Lecture Five Making and Supporting a Sociological Argument

The Golden Rule of Arguments: Your argument must always be in the form of a claim with supporting evidence; however, you must also explain why your evidence is related to your claim.

Arguments as Conversation Making a good argument is like being in a conversation with someone. In a good conversation, people ask each other questions and give answers. As a writer, making an argument, you will be both asking the questions and providing the answers. A good writer, and a well written essay, will anticipate the reader’s questions and provide adequate answers.

Analysis The process of putting together your argument is called analysis. Your argument interprets, or analyzes, the evidence in order to support, test, and/or refine a claim. An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.

When putting your argument together the main questions to answer are: What is your point? What evidence do you have? Why do you think your evidence supports your claim?

Argument outline Main argument/claim >sub-argument >>evidence >link to main argument >sub-argument >>evidence >link to main argument >sub-argument >>evidence >link to main argument

Main argument/claim: The chief claim in an analytical essay is called the thesis. A thesis provides the controlling idea for a paper and should be original (that is, not completely obvious), assertive, and arguable. A strong thesis also requires solid evidence to support and develop it because without evidence, a claim is merely an unsubstantiated idea or opinion.

Sub-arguments Almost all main argument/thesis statements are more than a single claim and a single piece of evidence. The main argument needs to be broken down into several sub-arguments (at least two and probably more) and the evidence that supports those sub-arguments.

Evidence Since you will be doing library research in this class your evidence will come from the research of other sociologists and social scientists. For exams this means your text books will provide most of the evidence and for your research paper you will find your evidence in the studies and analysis of the resources your research has uncovered.

Example of an analytical argument outline with two sub-arguments: Main Argument: Women learn to be more nurturing than men through gender socialization. (I am going to be looking for evidence that supports the argument that women are encouraged to be MORE nurturing and men are NOT encouraged to be nurturing) >sub-argument: Mass media generally portrays women as nurturing and in caretaking roles and rarely portrays these for men. >>evidence: TV Shows >>evidence: advertisements > link to main argument (the why): Majority of TV shows and advertisements today show women in the role of caretaker and nurturer – the one in charge of cleaning the house, cooking the dinner, and managing family life. However, men are not portrayed in these ways. As we grow up viewing these shows and advertisements we view it as natural for women and unnatural for men to take on caretaking and nurturing roles. (continued on next slide)

>sub-argument: Toys marketed to young girls often encourage nurturing and relationships, while toys marketed to young boys encourage competition and aggression. >>evidence: Baby and Barbie “dolls” are marketed to girls >>evidence: “action figures”, such as The Great Hulk and GI JOE are marketed to boys >link to main argument (the why): Action figures like The Great Hulk and GI Joe communicate to young boys that men need to be big, strong, and tough. Playing with these toys socializes boys to act out relationships and interactions with others that are about competition, winning, aggression, and dominance. On the other hand, baby and Barbie dolls communicate to young girls that they need to take care of the needs of others, develop caring relationships, and focus on appearance. Playing with baby dolls socializes young girls to nurture and care for someone that needs them and Barbie dolls encourage girls to develop bonds and relationships.

Explaining Evidence is Important The problem that most college students encounter in writing argument driven essays, exams, and research papers is that they present a main argument and usually sub-arguments, but they don’t present evidence or explain WHY their evidence supports their claim (this is the analysis part). REMEMBER: Discussing your evidence’s significance develops and expands a paper!

Why Should Writers Use Evidence? Writers must convince audiences of the validity of their argument by using evidence effectively. As writers, we must also use evidence to persuade our readers to accept our claims. Evidence helps us guide the reader through our reasoning.

When & how should you incorporate evidence? Once you have formulated your claim (or thesis) you should use evidence to help strengthen your thesis and any assertion you make that relates to your thesis. Here are some ways to work evidence into your writing:  Offer evidence that agrees with your stance up to a point, then add to it with ideas of your own.  Use quotations to support your assertion, not merely to state or restate your claim.  Present evidence that contradicts your stance in order to argue against (refute) it and therefore strengthen your position.  Use sources against each other, as if they are experts on a panel discussing your proposition.

Weak and Strong Uses of Evidence In order to use evidence effectively, you need to integrate it smoothly into your paragraph by following this pattern:  State your claim.  Give your evidence, remembering to relate it to the claim.  Comment on the evidence to show how it supports the claim (this is your analysis)

Weak Use of Evidence “Today, we are too self-centered. Most families no longer sit down to eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.” This is a weak example of evidence because the evidence is not related to the claim. What does the claim about self- centeredness have to do with families eating together? The writer doesn’t explain the connection. The same evidence, however, can be used to support the same claim, but only with the addition of a clear connection between claim and evidence, and some analysis of the quotation’s content.

Stronger Use of Evidence “Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence. In fact, the evidence shows that most American families no longer eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity.” This is a far better example, as the evidence is more smoothly integrated into the text, the link between the claim and the evidence is strengthened, and the evidence itself is analyzed to provide support for the claim.

Using Quotations: A Special Type of Evidence One effective way to support your claim is to use quotations, but because quotations involve someone else’s words, you need to take special care to integrate the evidence into your paragraph.  You also need to be sure to give the author credit by properly citing them.

Ineffective Use of Quotation “Today, we are too self-centered. “We are consumers-on-the- run…the very notion of the family meal as a sit-down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat…on the way to their next activity” (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.” This example is ineffective because the quotation is not integrated with the writer’s ideas. Notice how it is dropped into the paragraph without any connection between the claim and the quotation. Furthermore, the quotation’s significance is not discussed, which makes it difficult for the reader to see the relationship between the evidence and the writer’s point.

A More Effective Use of Quotation Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence, as James Gleick says in his book, Faster,” We are consumers-on-the-run…the very notion of the family meal as a sit-down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat…on the way to their next activity” (148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity. The second example is more effective because it follows the guidelines for incorporating evidence into a paragraph. Notice, too, that it uses a “lead-in” phrase to introduce the direct quotation. This “lead-in” phrase helps to integrate the quotation with the writer’s ideas. Also notice that the writer discusses and comments upon the quotation immediately afterwards, which allows the reader to see the relationship between the quotation and the writer’s point.

In conclusion… Presenting a good sociological argument requires that we not only make a solid claim that is supported by evidence, but that we provide analysis that guide the reader through our reasoning and links our evidence and claims.  In other words, we have to explain the “how” and “why.”