Political candidates get elected to their positions, chain mails cause fear and panic among its readers, nations are moved, decisions are changed – all these are made possible because of arguments. According to a dictionary on the Internet called Merriam-Webster Online, argumentation is defined as “the art of reasoning in which every reason is designed to support the main conclusion through substantial discussions, examples, case studies, facts, figures and other necessary pieces of information (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2008).
” Because of this, it clearly goes to show that there is art in arguing. However, not everyone who argues does it properly. All they do is create an emotional appeal and a heavy drama to cater to the hearts and emotions of people. Therefore, just because an argument was able to change the opinion of a person about a specific subject, it does not mean that the argument is right. When someone is trying to convince another person about a certain topic, the other person should not fall into the emotional trap or blackmails that invisibly exist.
It is always better to be logical and rational at all times when it comes to dealing with written arguments because emotions are prone to getting the better of people. It is important to learn how to spot well-written arguments to know whether or now they should be believed or not. To spot a well-written argument, the author should be able to successfully let the readers understand what the topic is all about. This includes the significant of the topic, basic issues presented and a well-written summary.
What comes next are the well-explained and easily understood main points or arguments. Then again, explaining all these should never be enough. All arguments must be supported by facts, figures, statistics and substantial information. An author who knows his subject well must be able to write an argument perfectly as he observes organization, focus, coherence, development and flow of the discussion. Pieces of evidence and examples for every reason or argument must be present.
Without these, an argument is gibberish and undoubtedly empty (SparkNotes LCC, 2006).
References
Argumentation. (2008). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/argumentation SparkNotes, LCC. (2006). Creating a Strong Written Argument. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from http://www. sparknotes. com/testprep/books/newsat/powertactics/ essay/chapter2section1. rhtml