Introduce the topic.
Provide background information.
Present the thesis statement or main argument.
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An argumentative essay presents a specific claim or argument and supports it with evidence and reasoning. Here’s an outline for an argumentative essay, along with examples for each section: 3
1. Introduction :
Example: “Did you know that plastic pollution is threatening marine life at an alarming rate?”
Example: “Plastic pollution has become a global environmental concern, with millions of tons of plastic waste entering our oceans yearly.”
Example: “We must take immediate action to reduce plastic usage and implement more sustainable alternatives to protect our marine ecosystem.”
2. Body Paragraphs :
Example: “The first step towards addressing the plastic pollution crisis is reducing single-use plastic consumption.”
Example: “Research shows that plastic straws alone contribute to millions of tons of plastic waste annually, and many marine animals suffer from ingestion or entanglement.”
Example: “Some argue that banning plastic straws is inconvenient for consumers, but the long-term environmental benefits far outweigh the temporary inconvenience.”
Example: “Having addressed the issue of single-use plastics, the focus must now shift to promoting sustainable alternatives.”
3. Counterargument Paragraph :
Example: “While some may argue that individual actions cannot significantly impact global plastic pollution, the cumulative effect of collective efforts must be considered.”
Example: “However, individual actions, when multiplied across millions of people, can substantially reduce plastic waste. Small changes in behavior, such as using reusable bags and containers, can have a significant positive impact.”
4. Conclusion :
Example: “In conclusion, adopting sustainable practices and reducing single-use plastic is crucial for preserving our oceans and marine life.”
Example: “It is our responsibility to make environmentally conscious choices and advocate for policies that prioritize the health of our planet. By collectively embracing sustainable alternatives, we can contribute to a cleaner and healthier future.”
A claim is a statement or proposition a writer puts forward with evidence to persuade the reader. 4 Here are some common types of argument claims, along with examples:
Understanding these argument claims can help writers construct more persuasive and well-supported arguments tailored to the specific nature of the claim.
If you’re wondering how to start an argumentative essay, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with the argumentative essay format and writing process.
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Here are eight strategies to craft a compelling argumentative essay:
Let’s consider a sample of argumentative essay on how social media enhances connectivity:
In the digital age, social media has emerged as a powerful tool that transcends geographical boundaries, connecting individuals from diverse backgrounds and providing a platform for an array of voices to be heard. While critics argue that social media fosters division and amplifies negativity, it is essential to recognize the positive aspects of this digital revolution and how it enhances connectivity by providing a platform for diverse voices to flourish. One of the primary benefits of social media is its ability to facilitate instant communication and connection across the globe. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram break down geographical barriers, enabling people to establish and maintain relationships regardless of physical location and fostering a sense of global community. Furthermore, social media has transformed how people stay connected with friends and family. Whether separated by miles or time zones, social media ensures that relationships remain dynamic and relevant, contributing to a more interconnected world. Moreover, social media has played a pivotal role in giving voice to social justice movements and marginalized communities. Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #ClimateStrike have gained momentum through social media, allowing individuals to share their stories and advocate for change on a global scale. This digital activism can shape public opinion and hold institutions accountable. Social media platforms provide a dynamic space for open dialogue and discourse. Users can engage in discussions, share information, and challenge each other’s perspectives, fostering a culture of critical thinking. This open exchange of ideas contributes to a more informed and enlightened society where individuals can broaden their horizons and develop a nuanced understanding of complex issues. While criticisms of social media abound, it is crucial to recognize its positive impact on connectivity and the amplification of diverse voices. Social media transcends physical and cultural barriers, connecting people across the globe and providing a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. By fostering open dialogue and facilitating the exchange of ideas, social media contributes to a more interconnected and empowered society. Embracing the positive aspects of social media allows us to harness its potential for positive change and collective growth.
Writing a winning argumentative essay not only showcases your ability to critically analyze a topic but also demonstrates your skill in persuasively presenting your stance backed by evidence. Achieving this level of writing excellence can be time-consuming. This is where Paperpal, your AI academic writing assistant, steps in to revolutionize the way you approach argumentative essays. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Paperpal to write your essay:
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The length of an argumentative essay can vary, but it typically falls within the range of 1,000 to 2,500 words. However, the specific requirements may depend on the guidelines provided.
You might write an argumentative essay when: 1. You want to convince others of the validity of your position. 2. There is a controversial or debatable issue that requires discussion. 3. You need to present evidence and logical reasoning to support your claims. 4. You want to explore and critically analyze different perspectives on a topic.
Argumentative Essay: Purpose : An argumentative essay aims to persuade the reader to accept or agree with a specific point of view or argument. Structure : It follows a clear structure with an introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, counterarguments and refutations, and a conclusion. Tone : The tone is formal and relies on logical reasoning, evidence, and critical analysis. Narrative/Descriptive Essay: Purpose : These aim to tell a story or describe an experience, while a descriptive essay focuses on creating a vivid picture of a person, place, or thing. Structure : They may have a more flexible structure. They often include an engaging introduction, a well-developed body that builds the story or description, and a conclusion. Tone : The tone is more personal and expressive to evoke emotions or provide sensory details.
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This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic essays.
You may be surprised to hear that the word “argument” does not have to be written anywhere in your assignment for it to be an important part of your task. In fact, making an argument—expressing a point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence—is often the aim of academic writing. Your instructors may assume that you know this and thus may not explain the importance of arguments in class.
Most material you learn in college is or has been debated by someone, somewhere, at some time. Even when the material you read or hear is presented as a simple fact, it may actually be one person’s interpretation of a set of information. Instructors may call on you to examine that interpretation and defend it, refute it, or offer some new view of your own. In writing assignments, you will almost always need to do more than just summarize information that you have gathered or regurgitate facts that have been discussed in class. You will need to develop a point of view on or interpretation of that material and provide evidence for your position.
Consider an example. For nearly 2000 years, educated people in many Western cultures believed that bloodletting—deliberately causing a sick person to lose blood—was the most effective treatment for a variety of illnesses. The claim that bloodletting is beneficial to human health was not widely questioned until the 1800s, and some physicians continued to recommend bloodletting as late as the 1920s. Medical practices have now changed because some people began to doubt the effectiveness of bloodletting; these people argued against it and provided convincing evidence. Human knowledge grows out of such differences of opinion, and scholars like your instructors spend their lives engaged in debate over what claims may be counted as accurate in their fields. In their courses, they want you to engage in similar kinds of critical thinking and debate.
Argumentation is not just what your instructors do. We all use argumentation on a daily basis, and you probably already have some skill at crafting an argument. The more you improve your skills in this area, the better you will be at thinking critically, reasoning, making choices, and weighing evidence.
What is an argument? In academic writing, an argument is usually a main idea, often called a “claim” or “thesis statement,” backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In the majority of college papers, you will need to make some sort of claim and use evidence to support it, and your ability to do this well will separate your papers from those of students who see assignments as mere accumulations of fact and detail. In other words, gone are the happy days of being given a “topic” about which you can write anything. It is time to stake out a position and prove why it is a good position for a thinking person to hold. See our handout on thesis statements .
Claims can be as simple as “Protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged,” with evidence such as, “In this experiment, protons and electrons acted in such and such a way.” Claims can also be as complex as “Genre is the most important element to the contract of expectations between filmmaker and audience,” using reasoning and evidence such as, “defying genre expectations can create a complete apocalypse of story form and content, leaving us stranded in a sort of genre-less abyss.” In either case, the rest of your paper will detail the reasoning and evidence that have led you to believe that your position is best.
When beginning to write a paper, ask yourself, “What is my point?” For example, the point of this handout is to help you become a better writer, and we are arguing that an important step in the process of writing effective arguments is understanding the concept of argumentation. If your papers do not have a main point, they cannot be arguing for anything. Asking yourself what your point is can help you avoid a mere “information dump.” Consider this: your instructors probably know a lot more than you do about your subject matter. Why, then, would you want to provide them with material they already know? Instructors are usually looking for two things:
This second part can be done in many ways: you can critique the material, apply it to something else, or even just explain it in a different way. In order to succeed at this second step, though, you must have a particular point to argue.
Arguments in academic writing are usually complex and take time to develop. Your argument will need to be more than a simple or obvious statement such as “Frank Lloyd Wright was a great architect.” Such a statement might capture your initial impressions of Wright as you have studied him in class; however, you need to look deeper and express specifically what caused that “greatness.” Your instructor will probably expect something more complicated, such as “Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture combines elements of European modernism, Asian aesthetic form, and locally found materials to create a unique new style,” or “There are many strong similarities between Wright’s building designs and those of his mother, which suggests that he may have borrowed some of her ideas.” To develop your argument, you would then define your terms and prove your claim with evidence from Wright’s drawings and buildings and those of the other architects you mentioned.
Do not stop with having a point. You have to back up your point with evidence. The strength of your evidence, and your use of it, can make or break your argument. See our handout on evidence . You already have the natural inclination for this type of thinking, if not in an academic setting. Think about how you talked your parents into letting you borrow the family car. Did you present them with lots of instances of your past trustworthiness? Did you make them feel guilty because your friends’ parents all let them drive? Did you whine until they just wanted you to shut up? Did you look up statistics on teen driving and use them to show how you didn’t fit the dangerous-driver profile? These are all types of argumentation, and they exist in academia in similar forms.
Every field has slightly different requirements for acceptable evidence, so familiarize yourself with some arguments from within that field instead of just applying whatever evidence you like best. Pay attention to your textbooks and your instructor’s lectures. What types of argument and evidence are they using? The type of evidence that sways an English instructor may not work to convince a sociology instructor. Find out what counts as proof that something is true in that field. Is it statistics, a logical development of points, something from the object being discussed (art work, text, culture, or atom), the way something works, or some combination of more than one of these things?
Be consistent with your evidence. Unlike negotiating for the use of your parents’ car, a college paper is not the place for an all-out blitz of every type of argument. You can often use more than one type of evidence within a paper, but make sure that within each section you are providing the reader with evidence appropriate to each claim. So, if you start a paragraph or section with a statement like “Putting the student seating area closer to the basketball court will raise player performance,” do not follow with your evidence on how much more money the university could raise by letting more students go to games for free. Information about how fan support raises player morale, which then results in better play, would be a better follow-up. Your next section could offer clear reasons why undergraduates have as much or more right to attend an undergraduate event as wealthy alumni—but this information would not go in the same section as the fan support stuff. You cannot convince a confused person, so keep things tidy and ordered.
One way to strengthen your argument and show that you have a deep understanding of the issue you are discussing is to anticipate and address counterarguments or objections. By considering what someone who disagrees with your position might have to say about your argument, you show that you have thought things through, and you dispose of some of the reasons your audience might have for not accepting your argument. Recall our discussion of student seating in the Dean Dome. To make the most effective argument possible, you should consider not only what students would say about seating but also what alumni who have paid a lot to get good seats might say.
You can generate counterarguments by asking yourself how someone who disagrees with you might respond to each of the points you’ve made or your position as a whole. If you can’t immediately imagine another position, here are some strategies to try:
Once you have thought up some counterarguments, consider how you will respond to them—will you concede that your opponent has a point but explain why your audience should nonetheless accept your argument? Will you reject the counterargument and explain why it is mistaken? Either way, you will want to leave your reader with a sense that your argument is stronger than opposing arguments.
When you are summarizing opposing arguments, be charitable. Present each argument fairly and objectively, rather than trying to make it look foolish. You want to show that you have considered the many sides of the issue. If you simply attack or caricature your opponent (also referred to as presenting a “straw man”), you suggest that your argument is only capable of defeating an extremely weak adversary, which may undermine your argument rather than enhance it.
It is usually better to consider one or two serious counterarguments in some depth, rather than to give a long but superficial list of many different counterarguments and replies.
Be sure that your reply is consistent with your original argument. If considering a counterargument changes your position, you will need to go back and revise your original argument accordingly.
Audience is a very important consideration in argument. Take a look at our handout on audience . A lifetime of dealing with your family members has helped you figure out which arguments work best to persuade each of them. Maybe whining works with one parent, but the other will only accept cold, hard statistics. Your kid brother may listen only to the sound of money in his palm. It’s usually wise to think of your audience in an academic setting as someone who is perfectly smart but who doesn’t necessarily agree with you. You are not just expressing your opinion in an argument (“It’s true because I said so”), and in most cases your audience will know something about the subject at hand—so you will need sturdy proof. At the same time, do not think of your audience as capable of reading your mind. You have to come out and state both your claim and your evidence clearly. Do not assume that because the instructor knows the material, he or she understands what part of it you are using, what you think about it, and why you have taken the position you’ve chosen.
Critical reading is a big part of understanding argument. Although some of the material you read will be very persuasive, do not fall under the spell of the printed word as authority. Very few of your instructors think of the texts they assign as the last word on the subject. Remember that the author of every text has an agenda, something that he or she wants you to believe. This is OK—everything is written from someone’s perspective—but it’s a good thing to be aware of. For more information on objectivity and bias and on reading sources carefully, read our handouts on evaluating print sources and reading to write .
Take notes either in the margins of your source (if you are using a photocopy or your own book) or on a separate sheet as you read. Put away that highlighter! Simply highlighting a text is good for memorizing the main ideas in that text—it does not encourage critical reading. Part of your goal as a reader should be to put the author’s ideas in your own words. Then you can stop thinking of these ideas as facts and start thinking of them as arguments.
When you read, ask yourself questions like “What is the author trying to prove?” and “What is the author assuming I will agree with?” Do you agree with the author? Does the author adequately defend her argument? What kind of proof does she use? Is there something she leaves out that you would put in? Does putting it in hurt her argument? As you get used to reading critically, you will start to see the sometimes hidden agendas of other writers, and you can use this skill to improve your own ability to craft effective arguments.
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research , 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ede, Lisa. 2004. Work in Progress: A Guide to Academic Writing and Revising , 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.
Gage, John T. 2005. The Shape of Reason: Argumentative Writing in College , 4th ed. New York: Longman.
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 2016. Everything’s an Argument , 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.
Rosen, Leonard J., and Laurence Behrens. 2003. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook , 5th ed. New York: Longman.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner.
Please note : Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay. These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy, detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length. Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE.
Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material. Argumentative assignments may also require empirical research where the student collects data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. Detailed research allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the topic so that she/he may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research. Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear thesis and follow sound reasoning.
The structure of the argumentative essay is held together by the following.
In the first paragraph of an argument essay, students should set the context by reviewing the topic in a general way. Next the author should explain why the topic is important ( exigence ) or why readers should care about the issue. Lastly, students should present the thesis statement. It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay.
Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will collapse. Transitions should wrap up the idea from the previous section and introduce the idea that is to follow in the next section.
Each paragraph should be limited to the discussion of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and direction throughout the essay. In addition, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph. Some paragraphs will directly support the thesis statement with evidence collected during research. It is also important to explain how and why the evidence supports the thesis ( warrant ).
However, argumentative essays should also consider and explain differing points of view regarding the topic. Depending on the length of the assignment, students should dedicate one or two paragraphs of an argumentative essay to discussing conflicting opinions on the topic. Rather than explaining how these differing opinions are wrong outright, students should note how opinions that do not align with their thesis might not be well informed or how they might be out of date.
The argumentative essay requires well-researched, accurate, detailed, and current information to support the thesis statement and consider other points of view. Some factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal evidence should support the thesis. However, students must consider multiple points of view when collecting evidence. As noted in the paragraph above, a successful and well-rounded argumentative essay will also discuss opinions not aligning with the thesis. It is unethical to exclude evidence that may not support the thesis. It is not the student’s job to point out how other positions are wrong outright, but rather to explain how other positions may not be well informed or up to date on the topic.
It is at this point of the essay that students may begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize the information presented in the body of the essay. Restate why the topic is important, review the main points, and review your thesis. You may also want to include a short discussion of more research that should be completed in light of your work.
Perhaps it is helpful to think of an essay in terms of a conversation or debate with a classmate. If I were to discuss the cause of World War II and its current effect on those who lived through the tumultuous time, there would be a beginning, middle, and end to the conversation. In fact, if I were to end the argument in the middle of my second point, questions would arise concerning the current effects on those who lived through the conflict. Therefore, the argumentative essay must be complete, and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its intent or argument.
A common method for writing an argumentative essay is the five-paragraph approach. This is, however, by no means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is because it is; in fact, the method consists of (a) an introductory paragraph (b) three evidentiary body paragraphs that may include discussion of opposing views and (c) a conclusion.
Complex issues and detailed research call for complex and detailed essays. Argumentative essays discussing a number of research sources or empirical research will most certainly be longer than five paragraphs. Authors may have to discuss the context surrounding the topic, sources of information and their credibility, as well as a number of different opinions on the issue before concluding the essay. Many of these factors will be determined by the assignment.
In a bustling university town, there lived a student named Alex. Popular for creativity and wit, one challenge seemed insurmountable for Alex– the dreaded argumentative essay!
One gloomy afternoon, as the rain tapped against the window pane, Alex sat at his cluttered desk, staring at a blank document on the computer screen. The assignment loomed large: a 350-600-word argumentative essay on a topic of their choice . With a sigh, he decided to seek help of mentor, Professor Mitchell, who was known for his passion for writing.
Entering Professor Mitchell’s office was like stepping into a treasure of knowledge. Bookshelves lined every wall, faint aroma of old manuscripts in the air and sticky notes over the wall. Alex took a deep breath and knocked on his door.
“Ah, Alex,” Professor Mitchell greeted with a warm smile. “What brings you here today?”
Alex confessed his struggles with the argumentative essay. After hearing his concerns, Professor Mitchell said, “Ah, the argumentative essay! Don’t worry, Let’s take a look at it together.” As he guided Alex to the corner shelf, Alex asked,
Table of Contents
The professor replied, “An argumentative essay is a type of academic writing that presents a clear argument or a firm position on a contentious issue. Unlike other forms of essays, such as descriptive or narrative essays, these essays require you to take a stance, present evidence, and convince your audience of the validity of your viewpoint with supporting evidence. A well-crafted argumentative essay relies on concrete facts and supporting evidence rather than merely expressing the author’s personal opinions . Furthermore, these essays demand comprehensive research on the chosen topic and typically follows a structured format consisting of three primary sections: an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.”
He continued, “Argumentative essays are written in a wide range of subject areas, reflecting their applicability across disciplines. They are written in different subject areas like literature and philosophy, history, science and technology, political science, psychology, economics and so on.
Alex asked,
The professor answered, “Argumentative essays are often assigned in academic settings, but they can also be written for various other purposes, such as editorials, opinion pieces, or blog posts. Some situations to write argumentative essays include:
In school or college, teachers may assign argumentative essays as part of coursework. It help students to develop critical thinking and persuasive writing skills .
Argumentative essays can serve as the basis for debates or discussions in academic or competitive settings. Moreover, they provide a structured way to present and defend your viewpoint.
Newspapers, magazines, and online publications often feature opinion pieces that present an argument on a current issue or topic to influence public opinion.
In government and policy-related fields, argumentative essays are used to propose and defend specific policy changes or solutions to societal problems.
Before delivering a persuasive speech, it’s common to prepare an argumentative essay as a foundation for your presentation.
Regardless of the context, an argumentative essay should present a clear thesis statement , provide evidence and reasoning to support your position, address counterarguments, and conclude with a compelling summary of your main points. The goal is to persuade readers or listeners to accept your viewpoint or at least consider it seriously.”
Handing over a book, the professor continued, “Take a look on the elements or structure of an argumentative essay.”
An argumentative essay comprises five essential components:
Claim in argumentative writing is the central argument or viewpoint that the writer aims to establish and defend throughout the essay. A claim must assert your position on an issue and must be arguable. It can guide the entire argument.
Evidence must consist of factual information, data, examples, or expert opinions that support the claim. Also, it lends credibility by strengthening the writer’s position.
Presenting a counterclaim demonstrates fairness and awareness of alternative perspectives.
After presenting the counterclaim, the writer refutes it by offering counterarguments or providing evidence that weakens the opposing viewpoint. It shows that the writer has considered multiple perspectives and is prepared to defend their position.
The format of an argumentative essay typically follows the structure to ensure clarity and effectiveness in presenting an argument.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write an argumentative essay:
Remember that the specific requirements for formatting an argumentative essay may vary depending on your instructor’s guidelines or the citation style you’re using (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). Always check the assignment instructions or style guide for any additional requirements or variations in formatting.
Did you understand what Prof. Mitchell explained Alex? Check it now!
Prof. Mitchell continued, “An argumentative essay can adopt various approaches when dealing with opposing perspectives. It may offer a balanced presentation of both sides, providing equal weight to each, or it may advocate more strongly for one side while still acknowledging the existence of opposing views.” As Alex listened carefully to the Professor’s thoughts, his eyes fell on a page with examples of argumentative essay.
Alex picked the book and read the example. It helped him to understand the concept. Furthermore, he could now connect better to the elements and steps of the essay which Prof. Mitchell had mentioned earlier. Aren’t you keen to know how an argumentative essay should be like? Here is an example of a well-crafted argumentative essay , which was read by Alex. After Alex finished reading the example, the professor turned the page and continued, “Check this page to know the importance of writing an argumentative essay in developing skills of an individual.”
After understanding the benefits, Alex was convinced by the ability of the argumentative essays in advocating one’s beliefs and favor the author’s position. Alex asked,
Prof. Mitchell answered, “Argumentative essays differ from other types of essays primarily in their purpose, structure, and approach in presenting information. Unlike expository essays, argumentative essays persuade the reader to adopt a particular point of view or take a specific action on a controversial issue. Furthermore, they differ from descriptive essays by not focusing vividly on describing a topic. Also, they are less engaging through storytelling as compared to the narrative essays.
Alex said, “Given the direct and persuasive nature of argumentative essays, can you suggest some strategies to write an effective argumentative essay?
Turning the pages of the book, Prof. Mitchell replied, “Sure! You can check this infographic to get some tips for writing an argumentative essay.”
As days turned into weeks, Alex diligently worked on his essay. He researched, gathered evidence, and refined his thesis. It was a long and challenging journey, filled with countless drafts and revisions.
Finally, the day arrived when Alex submitted their essay. As he clicked the “Submit” button, a sense of accomplishment washed over him. He realized that the argumentative essay, while challenging, had improved his critical thinking and transformed him into a more confident writer. Furthermore, Alex received feedback from his professor, a mix of praise and constructive criticism. It was a humbling experience, a reminder that every journey has its obstacles and opportunities for growth.
An argumentative essay can be written as follows- 1. Choose a Topic 2. Research and Collect Evidences 3. Develop a Clear Thesis Statement 4. Outline Your Essay- Introduction, Body Paragraphs and Conclusion 5. Revise and Edit 6. Format and Cite Sources 7. Final Review
One must choose a clear, concise and specific statement as a claim. It must be debatable and establish your position. Avoid using ambiguous or unclear while making a claim. To strengthen your claim, address potential counterarguments or opposing viewpoints. Additionally, use persuasive language and rhetoric to make your claim more compelling
Starting an argument essay effectively is crucial to engage your readers and establish the context for your argument. Here’s how you can start an argument essay are: 1. Begin With an Engaging Hook 2. Provide Background Information 3. Present Your Thesis Statement 4. Briefly Outline Your Main 5. Establish Your Credibility
The key features of an argumentative essay are: 1. Clear and Specific Thesis Statement 2. Credible Evidence 3. Counterarguments 4. Structured Body Paragraph 5. Logical Flow 6. Use of Persuasive Techniques 7. Formal Language
An argumentative essay typically consists of the following main parts or sections: 1. Introduction 2. Body Paragraphs 3. Counterargument and Rebuttal 4. Conclusion 5. References (if applicable)
The main purpose of an argumentative essay is to persuade the reader to accept or agree with a particular viewpoint or position on a controversial or debatable topic. In other words, the primary goal of an argumentative essay is to convince the audience that the author's argument or thesis statement is valid, logical, and well-supported by evidence and reasoning.
Great article! The topic is simplified well! Keep up the good work
Excellent article! provides comprehensive and practical guidance for crafting compelling arguments. The emphasis on thorough research and clear thesis statements is particularly valuable. To further enhance your strategies, consider recommending the use of a counterargument paragraph. Addressing and refuting opposing viewpoints can strengthen your position and show a well-rounded understanding of the topic. Additionally, engaging with a community like ATReads, a writers’ social media, can provide valuable feedback and support from fellow writers. Thanks for sharing these insightful tips!
wow incredible ! keep up the good work
I love it thanks for the guidelines
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The previous chapters on argumentation offered different models for thinking about what it means to make an argument. Toulmin’s method is deeply analytical, and it requires that a student become familiar with many technical terms. The Rogerian model, on the other hand, feels very conversational, almost intuitive.
In higher education, it’s rare (but not impossible) that a student will be asked to use a single model of argumentation. Depending on the assignment, the course, and your instructor, you might be expected to deploy certain conversational techniques that feel more at home in the Rogerian model, while also defending claims and articulating warrants that rely on Toulmin’s framework. It helps to become familiar with all of them.
The purpose of this chapter is to offer a comprehensive method for developing an argument, based largely on the classical Aristotelian model, but also pulling in strategies from Toulmin, Roger, and other influences, as well as many different articles and writing textbooks. Most academic persuasive/argumentative essay assignments will expect students to include these elements, to some degree.
Arguments begin with identifying a problem or issue that needs to be addressed, often phrased as a question. In rhetoric, we might consider the question the exigence , an issue that demands a timely response. Sometimes your instructor will give you the question; in other cases you will be expected to develop your own research question. Though vitally important, explicit research questions are sometimes not stated in essays or term papers, but they are usually stated in reports of original studies, such as theses, dissertations, and journal articles.
As Writing Arguments and other composition textbooks suggest, it’s important to distinguish between “information questions” (or fact-based questions) and “issue questions.” An information question is a fact-finding mission that’s more suitable for essay reports and other forms of expository writing. An issue question, by contrast, ultimately requires the writer to take a stance on something that can be debated.
Information question : “What’s a soda tax?”
Issue question: “In order to curb the rise in type 2 diabetes, s hould soda be taxed?”
The information question above can be quickly answered by a few google searches. The second, which includes the word should , is open-ended and can be endlessly debated.
The distinction between open-ended and fact-based questions isn’t always so clear-cut. Sometimes a researcher will begin with an information-based question and soon discover that answering it requires so much analysis that it can be easily debated. For example, a little bit of research shows that the question “Is there a rise in type 2 diabetes in the U.S.?” has a straightforward answer (the consensus is yes), but when asking the follow-up question, “What is causing the rise in type 2 diabetes?”, you’ll find a wide variety of responses. Figuring out the cause is presumably factual, but asking questions about causation with population-level trends is going to touch on so much data and information that any cogent response will require significant prioritizing and analysis on the part of the researcher, and the results will disagree with other interpretations that chose different kinds of prioritizing and analysis. Since a response to this particular question leads to a debate, it’s suitable for argumentation.
A claim is your response to the issue. Depending on the rigor of the assignment and expectations of the course, a claim can be brainstormed rather quickly, or, in research-intensive writing courses, it might require weeks or months of labor. It’s the conclusion you come to after you’ve brainstormed the issue, done the research, analyzed the data, and arrived at a conclusion. It’s a statement expressed in an assertive way.
bad example of a claim: “ In this paper, I will focus on attempts to tax soda.”
example claim: “Soda should not be taxed.”
Word like “should” often appear in claims and they indicate that the statement is open to debate. It’s not a factual claim, although it should be based on factual evidence .
Academic arguments are organized around strictly logical frameworks, which means any opinion or belief must be supported; or, in other words, it must be proved. The difference between informal debates with family, friends, and acquaintances and the more formal debates in academia is largely due to the more rigorous expectations surrounding what it means to actually prove a claim. The proof is the logical core of the argument, what most readers within your audience will likely accept as convincing.
Here, the what it means to support an argument will be broken down into two main elements: reasoning and evidence.
When staking a claim, a writer must respond to the question, “but why?” Reasons are answers to hypothetical challenges:
Debate : “Should soda be taxed?”
Claim : “Yes, soda should be taxed.”
Hypothetical challenge : “But why?”
Response to the hypothetical challenge (Reasoning) : “Well, for starters, taxing soda would reduce the amount of sugar the average citizen consumes. reason 1 Secondly, revenue from a soda tax could be used to curb the rise in type 2 diabetes.” reason 2
The last part above, the Reasoning, is often the bulk of an academic persuasive essay. It’s the writer’s attempt to prove to the reader their claim is valid. As Booth, et al explain in The Craft of Research , the main points of a persuasive academic essay can often be joined to the overarching claim with the word because :
In their chapter, “Making Good Arguments,” Booth, et al suggest it’s helpful to keep in mind that the term claim can both refer to the broader thesis statement the writer is attempting to support and any sub-claim within the essay that needs proved with additional reasoning. What makes something a reason is that it attempts to support a claim, regardless of whether that claim is the one found in the introduction or in the body of the essay. A heavily researched persuasive essay will have a single thesis statement, but many sub-claims that are in turn proved by separate reasons. This ongoing connection between claim, sub-claim, and reason is important to keep in mind when structuring your essay. A very basic assignment might expect a fairly simple proof, backed by only one reason. A more complex assignment might ask the student to generate a variety of reasons from a given set of courses. An even more complex assignment might ask a student to do original research that requires them to explore several layers of claims and sub-claims.
Simple proof
More complex proof
Complex proof, with sub-claims
The example above, concerning the soda tax debate, would be considered a fairly simple proof:
Claim : Soda should be taxed.
Reason 1 : Taxing soda would reduce the amount of sugar the average citizen consumes.
Reason 2 : Revenue from a soda tax could be used to fight the obesity epidemic.
The first reason above, “Taxing soda would reduce the amount of sugar,” is compelling only if the audience also accepts the unstated belief that it’s fair to achieve lower levels in a somewhat brute force manner (in contrast to, for example, relying entirely on educating people about health). Focusing on unstated beliefs or implied premises is what Toulmin terms a warrant . Articulating warrants help the writer practice analysis, which is a separate section touched on below.
If reasoning proves a claim, then evidence proves the reasoning. The evidence provides the foundation upon which the entire argument rests. This is why it’s sometimes called the ground in classical rhetoric (in Toulmin’s scheme, it’s termed backing ). Since the role of evidence is to put all questions to rest, it’s often something concrete, such as facts or data that most readers would find convincing. In a criminal case, for example, a prosecutor might point to fingerprints as proof (as evidence) that the defendant can be placed at the crime scene (support/reason), and this presence at the crime scene supports the broader conclusion that the defendant is guilty of the crime (claim). For the case to be successfully prosecuted, the prosecutor needs enough forensics.
When constructing arguments from research in an academic situation, it’s unlikely a writer will rely on literal forensic evidence to support the reasoning and claim. Instead, academic writers tend to use a variety of research methods to persuade their audience. Let’s look at an example:
Issue/debate : How should local governments respond to the rising obesity epidemic? Some advocate taxing sugary drinks, especially sodas; but consumer advocates argue a tax would infringe on the rights of consumers and corporations.
Claim : In response to the obesity epidemic, municipal governments should tax sodas.
Support (Reasoning with Evidence) : Taxing soda would reduce the amount of sugar consumed by the average citizen. reason A prime example of this can be seen in a case study from 2016 that showed a city in California successfully reduced the average sugar consumption of each citizen after implementing a soda tax. evidence
The evidence for the reason above gives something to satisfy the reader’s skepticism. This particular evidence is a case study, an experiment conducted by researches to test a hypothesis, then published in an peer-reviewed journal. Research like this is often treated as a persuasive form of evidence in academic communities.
What counts as evidence will vary depending on the discipline and situation. In a literature course, passages from a novel are usually key evidence. In a psychology class, on the other hand, case studies are typically evidence. As you develop your research-supported essay, consider not only what types of evidence might support your ideas but also what types of evidence will be considered valid or credible according to the academic discipline or academic audience for which you are writing.
Evidence in the Humanities: Literature, Art, Film, Music, Philosophy
Evidence in the Humanities: History
Evidence in the Social Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology
Evidence in the Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
What remains consistent no matter the discipline in which you are writing, however, is that “evidence” never speaks for itself—you must integrate it into your own argument or claim and demonstrate that the evidence supports your thesis. In addition, be alert to evidence that seems to contradict your claims or offers a counterargument to it: rebutting that counterargument can be powerful evidence for your claim. You can also make evidence that isn’t there an integral part of your argument, too. If you can’t find the evidence you think you need, ask yourself why it seems to be lacking, or if its absence adds a new dimension to your thinking about the topic. Remember, evidence is not the piling up of facts or quotes: evidence is only one component of a strong, well supported, well argued, and well written composition. For more tips with integration information in a research-based persuasive essay, see the section, “Writing With Sources.”
Failures in evidence occur when a reader says, “I do not accept your evidence.” Here is why that might happen:
Composition students often get feedback that includes phrases like, “more analysis!”, or “discuss the evidence!”. These comments are sometimes confusing for students who initially assume that simply presenting enough reasoning and evidence is enough to prove a claim. It’s often unclear what the term analysis actually refers to.
Let’s look again at one of the examples above, concerning the soda tax debate:
Reason : Taxing soda would reduce the amount of sugar the average citizen consumes.
Evidence (Grounds) : A prime example of this can be seen in a case study from 2016 that showed a city in California successfully reduced the average sugar consumption of each citizen after implementing a soda tax.
This structure has the core elements of an argument: a strong and assertive claim , followed by reasoning , which in turn is grounded in specific evidence . Each element seems fairly straightforward. What more is there to discuss?
One area that’s ripe for the discussion is the extent to which the reasoning takes for granted certain values. Rather than simply educating the citizenry in the risks associated with consuming a lot of sugar, a sugar tax moves beyond that step and expects consumers to either reduce their consumption or pay the price. It adds a penalty to a certain behavior, and this kind of policy-enforcement might be interpreted as paternalistic by someone who’s concerned about the encroachment of “big government.” With this skeptical reader in mind, the writer might slow down when proving their point in order to articulate the implied premise, or warrant , that using tax policy to encourage healthier habits is ethically and political sound.
Here’s another version of the proof above, now with the warrant expressed:
Warrant : It’s justifiable to use tax policy to encourage healthy eating habits.
Bringing the warrant to the surface is considered one form of analysis because it closely interrogates a piece of the argument, uncovering another potential layer of discussion. If the writer thinks the audience will readily accept the belief (that it’s ok to use tax policies in this way), they can move forward. However, anticipating objections from the audience is a sign of self-awareness and critical thinking, a type of ethos , so articulating and discussing warrants can have a two-fold effect: making your case more solid (logos) and convincing the reader you’re a careful thinker (ethos).
Depending on how controversial or complex the warrant is, it might be helpful to spend some time making your case that the warrant is actually valid. When proving a warrant, use the same strategies as you would for any other point in the essay—offer reasoning and evidence.
In the soda tax example, one way to back the warrant is by pointing out that local and federal governments in the U.S. have long used tax policy to encourage healthy behaviors. Formerly known as “sin taxes,” these tax policies leverage the power of governments to make certain items more expensive (through taxes) to encourage the behavior most of its citizens want for themselves. An alcohol tax was first introduced in the 1790s; then, more recently, tobacco has been heavily taxed in order to bring down cancer rates.
Backing for the warrant : “Sin taxes” have been used throughout U.S. history to encourage healthy behavior.
This process of tracking down implied beliefs and then backing them can go on endlessly. That’s part of the reason why some topics deserve 20-30 page articles, or even book-length critical engagement. When do you know when to stop? Warrants and backing for them should be supplied for the audience. As the writer anticipates objections to their reasoning, warrants will come to the surface; but, as you interrogate them closely, it’s important to also think and write with the audience in mind, and also to look for feedback from peers. Many (in fact most) beliefs don’t need to be stated or backed, depending on how knowledgeable, specialized, and formal the intended audience is.
Another way to analyze and discuss evidence is by connecting it with other pieces of evidence. If evidence never speaks for itself, it is also rarely isolated. The most convincing grounds or backing have layers of example.
Connecting evidence with concrete examples, especially personal ones, is an especially powerful way to bring home a point. When an evidence-based point (logos) is clearly illustrated with something personal and relatable, the writer/speaker can tap into the emotional reservoirs of their audience (pathos).
Yet another way to discuss evidence is to use “meta” language that explains to a skeptical reader why your evidence is actually valid. Case studies have different methodologies, for example, and a skeptical reader might wonder about the sample size. A keen writer could anticipate these attempts to undermine evidence by discussing whether a source is convincing or authoritative. This kind of discussion surrounding the authority and trustworthiness of the writer’s sources also helps establish ethos .
Sometimes, simply paraphrasing key ideas and points from a source can serve as a form of discussion. Rephrasing important ideas in your own words is also an important integration technique, and it contributes to the cohesive feel of your essay. After including key quotes from an expert, for example, you can follow up with: “In other words…,” or “What this means is…”
The section on warrants , mentioned above, suggests that anticipating the reader’s objections shapes how certain parts of the essay are written. Part of what separates academic essays from more informal persuasive situations is how intensely writers are expected to consider other arguments and probable objections. As the Rogerian model from the previous chapter shows, academic argumentation is fundamentally conversational.
The conversation can begin with the introduction. Do any of your sources not agree with your thesis? Does any of the research disagree with any of the supporting claims (the reasoning)? Opening with an ongoing conversation can also help provide context for the claim, which is covered below.
When supporting your thesis, put yourself in your readers’ shoes. What might they not find logical in your argument? Toulmin’s terminology (claim, grounds, warrant, backing) can be helpful for critically analyzing your own ideas, as the section on warrants above shows.
How solid is the evidence? Would some readers poke holes in it?
One of the following chapters in this Part will offer more suggestions for how to craft counterarguments and rebuttals. In addition, it will be helpful to review the section, Writing With Sources.
When defending your claim, you will need to place your topic (and argument) in context by including relevant background material. Remember, your audience is relying on you for vital information, such as definitions, historical placement, and controversial positions. This background material might appear in either your introductory paragraph/s or your body paragraphs. How and where to incorporate background material depends a lot upon your topic, assignment, evidence, and audience.
One reason context is so important is that it helps persuade the reader your claim is timely and appropriate to a present matter of concern. The timelines of an argument is its kairos . Providing sufficient background information that pinpoints an urgent issue and conversation adds kairotic appeal . This kind of context should appear before introducing your claim—whenever possible, the claim should sound like it’s deeply enmeshed in the moment, pitched at just the right time.
One of the most important contextual pieces of information a writer can provide is to carefully define certain terms of ideas that play a key role in the argument. Part of what makes an argument so experimental is that many of the key terms (words) a writer uses are slippery. Words like “freedom,” “progress,” and “happiness” often appear in many casual arguments, but all of those words are heatedly disputed. These linguistic disputes are why good speakers and writers take their time clarifying key terms that play an important role in their argument.
Consider the debate over free speech in higher education. Most Universities state their commitment to free speech. It’s often in the student handbook. However, many student handbooks also state their commitment to learning and providing a safe and secure environment for that to happen. This second commitment sometimes operates in tension with free speech, which doesn’t care about truth, learning, or the interests of the institution. Google “free speech in higher education” and you’ll see a ton of news articles debating this issue.
In “ Free Speech Is Not an Academic Value ,” Stanley Fish takes the controversial stance that public universities should not value free speech above all other concerns. How does he support his opinion? He points to court decisions that distinguish between “speech on a matter of public concern and speech that is personal or internal to the operations of the unit.” Fish continues, “If the speech at issue falls under the first category, it is constitutionally protected; if it falls under the second, it can be regulated in the same way any employer can regulate speech that disrupts the core business of the workplace.”
From this distinction, he suggests that free speech is protected only when it’s nonacademic. When it’s academic speech, the interests of the institution (the learning outcomes for that class, the objectives of the campus as a whole, etc.) are paramount, and the foundational principle of higher education is “free inquiry” towards the truth. In the classroom and in other academic-related activities, campuses care most about “getting a matter of fact right,” and expressing oneself is secondary to that concern. Controversial indeed!
Notice how Fish deftly uses authoritative definitions to help move forward his argument. He mentions previous court decisions (historical evidence) in order to justify his definition of free speech vs. academic speech. This careful parsing of certain terms is crucial for Fish’s position. It allows him to make the point that arguments related to free speech in higher education must pay close attention to what “speech” actually refers to: speech related to the public interest vs. speech internal to the institution. Only after identifying the different kinds of speech can he then support his broader claim.
In academic situations, persuasive writers are upfront and transparent about their definitions. If an important term is employed throughout your essay, it’s often good practiced to define it near the beginning, or whenever that term first appears.
Write What Matters Copyright © 2020 by Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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reason , in philosophy , the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences . The term “reason” is also used in several other, narrower senses. Reason is in opposition to sensation , perception , feeling, desire, as the faculty (the existence of which is denied by empiricists ) by which fundamental truths are intuitively apprehended. These fundamental truths are the causes or “reasons” of all derivative facts. According to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant , reason is the power of synthesizing into unity, by means of comprehensive principles, the concepts that are provided by the intellect. That reason which gives a priori principles Kant calls “pure reason,” as distinguished from the “practical reason,” which is specially concerned with the performance of actions. In formal logic the drawing of inferences (frequently called “ratiocination,” from Latin ratiocinari, “to use the reasoning faculty”) is classified from Aristotle on as deductive (from generals to particulars) and inductive (from particulars to generals).
(Read Steven Pinker’s Britannica entry on rationality.)
In theology , reason, as distinguished from faith , is the human intelligence exercised upon religious truth whether by way of discovery or by way of explanation . The limits within which the reason may be used have been laid down differently in different churches and periods of thought: on the whole, modern Christianity, especially in the Protestant churches, tends to allow to reason a wide field, reserving, however, as the sphere of faith the ultimate (supernatural) truths of theology .
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Other forms: reasonings; reasoningly
Reasoning is a logical, thoughtful way of thinking. When your teacher explains the reasoning behind his classroom rules, he makes it clear exactly why and how he came up with them.
Voters often want to understand the reasoning behind certain laws, and toddlers almost always want to know the reasoning behind rules about bedtime and wearing warm clothes on cold days. You can also use reasoning as an adjective, to describe someone who can think logically. A reasoning adult can make decisions for herself. The word comes from reason , which is rooted in the Old French raisoner , "discuss or argue," and the Late Latin rationare , "to discourse."
Persuade yourself to study this list of words related to argumentative writing. You'll learn all about making claims, supporting arguments with evidence, and maintaining an objective tone. It's no fallacy that reviewing these words will improve your credibility as a writer.
To improve your fluency in English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR), learn this academic vocabulary list that includes words selected from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state standards.
Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement..
Conditions treated, training and certifications.
Developmental psychology is the study of how humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Developmental psychologists research the stages of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development from the prenatal stage through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
This article covers developmental psychology, including the definition, types, life stages, and how to seek treatment when necessary.
seksan Mongkhonkhamsao / Getty Images
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), developmental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on how human beings grow, change, adapt, and mature across various life stages. Developmental psychology is also known as human development or lifespan psychology.
In each of the life stages of developmental psychology, people generally meet certain physical, emotional, and social milestones. These are the major life stages, according to developmental psychologists:
During its early development as a branch of psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, developmental psychology focused on infant and child development. As the field grew, so did its focus. Today, developmental psychologists focus on all stages of the human lifespan.
As developmental psychology grew over time, various researchers proposed theories about how to understand the process of human development. Depending on their training, a developmental psychologist might focus on a specific theory or approach within the field.
These are a few of the major branches of developmental psychology.
Building on Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development , psychologist Erik Erikson proposed a lifespan theory that included eight stages of psychosocial development .
Each of the stages corresponds to both an age range and a core “crisis” (such as trust vs. mistrust in infancy) that must be resolved before someone can move on to the next.
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development focuses on how children and youth gradually become able to think logically and scientifically. Piaget proposed that cognition develops through four distinct stages of intellectual development, beginning at birth and ending at age 12.
Attachment theory , originally developed by psychoanalyst John Bowlby, establishes the importance of a supportive, steady, and loving caregiver in infant and child development. If a child doesn’t establish such a connection, or if they experience parental separation or loss, they might continue to struggle with healthy attachments as they get older.
While Bowlby considered the importance of the immediate family in child development, psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural developmental theory looks at the role of society. Cultural influences and beliefs can have a profound impact on how a person views their own identity and relates to others.
Developmental psychologists can help people address developmental issues in order to reach their full potential.
Some of the conditions a developmental psychologist might treat include:
The training required to become a developmental psychologist is similar to that in other subfields of psychology. Most developmental psychologists start with an undergraduate degree in psychology or a related field, followed by a master’s degree and a doctoral degree (PhD).
There are many master’s, graduate certificate, and PhD programs in developmental psychology in the United States. Some focus on a certain part of a person's lifespan, such as child and adolescent development. In addition to research and teaching, graduates may participate in a practicum or internship to pursue licensing as a therapist.
If you're concerned that your child is facing a developmental delay, a developmental psychologist can assess them to ensure that they are meeting their milestones. It's best to seek an assessment, diagnosis, and treatment early, so intervention can begin as soon as possible.
Examples of when to see a developmental psychologist may include:
A developmental psychologist might perform physical and/or cognitive testing to diagnose your child or refer them to another specialist, including the following:
A developmental psychologist will also likely ask you and your child questions about issues in areas of their life such as friends, behavior, or school performance.
In addition to working with infants and children, developmental psychologists can also help people at any stage of life. In particular, many older adults benefit from working with a developmental psychologist if they're experiencing symptoms of dementia, ill health, or cognitive decline.
Developmental psychology is the study of how human beings grow and change throughout their lives. Many developmental psychologists focus on the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of infants, children, and adolescents. Others treat and assess people of all ages.
Developmental psychologists can treat issues such as developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, speech and language delays, motor skill delays, dementia, anxiety, depression, auditory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and more. They also make referrals to other specialists, such as physical therapists, psychiatrists, and speech-language pathologists.
American Psychological Association. Developmental psychology .
Maryville University. What is human development and why is it important ?
American Psychological Association. Developmental psychology studies human development across the lifespan .
Oklahoma State University Library. Social development: Erikson’s eight psychosocial crises .
Oklahoma State University Library. Cognitive development: the theory of Jean Piaget .
University of Illinois Psychology Department Labs. Adult attachment theory and research .
Oklahoma State University Library. Social theories of learning .
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy habits: child development .
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC's developmental milestones .
By Laura Dorwart Dr. Dorwart has a Ph.D. from UC San Diego and is a health journalist interested in mental health, pregnancy, and disability rights.
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A review of the development and future challenges of case-based reasoning.
2. basic framework and concept of cbr, 3. development of cbr key technologies, 3.1. case representation, 3.2. similarity measure and case retrieval, 3.2.1. similarity measure, 3.2.2. case retrieval.
4. application fields of cbr, 4.1. diagnosis, 4.2. prediction, 4.3. design and planning, 4.4. decision support, 4.5. recommendation system, 4.6. other applications, 5. summary and challenge, author contributions, conflicts of interest.
Click here to enlarge figure
Method | Element | Representation | Limitation | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frame | slot: facet: value | <Frame name> | Low reasoning efficiency; Hard to track and control. | ||
slot 1: | facet 1 | value 1 , value 1 , | |||
facet 1 | value 1 , value 1 , | ||||
slot n: | facet n | value n , value n , | |||
facet n | value n , value n , | ||||
constraint: | constraint condition | ||||
Object-Oriented | CLASS::=<ID, DS, MS, MI> ID: Identifier DS: Data Structure MS: Method Set MI: Message Interface | class <name>[:<Superclass>] | |||
[<Class variable name>] | |||||
Structure | |||||
<Static structure description of an object> | |||||
Method | |||||
<Definition of an operation on an object> | |||||
Restraint | |||||
<Restricted condition> | |||||
END | |||||
Production Rule | <production>::= <precondition> <conclusion> | P→Q IF P THEN Q (CF = [0, 1]) CF: Certainty Factor | Low efficiency; Unable to express structured knowledge | ||
Semantic Nets | (Node1, Arc, Node2) Semantic Relation | AKO: A-Kind-Of | Non-rigidity; Low reasoning efficiency; Knowledge access complexity | ||
Predicate-Based | Predicate (Constant/Variate/Function) Conjunctions Quantifier | Predicate Formula | Cannot represent uncertain knowledge; Combinatorial explosion; Low efficiency |
Relation | Function | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
⇔ | x and y are similar | ⇔ | x and y are exactly similar | ||
⇔ | x and y are dissimilar | ⇔ | x and y are exactly dissimilar | ||
⇔ | x is at least as similar to y as x to z | ⇔ | x and y are partly similar |
Deep Learning | CBR |
---|---|
Data, experience, and knowledge are all examples | Cases |
It is about learning knowledge | It is about learning knowledge |
General rules and laws are generated | Specific solutions are generated |
Technology | Methodology |
Unsupervised learning possible | Unsupervised problem solving cannot be done |
Eager learners | Lazy learners |
Results are not precise or certain | Results are not precise or certain |
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
Yan, A.; Cheng, Z. A Review of the Development and Future Challenges of Case-Based Reasoning. Appl. Sci. 2024 , 14 , 7130. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167130
Yan A, Cheng Z. A Review of the Development and Future Challenges of Case-Based Reasoning. Applied Sciences . 2024; 14(16):7130. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167130
Yan, Aijun, and Zijun Cheng. 2024. "A Review of the Development and Future Challenges of Case-Based Reasoning" Applied Sciences 14, no. 16: 7130. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167130
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They are planting seeds for their ultimate goal of ending abortion from conception, both within the Republican Party and beyond it. They face a tough political battle since their positions are largely unpopular and do not reflect majority opinion, particularly on I.V.F.
As they see it, their challenge spans generations, not simply a single political cycle. And their approach — including controlling regulatory language, state party platforms and the definition of when life begins — reflects an incremental strategy similar to the one activists used for decades to eventually overturn Roe v. Wade.
“I expect there will be steps backwards as well as what we are working toward, which are long strikes forward,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., who has been newly mobilizing evangelicals against I.V.F.
The fall of Roe itself was far from linear, he noted. “It was nearly a half century of work, a half century of frustration, a half century of setbacks as well as advances,” Mr. Mohler said. “It will be a hard uphill climb, but that’s what we are called to.”
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Deep neural networks are learning diffusion and other tricks.
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T ype in a question to Chat GPT and an answer will materialise. Put a prompt into DALL - E 3 and an image will emerge. Click on TikTok’s “for you” page and you will be fed videos to your taste. Ask Siri for the weather and in a moment it will be spoken back to you.
All these things are powered by artificial-intelligence ( AI ) models. Most rely on a neural network, trained on massive amounts of information—text, images and the like—relevant to how it will be used. Through much trial and error the weights of connections between simulated neurons are tuned on the basis of these data, akin to adjusting billions of dials until the output for a given input is satisfactory.
There are many ways to connect and layer neurons into a network. A series of advances in these architectures has helped researchers build neural networks which can learn more efficiently and which can extract more useful findings from existing datasets, driving much of the recent progress in AI .
Most of the current excitement has been focused on two families of models: large language models ( LLM s) for text, and diffusion models for images. These are deeper (ie, have more layers of neurons) than what came before, and are organised in ways that let them churn quickly through reams of data.
LLM s—such as GPT , Gemini, Claude and Llama—are all built on the so-called transformer architecture. Introduced in 2017 by Ashish Vaswani and his team at Google Brain, the key principle of transformers is that of “attention”. An attention layer allows a model to learn how multiple aspects of an input—such as words at certain distances from each other in text—are related to each other, and to take that into account as it formulates its output. Many attention layers in a row allow a model to learn associations at different levels of granularity—between words, phrases or even paragraphs. This approach is also well-suited for implementation on graphics-processing unit ( GPU ) chips, which has allowed these models to scale up and has, in turn, ramped up the market capitalisation of Nvidia, the world’s leading GPU -maker.
Transformer-based models can generate images as well as text. The first version of DALL - E , released by Open AI in 2021, was a transformer that learned associations between groups of pixels in an image, rather than words in a text. In both cases the neural network is translating what it “sees” into numbers and performing maths (specifically, matrix operations) on them. But transformers have their limitations. They struggle to learn consistent world-models. For example, when fielding a human’s queries they will contradict themselves from one answer to the next, without any “understanding” that the first answer makes the second nonsensical (or vice versa), because they do not really “know” either answer—just associations of certain strings of words that look like answers.
And as many now know, transformer-based models are prone to so-called “hallucinations” where they make up plausible-looking but wrong answers, and citations to support them. Similarly, the images produced by early transformer-based models often broke the rules of physics and were implausible in other ways (which may be a feature for some users, but was a bug for designers who sought to produce photo-realistic images). A different sort of model was needed.
Enter diffusion models, which are capable of generating far more realistic images. The main idea for them was inspired by the physical process of diffusion. If you put a tea bag into a cup of hot water, the tea leaves start to steep and the colour of the tea seeps out, blurring into clear water. Leave it for a few minutes and the liquid in the cup will be a uniform colour. The laws of physics dictate this process of diffusion. Much as you can use the laws of physics to predict how the tea will diffuse, you can also reverse-engineer this process—to reconstruct where and how the tea bag might first have been dunked. In real life the second law of thermodynamics makes this a one-way street; one cannot get the original tea bag back from the cup. But learning to simulate that entropy-reversing return trip makes realistic image-generation possible.
Training works like this. You take an image and apply progressively more blur and noise, until it looks completely random. Then comes the hard part: reversing this process to recreate the original image, like recovering the tea bag from the tea. This is done using “self-supervised learning”, similar to how LLM s are trained on text: covering up words in a sentence and learning to predict the missing words through trial and error. In the case of images, the network learns how to remove increasing amounts of noise to reproduce the original image. As it works through billions of images, learning the patterns needed to remove distortions, the network gains the ability to create entirely new images out of nothing more than random noise.
Most state-of-the-art image-generation systems use a diffusion model, though they differ in how they go about “de-noising” or reversing distortions. Stable Diffusion (from Stability AI ) and Imagen, both released in 2022, used variations of an architecture called a convolutional neural network ( CNN ), which is good at analysing grid-like data such as rows and columns of pixels. CNN s, in effect, move small sliding windows up and down across their input looking for specific artefacts, such as patterns and corners. But though CNN s work well with pixels, some of the latest image-generators use so-called diffusion transformers, including Stability AI ’s newest model, Stable Diffusion 3. Once trained on diffusion, transformers are much better able to grasp how various pieces of an image or frame of video relate to each other, and how strongly or weakly they do so, resulting in more realistic outputs (though they still make mistakes).
Recommendation systems are another kettle of fish. It is rare to get a glimpse at the innards of one, because the companies that build and use recommendation algorithms are highly secretive about them. But in 2019 Meta, then Facebook, released details about its deep-learning recommendation model ( DLRM ). The model has three main parts. First, it converts inputs (such as a user’s age or “likes” on the platform, or content they consumed) into “embeddings”. It learns in such a way that similar things (like tennis and ping pong) are close to each other in this embedding space.
The DLRM then uses a neural network to do something called matrix factorisation. Imagine a spreadsheet where the columns are videos and the rows are different users. Each cell says how much each user likes each video. But most of the cells in the grid are empty. The goal of recommendation is to make predictions for all the empty cells. One way a DLRM might do this is to split the grid (in mathematical terms, factorise the matrix) into two grids: one that contains data about users, and one that contains data about the videos. By recombining these grids (or multiplying the matrices) and feeding the results into another neural network for more number-crunching, it is possible to fill in the grid cells that used to be empty—ie, predict how much each user will like each video.
The same approach can be applied to advertisements, songs on a streaming service, products on an e-commerce platform, and so forth. Tech firms are most interested in models that excel at commercially useful tasks like this. But running these models at scale requires extremely deep pockets, vast quantities of data and huge amounts of processing power.
In academic contexts, where datasets are smaller and budgets are constrained, other kinds of models are more practical. These include recurrent neural networks (for analysing sequences of data), variational autoencoders (for spotting patterns in data), generative adversarial networks (where one model learns to do a task by repeatedly trying to fool another model) and graph neural networks (for predicting the outcomes of complex interactions).
Just as deep neural networks, transformers and diffusion models all made the leap from research curiosities to widespread deployment, features and principles from these other models will be seized upon and incorporated into future AI models. Transformers are highly efficient, but it is not clear that scaling them up can solve their tendencies to hallucinate and to make logical errors when reasoning. The search is already under way for “post-transformer” architectures, from “state-space models” to “neuro-symbolic” AI , that can overcome such weaknesses and enable the next leap forward. Ideally such an architecture would combine attention with greater prowess at reasoning. Right now no human yet knows how to build that kind of model. Maybe someday an AI model will do the job. ■
This article appeared in the Schools brief section of the print edition under the headline “Fashionable models”
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The meaning of REASONING is the use of reason; especially : the drawing of inferences or conclusions through the use of reason. How to use reasoning in a sentence.
An argumentative essay presents a complete argument backed up by evidence and analysis. It is the most common essay type at university.
There are several ways to present information when writing, including those that employ inductive and deductive reasoning. The difference can be stated simply: Inductive reasoning presents facts and then wraps them up with a conclusion. Deductive reasoning presents a thesis statement and then provides supportive facts or examples.
An argumentative essay in academic writing is where one takes a stance on a particular topic, presents arguments to support that stance, and aims to persuade readers to accept the point of view presented. Read this to learn how to write an argumentative essay with examples, create an argumentative essay outline, and gain expert tips for authors.
The 4 parts of an argumentative essay are the claim, counterclaim, reasoning, and evidence. The claim is the author's argument that they are attempting to prove in the essay.
How is an argumentative essay structured? An argumentative essay uses facts, data, and logical reasoning to substantiate a specific stance on any given topic. They are typically structured to "build an argument," with a clear thesis statement, unambiguous conclusion, and as much evidential support as needed.
Explore deductive and inductive reasoning processes and learn techniques for evaluating reasoning in an essay or article.
What this handout is about This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic essays. Arguments are everywhere You may be surprised to hear that the word "argument" does not … Read more
In an academic argument, you'll have a lot more constraints you have to consider, and you'll focus much more on logic and reasoning than emotions. Figure 1. When writing an argumentative essay, students must be able to separate emotion based arguments from logic based arguments in order to appeal to an academic audience.
An argumentative essay must use ethical, logical, or moral reasoning to support its position and help prove its thesis. A reason, or reasoning, must logically develop the argument of an ...
The argumentative essay requires well-researched, accurate, detailed, and current information to support the thesis statement and consider other points of view. Some factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal evidence should support the thesis. However, students must consider multiple points of view when collecting evidence.
Logical reasoning is concerned with the correctness of arguments. A key distinction is between deductive and non-deductive arguments. Logical reasoning is a mental activity that aims to arrive at a conclusion in a rigorous way. It happens in the form of inferences or arguments by starting from a set of premises and reasoning to a conclusion ...
Regardless of the context, an argumentative essay should present a clear thesis statement, provide evidence and reasoning to support your position, address counterarguments, and conclude with a compelling summary of your main points.
The purpose of this chapter is to offer a comprehensive method for developing an argument, based largely on the classical Aristotelian model, but also pulling in strategies from Toulmin, Roger, and other influences, as well as many different articles and writing textbooks. Most academic persuasive/argumentative essay assignments will expect ...
reason, in philosophy, the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences. The term "reason" is also used in several other, narrower senses. Reason is in opposition to sensation, perception, feeling, desire, as the faculty (the existence of which is denied by empiricists) by which fundamental truths are intuitively apprehended.
The main difference between our definition (which is closer to An- geles's definition in this respect) and Runes's definition is that Runes defines reasoning as a discourse or argument, whereas we define reasoning as occurring within discourse or argument.
f this assignment is to introduce Line of Reasoning to your students. Because of this, the prompt included with the passage is slightly. longer than what students will see on the AP® English Language exam. Additionally, it does stray from the stable wording that students will see on the rhetorical analysis prompt because students are not ...
REASONING definition: 1. the process of thinking about something in order to make a decision: 2. If there is no…. Learn more.
Argumentation theory is the interdisciplinary study of how conclusions can be supported or undermined by premises through logical reasoning. With historical origins in logic, dialectic, and rhetoric, argumentation theory includes the arts and sciences of civil debate, dialogue, conversation, and persuasion. It studies rules of inference, logic ...
reasoning: 1 n thinking that is coherent and logical Synonyms: abstract thought , logical thinking Types: show 31 types... hide 31 types... analysis , analytic thinking the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations argument , argumentation , line , line of reasoning , logical ...
Learn the argumentative essay definition, structure, purpose, and importance. Study an argumentative text example to better understand the structure.
Developmental psychology is the study of how humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Developmental psychologists research the stages of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development from the prenatal stage through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Case-based reasoning (CBR), which is based on the cognitive assumption that similar problems have similar solutions, is an important problem-solving and learning method in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). In this article, the development of CBR is reviewed, and the major challenges of CBR are summarized. The paper is organized into four parts.
Texas Republicans added a line defining abortion as "homicide," creating an argument for possible prosecutions for doctors who perform the procedure and women who undergo it.
Learn what reasoning is. Understand how to define reasoning through various reasoning examples. Know more about reasoning by learning its seven...
Essay; Schools brief ... but it is not clear that scaling them up can solve their tendencies to hallucinate and to make logical errors when reasoning. ... though widely used, is hard to define ...