Professional Arguments
A professional argument is a conversation about the literature/decision made between readers/colleagues, involving cooperation rather than coercion. It should result in trust, and be fully coherent/organised.
A professional argument should follow as an initial claim paragraph, followed by reasons why, then supported by evidence, finalised by an acknowledgement/response, and finally some conclusions.
It is formed by:
- Claim - “What you think”::A debatable statement that forms the main part of an argument - something unlikely to accept without good reason, intended to make the reader think/act differently.
- Reasons - “Why you think”::Reasons included to support the claim, providing a logical basis for the claim - they may be debatable.
- Evidence - “How you know that’s true”::Personal experience, experts in the field, research, statistics, data, etc.
- Acknowledgement and Response - “But what about”::Acknowledge/response to possible counterarguments, recognising the counterclaims and indicating the extend to which you disagree, hence responding.
- Conclusion or Warrant - “Why you think your reasoning is good”::General logical reasoning forming the bridge between claim and evidence, step-by-step and developmental.