Making an Argument, step by step
The structure.
- State the puzzleWhat is surprising or unexplained.
- State your claimThe answer, in one sentence, early.
- Set out the alternativesThe competing explanations, fairly stated.
- Present the evidenceShowing why yours fits better.
- Address the strongest objectionNot the weakest one available.
- State the scopeWhere the argument applies and where it does not.
Educational reference. An argument that never states what would disconfirm it is difficult to evaluate or to build on.
Questions about the Making an Argument poster
- What’s on the Making an Argument poster?
- 6 numbered steps. The structure. State the puzzle — What is surprising or unexplained.; State your claim — The answer, in one sentence, early.; Set out the alternatives — The competing explanations, fairly stated.; Present the evidence — Showing why yours fits better.; Address the strongest objection — Not the weakest one available.; State the scope — Where the argument applies and where it does not.. Educational reference. An argument that never states what would disconfirm it is difficult to evaluate or to build on.
- Who is the Making an Argument poster for?
- Making an Argument belongs to the Political Science section rather than to a school year, because law & society is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning research methods can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Making an Argument poster?
- State the claim, give the evidence, and address the strongest objection. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Making an Argument belongs on the wall where that law & society work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Making an Argument?
- Theory & Evidence, Case Studies and Concepts & Measurement sit alongside Making an Argument in the Political Science section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Theory & EvidenceCase StudiesConcepts & Measurement
- Is the Making an Argument poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Making an Argument downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Political Science section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Making an Argument poster print at?
- Making an Argument is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Making an Argument loses nothing.Printing guide
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