Academic Writer

academic writer: argument

Argument
What do we mean by an 'argument'?
The 'argument' is another word for what you do in the 'main body' of your academic paper. Argument suggests that the writer has a point of view.
How do you produce a good argument?
The best thing to do is read published academic papers. If you do, you find that writers spend a lot of time:
advancing their own arguments by giving evidence (usually in a tentative tone)
referring to their own work (sometimes called 'signposting')
reviewing other authors' work (usually critically but in a polite tone)
When you are aware of other authors' arguments, you will sometimes want to:
counter arguments
conceed a point
qualify statements
Arguments can also be advanced or created by:
analogy
asking questions
posing hypothetical futures
Some common problems in writing arguments
Student writers often know that they should have an 'argument' and that this is connected to having a point of view. As many students don't have a point of view about 'their' topic (because they frequently have not chosen it), they compensate by
- inserting lots of confident-sounding statements about their point of view ('In my opinion...', 'Undeniably...'),
- using lots of 'logical connectors' ('however', 'besides', 'moreover',etc) - sometimes overused so they are quite illogical!
Recommendation: Look for other ways of connecting your sentences!

Academic Writer 2000