Five parts of an argument Or, How to beat the argument question

There are two styles of prompts:

Concrete Prompts: Cell phones going off during a movie; cell phones interrupting a class or dinner conversation. Write an essay in which you support, dispute, or qualify the claim that cell phone use should be restricted in public areas.

Abstract Prompts: “Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?”—Joseph Campbell Write an essay in which you examine the extent to which the author’s view is correct. Support your position with examples from your readings, observations, or experiences.

There are Five Questions that you can expect to be asked (in order) by every reader of your academic writing; any academic writing you do must provide a reasonable answer to each of these five questions. Each of your answers to the five basic questions will correspond to one of the Five Parts of argument.

The reader asks, “What do you think?” / You answer by making a Claim.

Claims offer critical solutions to intellectual problems; they suggests to readers that they ought to change the way they think or act with regard to the problem at hand. Because a claim is always debatable, it must always be based on reasons.

The reader asks, “Why do you think that The reader asks, “Why do you think that?” / You answer by giving your Reasons.  

Reasons provide your logical basis for making a claim Reasons provide your logical basis for making a claim. Because your reasoning is always debatable, it must always be based on evidence.

The reader asks, “How do you know The reader asks, “How do you know?” / You answer by citing your Evidence.

Evidence provides the logical basis for your reasoning; it consists of incontestable facts that lend concrete support to your claim.

The reader asks, “What makes you think that your reasoning is good?” You answer by stating the Warrants you hold to be true.

Warrants are the values or beliefs on which your reasoning depends Warrants are the values or beliefs on which your reasoning depends. A warrant acts as a as given, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. You should know what your warrant is so you can judge if your readers will share it or not.

The reader asks, “What other claims could be made?” You answer by offering an Acknowledgment and/or a Response

Acknowledgement recognizes the alternate claims that run counter to the claim you have made. Response indicates your degree of disagreement with the counter- claims at hand.