Writing Simple Arguments Module
Writing clear arguments is a skill that all college students have to develop both for continued success in the academic
world as well as for future success in the career world. This tutorial will assist you in writing stronger argument essays.
Here are three skills that you should focus on developing:
• Presenting a precise claim
• Providing elaborated and supportive reasons
• Presenting and dismissing common counterarguments
This module will help you with each skill.
Presenting a precise claim
A claim is a disputable statement that an author is trying to persuade the reader to accept such as "NIU should require all
students to pass a comprehensive exam before awarding a degree". As you can guess, this claim is disputable; many
students would disagree with it but some university administrators and businesses would agree with it.
The claim is the most important part of your argument. It is ultimately the thing you want the listener to believe about the
topic. Precision is more important in arguments than any other form of writing. When you write your main claim, use clear
and exact terms to convey to your reader what topic you’ll be exploring as well as the stance you will take.
Type of claims
For instance, let’s say you want to make an argument about speeding. There are several types of claims you can make. If
you want to get people to agree to change their behavior directly, then you may want to use a policy claim predicate (i.e.,
verb) such as these two claims:
Speeding laws should be strictly enforced.
Speeding should be prohibited.
If you want to get people to agree to change their beliefs only, then you may want to use a value predicate such as these
three claims:
Speeding is harmful.
Speeding is immoral.
Speeding is wasteful.
One special type of belief that you can argue is a causal or factual statement is true such as these two claims:
Speeding affects our fuel economy.
Speeding is driving faster than 55 mph on our local highways.
When writing the main claim of your argument, be very careful in selecting the predicate ("should be enforced", "is
harmful", "affects"). It should state what you really want to convince the reader to believe or do. A simple and direct claim
is best if you want to be clearly understood.
Claim predicate determines reasons
When writing your argument, the type of predicate you select for your claim will affect what evidence can support it. If the
claim is that "Speeding laws should be strictly enforced", then you could present evidence that speeding is not currently
being enforced or that speeding is so harmful that we need to catch more speeders.
If you are claiming that "Speeding is harmful", then you could present evidence that people have been injured or killed
from speeding.
If your claim predicate asserts a causal relationship such as "Speeding affects our fuel economy", then you could present
evidence that when a driver drives faster, they get poorer gas mileage.
When writing your claim, pick your words carefully and make sure not to switch what you are arguing throughout your
essay. It is easy to drift to a new claim predicate when writing arguments.
Policy claims
In these practice essays, you will be writing a policy claim which is an attempt to persuade readers that the government
either should or should not take some restrictive action so that people will change their behaviors.
These types of claims have two parts. These type of arguments must establish that a problem exists and propose a policy
that solves the problem. When reading the materials about a controversy so you can later write a policy argument, think
about both parts.
First, does the author you are reading convincingly establish that a problem exists? What evidence does he/she provide to
support that? Make sure you completely understand this part before offering a solution. If no problem exists, then there is
no reason to present a solution.
Second, once you have shown there is or is not a problem, next consider whether the proposed solution is a good one. A
good solution should be fair, effective, not overly restrictive, and something that can be regulated by the government. For
example, the government cannot regulate the number of pennies that each customer should carry at a given time, or can
they?
Claim checklist
Let's consider the situation of writing a policy argument about the banning of cell phones while driving.
When writing your claim, make sure it accomplishes the following:
Take a stance on the controversy explicitly
Your claim should take a stand on whether there should or should not be a ban on using cell phones while driving. Does
your claim take a side on this controversy? Don’t leave it up to your reader to guess your position from another related
claim like “cell phones are dangerous” because it is possible to argue that “cell phones are dangerous” but still not
conclude that we should or should not ban them. If your main claim is not either there should or should not be a ban on
using cell phones while driving, then you should change it now.
Claim location
Because your entire argument is organized around the claim, many author’s begin their argument with an presentation of
their claim early in the essay. To make sure the reader really got the message and remember it, author’s also often end
their essay with a restatement of the claim. Although there are other ways to organize an argument, this is a simple and
common way to write an argument.
Do NOT mark the claim personally
When you write an argument, it is obvious that it is your opinion or belief. It weakens your claim when you include phrases
like "I believe," or “I think," or "Personally."
Use the correct form
Claims should not be commands (e.g. "Ban cell phones") or questions (e.g. "Should there be a ban on using cell phones
while driving?").
Print this list out and use it when writing your argument.
Providing elaborated and supportive reasons
An argument is an attempt to persuade readers to change their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors by providing one or more
reasons to support the claim.
One of the most common mistakes students make when writing arguments is that they merely list reasons. This practice,
however, does not lead to a strong argument.
When presenting your reasons, consider the following things:
1. Present strong, convincing reasons
2. Avoid non-reasons
3. Elaborate on each reason
(1) Present strong, convincing reasons
Focus on strong reasons
When considering your reasons, you want to select the most important 3 or 4 reasons and focus on these. If these
reasons are strong, 3 or 4 will generally be enough to create a serious argument.
Avoid support based on testimonials or personal experience
One common problem with students’ arguments is that they rely too heavily on using their own experience to support their
claims. This makes sense since that is what they know. However, using personal experiences as support is weak
because they are based on only one person’s experience or a small handful of people. It could be that the person or
people are not representative or similar enough to others. Such reasons can be easily dismissed if the reader has not also
had that experience. So rather than providing a personal reason such as “I learned a lot without a comprehensive exam”,
base your reasons on more general principles, such as “Schools that use comprehensive exams may be pressured to
lowering their standard to pass enough students”. Generalizable statements are stronger than personal anecdotes.
Order reasons for impact
How should you order your reasons? Research has found that people often recall first and last items the best, so it is
good to present your strongest reasons first and last with your weaker reasons in the middle.
(2) Avoid non-reasons
When thinking of your reasons, make sure they each make the claim more believable. Here are 3 types of "non-reasons"
to avoid.
Unwarranted reasons
• If a reason makes the claim more reasonable then it is a warranted reason. For example, "NIU should not have
comprehensive exams because it will be too stressful for the students". Since causing stress is a type of harm and
someone could reasonably argue that the university should not do things that are harmful to the students.
• An unwarranted reason is one that is not relevant to the specific claim predicate. For example, "NIU should not have
comprehensive exams because the exam would be boring". Being boring doesn’t make something harmful. It is not a
good reason for the university to decide not to do something.
• To check if a reason is warranted you have to pay special attention to the verb in your claim: "is harmful", "is immoral",
"should be prohibited".
Alternative claims
• Providing alternative solutions is not a good reason because they do not make the claim more believable. Consider
this argument: "NIU should not have comprehensive exams because students who pass all their classes should be
given a diploma". Notice that this reason does not tell you why we shouldn’t have comprehensive exams. It actually
suggests a different solution.
• If you do provide an alternative, it is a new claim that needs to be supported by new reasons.
Rewording the claim
• Simply restating the claim does not present a reason because it does not provide support for the claim. For example,
"NIU should not have comprehensive exams because exit exams should not be a requirement for getting a diploma".
This reason may feel like there is support, but the reason is just another way to say the claim.
When writing arguments, make sure your reasons are really reasons and that each reason supports your claim
(3) Elaborate on each reason
• Write a single paragraph for each reason. Each reason must provide strong support for why someone should agree with
your claim
• In that paragraph explain, elaborate, give examples, and provide evidence, if possible, that supports the reason. If your
reader doesn’t really understand your reason and its implications, then they will not be convinced by it.
• Make sure that the reasons you are providing support the exact claim that you have made, and that you haven’t
accidentally switched claims simply because you’ve thought of a good reason.
Reason checklist
We will now give you a helpful checklist to help you create the strongest argument.
To help you understand the checklist, we will work through an example. Practice:
Claim: Illinois should not ban cell phone usage while driving
Reason 1. Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone.
Reason 2. People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency.
Reason 3. Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips.
Reason 4. Cell phones are an important technology.
Unwarranted reasons
Does each reason tell readers why they should believe the claim to be true? Read the claim and then the first reason. The
reason should answer the question "Why do you think that cell phones should or should not be banned?"
Claim: Illinois should not ban cell phone usage while driving
Practice:
Click 'Yes' or 'No' for each of the following reasons to indicate whether it can continue to be used because it is warranted:




Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone. Yes
People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency. Yes
Cell phones are an important technology. No
Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips. Yes
The writer would then want to change or remove any unchecked reasons.
So the author’s list so far is:



Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone.
People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency.
Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips.
Alternative or repeated claims
Which of the author's reasons can still be used because they are not alternative or repeated claims?
Practice:
Click 'Yes" or 'No' after each of the following reasons to indicate that the reason is "good" (i.e., not an alternative claim or
a restatement of the claim).





Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone. Yes
People should use a hands free device. No
Cell phones should not be allowed while driving. No
People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency. Yes
Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips. Yes
The writer would then want to change or remove any unchecked reasons.
So the author’s list so far is:



Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone.
People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency.
Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips.
Present strong, convincing reasons
Research has found that people recall first and last items the best, so it is good to present your strongest reasons first and
last with your weaker reasons in the middle. How strong are your reasons? Go back over your reasons and rank the
strength of each reason (starting with 1 as the weakest).
It is at this time that you should make sure your reasons are general and not overly personal. For example, the following
reason should be made more general or removed:
Personal reason: Recently I was lost while driving and was relieved that I could call my boyfriend for directions.
General reason: The ability to obtain directions at a moment’s notice reduces the stress of drivers.
Given the author’s list so far, one could try to rank order the reasons.



Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone.
People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency.
Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips.
For instance, one may rank the reasons in the following order:
1st (strong): Most people are able to drive while talking on the phone. (Y)
2st (weakest): Cell phones are convenient because you can call ahead and save time or trips. (Y)
last (strongest): People can use the phone if they break down or have an emergency. (Y)
Now make sure to write a full elaborated paragraph explaining and supporting each reason.
Review: Reason checklists
Print this list out and use it when writing your argument.
List your reasons in the following space:
Reason 1:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 2:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 3:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 4:_______________________________________________________________
Unwarranted reasons
Does each reason tell readers why they should believe the claim is true? Read the claim and then the first reason. The
reason should answer the question “Why do you think that cell phones should or should not be banned?” Put a check next
to each reason that effectively shows why the claim is true.
Reason 1:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 2:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 3:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 4:_______________________________________________________________
Change or remove any unchecked reasons.
Alternative or repeated claims
Put a check next to each reason that is not either an alternative claim or a restatement of the claim.
Reason 1:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 2:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 3:_______________________________________________________________
Reason 4:_______________________________________________________________
Change or remove any unchecked reasons.
Present strong, convincing reasons
Research has found that people recall first and last items the best, so it is good to present your strongest reasons first and
last with your weaker reasons in the middle. How strong are your reasons? Go back over your reasons and rank the
strength of each reason (starting with 1 as the weakest). Rating
Reason 1:________
Reason 2:________
Reason 3:________
Reason 4:________
Now that you’ve fully considered your claim and reasons, use the space below to revise and organize them for your final
argument.
Claim: ______________________________________________________________________
1st Reason:_______________________________________________________________
2nd Reason:_______________________________________________________________
3rd Reason:_______________________________________________________________
4th Reason:_______________________________________________________________
Audience Module
How persuasive is this argument?
NIU should require all students to pass a comprehensive exam in order to graduate because such exams have been
shown to be effective for improving achievement and marketability. For instance, a five-year study by the National
Scholarship Achievement Board found that the grade point average of undergraduates at universities adopting a
comprehensive graduation exam increased by 31% while schools without comprehensive exams showed no improvement
during the same period. The study also found that graduating seniors from schools with a comprehensive exam received
20% higher salaries and were 35% more likely to get a job upon graduation than seniors who came from colleges without
comprehensive exams. Therefore, NIU should institute a comprehensive exam policy.
Not at all
Effective
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 Very Effective
Audience can affect what is required in an argument
This comprehensive exam argument presents a claim supported by a reasons. If your audience is already favorable
toward your claim, then this argument may seem strong. If, however, your audience includes members that do not agree
with your claim, this argument will not be persuasive.
Intelligent people frequently disagree over positions that may seem unquestionable to you. It is important to understand
the views of your audience and carefully consider exactly what the points of contention are and then rebut expected
objections with reasons that would be acceptable to your audience.
Studies have shown that people find arguments that acknowledge but argue against the other side to be more persuasive
than either one-sided arguments (such as the previous argument) or arguments that mention the other side without
rebutting it. Therefore, a quality argument has a claim, multiple reasons, at least one counter-claim, and a rebuttal.
Example of a complete argument
Incomplete argument: main claim + pro-reasons
The comprehensive exam argument only has two components:
Main claim: “NIU should require all students to pass a comprehensive exam in order to graduate”
Pro-reasons: “they have been shown to be effective in improving achievement”
“they have been shown to be effective in improving marketability.”
When the argument is intended for a mixed or hostile audience (such as current students at NIU), a complete argument
would also include:
Counter: “Although, many students might find such exams stressful ”
Rebuttal: “the benefits of an easier job search, resulting in a better paying job, will reduce more future stress.”
Main claim: Argument: main claim + pro-reasons + counter-claim + rebuttal
Ignoring counter-claims makes arguments less persuasive
It is natural for people to think of opposing information when they disagree with a claim. For example, when reading the
comprehensive exam argument, many students may think:
“Comprehensive exams can be stressful for some students.” “Comprehensive exams might lower graduation
rates making the school less attractive to new applicants.”
When you try to persuade people it is best not to ignore objections but instead directly raise them and show how they do
not weaken your argument.
Which counter-claims you address depends on your expected audience. You might provide very different counter-claims if
you are addressing the state legislature than if you are addressing students. Thus, considering your audience is essential
when writing persuasive arguments.
Professors expectations
In our research, we have found that most college students do not include a counter-claim in the arguments they write
because they think it weakens the argument.
Professors, however, assume that students know that effective arguments contain all 4 components. Although they
usually do not directly instruct students to include a counter-claim and rebuttal, they will judge the argument as ineffective
and incomplete. So even if you are not asked to do so, you should work to include all 4 components in your arguments.
Argument = main claim + pro-reasons + counter-claim + rebuttal
This module will help you learn about audience factors so you will best be able to persuade people who believe differently
from you in your writing.
Impression management
In addition to increasing the persuasiveness of your argument, presenting counter-information creates a better impression
of you, the author. By acknowledging opponents’ arguments, you present yourself as
-- Credible
-- Fair, open-minded, and unthreatened by others' positions.
-- Objective and reasonable in presenting an informed perspective
-- Knowledgeable of a wide range of facts, beliefs and evidence
Begin with planning
To write a convincing argument, one has to begin with a little planning. Lack of planning is one reason students’
arguments are ineffective.
When planning, try to do the following:
1. Identify target audiences.
2. Select strongest pro-reasons for audiences.
3. List potential counter-arguments.
4. Select counter-argument(s) to include.
5. Respond to counter-argument(s).
All of this may take only a few minutes but it will make your argument much stronger.
(1) Identify target audiences
You want to consider who you are attempting to persuade or at least who you will be addressing. What objections might
they have to your position?
1. First, try to be as concrete as possible when visualizing these audiences. Who is a prototypical member? Brainstorm
through different characteristics, such as their vocation, age, gender, culture, leisure activities, religious beliefs,
educational background, income level. Each different group you can identify can be viewed as an “audience” that you will
be trying to persuade.
E.g., current NIU psych students, readers of Northern Star
2. Second, consider your target audiences’ beliefs. Think about their opinions, attitudes and perspectives to try to figure
out what their objections.
3. Finally, consider your target audiences’ knowledge. How much do you have to tell them and how can you connect.
Consider target audiences’ beliefs
In general, there are 4 types of audiences but most audiences are a mixture of people of each of these types.
1. Friendly Members – have already thought about the issue and agree with your position. Generally, no need to
persuade, just shore up belief.
2. Hostile or unfriendly Members – have thought about the issue and disagree, perhaps strongly, with your position.
Generally, the best you can hope for is to get them to appreciate your side.
3. Ambivalent Members – have thought about the issue, may have a pro or con leaning, but can see both sides and are
not strongly committed to either. These members are great to target because they are more persuadable than the first two
groups.
4. Uninformed/Undecided Members – may or may not have thought about or care about the issue, but either way they
are not committed to a particular position. You have an opportunity to create their first impression of your side. Make it a
positive, memorable one.
Example audiences
Consider the claim: NIU should institute a comprehensive exam policy.
Click on the disposition (Friendly, Hostile, Ambivalent, Undecided) that best characterizes each of the following
audiences:
1. Current and prospective students. Hostile
2. People who have not attended college. Undecided
3. Employers who want well-educated workers. Friendly)
4. Honors students who want to be highly competitive in the job market. Ambivalent
5. Professors who to help motivate students to learn. Friendly
Consider target audiences' knowledge
As a writer, your task is to both inform and persuade, so you will need to provide an appropriate amount of information as
background for your argument and to explain your reasons. Finding the appropriate level of knowledge is often difficult.
Some members will know very little about your topic, others may know as much as or more than you. You don’t want to
bore knowledgeable members and you don’t want to completely lose the unknowledgeable ones.
For a class paper, you can generally assume that your audience is intelligent but somewhat uninformed. Part of your job
is to show that you can explain and elaborate on information you have learned in the class. Students often incorrectly
assume an intelligent AND informed audience.
For a general audience, you want to direct your presentation to a moderately informed member. Provide information in a
manner that reminds them of pertinent facts but does not lecture them.
(2) Select strongest pro-reasons for target audience
Strong reasons for audience
Reasons are not absolutely strong or weak. The strength of a reason depends on who you are trying to convince. What
are your strongest reasons or evidence to persuade each audience? They may not necessarily be all the ones you,
personally, think are best. Try to think from your audience’s perspective and select those that will be most persuasive and
acceptable to your audience.
Eliminate poor reasons for audience
Leave out reasons or evidence that may be viewed as irrelevant, untrue, or unimportant to this audience. Also, try to
select reasons that will not alienate other members of the audience. This is challenging when the audience is mixed.
(3) List potential counter-arguments for target audience
Begin by thinking about each of these audiences and try to list as many reasons why each group may disagree with you
as you can think of in a few minutes. Try to identify any strong opinions or beliefs they have about your claim or topic.
Brainstorm only at this point! Don’t begin evaluating until you have listed all the reasons you can.
If have trouble thinking, try to write down your own assumptions. Are any of your assumptions questionable to this
audience?
These will be potential counter-arguments that you should address in your presentation.
(4) Select counter for target audience
You obviously can’t address every objection. The main thing is to identify the one or two most important counterarguments and address them. Select counter-arguments based on:
Necessity
A counter-claim that very quickly comes to mind, will also likely come to the minds of your audience. You need to address
this one so that your audience can stop thinking about it and will be more receptive to the rest of your message.
Prospects for success
Other things being equal, select counter-arguments for which you have the best rebuttal arguments. However, avoid
selecting absurd versions of their counter just because you can more easily deal with that version. Such counters or
presentation of counter will work against you by making you appear unreasonable and inconsiderate of your audience. In
fact, talk radio hosts use these poor versions of others’ counters to make “believers” more convinced, not to actually
address opposing audiences.
(5) Response to counter-arguments
There are three main ways to deal with a counter-arguments that, if done well, will strengthen not weaken your argument.
1. Dismiss – A dismissal is where you assert that counter-argument is simply false or irrelevant. Avoid or use sparingly!
“Some say such exams are invalid measures of what people learn, but that is not true.”
2. Concessions – A concession is where you accept a counter-argument.
“It is true that many students might find it stressful to take a comprehensive exam.”
3. Rebuttal – A rebuttal is an argument against a counter-claim. Strongest approach!
“Some argue that comprehensive exams do more harm than good. However, several studies have shown that
universities and colleges that starting giving such exams got a reversal in the decline scores on standardized
achievement test.”
Response: Dismiss
Avoid or use dismissals sparingly. It reminds one of our childhood “is not” – “is so” exchanges.
An argument is about providing evidence or reasons so rebuttals are more persuasive and better formed than dismissals.
Special audience considerations:
Dismissals can offend audiences, especially hostile audiences, and make you appear unfair or inconsiderate.
In general dismissals are bad form and not effective. Dismissing counter-claims can make you appear unknowledgeable
or unskilled in argumentation.
Response: Concession
In concession, you are acknowledging that there is some merit to the audiences’ worries or beliefs. There are times where
something is not really controversial so you have to concede it. For example,
“Testing students can be an effective motivator for learning.”
Do not concede points that are so important that agreeing to the truth of it will weaken your argument. Conceding a point
can be an effective part of your presentation if the claim you accept is not central to your own position and your own
rebuttal reason would be weak.
Response: Concession
Special audience considerations:
Conceding points on which you agree with the audience makes you appear fair and creates common ground, especially to
ambivalent and uninformed audiences.
Care must be taken to not give the impression that your position has been compromised, especially to an uninformed
audience who may not be able to properly assess the effect of the concession on your overall position. So it may be wise
to briefly mention or explain how the point you concede it is not critical. For example,
“Although many students might find it stressful to take a comprehensive exam, stress is not always a bad thing. A
moderate amount of stress may motivate them to learn the material at a level that they would otherwise not have
reached. In fact, this actually bolsters the argument that comprehensive exams may produce better learning
results.”
Response: Rebut
Rebuttal is when you argue against the opposing view by presenting reasons or evidence to show that it is weak, illogical,
irrelevant, or factually wrong.
Do this when you are mentioning a counter that, if conceded, would really weaken your argument.
Select rebuttals that you think will be acceptable to your audience. Just like reasons, rebuttals are not universally strong.
Their power depends on the audience’s beliefs and knowledge.
Special audience considerations:
The rebuttal, if done well, can reinforce a friendly or ambivalent audience’s belief in the claim you are arguing for.
A strong rebuttal can undercut other side arguments especially for ambivalent, uninformed and undecided members.
Global organization of the argument
This checklist may help you organize the information presented in this tutorial.
1. Try to begin your argument by building a connection with audience and getting them to see the importance of the topic.
This is where common ground comes in. Often it is best to start with this to engage your audience and break through any
resistant attitudes they may have adopted before even reading your argument.
2. Make sure to provide enough information or context so your audience will understand your position. This is where you
need to consider your audiences’ knowledge or beliefs. But you definitely don’t want to include background or details that
are unnecessary. It is insulting and boring.
3. State your claim clearly and present strong reasons that will be acceptable to your target audience.
4. Acknowledge the most obvious objection and rebut it if possible. Watch your tone. Try to be respectful to those you
disagree with.
5. Put your counter where it will be most effective for your audience. If you have a hostile audience it may be best to start
from their perspective and work them around to your perspective. For other audiences, mention it when it would naturally
be thought about.
6. End strong.
Print this list out and use it when writing your argument.