Researched Position Paper Ideas

A. Types of Argument

Categorical Arguments:

• Asks the Question: What is this thing (categorical)?

• Any statement about the nature of things fixed in some moment of time can be cast as a categorical proposition (CP), a sentence which places its subject in the category of its predicate.

Examples: Categorical

Subject Linking VerbPredicate

All art is an illusion.

Caligula was a spoiled brat.

Ballet dancers are athletes.

Explanation: Categorical

To argue this:

• the definition of the predicate must be acceptable to the audience

• and the evidence or examples about the subject must be verifiable.

Causal Arguments

Asks the Question: What caused it or what effects does it have (causal)?

• An assertion of cause and effect adds the dimension of time

• and is therefore not supported with definition

• but with another kind of ruling assumption, that of agency, a basic belief about what can cause what.

Examples: Causal Arguments

a) A significant cause of teenage vandalism is violence on TV. (because most audiences will readily accept imitation as a human motive, we would not have to stop and argue it here)

b) Wearing a mouth plate can improve athletic performance. (must explain agency here).

Explanation: Causal Arguments

• Students need to think up the possible cause of an event. (could be necessary, sufficient, remote and proximate, or as conditions and influences acted on by precipitating cause).

• Convincing an audience that a particular cause did in fact operate is the second problem students encounter.

Evaluative Arguments

Asks the Question:

Is it good or bad (evaluative)?

Definition: An evaluation is a proposition that makes a value judgment.

Examples: Evaluative Arguments

a) The San Diego Padres are a bad team.

b) Jane Eyre is a great novel.

c) The open classroom is a poor learning environment.

Note: All evaluations rest ultimately on criteria or assumptions of value.

Proposing a Solution

• What should be done about it (proposal)?

• This proposition is a call to action.

(Problem/Solution)

Example: Proposal

Wolves should be reestablished in the forests of northern Pennsylvania and a stiff fine levied for killing them.

• First the audience must be convinced that some problem exists, in this case the absence or extreme rarity of wolves in certain areas.

• Then the writer must argue further to trace the bad consequences (deer herds out of control) or show the ethical wrongness of the situation (species removed from rightful habitat). The writer must also single out the dominant reason for the problem.

Persuasion Versus Argument

In Classical Rhetoric:

• Persuasion: refers to attempts to sway the readers’ emotions.

• Argument: refers to tactics that address the readers’ reasoning.

Building your Argument• After narrowing the issues surrounding your topic, list them

in question form like the following:

• Should race and gender be seen as the cause of culturally conditioned feelings of inferiority and inadequacy?

• Should vigilante justice be used in cases where rapists are not convicted?

• Should affirmative action be used to advance the cause of minorities who have experienced discrimination?

• Are the stereotypes of the homemaker, the cover girl, the beauty queen, the cheerleader, the dumb blonde still thriving in our culture?

Choose and define your topic and its pros and cons: your position

• To begin thinking about the issue, write for about five minutes explaining how you understand it. If you feel strongly about the issue, briefly state why, but don't present your argument at this time. Focus on defining what you think the issue is. Who cares about it and why? How does the issue affect different people? What kind of issue is it--personal, political, moral? Describe its features, scope, and history.

• If you don't know much about the issue or the various views on it, do some research before continuing.

• Determine the pros and cons. Divide your paper into two columns. Write the word "Pro" at the top of the left column and "Con" at the top of the right column. List the reasons on each side of issue, being as thorough as you can.

Your Audience

• What do I expect my readers to think and feel about the issue? What do they already know? What level of language should I use?

• What basic values or assumptions do we share? What fundamental differences in world view and experience keep us from agreeing?

• What kinds of evidence about this issue--facts, expert opinion, firsthand experience, and so on--are they likely to find convincing?

• What argumentative strategy should I adopt and strategies should I use to appeal to my readers?

Your Thesis• Write a sentence or two stating your thesis. • • Choose your words carefully.

• Try to make your position clear and assertive.

Example 1: “Two schools of thought exist concerning inclusive education—full inclusion and partial inclusion. The best educational experience, however, can only be achieved when each child is evaluated individually and when collaboration takes place among parents, teachers, and school administrators” (254).

Develop your Reasoning

• List your reasons in support of your position.

• Review your pro/con chart and then write down every plausible reason you could give to convince readers that your position on this issue should be taken seriously.

• Choose your strongest reasons with your readers in mind.

• Take your strongest reasons and write for five minutes on each one, explaining it to your readers and providing evidence to support it.

Anticipate Readers' concerns/ opposing arguments.• Choose those opposing arguments you think you

should change your argument to accommodate. Write a few sentences for each one indicating how you will have to qualify your thesis, or change your argument and explain why you are conceding this point.

• List opposing arguments you can refute. Write for five minutes on each one developing your refutation. Try to explain why you do not find the arguments convincing. They may be irrelevant, only partially true, or not true at all. They may be fallacious--"straw man" or "ad hominem."

Refutation vs. Accommodation

• Treat opposing views with respect and understanding.

• When refuting, point out problems with the opponents’ reasoning and evidence.

• Accommodate when the opposing argument is compelling. Then show that their strong point addresses only one part of a complex problem, accepting their reasoning only to a certain point.

Possible Organizational Structure

• Identify issue, state thesis, and give reasons.• Explain and support reason 1.• Explain and support reason 2.• Refute opposing argument for reason 2.• Explain and support reason 3.• Explain and support reason 4.• Refute opposing argument for reason 4.• Conclude by reasserting the position and

framing the essay.

Note: You may refute all or some of the arguments against the reasons in support of your position