We are all aware of the meaning of the word ‘argument’. If you have got through the last week without arguing with a parent, guardian, brother, sister or friend, well done! Arguments can be tiring and stressful. In the world of academia, writing argumentative essays is much less stressful, because when you form your argument for an essay, it is built on research, and you will have the help of several helpful experts as back-up on your team. It is also easier, because no-one is angry and shouting back in your face.

First it is helpful to identify what arguments are made of. What is the structure of an argument? Every argument needs a ‘premise’. The premise is the statement that contains the controversy or the source of the argument. The statement ‘Justin Bieber should just go away – his time is through’ would be controversial enough to have his fans (the Beliebers) enraged. The statement may seem fairly straightforward, but it contains two main points:

1)           Justin Bieber should just go away, and…

2)           His time is through.

For each point that is made, we must imagine a counterpoint. A counterpoint, as the name suggests, is a response to the point being made.

Point Counterpoint
Justin Bieber should just go away. Why should he? He is one of the biggest selling artists of all time with around 140 million records sold, and he has still got a strong fanbase.
His time is through. If his time is through, why did ‘Despacito’ become the most-streamed song of all time in 2017?

Depending on which side of the argument you favor, you will hope that the argument that represents your feelings wins. From a debating perspective however, the winner of this argument is the person making counterpoints. Why? The person arguing against the original statement is likely aware of the facts that are available to them. They can quote numbers and statistics from sources, while the original statement is purely based on opinion.