Breaking Down Arguments

The Three Basic Features of an Argument: Thesis Reasons Evidence

Thesis: The thesis is the main point of the argument. It is what the writer is trying to convince the reader of overall. The thesis should be a single, declarative sentence and should be a statement rather than a question. The thesis should avoid making a formal announcement like “In this paper I will prove…” Thesis statements need to also be specific and should mention your topic and your stand on it. Some thesis statements may even list a preview of the reasons that the paper will explore.

Reasons: Reasons are a form of support for the thesis. They basically explain why the writer thinks the thesis is correct. Note that reasons need to clearly explain why you think your thesis is correct. If they do not do this, they either do not fit with your thesis or need to be revised so that it is clear to the reader how they support your thesis.

Evidence: This is another form of support. Evidence provides specifics to back up the claims made by the reasons. Evidence often takes the form of examples, facts, statistics, and quotations. Some of the most persuasive evidence comes from solid sources found through research.

Example Thesis: The United States government should abolish the death penalty through legislation.

Example Reasons: The death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent to crime. Death penalty trials, including appeals, in the US are too expensive. Pushing legislation through congress would be the most expedient means of removing the death penalty. Such legislation would not eventually be struck down by the courts because the death penalty violates the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Needed Evidence: Evidence needed for Reason 1: Studies done on the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent. Evidence needed for Reason 2: Specific cost of death penalty trials in taxpayer dollars. Evidence needed for Reason 3: Research concerning the time it takes for key court cases to set presidents vs. the time it takes to pass a bill in congress. Evidence needed for Reason 4: The constitution. Court cases that touch on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Putting it together: An Outline of Reasons With Evidence Reason 1: The death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent to crime. Evidence needed: Studies done on the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent. Reason 2: Death penalty trials, including appeals, in the US are too expensive. Evidence needed: Specific cost of death penalty trials in taxpayer dollars. Reason 3: Pushing legislation through congress would be the most expedient means of removing the death penalty. Evidence Needed: Research concerning the time it takes for key court cases to set presidents vs. the time it takes to pass a bill in congress. Reason 4: Such legislation would not eventually be struck down by the courts because the death penalty violates the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Evidence Needed: The constitution. Court cases that touch on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Practice: Take out the “Out of Prison and Deep in Debt” handout. Write a thesis statement, and three reasons that go with the prompt at the end of the article, leaving plenty of space after each reason. Make sure that your thesis and each reason is a complete sentence. Then for each reason come up with as many pieces of evidence to support it as you can.

Group Work: Form a group of 3-4 people. Exchange papers so that each person in the group has someone else’s paper. Read each other’s thesis, reasons, and evidence and discuss the strengths of each response as well as the areas that may need to be revised later. Share one example of a student response from your group with the class. State what the student’s thesis is, what the student’s reasons are and what evidence the student chose to go with each reason. Then list any comments or questions your group had about this response. Note that you should not tell us whose response you are reading. As each group presents one example, listen carefully. See if you have any comments or questions to add. When the group is finished reading their example, ask appropriate questions and make appropriate comments.