WRITING

ARGUMENTS

Marlon D. Nuevo,
MAEd.
SST-III, English
• We write arguments or
persuasive papers to
persuade the reader that
what we have to say is
correct, intelligent, and
rational and that our
explanation or position
makes sense and is
appropriate.
Two Types of Arguments
• Aristotelian argument,
or adversarial argument,
is made to confirm a position
or hypothesis or to refute an
existing argument.
• Rogerian argument,
or consensus-building
argument, aims to develop
 Purposes of Argument
Argument has two
purposes. It is used to:
• change people’s points of
view or persuade them to
accept new points of view
• persuade people to a
particular action or new
 Steps in
Writing an
Argument
STEP I. When writing an
effective argument, first
introduce your argument by
setting the context.
Your introduction should draw
your reader into your subject and
build common ground for your
argument.
Establish your context for writing
the argument and the context for
STEP II. State your Thesis
or Proposition
In argument, the thesis is called
a proposition. 
Your proposition should (1) define
your argument’s scope by stating
its situation or context, and
(2) make clear what assertion you
are going to debate.
Although you may be presenting
both sides of the argument to let
STEP III. Anticipate
Active Opposition

Make your argument more

effective by anticipating
objections and presenting your
rebuttal to those objections.
STEP IV. Develop your
Argument

Develop your argument by

appealing to the readers’
reason, ethics, and
emotions.
 TECHNIQUES ON
APPEALING TO
YOUR of
The success READERS
your
argument depends on your
skill in convincing your
reader through sound
reasoning, persuasion,
and evidence of the
strength of your point of
 THREE
FUNDAMENTAL
TYPES OF
1. REASON APPEAL
2. ETHICS
3. EMOTION
I. REASON
Clear thinking requires that you
state your claim and support it
with concrete, specific facts.
This approach appeals to our
common sense and rational
thinking.
Formal reasoning involves
following certain established
logical methods to arrive at
certain pieces of information or
1. Inductive Reasoning
(REASON)
When our logical thinking states
specific facts (called premises )
and then draws a conclusion, or
generalization, we call this
inductive thinking.
 Inductive reasoning enables us
to examine the specific details in
light of how well they add up to
the generalization.
2. Deductive Reasoning
(REASON)
Our logical thinking starts with the
generalization. As we apply our
generalization to a specific
situation, we examine the
individual premises that make that
generalization reasonable or
unreasonable.
When our logical thinking starts
with the generalization, or
conclusion, we may then apply the
2. Deductive Reasoning
(REASON)
Our deductive thinking can be
expressed as a syllogism or an
enthymeme—a shortened form of
the syllogism.
2.1. SYLLOGISM a deductive
scheme of a formal argument
consisting of a major and a minor
premise and a conclusion (as in “all
humans are mortal” [major
premise]; “I am human” [minor
2. Deductive Reasoning
(REASON)
2.2. ENTHYMEME a syllogism in
which one of the premises or the
conclusion is not stated explicitly
because it is considered obvious (as
in “I am human” [minor premise];
“therefore, I am mortal”
[conclusion]; the major premise, “all
humans are mortal,” is not stated
because it is assumed)
II. ETHICS
Think of ethics as the force of a
speaker’s character as it is
represented in oration or writing.
If you misrepresent the evidence
or one of your sources, your
readers will question your ethics.
In any situation in which you must
rely on your readers’ goodwill and
common sense, you will lose their
open-minded stance toward your
II. ETHICS
This can happen intentionally, by
misrepresenting evidence and
experts and by seeking to hurt
individuals or groups.
It can also happen unintentionally
—you may undermine your
argument by inadvertently
misunderstanding the evidence
and the implications of your
position. This can occur if you
III. EMOTION
Using emotions as a support for
argument can be tricky. Attempts
to play on your readers’ emotions
can smack of manipulation and
are often mistrusted. To use
emotional appeal successfully,
you must apply discretion and
restraint.
Choose examples that represent
and illustrate your ideas fairly, and
III. EMOTION
The writer must carefully draw the
connections between the ideas
and illustrations, choosing diction
in such a way that readers don’t
question motives as manipulative
and sensational.
Strong evidence accumulated by
careful research often addresses
this potential problem well.
 Determine Your
STEP V.
Organization

Classic and Rogerian

arguments have
organizational structures:
frameworks that support
their discursive aims. 
Suggested Organization for
a Classic Argument
1. Introduction -give the context and
background of your issue. Establish
style, tone, and significance of your
issue.
2. State your Case- clarify your issue
here. Provide any necessary background
for understanding the issue. Define any
important terms or conditions here.
3. Proposition- state your central
proposition. Be sure your hook presents
an issue that is open to debate. Present
4. Refutation- analyse the opposition’s
argument and summarize it; refute or
address the points; identify faulty
reasoning and inappropriate appeals.
5. Substantiation and Proof- present
and develop your own case. Carefully
plan your disclosure; avoid logical
fallacies. Rely primarily on reasoning for
your appeal and use emotional appeals
carefully; use examples, facts, experts,
and statistics. Develop your argument
using the appropriate prose strategy
(e.g., causal analysis, comparison,
Suggested Organization for
a Rogerian Argument
1.Write a brief objective
statement to define the issue.
2.Analyze and state the
opposition’s position in a
neutral, objective way.
Demonstrate that you understand
the opposition’s opinion and their
reasons for holding it. Avoid
moralizing or judging the
Suggested Organization for
a Rogerian Argument
3. Analyse and state your own
position in a neutral, objective
way. Avoid moralizing about your
position or reasons.
4. Analyse what the two
positions have in common; find
commonly shared goals and values.
5. Propose a resolution to the
issue that recognizes and
Suggested Organization for
a Rogerian Argument
3. Analyse and state your own
position in a neutral, objective
way. Avoid moralizing about your
position or reasons.
4. Analyse what the two
positions have in common; find
commonly shared goals and values.
5. Propose a resolution to the
issue that recognizes and
STEP VI. Write your
Conclusion
Write a conclusion
that strongly states
your position on the
topic and revisits
important points from