ACADEMIC ARGUMENT
TOIVO PILLI
„INEXPERIENCED WRITERS SOMETIMES THINK STRUGGLING WITH AN ESSAY IS A SIGN THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG, THAT THEY HAVE A
DEFECTIVE INTELLIGENCE, THAT OTHER PEOPLE PLAY ON LAPTOP KEYBOARDS AS IF THEY’RE CONCERT
PIANISTS. BUT IF YOU FIND WRITING HARD, ALL I CAN SAY IS: WELCOME TO THE CLUB!“ (JIM CULLEN)
ARGUMENT BEGINS WITH GOOD QUESTIONS
• OPEN ENDED – ANSWERABLE IN MORE THAN ONE WAY
• INVITES CONSIDERATION OF BROADER ISSUES
• IS ANSWERABLE – THE PROBLEM NOT TOO TRIVIAL OR
VAGUE OR NARROW
QUESTIONING GOES ALL THROUGH YOUR WRITING, THE
RESEARCH QUESTION SHOWS THE WAY
ANALYSIS AND ARGUMENT
ANALYSIS IS MAKING SENSE OF DATA AND TEXTS
„FACTS ARE BEING USED; DESCRIPTION IS BEING FILTERED; OPINIONS ARE BEING DEFINED AND
JUSTIFIED.“
ACADEMIC ARGUMENT? – NO!
FOR DISCUSSION: WHAT WE ACTUALLY DO WHEN WE CONSTRUCT AN ACADEMIC ARGUMENT?
„AN ACADEMIC ARGUMENT IS AN EVIDENCE-BASED DEFENSE OF A NON-OBVIOUS POSITION ON
A COMPLEX ISSUE.“
QUESTION + THESIS + MOTIVE = ARGUMENT
TOOLS FOR BUILDING AN ARGUMENT
• EVALUATION OF EVIDENCE / SOURCES
• COMPARSION
• CONTEXTUALISATION
• CAUSATION
• SHOWING CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME
• INTERPRETATION
• PERIODISATION
• ...
STRUCTURE OF AN ARGUMENT
STRUCTURE OF AN ARGUMENT
INTRODUCTION
• INTROCUCES THE ARGUMENT IN A CONCISE WAY – PROBLEM
(QUESTION), THESIS, AND MOTIVE (SIGNIFICANCE)
• ATTRACTS READER’S ATTENTION
• EXPLAINS METHOD – HOW YOU APPROACH YOUR MATERIAL AND
BUILD YOUR ARGUMENT
• SOMETIMES EXPLAINS KEY WORDS OR TERMINOLOGY
BODY OF ARGUMENT
• ELABORATES AND SUPPORTS YOUR ARGUMENT
• PAY ATTENTION TO PARAGRAPHS – TOPIC SENTENCES, EVIDENCE, TRANSITIONS
• KEEP IN MIND: EVIDENCE AND COUNTER-EVIDENCE, COUNTER-ARGUMENTS
• DEVELOP EXPOSITION – YOUR OWN EXPLANATIONS AND ANALYSIS AND LINKS THAT
CONNECT VARIOUS EVIDENCE AND IDEAS
• LOOK AT WIDER CONTEXT – PARAGRAPH, CHAPTER IS NEVER ALONE
CONCLUSION
• SUMMARISES THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS, BUT IS NOT A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE ARTICLE
OR CHAPTER
• SUGGESTS WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE ARGUMENT THAT THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN
CONSTRUCTING
• EMPHASISES WHY IT REALLY MATTERS WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN
„CONCLUSION IS THE HOME OF THE MOTIVE OF AN ARTICLE OR CHAPTER“
POLISH, REVISE, RE-WRITE – IMPROVE YOUR ARGUMENT