Developing an Argument in Writing: Claims, Inferences and

Argument

Louise Livesey

Academic Skills Adviser

This workshop will:

− Examine the process of developing an ‘argument’ when preparing and writing

− Identify the components of an ‘argument’− Understand the role of claims and inferences

1.What is a claim?

2.What is an inference?

3.What is an argument?

Today’s Plan

A claim = ‘such and such is the case’

Apply critical thinking to the claim:

• you look at the possible meaning and significance of it

• evaluate it by comparing it to other claims • make an informed decision

1.What is a claim?

Including President Obama, five out of the most recent seven US presidents have been left-handed.

Possible ?s:A. What proportion of the US population is left-handed? 10% so there may be something significant about such a high proportion of recent left-handed presidents.

B. What about the presidents before the last seven? 3 out of 36, ie about 10%. So why are recent presidents so different?

C. If Barack Obama had lost the election in 2008, would that have meant that four of the most recent seven US presidents had been left-handed? No: his opponent was left-handed. If George W. Bush (right-handed) had lost, his opponent was also left-handed!

D. How many other countries have (had) left-handed leaders

1.What is a claim?

Activity 1

35% of US and 20% of UK entrepreneurs are dyslexic

Possible ?s Is the definition of ‘entrepreneur’ the same in the US as it is in

the UK? Is the definition of ‘dyslexia’ the same in the US as it is in the

UK? Are the figures of 35 and 20% significant? More specifically, what figure would we expect if the % of

dyslexic entrepreneurs was the same as the % of the population that is dyslexic?

If the figure is not the same (or not even nearly the same), what might be an (or the) explanation?

1.What is a claim?

Claims to inference

1.What is a claim?

One claim to claim something else

claim claim = inference

2.What is an inference?

More than one inference used to defend one point of view is an argument

many inferences = argument

3.What is an argument?

a) Derek Bentley did not shoot the gun so he should not have been hung.

b) Derek Bentley meant ‘give the gun to the policeman’ so he should not have been hung.

3.What is an argument?

Activity 2

• People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to delegate is important.

• People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where problem-solving abilities are important.

• People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to communicate is important.

3.What is an argument?

References

Clip art – argument

Cottrell, S. (2013) The Study Skills Handbook. 4th Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

University of Surrey. (2014) Writing Skills. Guildford: University of Surrey. [online] Available at:

http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/writing%20Skills%20Leicester/page_01.htm [Accessed 6.3.2014]

 

Van den Brink-Budgen, R. (2010) Critical Thinking for Students. 4th Ed. Oxford: How To Books Ltd.

References

Oxford Dictionaries. (2014) Abbreviations. Oxford: OUP. [online] Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/abbreviations [Accessed 9.7.2014]

Sauter, J. (2008) The Apostrophe character rendered using the OCR-A font. Florida: Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OCR-A_char_Apostrophe.svg [Accessed 7.7.2014]

Super Teacher Worksheets. (2013) There, Their, They’re. Tonawanda:Super Teacher Worksheets. Available at:

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/homophones/there-their-theyre.pdf (Accessed 16.6.2014)

 

The University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2014) 10: Apostrophe errors. Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison. [online] Available at:

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CommonErrors_Apos.html [Accessed 7.7.2014]

Academic Skills Advice Service

• Where are we? Chesham Building B0.23• What do we do? Support undergraduate students with

their academic skills by running clinics and workshops, having bookable appointment slots, and enabling students to drop-in for Instant Action.

• Who are we? Michael and Helen specialise in Maths Support; Lucy and Russell advise students on study skills; and I (Louise) deliver the workshops

• When can you come for help? Everyday both face to face and on-line

• How do I get in touch? Email: academic-skills@brad.ac.uk or website www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills

Any questions?