1. How to Write the Research Project
Classical Argument
How to Write the Research Project

2. Six Part Structure the exordium the narratio the partitio
the refutatio
the confirmatio
the peroratio.

3. Exordium.
This is the opener, the attention-getter. It sets the rhetorical tone for the rest of your argument. It is your first opportunity to involve your reader in your argument.
Builds a bridge of words between your topic and your reader’s interests and concerns. It is audience-specific.
May seem urgent and forceful. It may insist upon the importance and timeliness of the argument. Different tones serve different persuasive designs. Change tones with care.

4. Narratio.
It is designed to bring your reader quickly up to speed, to put him or her on a ground of knowledge that will permit adequate understanding of your topic.
The narratio should not be lengthy. These should be reserved for later in the argument. It can also remind readers of certain commonly-held values.
For best results, the narratio should be carefully crafted so that it flows gracefully from the exordium and then terminates logically with the partitio.

5. Partitio.
This is what most of us call the “thesis.” Think of a good partitio as a road map for your reader, informing him of the argument and the points you will address.
A brief, direct, and reasonably complete partitio will be no longer than a couple of sentences. In making its claim, the partitio suggests to the reader that opposing views will be challenged later (in the refutatio). All subtopics mentioned should get a fuller treatment in the body of the paper.
On Proofs: There are two kinds of proofs in classical argument. The positive proof is called confirmatio, and the negative proof is called refutatio. They can occur in any order in the body of the argument, but most arguments about topics that really matter will call for both kinds of proofs.

6. Thesis must be: be controversial (i.e., a publicly debated dilemma);
have moral implications;
be potentially resolvable (i.e., open to a solution that could be implemented as policy by relevant entities such as a private corporation, a church, a government agency, or an international organization);
be researchable (i.e., there must sufficient research materials available in authoritative and scholarly sources);
be posed impartially (i.e., framed as an open-ended, unbiased “should” question, not as a conclusion).

7. Thesis should:
be of high personal interest in order to sustain your concentration and energy for the duration of the course;
be narrow enough to allow for adequate treatment in the time available;
evoke your curiosity and appeal to your exploratory urge (i.e., meaning you are eager to investigate alternatives and objectively address and analyze all sides of the question).

8. Confirmatio.
When we make a claim which supports our point, and then seek to convince our reader of its truth, we are engaging in confirmation or “confirming” your claims. They back up claims with evidence and example, or with reasoning for those claims which cannot be proven empirically (such as claims of value).
In this part of the argument’s body, provide the reader with statistics, examples, facts, personal or second-hand accounts, and whatever else counts as evidence for the claim.

9. Refutatio.
This is the kind of proof which seeks to refute or invalidate an opposing claim or argument. To do this, you have to know what the arguments of the major opponents are, know their merits, treat them seriously, and not merely ridicule them.
In order to convince the undecided, you have to show them that there are serious flaws in the actual arguments of your opposition.
The refutatio, then, is a tricky balancing act. On the one hand, you have to treat the arguments of your major opponents with some degree of respect. But on the other hand, you have to make your points forcefully and completely.

10. Peroratio.
We are accustomed to calling this the “conclusion,” and that’s fine if you want to call it that.
The peroratio is your closer. It’s the point at the end of the argument when you remind your reader in fresh words what has been proven, when you exhort him or her once more to act upon, think about, or change something, and when you once again provide a bridge, this time from the world of your argument to the world of your audience.

11. Types of Peroratio:
Use the “Q.E.D.” peroratio, for quod erat demonstrandum (“which was to be proven”). Remind your audience of the things you’ve already proven, but do not repeat your thesis in your conclusion! Instead, it should leave the reader with the strong impression that something has been proven, that something is finished, and that he or she hasn’t wasted the time it took to read your argument.

12. Types of Peroratio:
Finish with a “call to action” peroration. It seeks to take the essay beyond mere words on a page and transform it into a reason for doing something. The “call to action” peroration seeks to inspire action and bring about change.

13. Types of Peroratio:
Paint pictures with words; give readers a glimpse of what things might be like if the advice of the argument is (or is not) followed. Painting a picture of things to come, whether a rosy vista or a bleak panorama, is an appropriate way to finish an argument of policy.
The last paragraphs are as important as the first, if not more important. The strength of that final impression can make or break an argument.