10
Writing an Argumentative
Research Paper
Writing a substantial argumentative research paper can be a valuable learning process,
particularly if you research a topic with which you become genuinely engaged. Instead
of describing your own research process, a successful argumentative paper directly
joins an ongoing conversation regarding a problem about which reasonable and
informed people disagree.
Writing an argumentative research paper lets you:
if use the rhetorical understanding you have developed,
• frame the research gathered in your inquiry for a particular audience,
m produce an argument that will help you experience entering the conversation of a
discourse community and writing for an academic audience, and
• use conventions of a particular domain of academic research and writing.
Although each such assignment has its own requirements, the general features of
this kind of paper may already be familiar to you:
m It is long enough to require a substantial inquiry.
• It makes a well-reasoned argument based on evidence from reliable sources.
• It contains an assigned number of cited sources, that is, references that are actually
used in the paper, for summaries, paraphrases, or quotations. There may also be a
required balance of print and online sources.
• The sources demonstrate your mastery of the research process and your growing
expertise in a field; that is, they must be relevant to the argument and clearly used
in relationship to it (as support for it, as alternatives to be refuted, as sources of
evidence, etc.).
m The sources are cited and documented according to a specified set of scholarly
conventions (normally MLA or APA).
As with other kinds of writing, the specific requirements vary from field to field and
assignment to assignment, but argumentative research papers are commonly
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Planning the Paper
Chapter 10 • Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
assigned in upper-level college courses, particularly in the humanities and social
sciences. Because this is a student version of a kind of paper researchers in many
fields write, it can help to develop understanding of the ways specific fields
approach issues and use evidence, and it can offer practice in how to use, respond
to, and make an argument about sources in ways appropriate for a field. This is the
kind of disciplinary knowledge described in Chapter 8. Moreover, through the
processes of reading, writing, and revising, researchers often discover new questions about or approaches to their topics, and working on an extended research
project can introduce you to the excitement of the kinds of discovery possible in different academic fields.
REASSESSING THE THESIS
When starting an argumentative research paper, reviewing notes and responses from
earlier work can help you clarify your thinking about your inquiry and decide specifically how it can be framed in this genre. By this point in your inquiry, you may have
reformulated several times the thesis that you first constructed in Chapter 4, and your
argument may have taken its final form. However, many writers discover their final
claims only through the process of writing and rewriting a paper or series of papers,
and thus they revise the emerging thesis many times. Often writers who need to start
writing in order to meet a deadline use a "working or exploratory thesis" when they
start writing, rather than a conclusive thesis statement that includes topic, question, and
impact or significance. A working thesis tells readers what you are going to investigate,
rather than what you have concluded about your research. By the time you rewrite the
first draft of the argumentative paper, you should turn this exploratory statement into a
definitive statement, as part of an introduction that explains how and why you pursued
the inquiry.
EXAMPLE 10.1 From Working Thesis to Final Thesis
The proposal in Chapter 4 has a working thesis (p. 80):
PLANNING THE PAPER
Start with the basic organizational planning described on page 159 in Chapter 9. Then
consider whether you are the kind of writer who works best from a polished outline
that organizes most of your thinking, or from a more informal organizational plan that
allows more room for thinking as you write.
Constructing an Outline
A planning outline is similar to the reading and revision outlines you have already
worked with. An outline is a formal, hierarchical plan for organizing writing. It can be a
useful way to organize material and plan an argument because it clearly shows the relationships among evidence, reasons, and claims. There are two basic writing styles for outlines: topic outlines (which are written in grammatically parallel phrases) and sentence
outlines. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. It can be a bit easier to arrange and
visualize the hierarchy of ideas in a topical outline because its clearly hierarchical format
can help you to visualize parts of the argument and to arrange claims, reasons, and evidence at the appropriate levels. On the other hand, in a sentence outline, some of the sentences can become topic sentences of paragraphs in the paper, as they are in a revision
outline. This preliminary work can put some key words and transitions in place before
you start drafting the whole paper. Whatever format suits you best, start with the preliminary planning suggested in Focus Points: Reviewing and Organizing Information
(Chapter 9, p. 159).
Because you are the primary audience for a planning outline, and its sole purpose
is to help you organize your thinking, it may not matter very much whether you get the
format exactly right. More informal outlining may also be sufficient for understanding
difficult readings and for checking the coherence of your own written work. However,
having some knowledge about how to construct a formal outline is useful because in
many professions outlines are an important part of project proposals, making the case
for the usefulness or profitability of the final work. Outlines for these public purposes
need to be very well organized and clearly formulated.
Formatting Outlines
In my research project, I intend to investigate the use of international teaching assistants,
in order to see whether they actually hurt the education of American undergraduates.
A thesis like this is weak because it states the question the writer intends to explore
rather than the results of the inquiry, but it can be used to start an early draft if necessary.
The thesis in the final draft of the argumentative paper in this chapter (p. 195), however,
makes a much stronger claim and anticipates the significance of the argument:
Obviously, many students are resistant to the idea of having TAs who are other than
American-born, even students who haven’t had any personal experience with international
TAs. However, this resistance may stem from problems much deeper than just speaking
English, and it definitely obscures the fact that international TAs are very valuable to
diversity on campus.
In the humanities and social sciences, researchers who use outlines usually use a number and letter format, with roman numerals indicating divisions of the largest magnitude, capital letters at the next level down, and so on—as in the example that follows.
Thesis Statement: (optional)
I. XXXXXX
A. YYYYYYY
1. ZZZZZZZ
2. ZZZZZZZ
3. ZZZZZZZ
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Chapter 10 • Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
Planning the Paper
B. YYYYYYY
2. XXXXXXX
C. YYYYYYY
2.1 YYYYYY
1. ZZZZZZ2
2.1.1 222222
2. 2777272
2.1.2 222222
II. XXXXX
2.2 YYYYYY
A. YYYYYYY
B. YYYYYYY
2.3 YYYYYY
2.3.1 ZZZZZZ
1. 2222222
2.3.2 ZZZZZZ
2. 7777777
2.3.3 ZZZZZZ
3. 2222222
C. YYYYYYY
1. 2222222
2. 2222222
3. 2222222
III. XXXXX
A. YYYYYYY
1. 2222222
2. 2222222
B. YYYYYYY
C. YYYYYYY
In the sciences, technology, and business, the decimal outline is common.
1. XXXXXXX
1.1 YYYYYY
1.1.1
777777
1.1.2 222222
1.1.3 222222
1.1.4 222222
1.2 YYYYYY
1.2.1 222222
3. XXXXXXXX
3.1 YYYYYY
3.1.1 XXXXX
3.1.2 XXXXX
3.2 YYYYYY
Word-processing programs provide several other formats. The format you use might be
designated by the assignment you are working on or the field you are working in. These
preset formats give you the highest (main claims) level of numbering first. To get to levels
for reasons and evidence, use the tab key. These formats can help you think about the
different levels of magnitude of your argument and can help you manage the difference
between main claims, reasons, and supporting evidence. They also take care of spacing
and capitalization, leaving you to focus on the content of the argument rather than the
mechanics of outlining.
However, many writers find these programmed formats unwieldy to use, particularly when the writer’s ideas do not fit a strictly parallel design or when they want to
cut and paste into the outline. As when using any writing technology or strategy, if you
find that the preset format causes more problems than it solves, there is nothing wrong
with doing the formatting yourself.
In the following outline, notice that short references to sources are incorporated
into the outline, as prompts to help the writer remember where to locate appropriate
information in the working bibliography and in project notes. Although formal outlining formats may not provide a place for the thesis statement, many writers find it useful
to begin the outline with it. Notice that the thesis for this preliminary draft has not yet
been revised to what will be its final form.
——•
EXAMPLE 10.2 Topic Outline
The Problem of Negative Views of ITAs
1.2.2 222222
Thesis: Even though many American undergraduates resent being taught by international
1.3 YYYYYY
graduate students, we should look at the positive aspects of this situation.
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Chapter 10 • Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
I. Why graduate teaching assistants are used as instructors for undergraduates
Planning the Paper
EXAMPLE 10.3 Sentence Outline
A. Classes needing instructors
1. Started in 1940s (Ouzts)
2. Graduate education and research valued more than
undergraduate (Fox)
The Problem of Negative Views of ITAs
Thesis: Even though many American undergraduates resent being taught by international
graduate students, we should look at the positive aspects of this situation.
B. International students needing jobs
I. Graduate teaching assistants have been used as instructors for undergraduates since
1. Started in 1980s (Fox, Plakans, Ouzts)
the 1940s (Ouzts 21).
2. Numbers large (Iowa State and Purdue Examples)
A. The foreign TA problem started in the 1980s (Fox, Plakans, Ouzts).
II. Complaints by American undergraduates
B. Iowa State (Plakans) and Purdue (Fox) illustrate large numbers.
A. Different customs (Sarkodie-Mensah)
C. ITA training programs started in the 1980s (Smith et al.).
1. Large lectures rather than small classes
2. American students’ expectations
II. The problem is that ITAs have little experience with teaching in an interactive
3. Other cultural factors (Ouzts)
manner (Plakans 3).
B. Who complains (Plakans and Smith)
A. American students are used to interaction.
C. Language skills
B. International students may be used to large lecture halls and formal manners
D. Pronunciation
(Sarkodie-Mensah).
E. The real problem
C. International students may not know that American students pay for college,
1. Frustrated undergraduates
and so have higher expectations for how they are treated.
2. Underclassmen vs. seniors (Plakans)
D. Even when the ITA has clear speaking patterns and pronunciation, he may
3. Majors vs. nonmajors
III.
Intervention strategies
A. Programs for undergraduates
have a hard time relating to students (Fox 203).
III.
One problem may be that many undergraduates get disillusioned and frustrated.
A. Failing students blame ITAs (Fox 207).
1. Learning techniques for good communication (Oppenheim)
B. Seniors accept the system (Plakans 137-39).
2. Univ. of Missouri at Columbia (Plakans)
C. Undergrads who learn techniques for good communication with an
B. Undergraduates participating in screening (Fox)
C. Opportunities to interact (Plakans)
D. Video at Texas Tech
E. Training programs
IV. Positive aspects of international teaching assistants
international teaching assistant rate the ITAs higher (Oppenheim 9).
D. Some studies show that undergraduates are less critical of ITAs in courses in
their majors.
IV. There are several possible intervention strategies to help undergraduates deal with ITAs.
A. Michigan State uses a program in residence halls (Plakans).
A. Diversity: Adjusting to new cultures
B. The University of Missouri-Columbia and Iowa State use brochures (Plakans).
B. Substitute for travel abroad
C. Fox recommends making students part of the screening and training
C. Preparation for global workforce
process (217-18).
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Chapter
• Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
Planning the Paper
D. Undergraduates benefit from this participation.
E. Texas Tech has a video that stresses the positive aspects of having an
international teaching assistant.
F. Some of these interventions may not work very well (Plakans 16).
V. There are advantages to having international teaching assistants.
A. They are often the "cream of the crop" in their own countries.
6. Make a list of things that you do not want to forget, tasks that still need to be done,
and ideas about which you still feel uncertain.
7. Reread your plan, rethinking the order and arrangement of the assembled material.
8. Quickly review your notes and responses. Can you see a place for anything you
have left out of this early plan? If so, paste it in at the likely place, with a note to
yourself if necessary.
9. Write some final thoughts about what you foresee as strong points and problems
in the paper you are planning.
B. We need to learn to interact with people from other countries, but not
everyone can travel to another country.
EXAMPLE 10.4 Informal Paper Plan
C. We would all be better off with a more positive perspective.
The Problem of Negative Views of ITAs
Informal Paper Planning
Context: Undergraduates at nearly any major university will tell you they have had a
Writers who find it difficult to use a formal outline nonetheless need to plan and organize, even though they know their plan may change significantly as they write. Informal
paper plans look less orderly than outlines, because they seldom clearly show the relationship among claims, reasons, and supporting evidence—a relationship that may
become clear to the writer only in the process of drafting. However, any kind of written
planning can help keep the writer on track and make the process of drafting a paper
easier. There are other ways in which writers document their planning, and if you have
discovered one that works well for you, you may want to share it with your class.
teaching assistant, or TA, for a teacher. Many of those students probably had an
international student as a TA, especially if they were in a math class or chemistry/biology
class with labs. And many students will probably tell you they would rather have a TA who
can "speak English," if they have to have a TA at all. Obviously, many students are resistant
to the idea of having TAs who are other than American-born, even those who haven’t had
any personal experience with them.
FOCUS POINTS: CREATftJG^pl WFORIVUClfAPER;PLAN*
The following informal plan shows how a writer can organize ideas and evidence for an
argument without arranging the ideas into a fixed hierarchy:
1. Use the preplanning strategies in the Focus Points in Chapter 9, Reviewing and
Organizing Information (p. 159), to pull your information and ideas together.
2. Paste your revised thesis into a new file.
3. If you have written a synthesis or history of the issue that can be modified for an
introduction, paste it in before the thesis. Be sure to clearly state the issue or controversy you are addressing: the gap that you intend to fill or the question you
intend to answer. Also make sure that the introductory synthesis provides sufficient context for that issue and prepares for the thesis.
4. Write down your major claims and the main reasons to support it. Paste in pieces
you have already written where you think they might fit under those claims and
reasons. Think about the order in which to arrange them, and rearrange them
until you see a clear progression.
5. Identify sources for reasons and evidence as you go along. Add reminders of your
own thinking (short identifiers to take you to sections of your notes and parts of
other papers) at places where you agree with, disagree with, or otherwise respond
to the sources.
Controversy: Why do American undergraduates resent having international students as
instructors? (Chang, Fox, Plakans) How realistic are their objections? What are the
advantages of having international students as teachers?
Thesis: Even though many American undergraduates resent being taught by
international graduate students, we should look at the positive aspects of
this situation.
Main Claims
1. There really are two problems (which sometimes get confused):
•
Some ITAs are not prepared to teach American students (Plakans,
Sarkodie-Mensah).
•
Some American students are prejudiced against international students
and perceive them through their preconceptions (Fox, Smith, Ouzts,
Rao, Oppenheim).
^
o-—
^
,,
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Chapter 10 • Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
2. Both American students (Plakans, Rao, Fox, Texas Tech) and international students
(Smith, Davis, Oppenheim) need training to be able to work most effectively with
each other.
Moving from Planning to Drafting
Reviewing the Outline or Plan
You will see how well the planning worked only when actually drafting the paper.
However, it may be useful to review and revise it before you start the work of drafting.
These questions can direct that revision:
• Reason: cultural misunderstandings can be overcome, but it takes effort.
3. It is valuable for American students to experience the cultural diversity that ITAs can
offer (Johnson & Lollar, Goodin, Plakans).
• Increasingly, global business expectations require cooperation among people
from difficult cultures.
•
Relatively few American students get to study abroad.
Reminders
• What are the strongest parts of the outline or plan? Are these the same as the parts
of the proposal or other work on the issue that you really believed in? How has
your thinking developed since the proposal?
a Where do your claims seem weak? Can you support them with the sources you
have? Where do you need to do more research or consult your sources again?
a How clearly can you see important connections between the ideas in the paper?
Add some markers to describe transitions that you should make (for example,
relational terms like addition, contrast, or part/whole; or actual transition words, like
moreover, however, and so on). These reminders can help you make clear connections when drafting.
• Find some quotes that don’t make American students look really awful; I want to
illustrate their misunderstanding or not appreciating international teaching
assistants—but I don’t want to make us look like ignorant bigots!
• I’m not sure how to refer to the Texas Tech videotape in this paper.
Things to Do
• I may need to find some more general articles on graduate students teaching
undergraduates, so that I can put international graduate students into the context
of all graduate students, American and foreign.
• Is there anyone I can interview locally about this? Or can I just rely on general
observations about how my friends (undergraduates) feel?
•
Find a background book on different kinds of American colleges and universities.
Final thoughts: I have learned a lot from having international graduate students as my
teachers. They have made me think about wanting to study abroad, either during my junior
year or after I finish my undergraduate work. I really want to get across the idea that while
there may be problems with communication, international graduate students give us
something of extra value in our education, a cross-cultural experience that we would not
get otherwise. They should not have to become pseudo-Americans, although most of the
ITAs I’ve met do want to understand and participate in American life, particularly the life at
the university. We American students can learn a lot from helping the ITAs help us learn.
‘FOCUlPQiNTSrpfEtf EM
If you share the outline or plan and self-evaluation with a partner, use these questions
to guide your thinking:
9 What do you think the most exciting part of the paper will be? How does that part
relate to the overall organizational structure of the argument? What suggestions
can you make to increase its effectiveness or impact?
• Can you see any gaps in the reasoning? Do you see any logical fallacies? What
warrants does the argument rest upon? Do any of them need to be more explicitly
stated or defended?
Si Can you see a clear progression from reason to reason?
M Can you point out places where particularly clear transitions will be needed to
move the reader from part to part?
m Does any important aspect of the argument seem to be missing? Is there any irrelevant evidence?
MOVING FROM PLANNING TO DRAFTING
Although you may have already had considerable practice writing short papers, drafting a longer paper can seem intimidating. One reason for starting to draft from an outline or plan is that it cuts the project into shorter, more manageable parts. Also, the more
time and thought you spend on planning, the less time you will need to spend on the
actual drafting process.
You may have heard this many times, but it bears repeating: start drafting early
enough to avoid being overly rushed in meeting deadlines. Take your personal writing
style and needs into account when deciding when and where to work on the paper:
how much time you need, what kind of writing environment, and so on. However you
draft, the first thing to decide is with what part of the paper to start. This will depend
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Moving from Planning to Drafting
Chapter 10 • Writing an Argumentative Research Paper
both on your own personal style of writing and also on which pieces of writing you
have already done.
international student as a TA, especially if they were in a math class or chemistry or biology
class with labs. And many students will probably tell you they would rather have a TA who
can "speak English," if they have to have a TA at all. Obviously, many students are resistant
If you already have an approach that works well for you, you should use it, but if you
find that you have trouble starting or if you get stuck, one of the approaches below
might help you restart the drafting process.
B Some writers use the outline or plan to clarify their reasoning, and then draft the paper
separately, paragraph by paragraph, glancing at the outline from time to time, and
adapting the outline to draft and the draft to outline as necessary. This approach
often appeals to writers who like to think through their argument in detail before
starting to write it.
a Some writers start by writing a condensed version of their draft, with only their major
claims and reasons, and then revise it to fill in evidence and specific sources after
they have worked their way through their ideas.
i Some writers first draft a fairly complete and polished introduction, in order to rethink
carefully the thesis statement and assess their claims. Revising a proposal or synthesis written earlier can help move drafting this introduction along.
B Some writers start drafting by inserting text from their own earlier writing directly
into a copy of the outline or plan. This method uses parts of the research that are
already written, which can make the task of drafting seem easier. These writers
start filling sentences directly into a copy of the outline, eliminating the formatting as paragraphs emerge. They may insert sections of their notes, summaries,
and responses, as well as excerpts from proposals and other preliminary writing, including quotations copied from sources. This process allows a writer to
see the parts of the paper that are already written and to rethink the relationship of the parts to the whole. A writer might even discover a new line of
reasoning around what he or she has extracted from earlier work, and then
reposition the supporting information to fit the purpose of this particular project. Researchers who write this way must be particularly careful to integrate the
imported pieces into their argument smoothly and without distortion, and, as
always, to keep track of references for sources. They usually need to spend
more time on revision.
to the idea of having TAs who are other than American-born, even those who haven’t had
any personal experience with them. International students, who are sometimes still calle…
