Learning English

We've looked at the elements of a strong argument. You can also apply these principles when looking at the arguments of others.

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How would you compare these two paragraphs taken from assignments on diet and healthcare? Which is a better argument? To help you spot the differences, we've numbered the sentences in each paragraph. You can check your answers – in an activity – later on this page.

Paragraph A

1) UK health officials believe we should cut 300 calories from our diets each day. 2) Eating too many calories is known to cause obesity. 3) One in three children leave school overweight, according to UK health officials.

Paragraph B

1) Cutting calories from our daily diets is the best way to fight obesity. 2) New research shows we are eating between 200-300 calories more than our bodies need each day (Public Health England, 2015). 3) Consuming more calories than we need is a prime cause of obesity. 4) Some have argued that doing more physical exercise is the most effective way of fighting obesity. 5) However, studies have shown that while exercise is effective at improving overall fitness, dietary changes account for more significant weight loss (Carroll, 2015).

To do

Analyse these paragraphs and decide which has the better academic argument.

Review

Now you've had a good look at key concepts relating to the language of argument, let's review what we've learned so far:

• The claim is where you where you make your main point – it's a key part of academic argument. If there's no claim, there's no argument.
• You need to support your claim with evidence. We are talking about opinions here, not facts – good evidence backs up the points you make.
• Justification is where you explain why the evidence supports the claim – sometimes this can be left out if it's obvious or a widely held belief.
• Claim, evidence and justification all combine to produce a clear argument.
• Counter-arguments are important. If you include them in your writing it shows that you have considered more than one side of an argument.
• Tell your reader your limitations. This doesn't mean that your writing is lower quality but actually helps the reader understand your context better.

Find out more

Now you know the concepts, it's time to practice words and phrases included in claims, evidence, justifications, counter-arguments and limitations.You'll also take a look at useful hedging language to make balanced arguments – just click on Downloads to find a free pdf with more activities to practise your language of argument. Try the links below for more Go The Distance!

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