In everyday life, the word ‘argument’ means a disagreement. At university, it means something different: it is a group of connected points, each supported by evidence. Together, these points reach a conclusion.

Arguments are part of all written academic work. Your argument comes from your sources, not before them. Read first, then begin building your argument. Your overall answer may change as you read more. This is normal.

 

Points, arguments, and positions

An academic argument is a collection of points. Its purpose is to explain a writer's position. Here is an explainer for these terms:

  • Point

    A point is a single claim you make in your writing, supported by evidence and explanation. Each paragraph typically makes one point.

  • Argument

    An argument is a group of connected points, each supported by evidence. Together, these points reach a conclusion.

  • Position

    A position is the overall informed opinion your argument supports. It is what you are claiming to be true about the topic. You express your position directly in your conclusion.

 

 

Building on your reading and writing

A strong argument builds on critical reading and critical writing. Critical reading helps you evaluate sources and identify what they show. Critical writing helps you express that analysis clearly in your work.

 

 

When sources agree or disagree

Evidence is what supports each point in your argument. It comes from sources, and sources do not always agree. There are three situations to consider.

  • When sources agree

    Present them together to show the weight of evidence behind your point (Example 1).

  • When sources disagree

    Acknowledge the conflict. Explain why one source is more convincing than the other, or what the disagreement shows about the topic. Ignoring conflicting evidence weakens your argument (Example 2).

  • When evidence is partial or limited

    Acknowledge what it does and does not show. This strengthens rather than weakens your argument (Example 3).

Source 1 - Hughes and Burke (2018, p. 241)

"...participants […] improved their ability to fall asleep faster and reported better quality of sleep."

 

Source 2 - Tu et al. (2023, p. 7)

"Restricting while-in-bed smartphone use can improve sleep quality..."

 

Paraphrased combination

Reducing smartphone usage in bed is likely to improve a person's quality of sleep (Hughes & Burke, 2018; Tu et al., 2023).

 

The shared finding is stated once and both sources are credited. This is clearer and shorter than describing each study in turn.

 

References

Hughes, N., & Burke, J. (2018). Sleeping with the frenemy: How restricting 'bedroom use' of smartphones impacts happiness and wellbeing. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.047

Tu, Z., He, J., Li, Y., Wang, Z., Wang, C., Tian, J., & Tang, Y. (2023). Can restricting while-in-bed smartphone use improve sleep quality via decreasing pre-sleep cognitive arousal among Chinese undergraduates with problematic smartphone use? Longitudinal mediation analysis using parallel process latent growth curve modeling. Addictive Behaviors, 147, 107825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107825

 

The referencing style used here is APA 7. Your course may require a different referencing system. Check your assignment brief or module guidance to confirm which style applies to you.

Example

Research on screen time and adolescent mental health is divided.1 Twenge et al. (2018) linked rising smartphone use to increased depressive symptoms in US teenagers, while Orben and Przybylski (2019) found the effect on wellbeing to be statistically negligible across three large datasets.2 Orben and Przybylski's datasets include samples from both the UK and the US, while Twenge et al.'s evidence comes from the US alone, making Orben and Przybylski's finding more likely to generalise beyond a single national context.3 This suggests the link between screen time and adolescent wellbeing is weaker than Twenge et al.'s findings imply.4

 

Key

  1. Identifies the disagreement between sources Back to text, note 1
  2. Presents each source's position Back to text, note 2
  3. Explains why one is more convincing than the other Back to text, note 3
  4. Makes a conclusion Back to text, note 4

 

References

Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1

Twenge, J. M., Martin, G. N., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology. Emotion, 18(6), 765–780. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000403

 

The referencing style used here is APA 7. Your course may require a different referencing system. Check your assignment brief or module guidance to confirm which style applies to you.

Example

Grgic et al. (2020) reviewed 21 analyses and concluded that caffeine improves exercise performance across a wide range of activities.1 However, they also report that between 72% and 100% of the participants in these studies were men.2 This finding therefore provides strong evidence for the effect in men, but a more limited basis for applying it to women.3

 

Key

  1. Presents the source's main finding Back to text, note 1
  2. Identifies a limitation in the evidence Back to text, note 2
  3. Limits the claim to fit the evidence Back to text, note 3

 

References

Grgic, J., Grgic, I., Pickering, C., Schoenfeld, B. J., Bishop, D. J., & Pedisic, Z. (2020). Wake up and smell the coffee: Caffeine supplementation and exercise performance — an umbrella review of 21 published meta-analyses. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(11), 681–688. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-100278

 

The referencing style used here is APA 7. Your course may require a different referencing system. Check your assignment brief or module guidance to confirm which style applies to you.

 

 

Keeping your argument focused

As you develop your work, check your paragraph structure against your overall argument.

 

Ask yourself…

  • If asked, could I explain exactly how this point supports my overall argument?
  • Where sources conflict, have I addressed the conflict rather than avoided it?
  • Is my conclusion supported by the points I have made?

 

Page last edited: 26 August 2026
Next review due: 14 August 2029