1. Developing an Argument: What an Argument is
This workshop will:
Examine the process of developing an ‘argument’ when preparing and writing
Identify the components of an ‘argument’
Understand the role of claims and inferences
Louise Livesey
Academic Skills Adviser
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

2. Academic Skills Advice
Today’s Plan
What is a claim?
What is an inference?
What is an argument?
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

3. A claim = ‘such and such is the case’
1.What is a claim?
A claim = ‘such and such is the case’
Apply critical thinking to the claim:
you look at the possible meaning and significance of it
evaluate it by comparing it to other claims
make an informed decision
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

4. Academic Skills Advice
1.What is a claim?
Including President Obama, five out of the most recent seven US presidents have been left-handed.
Possible ?s:
A. What proportion of the US population is left-handed? 10% so there may be something significant about such a high proportion of recent left-handed presidents.
B. What about the presidents before the last seven? 3 out of 36, ie about 10%. So why are recent presidents so different?
C. If Barack Obama had lost the election in 2008, would that have meant that four of the most recent seven US presidents had been left-handed? No: his opponent was left-handed. If George W. Bush (right-handed) had lost, his opponent was also left-handed!
D. How many other countries have (had) left-handed leaders
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

5. 1.What is a claim? Activity 1 Possible ?s
35% of US and 20% of UK entrepreneurs are dyslexic
Possible ?s
Is the definition of ‘entrepreneur’ the same in the US as it is in the UK?
Is the definition of ‘dyslexia’ the same in the US as it is in the UK?
Are the figures of 35 and 20% significant?
More specifically, what figure would we expect if the % of dyslexic entrepreneurs was the same as the % of the population that is dyslexic?
If the figure is not the same (or not even nearly the same), what might be an (or the) explanation?
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

6. Academic Skills Advice
1.What is a claim?
Claims to inference
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

7. Academic Skills Advice
2.What is an inference?
One claim to claim something else claim claim = inference
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

8. Academic Skills Advice
3.What is an argument?
More than one inference used to defend one point of view is an argument
many inferences = argument
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

9. Academic Skills Advice
3.What is an argument?
Derek Bentley did not shoot the gun so he should not have been hung.
Derek Bentley meant ‘give the gun to the policeman’ so he should not have been hung.
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

10. Activity 2: Entrepreneur inferences
3.What is an argument?
Activity 2: Entrepreneur inferences
People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to delegate is important.
People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where problem-solving abilities are important.
People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to communicate is important.
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

11. Academic Skills Advice
References
Clip art – argument Cottrell, S. (2013) The study skills handbook. 4th Ed. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Oxford Dictionaries. (2014) Abbreviations. Oxford, OUP. Accessed 9 July Sauter, J. (2008) The Apostrophe character rendered using the OCR-A font. Florida: Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: Accessed 7 July Super Teacher Worksheets. (2013) There, Their, They’re. Tonawanda:Super Teacher Worksheets. Accessed 16 June University of Surrey. (2014) Writing skills. Guildford, University of Surrey. Accessed 6 March University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2014) 10: Apostrophe errors. Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Accessed 7. July Van den Brink-Budgen, R. (2010) Critical thinking for students. 4th Ed. Oxford, How To Books Ltd.
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice

12. Academic Skills Advice Service
Where are we? Chesham Building B0.23. Give us a call or come speak to us Monday-Thursday 10am-12pm and 1pm-4pm
Who am I? Louise, the dedicated workshop adviser.
Who can help me with study and writing skills? Lucy and Russell run Instant Study Skills Advice sessions Monday-Thursday and Writing Skills Clinics twice a week. You can also access self-help resources on our webpage.
Who can give me maths advice? Helen and Michael specialise in Maths support for students though clinics and pre-booked appointments.
How do I get in touch? Telephone:
22/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

13. Academic Skills Advice
Any questions?
Produced by Louise Livesey May 2014
13 January, 2015
Academic Skills Advice