Argumentation

Argumentative writing is writing that takes a position on a controversial topic, that is, one on which people disagree.  If you say that immigration is good for the American economy, you are arguing a position-- because many people will disagree with you.  If you say it is bad, you are still arguing a position-- because many people will still disagree with you.  The overall organization of an argumentative paper is the same as the organization of the other academic papers you have written:  introduction, thesis, paragraphs with topic ideas, explanation, support, etc.

But it also involves a special difficulty:  You must consider the opinion of the people who might disagree with you.  It is not enough to state your opinion; you must also anticipate and answer the objections of those who disagree with you.  Look at this example from Is English Not Enough?  In this essay, you remember, the student is arguing that it is unfair for her to have to study both advanced ESL and a foreign language to transfer to a four-year university.  The opinion of the people who might disagree with her is in yellow, her answer to them is in green:

If I discussed the topic with one of the staff from the foreign language department at MPC, he or she would point out the importance of being a global person.  I am sure this is a reasonable point that is likely to be accepted by everyone.  However, in my opinion, how global you are should not only be judged by the number of foreign languages you have studied, but whether you have mastered one of them.  An American student who takes one semester of Japanese or Spanish, to be honest, doesn't know very much.  I have been studying English for 10 years and I think this makes me more global than the American who has one semester of a foreign language.  So why doesn't my advanced ESL  10 course at MPC count as my foreign language for transfer?

 

Notice that she states the opposing viewpoint before her own. 

Now, consider the two outlines below, for essays on the question of immigration and the U.S. economy.  In the first, the writer considers the opposing viewpoint near the beginning of the essay and then develops his own ideas in the following paragraphs:

I.  Thesis:  Immigrant workers are good for the U.S. economy.

    A.  Opposing:  They take jobs from American workers.
          Answer:    They only take jobs Americans can't or won't do.

    B.  Immigrants are highly motivated.

    C.  Immigrants start more small businesses than native-born
          Americans

    D.  Immigrants work for lower wages, which makes it possible for
          American businesses to be competitive.

 

In the next example, however, the writer uses a point-by-point organization.  The points he wants to make correspond closely to opposing viewpoints, so he organizes each paragraph around an opposing opinion and his answer to it.

 

II.    Thesis:  Immigrant workers are good for the U.S. economy.

    A.  Opposing:  They take jobs from American workers.
          Answer:    They only take jobs Americans can't or won't do.

    B.   Opposing:  They will increase unemployment.
           Answer:    Statistics from cities with a lot of immigrants show
                           that this is not true.

    C.  Opposing:   They work for less and so depress wages for all
                            workers.
          Answer:     Many businesses would have to close if they paid
                           higher wages, so there would be more unemploy-
                           ment.

 

You can see that the way you will organize depends on the ideas you want to cover in your paper.  But no matter how you choose to organize, remember to consider the opinions of those who disagree with you.  Usually you will do this before you give your own opinion, either in a paragraph near the beginning of the essay, or in a couple of sentences at the beginning of a paragraph.