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Constructing An Argument
Constructing An Argument
Most university essays require you to construct an argument. This may be different to the kind of
descriptive writing that you did before coming to university.
Assertion +
Evidence +
Reasoning
= ARGUMENT
Adapted from Ramsay, Maier and Price’s AER Model of constructing an argument
Thus an academic argument must have these three components, assertion, evidence and reasoning.
Assertion: This is making a statement about something, at this stage it is not backed up by evidence.
Evidence: This can vary in business, management and lawas type subjects, and can include:
Quantitative data
Qualitative data
Case studies
Material from academic texts (books or journals)
Organisational and business documents
Material from reports of regulatory or government bodies
Material from professional or trade journals
Personal communications
The library will be the best place to start looking for evidence.
Example
Assertion: Sport does merit the kind of interest and attention that it is getting in today’s society.
Evidence: The following is an essay fragment written to support the assertion above.
Does sport merit the kind of interest and attention that it is getting in our society?
Mourniho (2012) suggests that, from a social standpoint, sport plays a positive role in uniting people from
different social backgrounds in support of their favourite team. This can aid people's understanding and
tolerance of each other (Redknapp, 2015). However, Wenger (2015, p.16) suggests that “just as sport
unites people so it can divide them”, as is often demonstrated by crowd violence at football matches.
As far as education is concerned, Ferguson (2015) found that sport is an important part of every child's
schooling, as it plays a big role in both their physical and mental development. It teaches children how to
work as a part of a team and cooperate with others, while at the same time improving physical condition.
However, Torres (2015) found that a drawback to this is that children who are less able to perform well in
sport are likely to feel inadequate in comparison to their more gifted teammates, which may affect their
self-confidence.
From an economic point of view, sport can be very profitable, as it attracts a lot of sponsorship and
advertising (Beckham, 2013). On the one hand this creates revenue for the sporting industry which allows
for improvement and expansion. On the other hand large sums of money are often paid to event
organisers to promote products such as cigarettes, which are harmful to one's health.
Evidence:
These may not really seem like facts, but in business and law writing where, unlike science, nothing can be
proved you will use other people’s opinions as facts. However, these are treated as facts to support or
argue with your assertion.
References:
Ramsay, P, Maier P, & Price G, (2010), Study Skills for Business and Management Students, Pearson
Education Ltd, Edinburgh