How To Write an Effective Argument (With Tips)
Effective argumentative writing can be a great way to communicate concepts, convince others of an idea or make a case for or against a position. Whether you’re writing a piece for work, school, as an artistic endeavor or to get published, structuring your point of view correctly can be the key to writing a good argument. The ability to write an argument successfully can take patience and planning. In this article, we explain what a written argument is, the benefits of communicating your argument in writing, how to write an argument and tips you can use to write more effectively.
An argument in writing is a claim, called a thesis, supported by points, evidence and rebuttals to counterclaims. There are several ways you can present your argument in a written piece of work.
Policies: Policy arguments attempt to convince the reader that they should care about a policy or process. Policy arguments often include calls to action that tell readers what they can do after they finish reading your writing.
How to Write a Legal Brief (Contents of a Brief)
1. Introduction: The introduction of a legal brief contains the names of the parties and a brief history of the case. It tells the court the procedural history of the case, that is, the various processes that have been adopted by the party in bringing the matter to court. The introduction to some extent highlights the party’s case theory. It enunciates a party’s claims in the case.
2. Questions or Issues for Determination: After the introduction, the next content of a brief is the question(s) raised which become(s) the issues which a party wants the court to determine. Issues are drawn from the facts of the case. A solicitor should be able to distil issues as well as raise questions which the court will adjudicate on. Where no issues are raised, the suit may likely be struck out or dismissed.
3. Facts of the Case: The next content of a brief is an outline of the facts of the case. The brief should contain a chronological and logical report of the issues that gave rise to the case in a sequential order. It sets out the cause of action from which issues are raised and are to be determined by the court.
4. Arguments: The arguments of the party is captured in this part of the brief. Here, you state your position and try as much as possible to persuade the court into seeing reasons with your client’s case. The arguments should be based on facts.
5. Summary and Conclusion: The summary and conclusion of a brief summarizes the entire brief from the facts of the case, the arguments and application of relevant laws to the case study at hand. Here, the brief applies relevant statutory authorities and judgments in support of his client’s case and urges the court to uphold same.
6. List of Legal Authorities Relied on in the Brief: After writing your brief, one is expected to make a full list of all legal authorities he relied on or cited in the brief of argument. This should begin with the primary sources first, then to secondary sources and tertiary sources.
The primary sources of legal authorities should also be grouped into binding primary sources and persuasive (foreign) sources. For example, when making a list of cases, foreign cases should be grouped differently and they should come after the list of domestic cases.
Our next focus now is on basic tips to follow on how to write a good brief. But before going into that, i would like to watch the YouTube video below as it explains more on the contents of good legal brief:
Resource:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/writing-an-argument
https://bscholarly.com/how-to-write-a-legal-brief/