An opinion is an emotional claim without evidence.
Example: University of Kansas Men's Basketball is the best college basketball program, ever.
An argument is a claim using evidence. It may be emotional, but is usually not - in order to show objectivity (i.e. the evidence led the author to make his/her argument, not emotion.)
Example: Kansas Men's Basketball is the best college basketball program due to a combination of the number of national and conference championships they have won, and the fact that the inventor of the game was a coach for that program.
A strong argument is a claim using multiple sources of evidence, various information types, fully cites sources of evidence, respectfully acknowledges other points of view, and correctly reflects the meaning of information sources.
Example: Kansas Basketball is the most historic and prestigious college basketball program in the United States due to the number of national and conference championships they have won[1] and the fact that the inventor of the game, James Naismith, was a coach for KU[2].
Some people claim the University of Kentucky is the best team, because they have won more national championships. However, the KU team has been successful in a historically tougher conference, began playing basketball five years before Kentucky[3] and their two most famous coaches, Adolph Rupp and John Calipari, were at KU prior to being at Kentucky (Rupp as a player[4] and Calipari as an assistant coach[5]).
[1] Wikipedia. (n.d.). Kansas Jayhawks Men’s Basketball. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Jayhawks_men%27s_basketball
[2] Rains, R. & Carpenter, H. (2009). James Naismith: The Man Who Invented Basketball. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
[3] Wikipedia. (n.d.). Kansas Jayhawks Men’s Basketball. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Jayhawks_men%27s_basketball
[4] Wikipedia. (n.d.). Adolph Rupp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Rupp
[5] CoachCal.com. (2015).John Calipari CoachCal.com The Official Website of John Calipari - About Cal. http://www.coachcal.com/about-cal/
| Strong Argument Traits | Weak Argument Traits |
|---|---|
| 1. Uses multiple sources of information. | 1. Uses few/limited number of evidence sources. |
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2. Uses different kinds of information:
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2.Uses one kind of evidence. |
| 3. Fully cites or links to information sources used as evidence in order to allow the reader to the source his/herself. | 3. Doesn't fully explain, cite or link to the original information source used as evidence in the argument. |
| 4. Author respectfully acknowledges other points of view, but is able to explain why his/her claim is the better answer. | 4. Author does not acknowledge other points of view OR is very dismissive of other points of view without explaining why his/her claim is the "best". |
| 5. Author doesn't "cherry pick" or miscontrue the content in the information sources used as evidence. | 5. Author "twists" or "cherry picks" information sources, changing their meaning to suit the author's argument. |