That’s not an argument. (Yes it is.)

I spent some time this afternoon sifting through lecture notes to create a new handout: Academic Argument: Evidence-based Defense of a Non-obvious Position

In everyday language, we may use the word “argument” to mean very different things.

1. In the living room, siblings Charles and Petra argue about what movie to watch.
2. The two groups of protestors chanted slogans and waved signs, arguing about abortion.
3. The prosecutor argued that Wilson was at the scene of the crime, while the defense argued that Wilson was out of town.
4. Jones argues that sibling rivalry is just as harmful to homeschooled children as bullying is to public school children; however, Smith argues that growing up with siblings makes children less likely to be victims of bullying in public schools.

What will each of these “arguments” probably look like?

And, for fun…