Argument (1.2)

Have you explored two sides of an argument to come to an unexpected conclusion?

ARGUMENT is the art of gathering and interrogating your Material (1) to explore diverging points of view, to transcend tribalism, and to arrive at nuanced conclusions. To build a balanced argument, consider the concept of “dialectics”: a synthesis is achieved through understanding a thesis and its antithesis. Unlike the much-hated Five-Paragraph Essay, this is not about defending a stance and persuading readers. Essays are not legal defenses. You are (likely) not a lawyer. An essayist is open-minded and Socratic, dissecting points and counterpoints in a relentless quest for truth. It's not about the definitiveness of your conclusion, but the quality of your questioning. Rigor covers the depth to which you explore each side, and soundness covers the degree that each bit of Material ladders up towards a mind-changing Argument.