IURI377

Study Unit 3
Class notes

The difference between argumentive and expository essays:

Expository:
Write explanation
• Good thesis statement or question
• Answer the question
• Give evidence to explain the theme
o Facts / reasons / examples
o Integrate with the essay
Argumentive:
• Prove your own opinion or theory right
• Longer essay
• Requires more research
• Adopt a viewpoint
• Argue in favour of the viewpoint
• Focus is on your viewpoint
• Contains:
o Thesis statement
o Sound reasoning
o Evidence
o Empirical research

Thesis statement:
• Final part of intro
• "road map" to your essay
o What to expect
• Your interpretation o a question or problem arising from a particular
subject
o Not the subject itself
 • Other should be able to argue against your viewpoint
• Body = evidence on theirs
Before writing:
• Research topic
• Enough material for evidence
A good thesis statement:
• Addresses a particular point on a subject is opposable
• Is specific
• Connects to a larger issue

Argumentive writing:
Know who your audience is
• Know the style you have to use
• Will help to convey your message clearly
When someone (a client) has a problem
• That's the argument

Definition of argumentation:
A connected series of statements intended to establish a position and implying
response to another position → 1995
A "sequence of interlinked claims and reasons that, between them, establish
content and force of the position for which a particular speaker is arguing →
1984

Definition of an argumentative essay:

Is an essay that uses evidence and facts to support the claim it's making. Its
purpose is to persuade the reader to agree with the argument being made.
• A good argumentive essay will use facts/ evidence to support the
argument, rather than just the author's thoughts/ opinions
Should provoke the audience te think / act differently.

Structure:
Intro → general → specific
• The hook
• Contract with the reader
• Thesis statement (reporting verbs)
• Structure outline GPS
Body
• Topic sentence / claim (topic + controlling idea)
• Supporting details
o Reason
o Evidence
o Refute
o Rebuttal
• Closing / transitional sentence
Specific  general  Conclusion
• Restate thesis in past tense (GPS too)
• Summarises the essay
• Provided the point
• Closing argument

The structure and content of body paragraphs:

Definitions of a paragraph:
Is a collection of sentences dealing with a single topic or idea. It should be
unified coherent, and well-developed.
Are a unit that works to support an essay's main idea or thesis
Much more than a collection of connected sentences
The length depends on how much space is needed to complete an idea.
Structure:
• Topic sentence
o Expresses the main idea of the paragraph
o Tells the reader what the paragraph is about
o Must be clear
o Topic and controlling idea
o Must link to the thesis statement
• Supporting details
o Provide information that strengthens the topic sentence or main
idea
o Back-up the topic sentence
o Clarify and expand the main idea
▪ Include → examples, statistics, quotations, facts,
explanations
o Synthesise sources or information
• Closing or transitional sentence
o Closing sentence – concludes the paragraph
o Reviews the topic and the controlling idea (may paragraphrase the
TS)
o May use a transition (sentence or word)

Transitions:
Definition of transitions:
A transition is a word of phrase that connects one idea or another. This
connection can occur within a paragraph or between paragraphs. Transitions
are used to show how sentence or paragraphs are related to each other and
how they relate to the overall theme of a paper.
The prefix trans is from Latin, meaning across. Transitions help us make
connections, or move across ideas smoothly.
Academic writing relies on transitional words to clarify relationships among
ideas and sentences.
• They increase clarity and provide a logical connection between clauses
• They are words with particular meanings that tell the reader to think and
react in a particular way to your ideas.
 • They are typically preceded by a full stop or semi-colon and followed by
a comma
• Punctuation is key
Transition's types:
• Transitions between sections
o Entire paragraph
• Transitions between paragraphs
o Single word or phrase or sentence
• Transitions within paragraphs
o A single word or phrase or sentence

***look at expressions

Toulmin method:
• Claim
o The statement being argued
• Data or evidence
o The facts or evidence which you use to prove the argument
• Warrant – why data backs up
o This links the data and the claim (implicity, explicity,
hypothetically) and show grounds to be relevant
▪ Why does this data proof your claim?

Qualifier:
These statements focus on the limitations of the argument or highlighting the
context or conditions under which the argument(s) will be troue and
acceptable
Look at words such as "most, majority, many"

Rebuttals:
Counter-arguments or statements which show that there are certain situations
and circumstances where the argument will not be troue or acceptable.
Remember reservation as well.

Backing:
These statements support the warrant. They focus on the truth.

Types of claims:
• Claims of fact → claim something to be a fact. Should be able to back it
up
• Claims of value → good or bad, something is better than something else.
Ex homeschooling
• Claims of policy → conditions must exist, or something should or should
not be done

Argument:
You want to convince someone of something
Proposition – major premise
Evidence – scientific, way nature works, observation – eye witness,
testimonies, statistics

Social conventions of argument:

Convention of bilaterality:
Must be two sides or two competing messages

Convention of self-risk:
In argument, there is always the risk of being proven wrong
The fairness doctrine:
Give everyone a fair chance to present their argument

Commitment to rationality:
Use logic, be rational, use evidence, examples, data in support of your
assertion