STUDENT WRITING Teaching Students to Write Research Papers Assessing an Author's Argument

After determining its rhetorical situation, read the source critically. If it is book length, look at the introduction, conclusion, and one essential chapter. You should choose the chapter that most specifically relates to your research project. Just as you close-read a literary passage by breaking it down into smaller parts, you analyze an argument by examining elements of its form and manner of presentation. Consider what the author states and how she or he states it.

Read critically, and synthesize data.

• Distinguish between primary and secondary sources

Be alert for signs of bias

• Does the author or publisher have political leanings or religious views that could affect objectivity?
• Is the author or publisher associated with a special-interest group, such as Greenpeace or the National Rifle Association, that might see only one side of an issue?
• How fairly does the author treat opposing views?
• Does the author show signs of bias?

Assessing the author’s argument

• What is the author’s central thesis?
• How does the author support this claim?Are statistics accurate? Have they been used fairly?
  
• Are any of the author’s assumptions questionable?
  
• Does the author consider opposing arguments and refute them persuasively?

Finally, you want to ask yourself how you might use the source. What kind of evidence would the source provide (textual, critical, biographical, historical, statistical)? How might the source be used to provide evidence for and/or to contextualize your argument?

For more information, see Developing Critical Reading Skills