Academic Argument: Evidence-based Defense of a Non-obvious Position

An academic argument is an evidence-based defense of a non-obvious position on a complex issue.

Unlike a personal essay, which often emphasizes the writer’s experience and values, an academic essay must draw on credible evidence.

What counts as acceptable evidence depends upon the nature of the writing task.

In a first-year writing class, you might be assigned a research paper that involves citing direct quotations or statistics from peer-reviewed academic journals.
In a literature class, you might be asked to perform a close reading — a rigorous study of the specific words the author chose to use.
In a science class, you might be asked to consider the methods by which experiments were conducted and how results were measured, and/or the math behind the results.

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

In the living room, siblings Charles and Petra ARGUE about what movie to watch. (They will probably end up sharing a bowl of popcorn on the couch, watching something. This is a childish spat, and both parties got over it quickly.)
The two groups of protestors chanted slogans and waved signs, ARGUING about [abortion / gun control / masking / banned books]. (If your views on a controversial issue can fit on a bumper sticker, leave them there, and pick a different topic for your research paper.)
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. (Jones and Smith may never have read each other’s work, but you can use their opposing evidence-based claims in order to construct your own original line of thinking. This is the kind of “argument” your college instructor probably wants.)

What Academic Arguments Are Not

Not a squabble or a moral crusade.
Not about making the other side look bad.
Not an infodumpy list of details that match your worldview.
Not a collection of quotes only from people who agree with you.

What Academic Arguments Are

Academic arguments are ongoing discussions that include multiple evidence-backed viewpoints.
They are “academic” because they are driven by evidence that academic professionals publish in academic journals.
They are “arguments” because when scholars routinely question, update, cross-reference, and re-check each other’s work, they often come to different conclusions.

Choosing a Workable Topic

Scholars rarely argue “against” feel-good bumper-sticker values like “saving the Earth” or “human dignity.”
Instead, they tend to argue FOR different values such as “the free market” or “freedom of speech.”
Finding, citing, and engaging meaningfully with evidence both for and against your claim is part of your task as an academic writer.)

Instead of thinking of yourself as waving a banner for one side of an argument, imagine that you are a judge whose goal is to be scrupulously fair. Your job is to listen to the strongest possible evidence-based arguments FOR and AGAINST a case, and only then to announce a fair decision.

If you pick something half-baked and unreasonable as your opposing view, you aren’t exactly setting the bar very high for yourself. I encourage my students to engage directly with the best evidence against the position they support, and the best evidence for the position they oppose.