1. Claims & Arguments ACADEMIC WRITING’S BREAD AND BUTTER

2. “Argument” is Not a Bad Word In an academic sense, “arguing” is not angry, unrelenting, or unproductive negativity. To make an argument is to stake your place in a conversation of shared ideas by showing knowledge, reason, logic, and open-mindedness.

3. Things You can’t Argue Academically PURE facts ◦Don’t write the paper arguing that Lincoln was NOT the sixteenth president of the USA ◦Caveat: what YOU think are facts might not be facts The Purely Subjective ◦The Beatles were the most influential band in history. ◦Not to say you can’t write evaluative pieces of subjective things where you offer criteria for your approval/disapproval Faith/Religious Doctrine ◦Primarily as the basis of your position ◦This does not mean religion can’t be argued about or used in AW (it’s not banned), but it must be done carefully.

4. CLAIMS “An assertion of fact or belief that needs to be supported with evidence.” The main claim is the THESIS (more on that later) Sub-claims help add complexity and build the main argument.

5. Thesis & Sub-Claims Thesis Claim Video games have many positive outcomes for players ◦-- note, not a well worded thesis, but you get the idea Sub Claims Video games teach us how to deal with frustration. Video games teach complex task management. Video games teach real world cooperation skills.

6. Claims of Fact “Assertions that a problem or condition has existed, exists, or will exist. But claims are never simply facts, and some claims are more objective than others.” The point is that even though the word “fact” is used, claims of fact are debatable. Claims of fact involve interpretations of evidence.

7. Claims of Value “Expresses an evaluation of a problem or condition that has existed, exists, or will exist. Is a condition good or bad? Is it important or inconsequential?” At the core, claims of value try to make people care about something.

8. Claims of Policy “An argument for what should be the case, that a condition should exist.” Claims of policy are claims for change. They are the most direct in calling for action.

9. Claims Taxing the use of fossil fuels will end the energy crisis. Images of violence in the media create a culture of violence in schools. There are a disproportionate number of black males in American prisons. Affirmative Action is a policy that has outlived its usefulness.

10. Why it Matters- It Molds the Argument & Approach Fact Based Paper Claim: The fetus qualifies for personhood, possesses “rights,” and this status should be considered in all decisions about abortion in this country. Value Claim: Late term abortion is a perversion of Roe V. Wade’s original premises that should disturb even those invested in the pro- choice argument. Policy Claim: Although abortion has been legal in this country for over 40 years, this precedence alone is no reason it should remain so. The law needs to be reexamined and changed in light of new scientific and cultural studies.

11. Sources to support claims We will spend time later in the semester talking about the reliability and validity of sources, but pages 58-61 in your book are a good start.

12. Concessions A concession involves acknowledging to your audience that they might not believe you, might not be convinced, or that your information could be interpreted in different ways. They are valued in AW because they “acknowledge complexity and the important of multiple perspectives.”

13. Counterarguments An argument that is raised in response to another argument. Basically, you predict what your opponents might say and beat them to the punch by responding in your own text. Valued in AW, again, for the level of complexity it acknowledges and how it shows how informed you are on the depth of the issue.

14. My Claim The process of making claims, supporting them, using credible evidence, making concessions, and addressing counterarguments is the skeletal frame of academic writing. It’s how you flesh these things out that makes a readable and convincing paper, but this is where we begin.

15. Frustrating Reality About Thesis Claims There’s no Platonic, Essentialist, Completely “Correct” thing a thesis should be. This means different professors (and disciplines) may expect different elements in your thesis. Consider it another lesson in rhetoric. Know your audience!

16. General Rules They tend to come as the final sentence of your introduction; however, this doesn’t necessarily mean the final sentence of the first paragraph. In the course of writing, they may change numerous times as you come to grasp the full implications and intricacies of your topic. Different kinds of writing have different rules.

17. Stupid “Rules” The Thesis should be only one sentence long. The Thesis should be no longer than X amount of words. The Thesis cannot have the word “I” in it. The above is not a stupid rule so much as a stupid sign. Just in case there was any confusion.

18. Argumentative Thesis Statements: Our Main Concern An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

19. Argumentative Thesis Should Include A sense of the debate surrounding the subject Your CLEAR position on the subject/argument A sense of the main reason you feel that way (the trickier part)

20. Don’t Do This I am against the death penalty because we might kill an innocent person, death penalty procedures are inhumane, and the use of the death penalty does nothing to deter crime.

21. Say Goodbye to the 5-Paragraph Essay Thesis The list-like thesis will almost guarantee a 5PE The thesis should reveal the direction of your argument, but you don’t want to lay all your cards down at once. Look to synthesize your various reasons and arguments into a statement.

22. Old: I am against the death penalty because we might kill an innocent person, death penalty procedures are inhumane, and the use of the death penalty does nothing to deter crime. New: I am against the death penalty because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results.

23. Old: I am against the death penalty because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results. New: because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results While proponents argue that the “eye-for-an-eye mentality” of the death penalty serves as a powerful deterrent to crime, their short-sightedness has failed to see the bigger picture and larger ramifications. The death penalty, in fact, should be completely banished because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results. Highlights the fact that there is a debate Not only makes a more specific call for action that “I am against,” but avoids the formulaic nature of “I am for,” “I am against,” statements. Avoids the listy-feel that leads to a 5PE while still capturing the essence of the various specific points the paper will make. Avoids the listy-feel that leads to a 5PE while still capturing the essence of the various specific points the paper will make.

24. Bravo! While proponents argue that the “eye-for- an-eye mentality” of the death penalty serves as a powerful deterrent to crime, their short-sightedness has failed to see the bigger picture and larger ramifications. The death penalty, in fact, should be completely banished because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results.

25. Exercise: Take the following 3 points that may be discussed in a paper supporting gun rights (and woefully expressed as a list in a thesis) and synthesize them into a statement. Statistics show that crime goes down in states where residents are more heavily armed. Armed citizens can often respond quicker than police in both home and public crime situations. The second amendment ensures that citizens have the right to form militias in the case of needing to protect ourselves from our government.