{"id":1354,"date":"2025-04-25T23:13:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T23:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1354"},"modified":"2025-08-02T15:51:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T15:51:59","slug":"academic-argument-background-youll-need-1","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/academic-argument-background-youll-need-1\/","title":{"raw":"Academic Argument: Background You'll Need","rendered":"Academic Argument: Background You&#8217;ll Need"},"content":{"raw":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\" aria-label=\"Learning Goals\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Describe the characteristics of an academic argument<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h2>What is an Argument?<\/h2>\r\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\r\n<h3>argument<\/h3>\r\nYou'll hear the word \"argument\" a lot in a writing class. Let's just clear this up, though: an academic \"argument\" isn't the same as an argument over what to eat for dinner, or who was heading for a prime parking spot first. An <strong>academic argument<\/strong> defends\u00a0a certain point of view through writing or speech.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_28\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"267\"]<img class=\"wp-image-28 \" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/04\/16193340\/190513-Z-NV440-1002-300x230.jpg\" alt=\"A woman yelling at a man in a parking lot.\" width=\"267\" height=\"205\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Academic argument isn't like an argument over a parking spot.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h3>An argument must take a stance<\/h3>\r\nWhat distinguishes an argumentative essay from a descriptive essay or \u201creport\u201d is that the argument must take a stance; if you\u2019re merely summarizing \u201cboth sides\u201d of an issue or pointing out the \u201cpros and cons,\u201d you\u2019re not really writing an argument.\r\n\r\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">For example, \u201cStricter gun control laws will likely result in a decrease in gun-related violence\u201d is an argument. \"Americans are divided over gun control laws\" isn't an argument yet, because it's presenting an issue (but not taking a stance).<\/section>Arguments don't just have to be about controversial political issues, though: many kinds of writing make arguments without touching on politics at all. For instance, an essay can take a stance by offering a particular interpretation of a song or a movie, or by showing the reader a new way to look at a historical event.\r\n<h3>Arguments can have an opinion, but should not be\u00a0<em>based<\/em> on opinion<\/h3>\r\nWhen someone says: \"well, that's just your opinion,\" what do they mean? Usually, this phrase implies that the other person doesn't have a good\u00a0<em>reason <\/em>for a particular view. If an argument is all about providing reasons for our views, does that mean we can't express an opinion through argument? No! In fact, academic arguments usually articulate an opinion. Importantly, though, this opinion is always carefully defended with good reasoning, and often supported by research.\r\n\r\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">If I claim that\u00a0Michael Jordan was the greatest athlete of all time, but don't offer any reasons, then that's just my opinion. If I claim that \"Babe\" Didrikson Zaharias was a more accomplished athlete than Jordan because she dominated\u00a0golf, basketball, and track-and-field, while Jordan was only good at basketball and golf, then we're moving toward an argument.\u00a0[footnote]In fact, in 1939 Time magazine described Zaharias as a \"track &amp; field star, expert basketball player, golfer, javelin thrower, hurdler, high jumper, swimmer, baseball pitcher, football halfback, billiardist, tumbler, boxer, wrestler, fencer, weight lifter, [and] adagio dancer.\" See Henderson, Jon. \u201cBabe Didrikson, the Greatest Female Athlete of All Time?\u201d The Guardian Sportblog, 2 Oct. 2006, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2006\/oct\/02\/babedidriksonthegreatestfe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2006\/oct\/02\/babedidriksonthegreatestfe<\/a>.[\/footnote]'<\/section>\r\n<h3>Arguments give reasons<\/h3>\r\nAs the example of Zaharias vs. Jordan is supposed to show, the difference between opinion and argument comes down to\u00a0<em>reasons<\/em>. If you can give reasons to support your claim, then it's closer to an argument. But that still doesn't clarify things entirely. After all, as every parent knows, \"because I said so!\"\u00a0<em>is<\/em> a reason, just not one that can be argued with.\r\n<h3 data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"262\"><strong data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"262\">Arguments require equal access to reasoning<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAcademic writing is a way of sharing knowledge. In its ideal form, it's a conversation between equals. In order to have a conversation, both partners have to have equal access to the subject of the conversation.\r\n\r\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_174\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-174 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/04\/20153724\/brainstorming-business-cafe-cheerful-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A man and a woman at a coffee shop. The man is looking at his phone, the woman is looking out the window. \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. A good conversation involves both parties and gives everyone equal access to the information for discussion.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nImagine two people sitting at a coffee shop. One is looking at his phone. \"Oh wow,\" he says. \"That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I can't believe he did that!\" In order to have a conversation about this \"amazing thing,\" the man will either have to show his phone to his companion or describe what he's looking at.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/section>The same is true of academic argument. For a conversation to occur between the reader and writer, both need to have access to the same materials. This is why academic writers avoid statements that are based on taste, opinion, or belief:\u00a0 if the argument comes down to \"that's just how I feel,\" the reader doesn't have equal access to the reasons behind the argument, and can't participate fully in the conversation.\r\n\r\nIn academic writing, we support our arguments with shared reasons\u2014not to \"win\" against people who disagree, but to <em>encourage<\/em> disagreements.\r\n<h3>If you can't disagree with it, it's not an argument<\/h3>\r\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">\"I like the\u00a0<em>Fast and Furious<\/em> movies\" is an opinion, because no one can disagree with it: It wouldn't make sense to say, \"No, you don't like those movies.\" By comparison, here's an argument: \"Although they might seem like mindless action flicks, The <em>Fast and Furious <\/em>movies actually have a lot to say about changing ideas about family in modern America.\" (Of course, you'd then have to give your <em>reasons<\/em> for this claim). Now your reader could agree or disagree: \"Yes, that makes sense to me,\" or \"No, I see it differently.\"<\/section>\r\n<h2>The Difference Between Topics and Arguments<\/h2>\r\nSometimes it can be hard to tell a topic from an argument. If someone sees you reading an article and asks: \"what's that article about?\" You might say, \"It's about food supply chains.\" That's a topic, not an argument. How do we know? You can't disagree with \"food supply chains.\" Or take our example from earlier: \"Americans are divided over gun control laws.\" Can you disagree with that statement? Not really. Let's practice finding the difference between topic, opinion, and argument.\r\n\r\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\" aria-label=\"Try It\">[ohm2_question hide_question_numbers=1]40778[\/ohm2_question]\r\n\r\n[ohm2_question hide_question_numbers=1]40779[\/ohm2_question]\r\n\r\n<\/section><section class=\"textbox proTip\" aria-label=\"Pro Tip\">There's nothing wrong with having opinions about things. Sometimes, those opinions can help us discover strong academic arguments. There's an important step in between, though: we need to support our argument with reasons that are equally available to our reader.<\/section>","rendered":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\" aria-label=\"Learning Goals\">\n<ul>\n<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Describe the characteristics of an academic argument<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<h2>What is an Argument?<\/h2>\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\n<h3>argument<\/h3>\n<p>You&#8217;ll hear the word &#8220;argument&#8221; a lot in a writing class. Let&#8217;s just clear this up, though: an academic &#8220;argument&#8221; isn&#8217;t the same as an argument over what to eat for dinner, or who was heading for a prime parking spot first. An <strong>academic argument<\/strong> defends\u00a0a certain point of view through writing or speech.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28\" style=\"width: 267px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/04\/16193340\/190513-Z-NV440-1002-300x230.jpg\" alt=\"A woman yelling at a man in a parking lot.\" width=\"267\" height=\"205\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Academic argument isn&#8217;t like an argument over a parking spot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<h3>An argument must take a stance<\/h3>\n<p>What distinguishes an argumentative essay from a descriptive essay or \u201creport\u201d is that the argument must take a stance; if you\u2019re merely summarizing \u201cboth sides\u201d of an issue or pointing out the \u201cpros and cons,\u201d you\u2019re not really writing an argument.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">For example, \u201cStricter gun control laws will likely result in a decrease in gun-related violence\u201d is an argument. &#8220;Americans are divided over gun control laws&#8221; isn&#8217;t an argument yet, because it&#8217;s presenting an issue (but not taking a stance).<\/section>\n<p>Arguments don&#8217;t just have to be about controversial political issues, though: many kinds of writing make arguments without touching on politics at all. For instance, an essay can take a stance by offering a particular interpretation of a song or a movie, or by showing the reader a new way to look at a historical event.<\/p>\n<h3>Arguments can have an opinion, but should not be\u00a0<em>based<\/em> on opinion<\/h3>\n<p>When someone says: &#8220;well, that&#8217;s just your opinion,&#8221; what do they mean? Usually, this phrase implies that the other person doesn&#8217;t have a good\u00a0<em>reason <\/em>for a particular view. If an argument is all about providing reasons for our views, does that mean we can&#8217;t express an opinion through argument? No! In fact, academic arguments usually articulate an opinion. Importantly, though, this opinion is always carefully defended with good reasoning, and often supported by research.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">If I claim that\u00a0Michael Jordan was the greatest athlete of all time, but don&#8217;t offer any reasons, then that&#8217;s just my opinion. If I claim that &#8220;Babe&#8221; Didrikson Zaharias was a more accomplished athlete than Jordan because she dominated\u00a0golf, basketball, and track-and-field, while Jordan was only good at basketball and golf, then we&#8217;re moving toward an argument.\u00a0<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"In fact, in 1939 Time magazine described Zaharias as a &quot;track &amp; field star, expert basketball player, golfer, javelin thrower, hurdler, high jumper, swimmer, baseball pitcher, football halfback, billiardist, tumbler, boxer, wrestler, fencer, weight lifter, [and] adagio dancer.&quot; See Henderson, Jon. \u201cBabe Didrikson, the Greatest Female Athlete of All Time?\u201d The Guardian Sportblog, 2 Oct. 2006, www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2006\/oct\/02\/babedidriksonthegreatestfe.\" id=\"return-footnote-1354-1\" href=\"#footnote-1354-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a>&#8216;<\/section>\n<h3>Arguments give reasons<\/h3>\n<p>As the example of Zaharias vs. Jordan is supposed to show, the difference between opinion and argument comes down to\u00a0<em>reasons<\/em>. If you can give reasons to support your claim, then it&#8217;s closer to an argument. But that still doesn&#8217;t clarify things entirely. After all, as every parent knows, &#8220;because I said so!&#8221;\u00a0<em>is<\/em> a reason, just not one that can be argued with.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"262\"><strong data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"262\">Arguments require equal access to reasoning<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Academic writing is a way of sharing knowledge. In its ideal form, it&#8217;s a conversation between equals. In order to have a conversation, both partners have to have equal access to the subject of the conversation.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_174\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-174\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-174 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/04\/20153724\/brainstorming-business-cafe-cheerful-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A man and a woman at a coffee shop. The man is looking at his phone, the woman is looking out the window.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-174\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. A good conversation involves both parties and gives everyone equal access to the information for discussion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Imagine two people sitting at a coffee shop. One is looking at his phone. &#8220;Oh wow,&#8221; he says. &#8220;That&#8217;s the most amazing thing I&#8217;ve ever seen! I can&#8217;t believe he did that!&#8221; In order to have a conversation about this &#8220;amazing thing,&#8221; the man will either have to show his phone to his companion or describe what he&#8217;s looking at.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>The same is true of academic argument. For a conversation to occur between the reader and writer, both need to have access to the same materials. This is why academic writers avoid statements that are based on taste, opinion, or belief:\u00a0 if the argument comes down to &#8220;that&#8217;s just how I feel,&#8221; the reader doesn&#8217;t have equal access to the reasons behind the argument, and can&#8217;t participate fully in the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>In academic writing, we support our arguments with shared reasons\u2014not to &#8220;win&#8221; against people who disagree, but to <em>encourage<\/em> disagreements.<\/p>\n<h3>If you can&#8217;t disagree with it, it&#8217;s not an argument<\/h3>\n<section class=\"textbox example\" aria-label=\"Example\">&#8220;I like the\u00a0<em>Fast and Furious<\/em> movies&#8221; is an opinion, because no one can disagree with it: It wouldn&#8217;t make sense to say, &#8220;No, you don&#8217;t like those movies.&#8221; By comparison, here&#8217;s an argument: &#8220;Although they might seem like mindless action flicks, The <em>Fast and Furious <\/em>movies actually have a lot to say about changing ideas about family in modern America.&#8221; (Of course, you&#8217;d then have to give your <em>reasons<\/em> for this claim). Now your reader could agree or disagree: &#8220;Yes, that makes sense to me,&#8221; or &#8220;No, I see it differently.&#8221;<\/section>\n<h2>The Difference Between Topics and Arguments<\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes it can be hard to tell a topic from an argument. If someone sees you reading an article and asks: &#8220;what&#8217;s that article about?&#8221; You might say, &#8220;It&#8217;s about food supply chains.&#8221; That&#8217;s a topic, not an argument. How do we know? You can&#8217;t disagree with &#8220;food supply chains.&#8221; Or take our example from earlier: &#8220;Americans are divided over gun control laws.&#8221; Can you disagree with that statement? Not really. Let&#8217;s practice finding the difference between topic, opinion, and argument.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\" aria-label=\"Try It\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm40778\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.one.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=40778&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm40778&source=tnh\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm40779\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.one.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=40779&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm40779&source=tnh\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"textbox proTip\" aria-label=\"Pro Tip\">There&#8217;s nothing wrong with having opinions about things. Sometimes, those opinions can help us discover strong academic arguments. There&#8217;s an important step in between, though: we need to support our argument with reasons that are equally available to our reader.<\/section>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1354-1\">In fact, in 1939 Time magazine described Zaharias as a \"track &amp; field star, expert basketball player, golfer, javelin thrower, hurdler, high jumper, swimmer, baseball pitcher, football halfback, billiardist, tumbler, boxer, wrestler, fencer, weight lifter, [and] adagio dancer.\" See Henderson, Jon. \u201cBabe Didrikson, the Greatest Female Athlete of All Time?\u201d The Guardian Sportblog, 2 Oct. 2006, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2006\/oct\/02\/babedidriksonthegreatestfe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2006\/oct\/02\/babedidriksonthegreatestfe<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1354-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":263,"module-header":"background_you_need","content_attributions":[],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3563,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1354\/revisions\/3563"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/263"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1354\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}