Skip to Main Content

ASC 0150: Writing Workshop

This libguide is designed to help you find resources for your class as well as general resources relating to Argumentative Writing.

Questions to Consider

Arguments in different fields look different, but they all consist of answers to just these five questions:

exclamation icon What are you claiming?

exclamation icon  What are your reasons?

exclamation icon What evidence supports your reasons?

exclamation icon But what about other points of view?

exclamation icon What principle makes your reasons relevant to your claim?

Source: A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian, 8th edition, pages 50-62.

Creating Evidence

Evidence is the information you use to support your argument. It's also the information that you cite. Your evidence can be in a variety of formats and come from several different places.

Format

  • books (including textbooks)
  • articles (peer-reviewed or news)
  • images
  • videos
  • graphs/charts
  • statistics
  • etc.

Locating Evidence

  • print and electronic sources (at the library, online, etc.)
  • observations (listen to a lecture; go to a cultural event)
  • interviews
  • surveys
  • experiments
  • personal experience (NOTE: Use this sparingly and only when related to your argument and allowed by the instructor. Also, be sure to use other forms of evidence in addition to personal experience.)
  • etc.

Based on Evidence, created by The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Visual Rhetoric

Support with Research

• Find background information in reference resources such as Credo.

• Collect data through interviews and field research.

• Find statistics about the topic.

• Look at opinions on both sides of the issue in resources such as CQ Researcher.

• Search Multidisciplinary databases first such as Academic Search Complete and JSTOR, then move to specialized databases depending on your topic.

Authorship Exercise