Supporting Arguments-Definition, Use, and Examples
The term “argument” refers to a discussion or line of reasoning that seeks to convince someone of an idea, point, or attitude. Arguments can be structured as “positive” (the positive argument is based on facts and data) or as “negative” (the negative argument completely disregards fact and data).
In general, the purpose of an argument is to try and convince someone about something. In rhetoric, there are two kinds of arguments: supporting and opposing.
Supporting arguments establish reasons to believe that something is valid. These are also known as premises because they establish a premise or statement that explains how this evidence supports the main argument.
Use of Supporting Arguments.
Supporting arguments are commonly used in speeches, argumentative or persuasive essays. Apart from tackling possible objections, supporting arguments serve various purposes, including:
1). Proving a hypothesis (a statement that is not yet proven).
When someone poses a hypothesis, a supporting argument is a way to advance the hypothesis. The hypothesis being statements that have not been proven, a supporting argument is a way to try and provide evidence that would convince others about the truth of a hypothesis.
2). Explaining or clarifying an issue or topic.
In this case, a supporting argument is used as a way to explain something in more detail. In any kind of writing, it can be useful to use supporting arguments to explain an issue or topic. By doing this, the writer can provide more information about a specific point of view.
3). Proving the credibility of an argument.
Another way that supporting arguments can be used is to prove the credibility of an argument. This may occur in academic writing, where the writer needs to provide evidence or other information that makes his or her point valid. Statements, statistics, and examples are all common types of information that might prove the credibility of an argument.
4). Persuading the reader to agree with the argument.
This is the most common use of a supporting argument. It involves providing supporting information to prove that something is true and ultimately trying to convince readers of the same thing.
Types of Supporting Arguments.
When supporting arguments are being used, they need to be specific about what they prove. This can help readers understand the idea presented in the argument, which helps convince the reader of its validity. There are three different types of arguments that are commonly used in arguments, persuasive or expository writing:
Statistics are measurements that show how many times something happens. For example, if you had a group of people and asked them to keep track of when they feel happy and recorded the date and time each person experienced happiness, we could say, “Mondays happen 10% more often than other days”. Statistics can support an argument by providing numbers or percentages that may help convince someone that your point is valid.
An example is a specific instance of a generalization. For example, if you were trying to convince someone that they need to get more sleep at night, you could give them an example of someone who feels much better when getting enough sleep every night. In this case, your evidence would be “Jane”, and your claim might be something along the lines of “Jane wakes up feeling refreshed and much happier after getting 8 hours of sleep a night.
3). Expert opinion.
An expert is someone who has special knowledge or an established authority over a topic. For example, if you were trying to convince an athlete that they need to drink more water during games, you might bring in the opinion of the team’s coach. Your evidence would be, “Coach says athletes should drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.” and your claim might be “, If athletes drink more water, they will have more energy to perform better during games.”
Kinds of Appeals Used in Supporting Arguments.
When writing an argument, the author uses different kinds of appeals to support their claims. There are three main types of appeals that are frequently used when making persuasive claims.
Ethos is an appeal to the authority or credibility of someone who makes a claim. For example, if you argue that students should be required to take more mathematics courses in college, you might include John Smith, Ph.D. as part of your evidence. In this case, Dr. Smith would be used as an ethos-based appeal because his expertise and credibility strengthen the claim that students should be required to take more mathematics courses.
Ethos in a supporting argument consists of:
- Personal anecdotes.
- Case studies.
- Opinion of experts.
Logos is an appeal to logic, reasoning, or critical thinking. For example, suppose you argue that it’s important for all employees to read manuals before using new equipment in their workplace. In that case, you might use an argument like this: “If employees don’t read the manual, they might not understand how to use the equipment, and that could lead to accidents.” Here, the author uses logos to convince readers that employees need to read manuals before using new equipment.
Pathos is an appeal to emotions or feelings. For instance, if you argue that students shouldn’t major in fields like mathematics or science because those fields don’t help people, you could say something like this: “People who major in science and math end up feeling like they’re wasting their time. Isn’t it better to pursue a field that will make you happy?” This claim uses Pathos as an appeal because people would probably feel sad if they realized they were majoring in fields that made them unhappy.
How to Structure Supporting Arguments in a Paper
In a paper, it’s a good practice to include supporting arguments in a separate paragraph from the claim. This way, readers can focus on both the claim and the evidence without getting overwhelmed by too much information at once. But how does one structure or incorporate supporting claims into an argumentative essay? To structure supporting claims, you should do the following:
1). Start with a topic sentence.
To write good paragraphs, start by writing topic sentences that include what the paragraphs are about and any claim or evidence that might be included. For example, if you’re writing a whole essay that is about the importance of mathematics, you might have a topic sentence like this:
“I believe that mathematics is an important field for students to study.”
2). List the pieces of the supporting evidence.
Once you’ve written your topic sentence, it’s time to list the pieces of evidence that will be used in your argument. To do this, just write a few short sentences explaining each piece of evidence and how it supports the claim or strengthens the presented idea. For example, if you want to argue that students should study mathematics because it’s important to their career prospects,
you might have sentences like this:
“90% of all jobs require some knowledge in mathematics.
Mathematics is being used more often in high-paying jobs.”
3). Combine the pieces of evidence with transition words and phrases.
Once you’ve listed the pieces of evidence and explained why they’re important to your argument, combine them into one coherent paragraph that explains all the reasons for your claim. To do this, use different types of transition words and phrases as a way to connect the ideas in each sentence. For example, you might have a supporting argument that looks like this:
“I believe that mathematics is an important field for students to study.
The most recent U.S. Department of Education data shows that 90% of all jobs require some knowledge in mathematics and that mathematics is being used more often in high-paying jobs. These numbers and statistics show that it’s important for students to study mathematics.”
Phrases such as “These numbers and statistics show that” are good transition words because they give readers a sense of what’s to come.
4). Use a concluding sentence.
You should always finish off your arguments with a good logical conclusion. Concluding sentences need to restate the paragraph’s main ideas and reinforce why readers should agree with you. For example, if your concluding sentence is something like this:
“Math is simply too important for our college students to ignore.”
Then your readers understand that mathematics is an important subject, and they know why it’s important.
A good way to make sure the supporting part of your argument has all these pieces of information is to use a template like this:
“I believe that (claim) because (evidence 1), (evidence 2), and (evidence 3).” “Therefore (concluding sentence)
What Not to do With Supporting Arguments
One thing you should not do with your supporting arguments is focus too much on just listing evidence.
If you simply list evidence without any context, it can be hard for your readers to tell why you’re using this piece of information. And if they don’t understand why an argument is important, then there’s no way to convince them that your conclusion or claim is accurate.
You should also avoid coming up with supporting arguments after you’ve finished your paper. You should come up with them before you start writing so that you have all the information ready to go.
In short, supporting arguments are the pieces of information that help you to make a claim or a thesis statement stronger.
They’re a way to back up your opinion with evidence and facts. If you don’t have strong supporting arguments, then it’s going to be hard for readers to take your writing seriously because there will be nothing for them to consider.
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