Chapter 8: Making a Research Argument
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Most writing that you will do, whether it is a scientific article, a lab report, a blog or an Instagram post promoting a fundraiser, contains some type of argument.
- Nearly all scholarly writing makes an argument. That’s because its purpose is to create and share new knowledge so it can be debated in order to confirm, dis-confirm, or improve it.
- An argument is made of predictable components that build on each other. The components generally, though not always, appear in a certain order because they build on or respond to one another.
- The components consist of:
- Your research question
- Your claim or thesis
- One or more reasons for your thesis
- Evidence for each reason
- Others’ objections, counterarguments, or alternative solutions
- Your acknowledgment of others’ objections, counterarguments, or alternative solutions.
- Your response to others’ objections, counterarguments, or alternative solutions.
