CONSTRUCTING

REASONABLE
ACADEMIC
ARGUMENTS
Guillermo Santos Alvarez
EAPP Teacher II
Song of Worship
What is a Reasonable
Argument?

 Debatable

 At least 2 viewpoints

 Fosters reasonable disagreement

 With your
Your aim… Your goal…
argument…
• To
• You join • To explain convince
in a your readers to
conversation point reconsider
with other without their
writers and being positions by
readers needlessly offering
in the new
field combative reasons to
question
existing
viewpoints
 Argument
Four Pillars of
Thesis

Evidence
Argument

Refutation

Concluding
Statement
Thesis Statements
Establish Credibility & State
Opinion

 State your position on the issue

 Establish credibility - knowledgeable

and fair-minded

 Build common ground

An Argumentative Thesis
Statement…
Must be one or two sentences that state
your position on an issue

Must take a firm stand

Argume
nt

Thesis
Must be debatable
 Too Aggressive: Of course only
registered organ donors should be
eligible for organ
transplants. It’s selfish and shortsighted
to think otherwise.

 *Avoid using language that risks alienating your

audience.
 Too Passive: I might be wrong, but I think
that maybe people should have to register as
organ donors if they want to be considered
for a transplant.

 *Avoid language like “I might be wrong,” “I

believe,” or “In my opinion” because it weakens
your authoritative voice in your writing.
 Effectively Assertive: If only registered
organ donors are eligible for transplants,
more people will register as donors.
 * This example demonstrates an academic tone that
is assertive enough without overstepping bounds.

 Journal: Comparing & Contrasting Articles

Journal: Comparing & Contrasting
Articles
Article 1 Article 2
What is the
thesis statement
for each article,
and how
effective is it?
Would you
characterize the
thesis as
passive,
assertive, or
aggressive?
Why?
Supporting Evidence
Your Audience as a Panel of
Jurors

 Assume a skeptical audience

 Establish proof, a solid argument, and

a well-phrased debate
Know Your Topic Well
Supporting Evidence…

Facts & Stats

Expert opinion
Argument

Evidence
Thesis
Accurate documentation
Journal: Comparing & Contrasting
Articles
Article 1 Article 2
Thesis
Examine the
supporting
evidence.
What types of
evidence are
presented?
Does it seem
scholarly,
accurate, and
unbiased?
How so?
Refutation of Opposition
Counter Opposing
Arguments
 Anticipate objections

 Concede points

 Counter opposing
arguments
Refuting Opposing
Viewpoints…
Shows you to be a good academic
researcher

Shows you to be a good academic writer

Argument

Reefutatio
Evidenc
Thesis
Shows you to be unbiased

n
and fair-minded
Journal: Comparing & Contrasting
Articles
Article 1 Article 2
Thesis
Evidence
Do the authors
present the
counter-
argument to their
thesis? How fair
is the
representation of
the opposing
view? How
effectively do the
authors refute
other claims?
Avoid Logical Fallacy
Emotionally Loaded Ad Hominem
Terms Argument

 Attempts to sway  Rejects opposing

opinions by choosing views by attacking
those who hold that
emotionally charged viewpoint
words  Appeals to one’s
 Examples: “family values,” prejudices, emotions,
“pay the price” or special interests

Are the terms  Disregards the central
being used issue in favor of
deceptively or to hide negative attacks –
the facts? (think political
advertising)
 Should NOT be the  Example: People often ask
ONLY argument in an about my stance on education.
My opponent wants to do away
academic essay with free public school! Only
an
 Faulty Cause & Effect
 Assumes that one event
causes the second and
ignores other possible
causes
 Also known as post
hoc, ergo proctor hoc
(after this, therefore
because of this)
 Example: I drank bottled
water and now I am sick,
so the water must have
made me sick.
 Demonstrates
unwillingness to
thoroughly research
and discuss the topic
Either/Or Reasoning
 Suggests that
there are only two
solutions to a
problem
 The “correct” one that
the writer is favoring
 The “incorrect” one
that the writer
opposes
 Example: We can
either stop using cars or
destroy the earth.
 Demonstrates
an
unwillingness to
Hasty Generalization
 Draws conclusions  Attempts to provide
from too little
evidence or from
unrepresentative
evidence
 Demonstrates a
lack of research
and an
unwillingness to

thoroughly analyze
the specifics of a
situation
 Example: Four out of five
dentists recommend Happy
False Analogy
a comparison
between two things
when the
differences between
them are greater
than the similarities
Example: A school is not so
different from a business. It
needs a clear competitive
strategy that will lead to
profitable growth.
 Oversimplification Scare Tactics

 Offers easy  Arguments which

solutions to make their
complicated appeals by
problems preying on the
 Ignores the fears of the
complexity of  audience
Example:
an issue “unforeseen
 Example: School dangers,” “life as we
violence has gone up and know it”
academic performance has
gone down ever since  If such fears are
organized prayer was
banned at public schools. legitimate, be sure
Therefore, prayer should be
reintroduced,
to provide
evidence
 Non Sequitur
 Non Sequitur is Latin
for “it does not
follow”
 Describes a
conclusion that does
not logically follow
from a premise
 Assumes too much
 Example: Diamonds that
come from Africa are often
retrieved under dire
circumstances in poor working
conditions. Therefore, one
should never buy diamonds.
The Slippery Slope
 Draws a conclusion
based on the premise
that if A happens, then
eventually through a
series of small steps, Z
will happen, too,
basically equating A
and Z
 If we don't want Z to
occur, A must not be
allowed to occur either
 Example: If we ban Hummers
because they are bad for the
environment eventually the
government will ban all cars,
so we should not ban
Hummers.
 Appeals to False Ad Populum
Authority Argument

 Draws a conclusion  Creates an

based on “expert” emotional appeal
opinion which is that speaks to
not grounded in positive (such as
validity patriotism, religion,
democracy) or
 Example: Nuclear negative (such as
power is evil because it terrorism or
came out of the research fascism) concepts
that created the nuclear
bomb. rather than the real
issue at hand
Example: It is our
patriotic
 Red Herring Straw Man

 Creates a  Easy or habitual

diversionary tactic
targets that have
that avoids the key
issues, often by
generally been
avoiding opposing discredited but
arguments rather than are still overused
addressing them  Example: middle-class
families abusing food stamps;
 Example: While you may the rich not paying their fair
have concerns about my share of taxes; immigrants
votes about the environment, taking jobs away from hard-
I can assure you that I am working Americans
an open minded individual.
What we should really
discuss is my record on
votes that expanded
educational
Concluding Statements
Concluding Statements…

Reiterate thesis statement

Bring argument back to your main point

Wrap up the essay Argument

Conclusion
Refutation
Evidence
Thesis
Journal: Comparing & Contrasting
Articles
Article 1 Article 2
Thesis
Evidence
Opposition
How effective
are the
concluding
statements of
these two
articles?
What
strategies make
them effective?
Or, if ineffective,
how could each
one be stronger?
Remember…

 People believe that intelligence and

decency support their side of an
argument

 To be persuaded, they must see these

qualities in your argument
Does Your Argument Stand Up?
 Do you have an argumentative thesis?

 Do you include solid, convincing evidence

to support your thesis?

 Do you include a refutation of the most

compelling arguments against your
position?

 Do you include a strong

concluding statement?
 Works Cited

 Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s

Reference, 7th ed. New York:
Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2011.
 Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell.
Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology, 2nd ed.
New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014.
Print.
 “Logical Fallacies.” The Online Writing Lab.
Purdue University. 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
 Writer’s Help. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013.
Web. 20 Nov. 2013.