Why re-examine your own argument?
Your first draft often feels right because you wrote it. Readers will question it. If you question it first, you can fix weak points before anyone else sees them. This is called self review. A strong argument is not one that never changes; it is one that has been tested and improved.
Re-examining reasons: three checks
Take each reason (premise) and ask three questions:
- True? Is it a fact I can check, or only my belief? Is the source reliable?
- Relevant? Does it really support this claim, or is it about something else?
- Enough? Is one example or one person enough? Do I have a count, a survey, an expert or a trial?
Also check for a hidden assumption: something you take for granted that the reader may not accept. And look for counter-evidence: facts pointing the other way. Name it and answer it.
Fixing weak reasons
For each weak reason choose one fix: replace it with better evidence, add a second source, explain the link between the reason and the claim, or drop it if it cannot be saved. One strong reason is better than three weak ones.
Refining the claim
A claim should be no bigger than the support. If your evidence is small, make the claim smaller and more exact:
- Change words like "all", "always", "never" to "most", "often", "usually".
- Name the group, place or time: "in our school this year".
- Add a condition: "if", "when", "unless".
A refined claim is not weaker in a bad way. It is honest, and readers trust it more.
A revision routine
- Write your claim in one sentence.
- List the reasons and give each a true / relevant / enough check.
- Find the strongest counter-evidence and answer it.
- Repair or drop weak reasons.
- Rewrite the claim to fit the evidence.
- Ask a friend to argue against you and note what they find.
Key formulas and definitions
- Checks for each reason: True? Relevant? Enough?
- Claim size ≤ strength of support
- Narrow a claim: all → most, always → usually, everywhere → in this place
- Revise = test → repair → refine
Worked examples
1. Claim: "Homework should be banned." Reason: "I hate it." Run the three checks.
True? It is true for the writer, but it is a feeling, not a fact. Relevant? Only weakly. Enough? No, one person. Replace it with evidence such as a survey on stress or studies on homework time.
2. Claim: "All students learn better with music." Evidence: a survey of 10 friends. Refine the claim.
The evidence is small and from friends only. Refine to: "Some students in our class say they focus better with quiet music." Now the claim fits the evidence.
3. A reason says "Cycling is popular, so cycle lanes will cut pollution." What is the hidden assumption?
It assumes that popular cycling replaces car trips. That link needs evidence, for example data that cycle lanes reduced car use elsewhere.
4. You find counter-evidence: a trial of a 9 a.m. start found no rise in marks. What do you do?
Do not hide it. Say what it shows, explain why your case may still hold (different school, short trial) or refine the claim to what the evidence supports, such as sleep and attendance rather than marks.
Common mistakes
- Defending the first draft instead of testing it.
- Counting opinions or a single story as strong evidence.
- Keeping "always" and "everyone" when the evidence covers only a few.
- Ignoring counter-evidence instead of answering it.