• 3-minute read
• 31st December 2015

How to Construct a Good Argument

Something often overlooked in academic writing is that a good essay must present a good argument. Admittedly, not a shouting-at-each-other-until-red-in-the-face kind of argument. Rather, it should be a structured set of premises leading to a logical conclusion, backed up by evidence.

But what does this mean precisely? Herein, we set out a few things you need to know to construct a good argument.

The Anatomy of an Argument

As mentioned above, an argument is a set of premises that together lead to a specific conclusion. In this context, a ‘premise’ is any statement you hold to be true. The conclusion is a position that follows naturally from the truth of the premises. So, for example, if we accept the following premises:

• ‘Dogs are colour blind.’
• ‘Vincent van Gogh’s paintings are colourful.’

We would have then to accept that ‘Dogs do not appreciate the brilliance of Vincent van Gogh’, because it is true in light of the premises set out.

Deductive vs. Inductive Arguments

There are two main types of argument – deductive and inductive – though both follow the same basic form set out above. The stronger of these are deductive arguments, as the conclusion of a deductive argument follows necessarily from the truth of its premises:

• 1st Premise: Dogs are mammals.
• 2nd Premise: All mammals are vertebrates.
• Conclusion: Dogs are vertebrates.

Simply put,  you cannot dispute the conclusion of the above deductive argument if you accept the premises. This makes the argument ‘valid’.

The premises of an inductive argument, by comparison, simply present the conclusion as probable, rather than logically necessary:

• 1st Premise: My dog is furry.
• 2nd Premise: My neighbour’s dog is furry.
• 3rd Premise: Every dog I’ve seen so far has been furry.
• Conclusion: The next dog I see will be furry.

In the above argument, the premises provide a compelling reason to accept the conclusion as plausible. However, they do not establish it as certain, since there are hairless dog breeds, even if they are rarer.

Arguing in Your Essay

When writing an essay, your thesis statement will set out your premises and the conclusion you believe can be drawn from them.

Of course, your essay is not just a simple set of premises and a conclusion. You also need to provide evidence to back up your positions and justify why the reader should accept your conclusion.

This is the main work of your essay, so it’s vital to ensure that everything – from the literature review to the conclusion – supports your main argument. Knowing what you’re arguing and how your points support this will therefore help you to express yourself clearly.