PHL/320(BSBS1MQK60)

WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Not long ago, the Educational Testing Service revamped the infamous Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which many universities use when determining whether to admit an applicant. The most significant change was to have test takers write an argumentative essay. This change in the SAT shows the importance the educators place on the ability to write this type of essay. That’s because writing an argumentative essay is doing nothing other than thinking critically—and leaving a paper trail for others to follow. This isn’t a book on writing, but writing an argumentative essay is so closely related to thinking critically that we would like to take the opportunity to offer our recommendations. We know professors who have retired because they could not bear to read another student essay. As a result, we offer our two bits’ worth here in hopes of continuing to see familiar faces. As we said back on page 65, an argumentative essay generally has four components: A statement of the issue A statement of one’s position on that issue Arguments that support one’s position Rebuttals of arguments that support contrary positions Ideally, your essay should begin with an introduction to the issue that demonstrates that the issue is important or interesting. This is not always easy, but even when you are not excited about the subject yourself, it is still good practice to try to make your reader interested. Your statement of the issue should be fair; that is, don’t try to state the issue in such a way that your position on it is obviously the only correct one. This can make your reader suspicious; the burden of convincing him or her will come later, when you give your arguments. Your position on the issue should be clear. Try to be brief. If you have stated the issue clearly, it should be a simple matter to identify your position. Your arguments in support of your position also should be as succinct as you can make them, but it is much more important to be clear than to be brief. After all, this is the heart of your essay. The reasons you cite should be clearly relevant, and they should be either clearly reliable or backed up by further arguments. Much of the rest of this book is devoted to how this is done; hang in there. If there are well-known arguments for the other side of the issue, you should acknowledge them and offer some reason to believe that they are unconvincing. You can do this either by attacking the premises that are commonly given or by trying to show that those premises do not actually support the opposing conclusion. More on these topics later, too. Following are some more detailed hints that might be helpful in planning and writing your argumentative essay: 1. Focus. Make clear at the outset what issue you intend to address and what your position on the issue will be. However, nothing is quite so boring as starting off with the words “In this essay, I will argue that X, Y, and Z,” and then going on to itemize everything you are about to say, and at the end concluding with the words “In this essay, I argued that X, Y, and Z.” As a matter of style, you should let the reader know what to expect without using trite phrases and without going on at length. However, you should try to find an engaging way to state your position. For example, instead of “In this essay, I will discuss the rights of animals to inherit property from their masters,” you might begin, “Could your inheritance wind up belonging to your mother’s cat?” Page 82 2. Stick to the issue. All points you make in an essay should be connected to the issue under discussion and should always either (a) support, illustrate, explain, clarify, elaborate on, or emphasize your position on the issue or (b) serve as responses to anticipated objections. Rid the essay of irrelevancies and dangling thoughts. 3. Arrange the components of the essay in a logical sequence. This is just common sense. Make a point before you clarify it, for example, not the other way around. When supporting your points, bring in examples, clarification, and the like in such a way that a reader knows what in the world you are doing. A reader should be able to discern the relationship between any given sentence and your ultimate objective, and he or she should be able to move from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph without getting lost or confused. If a reader cannot outline your essay with ease, you have not properly sequenced your material. Your essay might be fine as a piece of French philosophy, but it would not pass as an argumentative essay. 4. Be complete. Accomplish what you set out to accomplish, support your position adequately, and anticipate and respond to possible objections. Keep in mind that many issues are too large to be treated exhaustively in a single essay. The key to being complete is to define the issue sharply enough that you can be complete. Thus, the more limited your topic, the easier it is to be complete in covering it. Also, be sure there is closure at every level. Sentences should be complete, paragraphs should be unified as wholes (and usually each should stick to a single point), and the essay should reach a conclusion. Incidentally, reaching a conclusion and summarizing are not the same thing. Short essays do not require summaries. Good Writing Practices Understanding the four principles just mentioned is one thing, but actually employing them may be more difficult. Fortunately, there are five practices that a writer can follow to improve the organization of an essay and to help avoid other problems. We offer the following merely as a set of recommendations within the broader scope of thinking critically in writing. I’m for abolishing and doing away with redundancy. —J.Curtis McKay, of the Wisconsin State Elections Board (reported by Ross and Petras) We ourselves are also for that too. 1.At some stage after the first draft, outline what you have written. Then, make certain the outline is logical and that every sentence in the essay fits into the outline as it should. Some writers create an informal outline before they begin, but many do not. Our advice: Just identify the issue and your position on it, and start writing by stating them both. Incidentally, for most people, the hardest sentence to write is the first one. H. L. Mencken once said, “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” We have better advice: Just begin using your keyboard. Say anything. You can always throw away what you write at first, but just the act of writing will help you get started. Eventually, you’ll say something relevant to your topic and then you’re off and running. 2.Revise your work. Revising is the secret to good writing. Even major-league writers revise what they write, and they revise continuously. Unless you are more gifted than the very best professional writers, revise, revise, revise. Don’t think in terms of two or three drafts. Think in terms of innumerable drafts. Page 83 3.Have someone else read your essay and offer criticisms of it. Revise as required. 4.If you have trouble with grammar or punctuation, reading your essay out loud may help you detect problems your eyes have missed. 5.After you are completely satisfied with the essay, put it aside. Then, come back to it later for still further revisions. Essay Types to Avoid Seasoned instructors know that the first batch of essays they get from a class will include samples of each of the following types. We recommend avoiding these mistakes: ■The Windy Preamble. Writers of this type of essay avoid getting to the issue and instead go on at length with introductory remarks, often about how important the issue is, how it has troubled thinkers for centuries, how opinions on the issue are many and various, and so on, and so on. Anything you write that smacks of “When in the course of human events . . . “ should go into the trash can immediately. ■The Stream-of-Consciousness Ramble. This type of essay results when writers make no attempt to organize their thoughts and simply spew them out in the order in which they come to mind. ■The Knee-Jerk Reaction. In this type of essay, writers record their first reaction to an issue without considering the issue in any depth or detail. It always shows. Page 84 ■The Glancing Blow. In this type of essay, writers address an issue obliquely. If they are supposed to evaluate the health benefits of bicycling, they will bury the topic in an essay on the history of cycling; if they are supposed to address the history of cycling, they will talk about the benefits of riding bicycles throughout history. ■Let the Reader Do the Work. Writers of this type of essay expect the reader to follow them through non sequiturs, abrupt shifts in direction, and irrelevant sidetracks.