2.1 Defining the Argument: Some General Points

The first essential requirement of any argument is that it must establish clearly what the precise issue is. That is, the opening phase of the argument has to define very clearly the subject matter of the argument and the particular view of that subject which the arguer is seeking to persuade the listener or the reader to accept. In almost all cases, you will need to do this before you start the main body of the argument (i.e., at the very beginning in a section commonly called the Introduction).

The introduction to an argument is so crucial that if it is done poorly then there is virtually no recovery. No matter how you deal with the rest of your case, if the reader is unclear about what you are trying to do, then the relevance of that case becomes unclear. This fault is particularly common in student essays and research papers, because students typically rush the opening of the essay and fail to define the argument with sufficient clarity.

There are a number of different ways to define an argument clearly, and we will be going through some examples shortly. However the writer sets out the introduction, it must cover three important components, as follows:

1. The introduction must alert the reader to the general subject area being considered (e.g., a film, a political issue, a social concern, and so on), in answer to the question: In general terms, what area of experience is this argument dealing with?

2. Second, the introduction must narrow down that general subject so as to define a very specific focus for the argument, in answer to the reader's question: Just what very particular part of this general subject area is this argument focusing on?

3. Third, the introduction must establish an argumentative opinion about the focus defined in Step 2 above. This argumentative opinion, which is the central claim you are making in the argument and which you want the reader to accept, is called the thesis of the argument.

As we shall see later, some arguments will require more introductory material than this, but all arguments, especially essays and research papers and talks, require these three parts in the introduction.