Some cultures value writers who argue with force and express their superiority. Other cultures value writers who argue subtly or indirectly, often with an apology. Academic audiences in the United States will expect your writing to be assertive and confident—neither aggressive nor passive. Create an assertive tone by acknowledging different opinions and supporting your view with specific evidence.
TOO AGGRESSIVE
Of course prayer should be discouraged in public schools. Only foolish people think that organized prayer is good for everyone.
Of course only registered organ donors should be eligible for organ transplants. It’s selfish and shortsighted to think otherwise.
TOO PASSIVE
I might be wrong, but I think that organized prayer should be discouraged in public schools.
I might be wrong, but I think that maybe people should have to register as organ donors if they want to be considered for a transplant.
ASSERTIVE TONE
Organized prayer should be discouraged in public schools because it violates the religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.
If only registered organ donors were eligible for transplants, more people would register as donors.
If you are uncertain about the tone of your work, ask for help at your school’s writing center.
Evidence typically used in various disciplines
Humanities: Literature, art, film, music, philosophy
Humanities: History
Social sciences: Psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology
Sciences: Biology, chemistry, physics
ACADEMIC ENGLISH: Statistical argument
If you use evidence from research studies to support your arguments, be careful about how you use the findings from the studies. Data rarely prove anything; rather, the data suggest that something might be true (or at least not false) with a certain degree of confidence and with the expectation that sometimes the prediction will be wrong. Thus, claims about the results of studies are always expressed in such terms as “These data suggest . . .” or “It seems likely that . . .” or “The data showed a significant improvement. . . .”
When student writer Onnalee L. Gibson wrote a reflective essay on a service learning project as a tutor in a high school, she wove into her reflections the words of other people. Sometimes she used them to support her points, and sometimes she disagreed with their ideas.
Her use of expert opinion shows that Gibson has read the educational literature, can connect the ideas of experts to her own experience, can offer counterevidence to their arguments, and can use notes from class and the field as support in her paper.
The voices of experts provide evidence to the reflection, putting other voices in conversation with her own. She engages in dialogue with others to give life to her writing.
To anticipate a possible objection, consider the following questions:
To respond to a potential objection, consider these questions:
When you write, use phrasing to signal to readers that you’re about to present an objection. Often the signal phrase can go in the lead sentence of a paragraph.