by Elton Gahr

Created on: May 21, 2009

Creating a good argument in written form is something that is truly rewarding as well as a great way to think through your own beliefs, but if you want to change the options of others there are things that you must do to create a good argument.

The most important point when attempting to create a good argument is to respect the opposition. If you expect someone to read your work it is vital that you don't insult their intelligence, morality, or their mother on the first page of your article. It is surprising how often, otherwise well written, arguments are completely undermined by the writers inability to show courtesy to the reader.

Along with this necessity, is the need to understand the other side of the argument. The typical way to write an argument is to spend 80 percent of your time researching your own side of the argument and twenty percent researching the opposing views. Unless you are very new to the argument this is a mistake. You typically already know why you believe what you believe, so instead learn to understand the opposing argument well. If you misrepresent the opinion of someone you have lost them and there is almost no chance of getting them back.

Now that you have examined both sides of the argument carefully, it is time to begin to craft the argument. Unless you are writing a book on the subject the next important thing to do is choose a single point. Truly explaining even a single point in even a thousand words is difficult so don't muddy the water by adding more arguments thinking that this will strengthen your point.

Never take anything for granted. No matter how well established you may consider your point reconsider it. One of the most common examples of this I see is in those who quote the Bible in the attempt to convince people of the truth of the Bible. It creates an immediately circular argument that can be summed up in the argument the Bible is true because the Bible says it's true. Christians though aren't the only people to do this. Another offender of this logical problem is those who take man caused global warming to be true and so no longer back up their assertions. This can be perfectly acceptable when talking to people who agree with you but it isn't going to work with those who don't agree.

The most important thing you can do when attempting to write an effective argument is to create a hospitable environment for the reader. No one likes to be told he is wrong, especially when he is, so do your best to make their opinions and feeling seem reasonable and then help them find the flaws in the logic politely.

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