Argument
To be able to formulate and write a clear argument, you need to be working critically from the beginning of the research process. Simply put, that process should look something like this:
- Practise good search skills - in the library catalogue, databases and online.
- Be selective about what you find. At this stage you need to be able to judge texts based on:
- title - does it sound relevant?
- author - is the author well known and an expert in his/her field?
- year of publication - is the text outdated? Is it perhaps essential to your historical understanding of the topic?
- table of contents - do the chapters appear relevant to your topic?
- bibliography - has the text drawn on other relevant research? Can you find other useful texts from the bibliography?
- skim reading - are there relevant subheadings, charts or tables within the text?
- Having selected critically from your initial findings, your next task is to read selectively. You do not have time to read absolutely everything, therefore you need to make choices about which texts you will read in full and which will only require skimming or reading particular sections, chapters or articles.
- As you read, your next crucial skill is to take good notes. Do you underline half of every page, or only key points? Do you write annotations in the margins or in a notebook?
- If you've engaged critically with each of these steps towards writing an essay, you should arrive with pages of notes and a notion of how it all ties together to support your burgeoning argument.
- Before you commence writing, it is useful to have a plan in mind or on paper to structure the piece. Included in your plan should be:
- your thesis statement;
- a few arguments that support your thesis statement;
- relevant evidence to support your arguments.
- It is also useful to think through the counterarguments so that you are prepared to acknowledge them but point out why you disagree.
Constructing your own argument is the mirror image to analysing the arguments of others - you need to consider the premises and assumptions on which you're relying and then ensure that your conclusions follow from those premises (which are, of course, supported by evidence and logical reasoning).
