A high-quality argument is at the core of excellent research writing. After all, it is precisely your argument that determines the structure, flow, and content of your academic work.
Most research papers aim to prove or disprove a hypothesis, and a set of arguments is the tool through which scientists can do this in a clear, understandable, and coherent manner.
And since a great argument is the bedrock of excellent research writing, it’s important to know how to craft compelling arguments that help you make your point.
Ready? Let’s go!
What Makes a Good Argument
In order to create a solid argument, you should make sure that:
- It’s grounded in credible evidence with clear results
- It’s supported by high-quality and relevant secondary sources
- It relies upon logic and critical thinking rather than your own subjective opinions
- It’s contextualized within other theories and arguments in the field (ideally, it should reply to, add to, or build upon another piece of work)
- It takes all possible objections and limitations into consideration – and holds strong in spite of these
One of the mistakes that people often make when they dip their toes in academic writing is that they assume quite a subjective approach. In other words, they make things personal.
Some academic writing, such as a philosophy essay at high school, may work well when approached from a more personal angle. In fact, even some classic philosophical works contain personal anecdotes, especially if they tie into the main argument or serve to create a powerful metaphor.
But if your research is rooted in a fact-oriented field, such as medicine or physics, it’s a good idea to try to remain as objective and unbiased as possible so that your results reflect reality.
RELATED READ: 11 Research Resources to Support Your Work
4 Building Blocks of a Compelling Argument
Alright, let’s look at the four individual factors that make up an excellent argument!
1) Claim
A claim is the main point you’re trying to make.
Depending on your field of study, this could be anything from “Students retain more information after an eight-hour sleep as opposed to a six-hour sleep” to “Kant’s categorical imperative fails when applied to real-life scenarios” or “Character A in book X approaches a C problem in Y way while character B in book Z approaches it in K way, showing us that C problem gives rise to different solutions.”
It really depends.
The main point of a claim, though, is that you’re taking a clear stance on something and can explain why. It’s also important to contextualize your claim, which means you should tell us why it’s relevant and how it feeds into other arguments in your field.
The next step is to back it up with valid evidence.
2) Evidence
Academic evidence can take many forms, from scientific results to literary sources, statistics, or theoretical examples grounded in critical thinking.
However, note that providing evidence doesn’t automatically convince the reader that your claim is valid. Oftentimes, you will have to draw your own connections between different types of evidence and use critical thinking to arrive at a persuasive conclusion.
What’s more, your evidence should be properly referenced so that your readers can always double-check your sources and draw their own conclusions.
3) Objections
It would be pretty easy to choose a claim, support it with evidence, and be done with it.
But that’s precisely why research writing is more difficult than meets the eye – it requires a great deal of nuance and careful thought to navigate a set of arguments and objections in order to decide where you stand on the matter.
And once you decide, you can’t just ignore all possible objections, either. On the contrary, they make up an important part of your argument.
An objection ought to be addressed, analyzed, and argued against so that your own claim proves valid. Again, this should be done through well-researched evidence.
4) Conclusion
If there’s one thing you need to know about your conclusion, it’s that it shouldn’t be a simple rehash of everything you’ve already said.
A conclusion is a section of its own, and while it’s important to summarize your claims, it’s also a good idea to take your argument further.
For example, you can suggest how it could be applied in practice and which areas need further research. You could also offer some predictions or make your argument even stronger through the use of a powerful (and relevant) metaphor.
RELATED READ: Writing Strong Research Questions: Tips and Examples
Before We Part
Keep in mind that your argument doesn’t only determine the content of your paper – it’s also the foundation of your structure. Academic and research writing differs from commercial non-fiction in so that it comprises quite long paragraphs, each of which argues for or against a specific point.
This is why most papers look so daunting at first glance – there are no breaks every three sentences for the purposes of readability. No, a research paper is all about logical structure, which means that every sub-argument you make and expand upon ought to have its own paragraph.
Finally, one of the best ways to learn how to craft compelling arguments is to read other research papers. The more familiar you become with the flow and style of research writing, the more likely you are to emulate it and create some excellent arguments of your own.
