← Chapter 13
English Composition · Chapter 13

The Argument Console

Most stalled arguments are not short of evidence — they are answering the wrong question. Pick where the disagreement actually sits, and your opponent answers back. Then choose which kind of argument you owe, tick off the moves your draft really contains, and rebuild a token concession into one that makes your claim harder to beat.
The issue
Step 1 · Where is the disagreement actually sitting?
Step 2 · Which kind of argument do you owe?
Step 3 · Tick only the moves your draft really makes
Before drafting, write one sentence: The disagreement here is really about ____. If you cannot fill that blank, you do not yet have an argument, and more research will not produce one.
Your opponent answers
Choose a stasis on the left. The person who disagrees with you will reply — and if you have picked the wrong one, their reply is the sound of an argument going nowhere.
Draft completeness
Choose a sub-genre to load its required moves.
The concession rebuilder
Here is the token version most drafts contain. Switch on the three parts of a real concession and watch what happens to the strength of your own claim.