Chapter IV:

THE THEORY OF
ISSUES
Arg u me n ta t i on a nd D e b at e wi t h Pa rl i a me n t ar y Pro c e d ur e s

D e p ar t me n t of Po l i ti c a l S ci e n c e

C o ll e g e o f Ar ts a nd Sc i e nc e s

Ifu g a o St a t e U ni v e rsi t y
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• an important topic or problem for debate or discussion.

• presented thru propositions suggesting someone to
choose a side whether for or against, pro or con,
affirmative or negative, yes or no, etc.
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• An issue is something that has at least two sides, an idea that can be
debated, for example: government spending, pollution from fossil fuels,
bias in news coverage.
• Expect assignments to ask you to analyze an issue and offer your own
stance, based on logical reasoning and supported by evidence from
appropriate sources (your own careful observations and reflections
and/or appropriate researched sources).
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• An issue is something that has at least two sides, an idea that can be
debated, for example: government spending, pollution from fossil fuels,
bias in news coverage.
• Expect assignments to ask you to analyze an issue and offer your own
stance, based on logical reasoning and supported by evidence from
appropriate sources (your own careful observations and reflections
and/or appropriate researched sources).
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• We argue in order to settle issues.

• Issues arise when there is uncertainty about whether to accept or reject a claim.
• For example, someone argues for the claim that you ought to quit eating
strawberry yogurt because it causes cancer, and you wonder whether it really
does.
• You are wondering about the following issue:
whether eating strawberry yogurt will cause cancer.
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• We argue in order to settle issues.

• It's common to express an issue by using the word "whether" to
indicate the uncertainty involved. You don‘t want to express the issue
by taking just one side of the issue.
• When two people are "in an argument," they are divided on the issue.
• The metaphor is that they are on opposite sides of the fence.
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• A second, common way of expressing an issue is to present it as

a question:

Will eating strawberry yogurt cause cancer?

*The question also brings out the uncertainty and doesn't take a side. It
would be a mistake to say the issue is that eating strawberry yogurt causes
cancer.
WHAT IS AN ISSUE?

• Using only the word "that" destroys the uncertainty and presents
only one side of the issue.
• The issue is not the same as the topic. The topic is food and health.
• Topics are more general than issues; issues are more specific than
topics. Normally when you find an argument, the issue is whether
the argument‘s conclusion is correct.
If you claim what somebody just said is false, then you
aren't refuting their claim; you are simply disagreeing
with it. In order to refute it, you'd have to make a
successful case that what they said is false. You can‘t
refute someone‘s claim merely by contradicting it.
• What is the issue in this argument?

• You politicos keep arguing that institutions can't be changed when, in fact,
they change all the time. Haven't they ever heard of the institution of
slavery? It‘s gone from this continent, isn‘t it?
• a. Can institutions be changed?
• b. Whether institution of slavery changed.
• c. That institutions can be changed.
ANALYSIS OF AN ISSUE

• Analysis refers to breaking down an issue – which is usually a large,

complex, integrated mix of ideas – into distinct pieces, and then re-
forming those pieces into a focused thesis that presents your informed
interpretation of the issue. 
• You support your insight and evaluation with various types of evidence as
appropriate.  Issue analysis isn’t always clear cut, but your task is to create
some clarity of thought.
ANALYSIS OF AN ISSUE
ANALYSIS OF AN ISSUE

• Analysis is a way of understanding a subject by using four elements:

1) expressing an opinion (making Assertions)

2) supporting that opinion (including eXamples)

3) justifying that opinion (Explaining the examples), and

4) showing why the opinion matters (extending the Significance).

AXES , (PLURAL FORM OF BOTH AXE AND AXIS)

• This acronym provides a way not only to remember the four

components but also to visualize them working together.
• Like an axe, analysis allows us to “chop” our subjects into their
essential components so that we can examine the pieces more
thoroughly, and, like an axis, analysis inspires insights that become
the new reference points around which we rearrange these pieces.
 Chapter IV:
THE THEORY OF
ISSUES
Arg u me n ta t i on a nd D e b at e wi t h Pa rl i a me n t ar y Pro c e d ur e s

D e p ar t me n t of Po l i ti c a l S ci e n c e

C o ll e g e o f Ar ts a nd Sc i e nc e s

Ifu g a o St a t e U ni v e rsi t y