2 Part Paper (2600 Words)

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Whether or not you realize it, everyday reports of your work to peers or higher-ups may require you to formulate an argument. Starting from the standard argument form, you can write an essay that helps you defend things such as a larger allocation of funds for your department.

9.1 The Argumentative Essay

In addition to serving as the framework for identifying claims, evaluating arguments, and defending your positions methodically, the standard argument form has another very practical use as the framework for writing argumentative essays. Simply put, an argumentative essay is a genre of writing that presents a logical and methodical defense of a thesis based on supporting research. It includes the recognition of the opposing position to the thesis and the presentation of a successful rebuttal. The argumentative essay format is introduced in some university courses (for example, it is the standard writing style in philosophy), but the format has broad applications when it comes to building arguments generally.

Arguments are the fundamental tool in several occupations. They are the frame for legal briefs, law review articles, opinions by Supreme Court justices, as well as public policy analyses and predictions by economists. They are the machinery employed for methodical commentaries by reporters and political pundits presented in the news media. Politicians may use arguments when they make a pitch for our votes.

However, the use of the argumentative essay is not restricted to these occupations alone. Many of us are called on to present arguments in this way, even if not explicitly. Your boss may ask you to present an argument, although she is not likely to put it that way. She is more likely to ask you to “encourage everyone” to do something (for example, get a Ilu shot, come to work on time, or not access social media while working), rather than to “present an argument” that will persuade others. However, the request is still essentially a request to develop an argument. If you needed to request a raise, this, too, would essentially require an argumentative essay, whether in spoken or written form. Outside of the workplace, argumentative essays might take shape in conversations with a friend or loved one, letters to the editor, job applications, project proposals, bank loan dossiers, and even in love letters and marriage proposals. A convincing, structured argument comes in handy for many occasions.

It is important to note that argumentative writing is different from persuasive writing. An argumentative

essay about the importance of getting a Ilu vaccine would not only examine the reasons for doing so, but would likely weigh the pros and cons, examining why getting a vaccine is a good idea. On the other hand, a persuasive essay on the same topic would explicitly focus on trying to get the reader to get a vaccine. Persuasive writing includes elements that are intended to motivate and persuade an audience in ways that may go beyond the boundaries of logic, such as passion or emotion. For

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example, an argumentative essay can convince us that a habit is bad, but it often is not enough to motivate us to change the habit. Persuasive writing tries to bridge the gap between recognizing that we should do something and actually doing it. Arguments are still central to persuasive writing; you cannot get someone to change a habit they do not think they should change. You can think of persuasive writing as argumentative writing with extra elements added.

In order to turn an argument into an argumentative essay, we will Iirst need to examine both the structure of the standard argument form and the framework of an argumentative essay.

As shown in Table 9.1, the argumentative essay inverts the standard argument form so the writer can inform the reader of the objective at the outset of the essay. Note that we call the main claim the “conclusion” in the standard argument form, but in an argumentative essay it is called the “thesis.”

Table 9.1: Standard argument form versus argumentative essay framework

Standard argument form

Form applied to argumentative essay

Premise Premise Conclusion

Thesis (the equivalent of the conclusion in standard argument form) Premise Premise

With this initial structure in place, the argumentative essay needs a few additional elements. First, it needs a starting section that introduces the problem for which the thesis is a response. Second, each premise needs to be elaborated on and supported. Third and Iinally, the essay must address objections in order to show that the argument can withstand scrutiny. The basic structure of an argumentative essay is determined by the introduction of the problem, the thesis, and the premises supporting the thesis. We will examine these three elements in the rest of this section and the remaining elements (clariIication and support, objections, rebuttals, and closings) will be discussed in the next section.

The Problem

The problem section of an argumentative essay is its introductory section. The main objectives of the problem section are to present the speciIic subject matter and the problem that motivates the thesis defended in the paper. Introducing the subject matter allows the reader to understand the context for the paper. The focus of the section should be the presentation of one clearly deIined problem within this subject matter. Therefore, the bulk of this section must provide a clear picture of the particular position, event, or state of affairs that you, as the author, Iind problematic. If your subject matter is global warming, for example, and you want to support efforts to control it, then addressing global warming as a whole would be too broad. It would be better, for example, to identify whether you want to take a position with regard to what individuals can do, what businesses can do, or what whole governments can do to control global warming. Another way to narrow the problem would be to address a particular source of global warming that you Iind most

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When developing a thesis, you must be precise in your wording and clear about the exact nature of your argument. Precision and clarity will allow you to focus on premises that truly support your position.

problematic (for example, car emissions, speciIic commercial pollution such as waste dumping from factory farms, or deforestation). Narrower problems are likely to be more clearly deIined, and your research is therefore more likely to strongly support your position. Additionally, the more speciIic you are regarding the problem you are addressing, the easier it will be for you to formulate your thesis.

The Thesis

The problem section of the argumentative essay should end in the formulation of the thesis. The thesis is the claim being defended in the argumentative essay and is equivalent to the conclusion in the standard argument form.

Precision is of the utmost importance in the thesis because even very similar theses will require different premises. Being clear about exactly what you are defending will help you keep your argument streamlined and focused on demonstrating your thesis. Consider, for example, these three similar theses:

Getting a Ilu shot will help you not get the Ilu. You should get a Ilu shot. Get a Ilu shot.

In a sense, each of these theses is aimed at the same result. But even though they are very similar, they require different premises. Let us take a closer look at each.

“Getting a Ilu shot will help you to not get the Ilu” is the narrowest candidate for a thesis of the three. If this is your thesis, all you need to do is appeal to studies regarding the effectiveness of Ilu shots. For this thesis, you do not need to talk about the Ilu shot’s cost, potential side effects, or even availability. Your claim is just that Ilu shots reduce the chance of getting the Ilu. You do not need to, and should not, address any issues that go beyond that. The reason for this is twofold. First, writing should always be focused. This is essential for clarity and to avoid confusing the reader about what is being addressed. In the case of argumentative essays, the thesis sets the parameters for what will be discussed in the body of the essay. Second, the premises offer reasons for the thesis. If we start adding reasons that are not directly relevant to the thesis, then the essay will lack clarity and will fail to convince the reader.

“You should get a Ilu shot” is a broader candidate for a thesis. The fact that Ilu shots reduce the chance of getting the Ilu is part of what you will want to argue, but it is not enough. To show that your reader should get a Ilu shot, you need to consider the pros and cons of doing so and show that the pros substantially outweigh the cons. Here it is critical to address the issues of side effects, cost, availability, and any other factors that directly bear on whether getting a Ilu shot is a good idea. You

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may even want to bring up the idea that by reducing the overall prevalence of the Ilu, Ilu shots protect more people than just the person getting the shot.

“Get a Ilu shot” crosses the line from an argumentative thesis to a persuasive one. A successful essay with this thesis will motivate the reader to get a Ilu shot, rather than simply demonstrating the beneIits of doing so. Thus, the thesis must not only address why getting the shot is a good idea, but also try to tackle issues that keep people from getting the shots—issues such as fear, lack of time, misinformation, or just apathy. Notice that “get a Ilu shot” is not a claim, so it cannot function as the conclusion of an argument. In a persuasive essay your thesis is not the same as the conclusion of your argument; the argument you develop is just part of how you develop your thesis. If you Iind yourself tempted to use a thesis that calls for action in an argumentative essay, try to reformulate the thesis as one that could be the conclusion of an argument in the standard form. You can then construct an argumentative essay for this new thesis and then add motivational elements to it.

As you can see, forming your thesis clearly is a key part of writing a successful essay. The argument you build in your essay must be tightly aimed at supporting its conclusion.

The Premises

Just like in the standard argument form, in argumentative essays the premises are the reasons that support the thesis. You should start developing your premises by listing a few of your main reasons for your conclusion. The best way to do this is to put your thesis in the form of a question. For our Ilu shot thesis, that question could be: Why should your reader get a Ilu shot?

Suppose that you come up with three reasons: It will help prevent your reader from getting the Ilu, it will help keep others from getting the Ilu, and Ilu shots are cheap. We can now assemble the argument by putting these three reasons as premises in the inverted standard argument form, along with the thesis:

Thesis: You should get a Ilu shot.

Premise 1: Getting a Ilu shot will help keep you from getting the Ilu.

Premise 2: Getting a Ilu shot will also help protect others from the Ilu.

Premise 3: Flu shots are cheap.

In sketching the basic premises of your argument, you have automatically developed the basic structure or skeleton of your argumentative essay. This is better than starting with one vague idea and then letting your thoughts Ilow freely and aimlessly.

The premises of your argument now indicate major sections of your essay. Accordingly, they should appear as the leading sentences for their respective sections. If your essay is short, each premise will be the topic sentence for a paragraph. If your essay is long, each premise will function as a thesis statement for its section.

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When you are writing an essay longer than just a few paragraphs, you can repeat the process, asking what reasons there are for accepting each of the premises. Once you give the reasons why a premise is true, you will have the makings of a new argument for the premise in question. That is, you create an argument whose conclusion is one of the premises of your original argument. Such arguments are called subarguments or secondary arguments. The conclusion of a secondary argument, being a premise of the original argument, is called a subconclusion or secondary thesis. A secondary thesis is not the main thesis of your paper, but it is the thesis of a secondary argument supporting a premise of your main argument. With the inclusion of secondary arguments, a fuller defense of your thesis about Ilu shots might look like this:

You should get a Ilu shot. (Main thesis)

Getting a Ilu shot will help keep you from getting the Ilu. (Premise/secondary thesis)

Flu vaccines create an immune response that develops antibodies against the Ilu. People with the right antibodies are less likely to suffer from a disease. Studies show that people who have had the Ilu shot are less likely to get the Ilu.

Getting a Ilu shot also helps protect others from getting the Ilu. (Premise/secondary thesis)

Flu is transmitted from person to person. The fewer infected people someone is exposed to, the lower his or her chance of getting infected.

Flu shots are cheap. (Premise/secondary thesis)

Flu shots normally cost about $10. Some places offer free Ilu shots. Medicine for the Ilu is more expensive than the shot.

This complex argumentative essay structure now provides a skeleton for a much longer essay. There is more to do, of course, but by starting with a structure for your argumentative essay, you ensure that your essay is well organized and focused on its thesis.

Practice Problems 9.1

Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/PHI103_2e /Answers_PracticeProblems9.1.pdf) to check your answers.

Which of the following is a difference between the standard argument form and that of the argumentative essay?

In argumentative essay form the conclusion is presented last, whereas standard argument form does not present a conclusion.

a.

Standard argument form includes premises, whereas argumentative essayb.

1.

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form does not. In standard argument form the conclusion is at the end of the argument, whereas in essay form the conclusion is presented at the beginning.

c.

The conclusion in standard argument form is generally stronger than the conclusion in argumentative essay form.

d.

You are writing a paper about the effectiveness of for-proIit education. You claim in your paper that “for-proIit education provides an equally rigorous academic experience as that of nonproIit education.” This statement would be which part of the argumentative essay?

thesisa. supportb. secondary argumentc. standard form argumentd. probleme.

2.

You are writing a paper in which you claim minor drug offenses should not result in prison sentences but in jail time and rehabilitation. In the paper, you make the claim that “an article in contemporary criminology demonstrates that placing petty criminals into prison for small crimes leads those people to become hardened criminals due to the conditions in those prisons.” This statement would be which part of the argumentative essay?

thesisa. supportb. secondary argumentc. standard form argumentd. probleme.

3.

You are creating an argument that people in afIluent countries have a duty to aid those who are starving or dying from treatable illness in other countries. Which of the following best represents the problem that is being addressed here?

Helping others is important, especially when some have more than others.a. Those who do not help others are morally inept.b. The problem is whether or not people live in the United States or a place where people are poor.

c.

The problem is whether or not people must help others when they have more resources.

d.

4.

You are creating an argument about whether or not pornography is healthy or harmful for people to view. Which of the following would be the best thesis for a formal paper (though you might not agree with it)?

Pornography is evil and will lead to the degradation of society.a. People who watch pornography are pedophiles.b. Pornography is enjoyable for those who view it.c. Pornography is harmful because it distorts images of female sexuality.d.

5.

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Pornography is harmful because people’s children can view it.e.

Which is a secondary thesis that relates to the primary thesis that “citizens need to become less reliant on oil”?

Installing large-scale solar farms can help fuel the energy needs of large cities.

a.

Finding more oil reserves will provide energy for the future.b. Farming techniques continue to improve.c. Planting trees can contribute to more oxygen production.d.

6.

Which is a primary thesis that relates to the secondary thesis that “there must be more exploration of oil reserves in the oceans”?

Finding more oil reserves in mountainous regions will provide energy for future generations.

a.

The Indian Ocean is largely unexplored.b. In order to maintain current energy usage, there need to be funds invested in Iinding new reserves of oil.

c.

Using electric and hybrid vehicles will allow society to move away from using oil as an energy source.

d.

7.

Which is a secondary thesis that relates to the primary thesis that “it should be illegal for cell phone companies to track the locations of their users without consent”?

The government should not be allowed to monitor its citizens.a. There are new technological capabilities of large-scale Internet and phone providers.

b.

There are many providers, and one should shop around to Iind the right provider.

c.

The information gathered from tracking consumers could fall into the wrong hands.

d.

8.

Which is a primary thesis that relates to the secondary thesis that “human trafIicking turns the human into a piece of property”?

Turning a person into a piece of property negates their personhood.a. Human trafIicking between Mexico and the United States is morally wrong.b. Property rights exist in most countries.c. Usually women are the victims of human trafIicking.d.

9.

Which is a secondary thesis that relates to the primary thesis that “sex education in public schools should take a more prominent role in adolescent education”?

With the increased availability of sexually explicit materials and media that provide avenues for sexual activity, it is important that kids understand more about sexual activity.

a.

Teaching children about forms of safer sex will encourage them to engage in such activities.

b.

10.

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Funding for the arts, music, and other forms of study is being lost, and legislators need to increase the availability of funds for these activities.

c.

There are some areas of public education that need to be revisited and enhanced for the current generation of high school students.

d.

Which is a primary thesis that relates to the secondary thesis that “women should be allowed to engage in combat in war environments”?

The rights of women need to extend beyond what have been the traditionally deIined roles.

a.

Many women are capable of Iighting in war.b. Many women desire to serve their countries by participating in active military engagement.

c.

Not to allow women to take part in battle effectively means that one is cutting out strong soldiers from over 50% of the population.

d.

11.

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As you review your argument, you should evaluate the clarity of your premises. Can they be easily misunderstood? Are the deVinitions of terms that are used widely accepted? Further elaboration in support of your premises may be required.

9.2 Strengthening the Argumentative Essay

With the basic outline of your argumentative essay in place, you can now turn to strengthening your argument using support and addressing objections to your argument.

ClariVication and Support

If you have followed the process outlined thus far, you should have an introductory paragraph with a thesis and a series of topic sentences for the paragraphs of the body of your essay. The next step is to write the paragraph that goes with the topic sentence. You may need to explain what the premise means, and you will deIinitely need to provide some reason for thinking it is true. When you wrote your argument in standard form, you knew what you meant by each claim. However, your meaning may not be as obvious to your reader as it is to you. It is your job, therefore, to clarify your premise, spelling out its meaning and implications. As you read each premise, try to think of ways that it might be misunderstood. Imagine someone objecting to it: What grounds could they have for doing so? What grounds can you offer for accepting it? These are things you will want to address in the paragraph.

Consider the third premise from our argument about Ilu vaccines: “Flu shots are cheap.” That seems simple enough, right? But what do we mean by “cheap”? Sometimes cheap means inexpensive, but sometimes it means poorly made. We mean inexpensive, but it is not clear how inexpensive something has to be to be counted as cheap. If you think that there is a possibility that your reader may not understand precisely what you mean, use a sentence or two to elaborate. For example, you might say, “Although Ilu vaccines are carefully constructed, they are not expensive” in order to let your reader know what you mean by “cheap.”

You can also clarify the premise by the way in which you provide support. As you develop your reasons for accepting each premise, your reader gains a clearer idea of what you take the premise to mean. Often, support appears in the form of a study or some type of empirical data. However, when offering empirical data as support in your essay, it is important to remember that even empirical data must be interpreted and supported,

especially if they are likely to be unfamiliar to the reader or are only correlational. As we learned in Chapter 5, correlations do not offer proof for causal claims. In the case of empirical data, care must be taken to draw only from reliable sources. (See Chapter 8 for a discussion on how to identify a reliable source.) Of course, you already know that you need to seek reliable sources at all times, but unjustiIied or not, statistically signiIicant empirical data can easily be made to falsely appear as

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scientiIically sound, so be especially cautious.

A common mistake is to think that studies and empirical data are the only accepted forms of support for a premise. While these are important types of support, there are many others. For example, commonly held beliefs can be used as support if you have good reason to think that your reader will accept them as true. Because the goal is to show your reader that your premise is true or plausible, if you can use a belief that your reader already holds, then you are off to a good start. You must be careful here, however. A belief that seems obviously true to you may seem obviously false to your reader. If you are not completely sure that your reader will agree, it is best to also cite a reliable source in support of the belief.

Many times the support you offer will appeal to theories or even broad views about the world. For example, abortion debates often center on the question of whether abortions amount to murder—the unjustiIied killing of an innocent person. Although it is easy to show that abortions involve killing and that the fetus who is killed is innocent, it is much more difIicult to show that the killing is unjustiIied or that the fetus is a full person in the legal and moral senses of the term. One cannot just do a scientiIic study on these matters, because the claims are not scientiIic in nature. To provide support for the premise that abortions involve unjustiIied killing, you will need to appeal to some theory or view on what makes some killings justiIied while others are not. The best thing to do is to research what has been already advanced in the relevant area of knowledge. As we have seen, moral problems demand an examination of ethical theories. The same applies to research in other subjects. If we want to support a premise pertaining to the global warming debate, then we should use information from the research surrounding climate change.

DeIinitions can also provide support for and clariIication of the premises of your argument. Claims such as “everyone deserves to die with dignity” or “abortion is a woman’s right” depend on just what is meant by the terms dignity and right, respectively. Some terms may not have an accepted deIinition even if we know what they mean. Most people, for example, Iind the word music difIicult to deIine, despite the fact that it is a word we all understand and may, in fact, use every day. Therefore, providing a clear deIinition of music might be an important step in supporting a premise about music.

Keep in mind that just being familiar with a term is not identical with being able to deIine it. Neither is a dictionary the best source for more technical deIinitions in an argument. Dictionaries report on common usage but do not necessarily describe how terms might be used in speciIic Iields or debates. Even when a term is not being used in a technical sense, a dictionary is less likely to settle a dispute involving the term. Imagine two people arguing about whether a certain piece of grafIiti is art. In order to support their claims, they will need to deIine what each means by the term art. However, just looking it up in a dictionary is unlikely to settle the dispute. Instead, they would be better off consulting a relevant technical encyclopedia—such as the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which deIines abstract terms such as reality, justice, morality, music, and so on—or refereed articles in scholarly journals that present developed deIinitions.

This is not an exhaustive account of the forms that support may take. Anything that can be a good reason for accepting a claim can be used to support the claim. The kind of support you choose will

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Often there is more to the truth than what we can see, what we know, or what is familiar to us. It is thus important to consider the views of others, especially if these present objections to ours, because we always have something new to learn. If such objections do not destroy our argument, then we can proceed with a well-researched rebuttal.

be determined by the claim you are supporting and by what you know of your reader. For each premise, ask yourself what good reason you can offer your reader for agreeing with the premise. Do you need to provide empirical data, address your reader’s beliefs, include background theories, offer deIinitions, or something else? As you might guess, this often involves forming a sort of mini argument in support of the topic sentence. Applying what we have learned about arguments can help you choose strong support for your claims.

The Objection

The objection is the most damaging criticism that can be advanced against your own thesis. In longer argumentative essays, it might be necessary to address more than one objection. But in any argumentative essay, you will need to propose at least one objection. Why is this necessary, given that it sounds contradictory to your purpose? Actually, being able to present a damaging objection and a successful rebuttal is a powerful way to demonstrate the unassailability of your thesis.

Presenting an objection shows your reader that you are aware of both sides of the issue, and this adds credibility to your presentation. For this reason, it is important to select a strong objection and to present it in a way that takes the objection seriously. If you present a weak objection, or if you present an objection in a way that seems not to take it seriously, then you give the impression that your own conclusion is not based on an even evaluation of all the relevant factors. You also may end up committing the straw man fallacy. (See Chapter 7 for a review of the straw man fallacy.) In order to avoid this impression, you must become very familiar with your topic by means of your research on the subject. This includes not only literature that supports your view, but also literature that challenges it.

Moral of the Story: The Objection

Always present at least one strong objection to your thesis. Doing so shows that you are knowledgeable about your subject and care more for Iinding the truth about it than merely promoting your own view.

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The Rebuttal

The rebuttal is the section in your essay in which you respond to the objection(s) presented. To fail to address the contrary claim (that is, the objection) amounts to committing the red herring fallacy. (See Chapter 7 for a review of the red herring fallacy.) Your goal should be to advance a strong rebuttal, and it must attempt to overcome the objection. You cannot be timid in rebutting an objection that could destroy your argument. In addition, you have to provide support for your rebuttal.

However, suppose you Iind that, try as you might, you are not capable of coming up with a defensible rebuttal. Should this happen, you might have to start anew. The Iirst step will be to rethink your thesis and your position in the argument in general. After additional thorough research on the subject, you will be in an even better position to reexamine your position because you will be better informed than when you Iirst started. Do not be afraid, though. True beliefs will stand scrutiny. Yet as a critical thinker, you may Iind that one or more of your beliefs are not defensible. Or you may Iind that the opposition is too daunting to match. There is no shame in this. We are all mistaken about one thing or another at some point in our lives. Acknowledging when an objection cannot be overcome is indeed an expression of an examined life and, as Socrates stated, only an examined life is worth living.

If you Iind yourself in a situation in which you cannot overcome an objection, one response is to accept defeat and change your argument in response to the good objection. In this case you then repeat the process of considering objections to the new version of your argument until you have a version that can withstand its strongest objections. This revised argument then serves as the basis for rewriting your essay. Another possibility is to hold to your reasoning while acknowledging the strength of the objection. In this case you can acknowledge good objections within your essay while making a case for your own interpretation of the evidence for your conclusion. This kind of intellectual humility can actually demonstrate that your goal is not just to be right, but to Iind the truth. Either way, you win in terms of wisdom and not losing sight of the fundamental importance of seeking truth.

Closing Your Essay

Once you have demonstrated your thesis, how should you close your essay? It is a common mistake by many writers to assume that the closing of any essay, argumentative or otherwise, is a summation of what was presented in the essay from beginning to end. The strategy of closing an essay with such a summation is not only a little boring for the reader; it also misses the point of the argumentative essay. In an argumentative essay once the thesis has been demonstrated by means of premises and support, the job is done. There is no need to repeat how the thesis was demonstrated.

Consider the following example:

In conclusion, I have mentioned the following facts about my life. Ten years ago, I would have never believed that I would be living in the United States and communicating in English on a daily basis. I could not have imagined that I would be in university, much less

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doing scholarly research and writing in English. But here I am, writing this paper for my Iirst class. As I have also mentioned, I am declaring an English major, and time will tell how far my studies will take me.

The ending, no doubt, has a charming sentiment. It is not, however, a proper ending for an argumentative essay or perhaps for most essays. Some exceptions might include a university lecture, in which it would be important to repeat the points covered or otherwise review instructional material. Notice, however, that if we replace the word conclusion in the quote with the word summary, the meaning does not change. This reveals that the word conclusion is employed to mean summary in this case. Beware of confusing the word conclusion in this context with the word conclusion as employed in a logical argument. Here the word conclusion refers to the closing of the essay. In the standard argument form, the word conclusion is the equivalent of the thesis in the argumentative essay. The thing to keep in mind is that argumentative essays do not need summaries to close.

Argumentative essays do not need lengthy closings, either. A handful of sentences that present your reIlections of what the essay has attempted to accomplish will do the job. You can explain, for example, how the thesis would make a change in the problem that you laid out in the introduction, propose the direction in which the thesis could be taken, or consider the additional research or work that would be necessary to come closer to solving the problem. Above all, never add new information that may throw additional light on the problem or the thesis that you are defending, for this will weaken a good argument by begging the question. (See Chapter 7 for a review of the begging-the-question fallacy.) You must state all that you have to say in defense of your thesis in the body of your essay. The ending should attempt only to cast a positive light on your contribution in very broad strokes.

Practice Problems 9.2

Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/PHI103_2e /Answers_PracticeProblems9.2.pdf) to check your answers.

If you are writing a paper about the legality of immigration and you are arguing that immigration laws should be relaxed in this country such that illegal immigrants should not be deported, the portion of the paper where you cite a well-known economist who outlines the costs in health care and aid of increased immigration would be which part of the argumentative essay?

thesisa. supportb. premisesc. objectiond. rebuttale.

1.

You are writing a paper in which you claim minor drug offenses should not result in2.

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prison sentences but in jail time and rehabilitation. You further explain the claim by stating, “Surveys of criminals with minor drug charges indicated that 70% of them had to commit even greater crimes in prison to maintain their safety.” This statement would be which part of the argumentative essay?

thesisa. premiseb. supportc. rebuttald. probleme.

Which would be the best support for the claim that “police ofIicers in St. Louis systematically target African Americans when policing the city”?

a peer-reviewed journal article that indicates that false arrests of African Americans are 80% higher than for Latinos and Whites in the city

a.

a story on the news with interviews of two African Americans who live in St. Louis

b.

a Twitter feed that shows police pepper-spraying a crowd of protestorsc. a newspaper article that outlines a case in which an ofIicer pulled over an African American woman and assaulted her

d.

3.

The portion of the essay in which the writer attempts to refute the counterargument is called the __________.

thesisa. supportb. objectionc. rebuttald. probleme.

4.

When ending an argumentative essay, it is best to __________. restate exactly what you have said earlier in the paper in a shorter formata. explain a Iinal problem that relates to the thesis that you createdb. add additional information that relates to the problemc. make short comments about how your solution could lead to further researchd.

5.

What is the best support for the premise that “cover crop farming enhances productivity of plants”?

a conversation you had with a farmer who uses cover crop methods of farming

a.

a news report from the local news channel on farmers in the region using cover crop techniques

b.

a chapter in an academically published book that claims that productivity of cotton plants on a cover crop farm was 18% higher than one that did not use this method

c.

an article in a peer-reviewed journal article that claims that cover crop farms do not statistically produce signiIicantly larger crops than noncover crop

d.

6.

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farms

When presenting the rebuttal in an argumentative paper, it is important to do which of the following?

Make your opponent’s argument look ridiculous.a. Make negative comments about the opposing view.b. Attack the opponent’s strongest argument.c. Turn the attention off the counterargument and toward something else.d.

7.

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