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An argument in writing supports the main theme with facts and evidence, not just opinions. Controversial topics can be difficult to support, as emotional appeals may replace factual references. A well-supported document excludes the writer’s opinion and relies on evidence. Evidence is more important than truth in proving a thesis.
In writing, an argument is a way of proving a thesis or main idea of an essay or more researched writing. This is often confused with writing controversial work that deliberately attacks or inflames an opposing point of view without support. The argument is actually the support of the main theme, and is not an opinion, and is based on facts and evidence.
For example, a person might write an essay with a thesis statement such as the following: “The work of Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, shows great opposition to the idea of debt confinement.” The argument would therefore consist of examples taken from the novel that would support this thesis. You could also rate, quote, or refer to the opinions of others on this thesis to further strengthen the essay.
Generally, proof is virtually impossible, but support is easy enough to come by with a good thesis. In the thesis example above, few people would argue otherwise, so the argument is easy enough to make. Some topics are much more difficult to tackle and build a well-supported essay. These include hot topics such as the death penalty, abortion or euthanasia.
The difficulty with these controversial issues is that the author is very likely to find a lot of information that supports both sides of these issues. Furthermore, this support may be based on appeals to emotion, rather than actual factual references. While one might take a pro-life position and cite that the number of abortions has increased dramatically since Roe v. Wade, others might argue that there is no way to compare modern statistics to illegal and unregistered abortions.
Since these statistics are questionable, this thesis is often supported by moral points of view. No matter how strongly one believes in a particular side, an argument made up of moral viewpoints is not strong. Also, if someone is arguing a thesis where people are likely to have strong opinions, the writer runs the risk of incensing those rating the paper. So, for example, if a person writes a pro-life essay, he might annoy a pro-choice teacher, especially if it’s nearly impossible to defend the position factually.
It is much easier to produce a well-supported document when the issue is uncontroversial and is conducted in a way that excludes the opinion of the writer. An opinion is implied in a thesis statement. Typically, most essays do not base their arguments on “I think” or “I feel.” Instead, the thesis is supported by what others have said or demonstrated, or what can be demonstrated by evaluating the evidence. An author can certainly write an opinion piece, and some opinion pieces are persuasive, but rhetorically, they lack the force of a real argument.
A writer can come up with a completely original thesis based on his opinion and then try to prove it. When a lot of evidence can be found for an opinion, the argument can be very successful indeed. Quite often, the most important factor is sufficient evidence, not whether the claim is actually true. It may have no truth value, but merely asserts the likelihood of a thesis through sufficient use of evidence.
