There are different ways to understand the concept of argument. Indeed, scholars have created many frameworks and definitions to express exactly what an argument entails.
When writing an essay for university, the most important distinction to make is that between argument as it's understood in academia versus common usage. In daily life, the word argument gives the sense of something adversarial or even aggressive. Arguments depicted in the media can be very binary in their presentation: 'Stance A' versus 'Stance B', for example, with each side believing the other to be wrong, wrong, wrong.
In academia, however, argument is often far more subtle and nuanced. Emphasis is placed on how you use critical thinking and evidence (e.g. journal articles, statistics, experiment results, etc.) to support claims.
Academic writing often develops a central argument by posing a series of claims supported by evidence. Typically, an academic argument will include...
Assumptions are the logical connections or premises that underpin presentations of claims and evidence when crafting an academic argument. In many cases, assumptions are 'taken for granted' and won't be stated explicitly.
Let's imagine an author has written a paper analysing the performance of a fictitious business called Cat Costumes 365. In a section of the writing where they make suggestions for change, the author presents this argument:
'Cat Costumes 365 should consider closing its physical office and having all administrative and sales staff work from home. This change would save the company £60,000 per year in rent and utilities.'
Here, the yellow text presents the stance or claim the author is forwarding: the business should shut down its head office and have everyone work remotely. The blue text presents the corresponding evidence: cost savings by eliminating rent and utilities. So what are the unspoken assumptions that logically underpin this pairing of claim and evidence?
As you can see, the tricky thing about assumptions is that, as a writer, you need to assess...
Sometimes, assumptions are total 'no duh' moments that call for no further elaboration. At other times, however, strong critical thinking will compel you to explicitly state, dissect, and provide evidence to back up the assumptions, strengthening your argument in the reader's eyes.
The Greeks had a famous triad of components informing the appeal of a specific argument: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Perhaps the most common place we see all of these traits working together is in the courtroom. Think of legal dramas and how sometimes lawyers appeal to the identities and emotions of the jurors, or how they attack the character of a witness, or when they argue that the evidence in the case itself is all that matters. Some people say that a trial is merely a war of competing narratives, but it could also be called a war of argumentation styles. Each case requires its own approach based on the people involved, the evidence, and the audience.
In academic writing, logos is the most important element. Any scholar wishing to publish based more on their name than on their evidence will find themselves in trouble eventually. Also, any academic writer wishing to appeal to the reader’s prejudices or desires will also find that their writing, however exceptional it may be, does not meet the required level of argumentation.
It is through sound reasoning and quality evidence, communicated clearly, that academic writers most often succeed. That is not to say there isn’t a place for compelling writing or the power of experience to support an argument. But, there must always be a foundation of solid evidence and reasoning in academic texts.
– Watch this brief video on how to use evidence in your academic writing for more on using sources to logically support your points.
