Basic Argument Structure

Claims
Reasons/Key points
Organizational structures

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Argument Structure Review
□ Claim: The government should pass laws that
make texting while driving a primary offense.
■ Reason/key point 1: (BECAUSE) banning texting
while driving would significantly decrease traffic
deaths.
□ Evidence: A 2006 study done in two Australian states
found an estimated 45,600 people had near-misses
due to using their mobile phone in the car.
□ Evidence: The New York Times reports that when
long-haul truck drivers texted, ‘their collision risk
was 23 times greater than when not texting’
□ Evidence: The Public Policy Institute of California
points out that 300 lives per year will be saved in the
state due to hands-free cell phone laws.
□ Making texting while driving a primary offense would
decrease traffic deaths. A 2006 study from Australia
found that in just two Australian states, an estimated
45,600 people had near-misses in their car due to cell
phone use. That’s a striking number. The New York
Times reports that when long-haul truck drivers texted in
their vehicle, ‘their collision risk was 23 times greater
than when not texting’. Furthermore, in California a law
requiring hands-free devices in cars saves an estimated
300 lives per year. Clearly, making this a primary
offense is a good idea.
One reason the government should make texting while driving a primary
offense is because such a law would decrease traffic deaths – and there is
plenty of proof to support this fact. For example, a 2006 study done in
Australia found that in just two Australian states an estimated 45,600
people had near-misses in their cars due to cell phone use. If there were a
law banning texting in the car, the number of near-misses (and, logically,
actual crashes) would decrease significantly, ultimately saving lives.
Additionally, the New York Times reports that when long-haul truck drivers
texted in their vehicle, ‘their collision risk was 23 times greater than when
not texting’. Clearly, when truck drivers took their eyes from the road to
focus on their cell phones, they put many innocent people on the road in
danger. Similar logic applies to drivers of cars who, although they are not
generally hauling large loads, do have several thousand pounds of metal
around them. These dangers could be mitigated with stronger laws against
it in the first place. If texting while driving were a primary offense in all
states, then a police officer would need no other reason to pull over a
texter. Furthermore, the Public Policy Institute of California estimates that
a law requiring hands-free devices in that state saves an estimated 300
lives per year. If disallowing talking on the phone while in the car in
California could save that many lives, imagine how many of thousands of
people in the US could be saved if texting were banned, as well. Clearly,
making this a primary offense is a good idea.
4 Types of Claims

□ Claims of Fact or Definition

□ Claims of Cause and Effect
□ Claims About Value
□ Claims about Solution or Policy

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Claims of Fact or Definition

□ “facts” or “truths” not easily determined

□ Definitions are debatable
Claims About Cause and Effect

□ Argue for a direct cause/effect relationship

between two things. The relationship
between these things is debatable.
■ Testing in schools improves the quality of
education.
Claims About Value

□ Typically state or imply that something is good

or bad or assess the worth or merit of
something.
□ Whether or not that thing is good or bad is
debatable.
■ Capital punishment is unethical.
 Claims about Solution or Policy
□ Call for enactment of a policy (law or rule).
□ Whether or not that policy should go into effect
is debatable.
□ Need to first demonstrate a problem, then
provide the solution or policy.
□ Identifiable by the word “SHOULD”
■ The penalty for drunk driving should be a mandatory
jail sentence and loss of a driver’s license.
What is a Theme?
□ A broad idea or message about life,
society, or human nature.
□ Often timeless and universal

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 What is a Topic?

□ An area of interest; focus of debate

□ Subject of debate, discussion, discovery

□ Usually falling under the umbrella of a

theme (since there needs to be some kind
of exigency behind writing something)

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 What is an Issue?

□ A slice of an area of the topic

□ Points of disagreement, uncertainty, concern,
or curiosity
□ Topics contain multitudes of issues; it’s up to
us to find them

□ Identifying an issue
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 teps to identifying an issue
• raw on our Personal xperience

•Identify What Is Open to ispute

•Resist Binary thinking

•Build on and xtend the Ideas of Others

•Read to iscover a Writer’s rame

•Consider the Constraints of the ituation

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What is inquiry?
□ Asking narrow and refined questions to help
develop knowledge and ideas about an issue
□ Getting curious
□ Exploring many different frames of an issue
(not a topic—much more narrow)
□ The beginning of an argument
■ Often good inquiry will lead you to a good
research question (which is just a question that is
debatable that you choose to answer in a
particular way with particular support)
■ The answer to the research question turns into
your thesis statement/claim for the argument you
wish to present into the conversation
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Example

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Starting with an inquiry
Creating Inquiry Questions - • Asking Good Questions
Part of good inquiry is learning how to ask good questions.

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 GOOD questions …

▪ Reflect GENUINE curiosity

• Don’t just go through the motions—ask a question that you REALLY

want to know the answer to. If you already know the answer, don’t
bother.

▪ Are Open-Ended and Debatable

• They should invite different perspectives from different stakeholders.

• They should compel a person to THINK about situation

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 GOOD questions …

▪ Are Clearly Stated

• The question itself should provide context for the reader of a question.
It should provide enough information to FOCUS the response

▪ Are Unbiased and Not “Leading” Questions

• Don’t have a pre-conceived answer in mind when you pose a

question—otherwise you’ll find yourself “fishing” for the “correct”
answer.

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Thesis statement

□ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handout
s/thesis-statements/

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 Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis

□ Make assertions instead of asking questions.

■ Write a sentence that makes a point but does not

ask a question.
□ Original question: Are home-schooled students as
well-educated as student who attend public school?
□ Revised into a claim: Standardized test scores
and college graduation rates indicate that
home-schooled students are as well educated as
students who attend public schools.
 Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis

□ Write a thesis statement instead of a purpose statement

■ A thesis focuses on your topic and makes an argument

that the writer will attempt to prove. A purpose statement
is simply a sentence that describes your topic.
□ Purpose Statement: In my paper, I intend to examine the
case against the death penalty.

□ Thesis Statement: The death penalty does not deter

murderers from their crimes, and it is unfairly applied to the
poor and minorities.
 Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis
□ Avoid “So?” statements.

■ A “So?” statement prompts readers to ask “So? What’s the

point?” Make an assertion about your topic that you will
attempt to prove, don’t just announce you topic.

□ “So?” Statement: Mercury poisoning kills many people each year.

□ Thesis Statement: The many deaths each year from mercury

poisoning can be prevented by more detailed consumer education,
extensive employee training in the handling of mercury, and
stricter regulation of mercury waste disposal.

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 Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis

□ Use accurate and specific words.

■ Replace broad, vague words with specific words that
communicate exactly what you mean.
□ Vague: In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the
narrator’s doctor-husband does many things that drive her crazy.

□ Specific: The narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow

Wallpaper” is driven insane by her doctor-husband’s misdiagnosis
of her depression and by his indifference to her need for
intellectual and social stimulation.

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 Guidelines for Writing an
Effective Thesis

□ Match your thesis with your supporting information.

■ Be sure that the facts and evidence you’ve gathered
actually support your thesis. Revise your thesis and the
body of your writing until they fit each other point by point.

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 An Example

□ What is your research question?

■ How are warmer temperatures affecting the tropical forests in

Vietnam?

□ How would you answer that right now? Why important?

■ Vietnam forests are being destroyed by the beetles , which are able to
breed more ferociously due to warming trends. If warming trends
don’t stop, there won’t be any more Vietnam forests, so awareness
must be raised.

■ This is your “tentative” thesis statement.

□ Play with the wording of your thesis statement and create four
claims (the four different categories).
 An Example
□ Play with the wording of your thesis statement and create four
claims (the four different categories).

Fact/definition: Vietnam forests are being destroyed by the beetles,

which are thriving in the warmer temperatures created due to climate
change.

Cause/Effect: Climate change and warming trends is causing the

destruction of Vietnam forests.

Value: Saving the tropical forests is the most important action for
Vietnamese to take.

Solution/Policy: The Vietnamese government should allow the

removal of all beetle infected trees in order to eliminate the beetle
species as an effort to save Vietnam’s forests.
Guidelines for Writing an Effective Thesis
□ Make assertions instead of asking questions.
■ Write a sentence that makes a point but does not ask a question.
□ Original Question: Are home-schooled students as well-educated as students who attend public schools?
□ Revised into a claim: Standardized test scores and college graduation rates indicate that home-schooled
students are as well educated as students who attend public schools.
□ Write a thesis statement instead of a purpose statement.
■ A thesis focuses on your topic and makes an argument that the writer will attempt to prove. A
purpose statement is simply a sentence that describes your topic.
□ Purpose Statement: In my paper, I intend to examine the case against the death penalty.
□ Thesis Statement: The death penalty does not deter murderers from their crimes, and it is unfairly
applied to the poor and minorities.
□ Avoid “So?” statements.
■ A “So?” statement prompts readers to ask “So? What’s the point?” Make an assertion about your
topic that you will attempt to prove, don’t just announce your topic.
□ “So?” Statement: Mercury poisoning kills many people each year.
□ Thesis Statement: The many deaths each year from mercury poisoning can be prevented by more
detailed consumer education, extensive employee training in the handling of mercury, and stricter
regulation of mercury waste disposal.
□ Use accurate and specific words.
■ Replace broad, vague words with specific words that communicate exactly what you mean.
□ Vague: In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator’s doctor-husband does many
things that drive her crazy.
□ Specific: The narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is driven insane by her
doctor-husband’s misdiagnosis of her depression and by his indifference to her need for intellectual and
social stimulation.
□ Match your thesis with your supporting information.
■ Be sure that the facts and evidence you’ve gathered actually support your thesis. Revise your
thesis and the body of your writing until they fit each other point by point.