awakens, before
your self-doubts kick in, and before the
perdition of writer’s block can stop you.”
(Single, 2010, p.56)
 Model to generate critical thinking
Description

When? Who? Where?

What?

Topic / Issue
Why?
What next?
Analysis
So What? How?
What if?

Evaluation
Questions
• What is the main point or result? Is the point
supported or not?
• Which text, artwork, source or data did author
analyse? How get?
• Which theoretical/conceptual approaches did
author apply?
• Which research methodologies, discursive
methods, methods of synthesis etc used?
• How does this relate to my interests, projects,
plans?
(Single, 2010, p.63)
Interactive reading in practice
• Skim
• Read before you take notes
• Marginal notes and underlining
– Use a pencil!
• Read actively – answer your questions
– Thoughts in margins
– Underline relevant passages
– Code sentences
• Preliminary notes on a sticky note
Paragraphing Exercise (Eerkes, 2008, p. 13)
http://www.tie.ualberta.ca/~/media/tie/Documents/AI_Grad_Guide.pdf

Original Text:
“Research has long pointed to the dramatic power of
peer influence in adolescence and young adulthood,
but what has not been adequately considered in
previous research and prevention strategy is whether
this peer influence comes simply from what other
peers actually believe is the right thing to do and how
they behave, or from what young people think their
peers believe is right and how they think most others
behave.” (p. 8)

Source:
Perkins, H.W., Ed. (2003). The Social norms approach to preventing
school and college age substance abuse. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shape of thesis/argument

Draft and edit, draft and edit

Only final will be clearly written

and well-structured!
Example
Sample: Smith (1970) reported that bilbies come out at night and
eat chocolates. Jones (1972) described the variety of beetles
eaten by bilbies on their daytime trips. Wheeler (1974) reported
that bilbies eat only apples.

The writer asks questions of the text:

• What is the conclusion about bilbies that can be drawn from
these facts?
• What is the common denominator?

To rewrite, find the important point in the information and place it

in a theme sentence in the beginning of the paragraph.
What thoughts / new research / speculations do the data suggest?

To rewrite, think of the implications of the literature and develop

these ideas at the end of the paragraph.
More analytical
Rewritten:
The elusive bilby has provoked considerable disagreement over
such essential facts as whether it is diurnal or nocturnal, and
what constitutes its staple diet. Smith (1970) considered them to
be nocturnal whereas Jones (1972) reported that they are
daytime foragers. Smith (1970) also reported bilbies had a
fondness for chocolate but his findings were rejected by both
Jones (1972) and Wheeler (1974). Jones believed bilbies eat
beetles, and Wheeler thought that apples were the staple food.
However, neither chocolate nor apples are indigenous to the bilby
habitat and it seems improbable that they are the main foodstuffs
for bilbies.

Eucalyptus leaves, on the other hand, are widely available in the

bilby region ….. (From Dunn, 2007, p. 8)
Tips
“The story makes an interesting comparison
between the upper and lower classes”

Filler sentence without specific information.

Add why you consider the comparison
interesting.

Explain what makes your argument or topic

interesting!

So What??
Arguments in critical writing

• Sense of purpose
• Central idea with reasons for it
• Presents a case or viewpoint
• Writing constructed in a particular way
• Ideas constructed in a way that is clear to
the reader
Structuring an argument
• Start in the introduction
– Outline arguments to be presented
– Arguments for & against; advantages &
disadvantages
• Body – sections that elaborate points with
explanations or examples
• Conclusion
– Sums up major arguments
– Informed opinion of issue based on arguments and
evidence presented
Plan Your Argument
One sentence for each: Example
Introduction
"A Ph.D. Is examined by submission of a thesis...
(area of study)
The problem "Many students fail to complete their theses within the
(that I tackle) regulation four years...

What the literature says "Empirical studies indicate that late submission is highly
about this problem correlated with delaying the start of the write-up...

"A model of PhD study that encourages an early start to

How I tackle this problem
the thesis writing trask is clearly desirable...

"Such a model encourages the student to plan a structure

How I implement my
for the thesis and collect material for each chapter throughout
solution
their study...
"Application of this model dramatically improves
The result
submission rates
Easterbrook (2005)
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswriting.pdf
Plan Your Argument
One sentence for each: Example
Introduction
(area of study)
The problem
(that I tackle)

What the literature says

about this problem

How I tackle this problem

How I implement my
solution

The result

Easterbrook (2005)
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswriting.pdf
Example of diagram of structure of argument
Strategies for critical writing

• Sense of audience
• Selection
• Sequence
• Order
• Grouping
• Conventions
• Signposts
Signposting your line of reasoning
• Indicator words for claims
– Therefore, thus, hence, so, as a result

• Indicator words for reasons

– Because, since, on account of, for, in view of,
for the reason that

• Tentative or ‘hedging’
Bodo Slotta, T.A. (2000) Phylogenetic analysis of Iliamna
(Malvaceae) using the internal transcribed spacer region.
Unpublished master’s thesis. Retrieved from
http://www.uwc.ucf.edu on 8 Jun 2007.

In large gene families with tandem repeats, as is the case for

nrDNA, unequal crossing-over may be more important than
gene conversion in the concerted evolution process (Li, 1997).
For example, the number of repeats can fluctuate without
having any adverse effects. With a larger number of repeats
being exchanged, the rate of concerted evolution increases as
well. Correspondingly, homogeneity increases as the number of
repeats increases. Rate then increases as homogeneity among
the copies increases, leading to a self-feeding repetition. As a
result of this process, it is believed that nrDNA is found in up to
thousands of copies in the nuclear genome (Baldwin et al.,
1995).
1.7 Phylogenetic Utility of the Internal Transcribed
Spacer

Several factors make the ITS region valuable for use in

phylogenetic analyses (Baldwin et al., 1995). First, the ITS
region is highly repeated in plant nuclear genomes, along with
other components of the nrDNA multigene family including a
highly variable region between the ribosomal repeat, the
intergenic spacer. The high copy number of the nrDNA repeat
facilitates the amplification and sequencing of the nrDNA.

Secondly, the nrDNA multigene family undergoes rapid

concerted evolution as described above (Baldwin et al., 1995).
This property of the ITS region is most important from a
phylogenetic standpoint and promotes accurate reconstruction
of species relationships from sequencing. However, non-
homologous copies are occasionally present with point
mutations and/or insertion/deletion events, causing small
variation among the copies within a species.

Lastly, the ITS region is relatively small (ca. 700 bp) and is
flanked by highly conserved sequences, the 18s and 26s
nrDNA genes (Baldwin et al., 1995). Because of this, universal
primers can be used to amplify and sequence the ITS region.
Primers were originally designed for amplification of fungal
rRNA and derived from sequences of fungi (Saccha romyces),
animals (Drosophila), and plants (Oryza sativa and Hordeum
vulgaris) (White et al., 1990). These primers have been used
successfully with members of the Liliaceae, Asteraceae,
Rosaceae, and Araliaceae.
Neutral reporting verbs-
summarising
Followed by “that”:
acknowledge establish show
conclude explain suggest
comment find state
confirm indicate
demonstrate note
observe point out
propose report
http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/researcherdevelopment/PGR/resources/acade
micwriting/unit8.html
Neutral reporting verbs

Followed by ‘noun phrase’:

analyse explore study
define focus on survey
describe identify
discuss investigate
examine list
mention present
question review
Opinion reporting verbs

advocate assert emphasise

agree assume highlight
allege believe refute
allude to challenge suppose
argue claim
concede imply
contend insist
criticise maintain
From http://learning.uow.edu.au/resources/LD/thesis4.pdf
Checklist for good arguments
• Are the reasons adequate to support the
conclusion?
• Are there any hidden assumptions in this
argument?
• Are there any central words ambiguous or
slanted to incite prejudice?
• Are there fallacies in its reasoning?
• Is any important information or evidence
omitted?
• Is any information false, contradictory,
irrelevant or irreconcilable?
Dunn, 2007, personal communication
Summary

• Persuasive argument is a conclusion with

reasons and evidence
• Build your argument by developing a line
of reasoning that is clear to your reader
• Use structure and signposts to guide your
argument
• Draft & edit & draft & edit & draft…
 RESOURCES/REFERENCES
• http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk
• http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswritin
g.pdf
• http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/researcherdevelo
pment/PGR/resources/academicwriting/
• www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk
• http://learning.uow.edu.au/resources
• Dunn, R. (2007). James Cook University, personal communication
• Cottrell, S. (2005). Critical thinking skills.
• Murray, R. (2002). How to write a thesis.
• O’Toole, P. (2009). Building your argument, 2nd ed. Adelaide: Flinders
Press.
• Single, P. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing.
• Wallace, M. & Wray, A. (2011). Critical reading and writing for
postgraduates, 2nd. Ed.
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