Introduction:

A Claims with Reasons Argument is otherwise known as an Aristotelian Argument, or a Classical Argument, and traces its formal academic history back to (not surprisingly) Aristotle (Greece, 4th century B.C.). The tenets, though, of this argumentative model are, I argue, innate to human argumentation; sometimes called the Adversarial Model, it’s a strategy of using evidence to explain clearly why one thesis is correct, and another wrong. Phrased most simply, it’s the “why I’m right” strategy of argumentation. Especially when making a claim regarding an important issue, one that is disputed in any capacity, this “why I’m right” is often accompanied by an explanation of “why the opposition is wrong.” We’ve been doing this since we were very young, when we argued with our friends over the debatable superiority of various athletes, musical groups, movies, or books. In a cultural context, these same methods of debate apply to numerous, supremely significant political and social issues: military conflict, the economy, women’s rights, immigration, gun control, education, and so on.

For your Claims Essay, you will need to offer your own claim: an argument confronting a current cultural issue, supported by at least three academically viable sources. You may choose almost any stance, any topic that you like, keeping in mind that the topic needs to be researchable and academically appropriate. Like the articles in our textbook, the topic needs to be socially significant in some way. Otherwise, as I offer later, write something you’re interested in.

Organization:

While I will be offering several resources for guidance throughout the project, it’s worth note, here, that a Claims essay often follows a proven and predictable template for organization. In fact, as the preeminent model for academic argumentation, this organization is likely the one with which we have been most familiar over the course of our own educational histories, i.e. the five paragraph essay. While your essay may or may not consist of five paragraphs, it should adhere to the following paragraph structure:

Opening paragraph: Introduction of thesis/claim in broad terms, situating the argument within a larger context— this paragraph should culminate with a clear statement of overarching thesis/identification of problem

Body paragraphs (3 or more): Considerations and support, incorporating research

Refutation of opposition: Accounting for and negating at least one chief oppositional perspective

Conclusion: Reiteration of thesis given the discussion of the essay