Academic Writing Universidad de Nariño Gabriel V. Obando G. Argument and discussion

Argument and discussion

• Essay tittles commonly ask students to ‘discuss’ a topic:

‘Children will learn a foreign language more easily if it is integrated with another subject’

Argument and discussion

This requires an evaluation of both the benefits and disadvantages of the topic, with a section of the essay, sometimes heads ‘Discussion’, in which a summary of these is made.

It is impotant to take into account the vocaburary used

Discussion Vocabulary

+ -benefit advantagea positive aspect pro (informal) plus (informal) one major advantage is

drawbackdisadvantagea negative featurecon (informal) minus (informal) a serious drawback is

Discussion Vocabulary

For example:

One drawback to integrating content and language is the damand it places on the teacher.

A significant benefit of teaching a subject through a language is the increased motivation to master the language.

Discussion VocabularyFill in the gaps with words from the chart:

Every year millions of students choose to study in a foreign country. This can have considerable (a)____________, such as the chance to experience another culture, but also involves certain (b) _________, which may include feelings of isolation or homesickness. Another (c) ____________ aspect may be the high cost, involving both fees and living expenses. However, most students appear to find that (d)____________ outweight

the (e) ____________, and that the chance to join an international group of students is a major (f) __________

in developing a career.

Discussion VocabularyEvery year millions of students choose to study in a foreign country. This can have considerable benefits/advantages, such as the chance to experience another culture, but also involves certain drawbacks/disadvantages, which may include feelings of isolation or homesickness. Another negative aspect may be the high cost, involving both fees and living expenses. However, most students appear to find that advantages/benefits outweight the disadvantages/drawbacks, and that the chance to join an international group of students is a major benefit/advantage in developing a career.

Organization

• The discussion section can be organized in two ways; either by grouping the benefits in one paragraph and the disadvantages in another (vertical), or by examining the subject from different viewpoints (horizontal).

Organization

• For example, the following essay title can be discussed inthe two ways as shown:

‘Prisoners do little to reform crimminals and their use should be limited’

Organization• Vertical

Drawbacks: Prisons are expensive, may be ‘universities of crime’, most prisoners re-offend after leaving, many prisoners have mental health problems that are untreated.

Benefits: Prisons isolate dangerous criminals from socitety, act as a deterrent to criminal activity, may provide education or treatment (e.g. for drug addiction), provide punishment for wrong-doing.

Discussion: Number of prisoners are rising in many countries, which suggests that the system is failing. Evidence that short sentences are of little value. But prisons will always be nessesary for some viiolent criminals, and as deterrent.

Organization

• Horizontal

What are the advantages of each format?

Economic: High costs of keeping prisoners secure. Compare with other forms of punishment.

Ethical: What rights should prisoners have? Cases of wrongful imprisonment.

Discussion: Number of prisoners are rising in many countries, which suggests that the system is failing. Evidence that short sentences are of little value. But prisons will always be nessesary for some viiolent criminals, and as deterrent.

The language of discussion

• When discussing common ideas avoid personal phrases such as in my opinion or personally, think …

Use inpersonal phrases such as:

The language of discussion It is generally accepted that

It is widely agreed that

Most people appear

It is probable that

The evidence suggests that

working from home saves commuting time …

email and the internet reduce reliance on an office …

to need face-to-face contact with colleagues…

more companies will encourage working from home …

certain people are better at self-management…

The language of discussion

• These phrases suggest a minority viewpoint:

It can be argued that

One view is that

home-working encourages time-wasting

home-workers become isolated

The language of discussion

• When you are supporting your opinions with souces use phrases such as:

According to Emerson (2003)

Poledna (2007) claims that

few companies have developed clear policies…

most employees benefit from flexible arrangements

Counter-arguments

• Counter-arguments are ideas that are opposite to your ideas. In an academic discussion you must show that you are familiar with both sides of the argument, and provide reasons to support your position. It is unsual to deal with counter-arguments first, before giving your view.

Counter-arguments

• What is the writer’s position in the following example, on the topic of prisons?

It is claimed that prisons are needed to isolate dangerous criminals from society, but while this may be true in some cases, more commonly prisons act as ‘universities of crime’, which reinforce criminal behaviour.

Counter-arguments

• Study the exaple below, and write two more sentences using ideas from the title:

‘Discuss whether some employees should be permitted to work from home.’

Counter-arguments Your position

Some people believe that home-workers become isolated,

but this can be avoided by holding weekly meetings for all department staff.

Providing evidence

• Normally your conclusions on a topic follow an assessment of the evidence. You must show that you have studied the relevant sources since only then you can give a balanced judgment.

Providing evidence

• Look at the text titled ‘DO ‘DIGITAL NATIVES’ EXIST? and decide the order of the descripors:

1.Argument against

2.Writer’s viewpoint

3.Claims for ‘digital natives’