The argumentative plot is the idea of persuading and convincing an audience of a particular topic supported by critical reasoning and evidence. It is especially used in writing, where the writer seeks to prove, disprove, refute, or persuade the reader about facts or ideas.
In oral conversations, the argumentative plot is used daily in round tables, speeches and debates. For example, it could be used by a politician to defend the measures he has proposed for his government.
Characteristics of the argumentative plot
Argumentation is considered a central reasoning skill to think critically through statements supported by evidence.
That is why the argumentative plot proposes an argument with a beginning and an end. This argument must be explicitly stated.
The main goal of the plot is to persuade the audience to consider a problem, generate solutions, justify ideas, and make logical decisions.
Generally, the argumentation and the exposition are used together. Exposure is based on showing ideas and facts without trying to convince the audience, while argumentation bases its argument on exposing ideas and facts, called evidence, to persuade.
The argumentative plot is widely used by scientists, philosophers, politicians, reporters, and publicists.
The argumentation must support two points of view that present disagreement and opposition. Each statement must support the thesis with irrefutable information, definitions and contrast of ideas.
Both the text and the argumentative discourse require a prior investigation where the author acquires, through evaluation, experimentation or interpretation, evidence that allows establishing a position in a concise manner.
Structure: text and argumentative speech
Initially, the author exposes the importance of the topic society, exposing the general characteristics of the topic with a neutral position. Next, the author proposes the thesis, or argument, in a clear and concise way.
The body of the text or speech focuses on the evidence acquired by the author. Generally, the ideas are presented individually and are directly related to the argument.
In the first part of the body, the topic is presented in depth and forms the basis of the speech. The facts, ideas or evidence are explained in a specific way.
The argument is then supported by the supporting paragraphs. This complement to the argumentative plot strengthens the author's point of view.
This is where the author must interpret the evidence acquired. The supporting content is considered the most relevant of the speech, as it justifies the reasons to persuade the audience.
In the argumentative plot, it is important to consider the point of view that is opposed to the initial idea of the author.
This information is presented as factual, logical or statistical evidence. The author then discusses how the evidence presented by the opposition is outdated or misinformed.
Finally, the speech and the argumentative text end with the conclusion. In addition to restatement, the author briefly summarizes the evidence and explains how that information supports the initial thesis.
This section synthesizes the information from the speech or text to the audience and leaves the last impression. Therefore, the conclusion is characterized by being immediate, effective, and logical.
In turn, suggest additional research ideas to obtain further evidence to strengthen the thesis.
References
- Bilingual Encyclopedia (2017). Discursive genres and textual texts: argumentative plot.
- Hyland, K. (2016). A genre description of the argumentative essay. RELC Journal, 21 (1), 66-78.
- OWL Purdue writing lab. (2017). Argumentative essays. OWL Education.
- Pérez, M. and Vega, O. (2003). Argumentative techniques. Editions Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago.
- Gleason, M. (1999). The role of evidence in argumentative writing. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 15 (1), 81–106.