Usually in academic writing, the role of argumentation is less about trying to change “what readers believe, think, or do,” and more about convincing “yourself or others that specific facts are reliable or that certain views should be considered or at least tolerated” (A. A. Lunsford and J. J. Ruszkiewicz, Everything’s an Argument).
The resources on this page focus on fundamentals of academic argument (unless otherwise stated, these resources were created by the Student Learning Commons). Foremost is thinking critically (that is, analytically) about what you read and write, then creating and supporting sound, reasonable claims: including a solid thesis or position.
Critical thinking and argumentation
- Critical thinking for critical writing
- Introduction to critical thinking - Dalhousie University Writing Centre
- Avoiding logical fallacies in writing
- Building good arguments
- Argument - The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Organizing your Argument - 21 minute video from York University Writing Centre
- NEW! Templates for structuring argumentative essays with practice exercises and solutions
Thesis statements
- How to build a thesis statement – how do you plan and draft a debatable, significant thesis statement? These 4 short videos guide you through the process.
- Writing thesis statements – a handout summarizing the structure of a thesis statement
- How to write a thesis statement – Indiana University
- NEW! Thesis Statements 101 - a very short introduction to writing thesis statements (4 minute 23 second video)