QUESTIONING YOUR ARGUMENT, PART 1
(from The Craft of Research, pp. 152-53)


This exercise will force you to scrutinize your argument in a way that a hostile, indifferent, or undecided reader might. Ask each of the six questions below of your argument—then provide a short answer and justification or acknowledgement.


Question your problem:

1. Why have you defined the problem that way? If there is a problem it involves not what you raise, but another issue.
2. Why do you think there is any problem here at all? I don’t see any serious costs if it’s not solved.
3. What kind of problem is this? Is it conceptual or pragmatic? Maybe it should be framed differently.


Question your solution:

4. What kind of solution are you proposing? Does your claim ask me to understand something or do something?
5. Have you stated your claim too strongly? I can think of exceptions and limitations?
6. Why is this solution better than others?

Try to imagine specific objections to your problem and solution.

AN EXAMPLE:

I might state the following thesis:

The owners of the house on 12th and Mill should replace the old-fashioned steam radiator heat with a new modern, electric heating system because the current one is unreliable and slow to heat, resulting, every fall, in nearly a month of bone-chilling temperatures inside the building.

Questioning the problem:

1. It’s not really the steam radiators that are the problem is it? The real issue is ensuring that the thermostat that runs the radiators functions properly!
My response: That’s a good point, but in order for the thermostat to function properly, it requires constant maintenance. The owners of the building live in Junction City, and are not present at the residence often enough to ensure that the thermostat is functioning. Therefore, in the long run it makes more sense to simply install a better heating system. It may cost money now, but it will save the fuss that comes from angry cold tenants.

2. What’s the problem? You’re cold? So what? Wear a scarf and sweater! You’re a whiner! Why, when I was your age, I lived in an air-conditioned igloo and wore only boxer shorts, and I was fine. And where I lived it was always winter. It was so cold that the thin gruel I subsisted on was frozen. You young folk are too soft!
My response: Yeah, right. First of all, you don’t live here. It might be difficult to see the problem if you aren’t in my situation. Let me explain: I’ve recorded days this fall during which it was colder inside my apartment than it was outside. I went outside to get warm. In any case, this is a real problem, as my rental agreement clearly states that the property owner will provide, free of charge, reliable utilities, including heat, water, and electricity. I’m legally entitled, not to mention cold.

3. Do you want something to be done about this or are you simply raising awareness of the issue?
My response: This is a practical problem that needs to be tended to immediately. I can’t stand living here another day! Not solving the problem could have bad consequences for the owner—I could move somewhere else, and they’d have to find some other sucker to rent my cold apartment. Clearly, framing this as a conceptual question will not solve the immediate problem.