this is a research paper for business ethic course which need to write a 7 to 10 page argumentative essay . You may use external sources to strengthen your argument, but they must be scholarly sources: ‘encyclopedic’ websites (e.g., Wikipedia) do not count as scholarly sources. Following are the structure expective to have:
1. A Clear, Concise, Informative Introduction
A good introduction is short and to the point. You should indicate exactly what your topic is and the view that you intend to defend. You should also tell the reader how your discussion will be structured, so that he or she knows from the very beginning the general lines along which you will be arguing in support of your conclusion. You should also indicate, very briefly, your main line of argument. Finally, you should do these things as concisely as possible, so that you can get on with the business of defending the view that you are setting out on the moral issue in question.
Introduction Checklist: Key Questions
- Is my introduction concise?
- Does it contain a clear statement of my main thesis?
- Does it indicate very briefly my main line of argument?
- Does it explain the overall structure of my essay?
2. The Offering of Reasons/Arguments for your View
After setting out your thesis and outlining your overall approach in the introductory paragraph, you need to have a section in which you offer reasons for accepting the view that you are advancing. Each reason should be set out in the form of an explicit, step by step argument, so that the reader can see both what your assumptions are and how they are supposed to support your conclusion. If you are offering more than one consideration in support of your thesis, it is important that different considerations not be mixed together in a single paragraph. Different arguments require separate paragraphs.
How many reasons should you offer in support of your thesis? It is best to limit yourself to either two, or at most three, supporting arguments. If you offer more arguments there is a serious danger that you will not set out any of the arguments in a sufficiently detailed way. In short, choose your best arguments and develop those arguments in a detailed and circumspect way.
Checklist for the Offering of Reasons:
- Have I set out an argument (or at most three arguments) to provide reasons for thinking that my thesis is true?
- Have I made all of my premises clear and explicit?
- Have I developed my argument in a full and detailed way, so that all of my reasoning is clear to the reader?
3a. Consideration of Objections to your Arguments
After offering reasons for accepting your view, you need to consider objections. Objections come in two forms. First, there are objections that are directed against the reasons that you have offered in support of your thesis. These objections claim that some of your assumptions are implausible or that some of your reasoning is unsatisfactory. Secondly, there are objections that are directed against your conclusion/thesis which attempt to provide reasons for thinking that the view which you are advancing is false. Objections of the first sort are especially crucial and your main obligation is to address such objections.
How do you arrive at interesting objections to your own arguments? The crucial thing is to look carefully at the assumptions that you have made and to ask yourself which of those are controversial in the sense that they might be questioned by an intelligent, thoughtful, and well-informed person. Having located a controversial assumption, you need to consider why a thoughtful person might disagree with it and then try to respond to that objection.
Checklist for Objections to your Arguments:
- Have I carefully set out the most important objection to each of my arguments?
- Have I then responded, in a careful way, to that objection (or
objections)? - Consideration of Objections to your Thesis
3b. Consideration of objections to your Thesis
After you have carefully considered objections to your argument (or arguments), the next important task is to consider objections which are directed against your view itself and which attempt to show that your view is incorrect. Here you need to set out any such objection (or objections) in a clear, careful, and dispassionate fashion and then indicate why you think the objection in question is unsound.
How many objections to your thesis should you attempt to consider? Here, as elsewhere, trying to cover too much ground can result in a weak and superficial discussion. Try to find the strongest objection and address it in a detailed way.
Checklist for Objections to your Thesis:
- Have I considered the most important objection against the thesis that I am
defending? - Have I responded carefully to that objection?
4. Arguments
Checklist for your Arguments:
- Are my arguments carefully and explicitly set out so that both all of my assumptions,
and my reasoning are clear? - Have I, at any point, set out more than one argument in a single paragraph?
- Are objections and responses set out in separate paragraphs?
5. Structure
Checklist for Logical Structure:
- Is my essay organized into sections in a logical fashion?
- Are the sections divided into appropriate subsections?
6. Overall Clarity and Conciseness
Checklist for Overall Clarity and Conciseness:
- To what extent is the writing clear and straightforward?
- Is the writing concise?