5 Chapter 5: Types of Arguments
The types of arguments that college students will encounter can seem endless. Nearly everyone has a different way of categorizing arguments and their types. However, the basic argumentative types included here should be loose and general enough to give most students a sense of where to start with an assignment or writing project.
ARGUMENTS OF DEFINITION
Agreeing on what terms even mean is one of the fundamental arguments in academic writing, and it is one of the more basic skills involved in critical thinking. Many conflicts exist because of disagreement on what ‘X’ even means. An important task of all academic writers is to define terms clearly and fairly. Sometimes, however, definitions need to be presented in a persuasive and compelling manner.
Overview: Definitional arguments attempt to establish that the focus of discussion fits into a broader category (that ‘X is a type of Y’ is a typical phrasing of the argument). In order for a definitional argument to work, the writer must establish the traits that define the category—the criteria. For example, an argument that a national chain of coffee shops is a restaurant franchise might rely on a definition of restaurant that involves serving food.
Many times, the argument itself needs to focus on the definition. Not everyone will agree with all definitions, and so writers must argue for their definitions or accept those of their readers. Then, they will need to establish that the focus of the discussion meets the definition. Even an argument like “murder is morally wrong” will, largely, come down to the definitions of murder and wrong.
Application: Many college-level arguments hinge on definitions. Many times, college students need to practice explaining their criteria, because those criteria are not commonly assumed or shared. Therefore, they need to build common ground in the course of creating their arguments.
Consider an argument over the ethics of the death penalty. One student might be tempted to argue that the death penalty is or is not a deterrent to crime. The question now becomes ‘what do we mean by deterrent?’ Likewise, arguments over abstract concepts like fairness, justice, and truth all need concrete definitions in place in order to function.
What to Avoid: Obviously, student writers need to avoid assuming that their definitions are universally accepted. On another level, student writers also need to be careful to apply all criteria and not just those that are convenient. For example, if a ‘passing’ student is a student who turns in all assignments on time, completes all of the required reading, attends all classes, and submits all required revisions, then a student who does almost all of those things but who fails to attend class does not meet the criteria for ‘passing,’ even though a majority of the traits are present.
ARGUMENTS OF FACT
At some point, most arguments come down to what is or is not true. Arguments of fact attempt to establish whether or not a specific ‘truth claim’ happens to be valid.
Overview: An argument of fact is basically a claim about what is or is not the case in the real world. While some claims of fact take on meaning outside of this, few of them are academic arguments. Many times, claims of fact need to go beyond what can be directly observed; academic claims of fact deal with inference and conclusion—they tend to involve a lot of analysis of evidence.
In order to argue a claim of fact, the writer needs to have access both to evidence and to clear definitions of all of the terms that might be used in the argument. For example, an argument about the population of the United States would need to establish who is and who is not to be included in that number, as well as what forms of estimation and sampling are acceptable. After all, simply going around and counting people is not practical.
Most of the time, arguments of fact come down to matters of ethos. In other words, we are more likely to accept the support given for fact claims if we trust the source of that support.
Application: Even if the paper is not primarily about claims of fact, college writers need to remember that facts are up for discussion. Some directly observable phenomena (the color of the sky, the presence of chairs in a classroom) are functionally settled, but for most other issues, facts are debatable. It is the student writer’s responsibility to suggest why one version of the truth is preferable to another.
Note that the ability to debate facts does not mean that the facts themselves are malleable. The earth is not actually a flat plate with four corners, no matter how much some people might ‘argue’ that this is the case.
What to Avoid: Student writers need to avoid making sweeping generalizations and assuming that these generalizations are true. Even if the underlying claim is valid, readers will often want to be able to read the evidence that validates the claim. Additionally, writers should also be careful when making claims of fact that they are not constructing a circular argument. For example, imagine a student argues that a claim is true because “Source A says it”, and the student then argues “Source A is right because Person B says it is never wrong”. Meanwhile, “Person B knows Source A is never wrong because xe read it in Source A.” This argument proves nothing, except that Person B really trusts Source A.
Additionally, student writers need to avoid the two most common ‘traps’ of academic fact claims. The first mistake is too assume that all facts are matters of opinion (remember, no amount of opinion will cause gravity to turn off, so be careful where you test your opinion that you can fly!). Another mistake is to argue clearly demonstrable facts with those that are unwilling to consider contradictory evidence. In virtually every discussion, there is a small portion of a potential audience that will not listen to any evidence that contradicts their own position. Such close-minded potential readers should be handled carefully, but should not be allowed to dictate the terms of the entire argument.
ARGUMENTS OF VALUE
While claims of fact are relatively straightforward, claims of value involve comparison and evaluation. Most claims of value come in the form of arguments like “X is better than Y” or “X is a good Y.” Claims of value are frequently the trickiest form of academic argument, because they often come down to issues that cannot be resolved factually.
Overview: Value claims are statements about what should or should not be valued. As such, they require a level of justification beyond fact, making appeals to emotion (or pathos). For example, a claim such as ‘privacy is more important than security’ cannot appeal only to evidence, so it must instead deal with how readers react, emotionally, to the evidence. Many claims of value are based in a set of personally held criteria (e.g. I prefer salty food to sweet food, so potato chips are a better snack than a candy bar). As a consequence, arguments that involve value claims frequently must establish the facts first and then must add an additional step—arguing for how those facts should be weighed.
Values are almost always subjective, meaning that arguments over values need to reach out to the beliefs and opinions of the readers. Emotional appeals need to be presented in a way that is persuasive. Equally important, writers need to consider the beliefs that their readers are likely to hold on related issues.
Application: Most college students will eventually find themselves writing a comparison paper of some kind. A political science class might require a comparison between two forms of government, a philosophy class could ask for students to decide between two systems of ethics, or an economics class might ask students to compare the merits of two possible investments.
However, comparison papers are simply one form of value claim. Many times, value claims are built into other, more complex arguments. In such circumstances, students must be ready to explain the reasons their audience should prefer one outcome or justification to another, even when the two both have advantages and disadvantages in the real world.
What to Avoid: Try not to assume that others value the same things that you do. However, beyond this now-familiar advice, student writers need to avoid thinking that just because something comes down to emotion and belief that it cannot be argued at all. It is possible to change a reader’s mind on emotional issues; doing so simply requires patience and realistic goals.
ARGUMENTS OF POLICY
Claims of policy are arguments that urge action. Typically, a claim of policy ends up as a relatively straightforward proposition—“X should be done”, but a lot of different paths might need to be taken to reach that kind of conclusion.
Overview: A basic policy claim is an argument that something should or should not be done. For example, arguing that marijuana should be legalized or that a friend should try a new food are both claims of policy. Because policy claims argue for an action, they imply a value claim—that taking the recommended action is better than not taking it. This, in turn, means that claims of fact and definition become involved. Consequently, policy claims are some of the most complex arguments that exist.
Many academic policy arguments put forward a specific problem, and they then solve that problem with a course of action (i.e. you should do X because it makes Y better). Such arguments have an additional level of complexity, because they require that writers prove that the solution actually works.
Because policy arguments actually ask people to act in the real world, they frequently depend upon whether or not things ‘work’ in the same way that the author claims. In other words, they must make use of logos in order to demonstrate that they have validity.
Application: College students frequently write policy arguments. Typically, a policy argument at the college level involves grappling with a single issue or justifying a single course of action. This argument must then be placed into a meaningful context. The student has to argue that the relative merits of the policy outweigh the relative costs.
It might be possible to reduce the problem of shoplifting rather dramatically, for example, if all shoplifters are simply executed. Are the merits of this approach worth the costs? The answer will vary from reader to reader, and a student’s essay on the subject would have to consider how readers will weigh the implications of such a policy.
Finally, policy arguments need to identify who has the power to take meaningful action in a situation. They must then make an argument that suggests why those with the power should, in fact, take the action.
What to Avoid: One of the biggest reasons policy arguments fall apart is that they fail to distinguish between doing something and doing something that matters. Students should avoid thinking that all solutions are created equal. Sometimes, a supposed solution actually just makes things worse (e.g. the fabled ‘I’ll help you deal with your stubbed toe by hitting you with a hammer – chances are you aren’t worried about the toe anymore, even if nothing is improved).
Another reason that policy arguments fall apart is that they fail to identify an entity (an agent) that could take the desired action. A simple, personal argument (eat less and exercise) at least attempts to convince individual readers to take action. However, an argument about lowering tuition or gas prices has no clear person or group who is supposed to do the lowering.