The Basics of a Disagreement

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Why?

Starting

Organizing

Revising & Editing

            This section explains the basics of writing and revising a disagreement--why a disagreement paper exists and how to start, organize, and edit it.  You may want to first see the "Introduction" before reading this section.  Be sure, after reading this section, to also visit "Sample Papers" by students.  For more advanced information, go to "Advanced Methods."  

    

Why This Type of Paper?

         The heart of a disagreement is a resistance to something someone else is saying.  Your resistance can take the form of believing the opposite or simply believing something a bit different.  An academic or professional disagreement--that is, a formal disagreement--should never be an emotional fight or a "loud" or unpleasant argument.  To the contrary, a formal disagreement should be--and sound--fair, logical, and balanced, showing respect for the opposing person.  

            In addition, really, this chapter should be titled "Writing a Disagreement and an Occasional Agreement" or, as it might be expressed in scholarly circles, "Writing a (Dis)Agreement."  This is because in the standard formal disagreement, it often is possible to also agree with an author or person.  In such a case, your paper would have some points of disagreement and some of agreement.  However, usually college instructors do not want "agreement" papers: papers in which there is complete agreement.  There are two good--and connected--reasons for this: one is that little intellectual growth is accomplished when people simply agree with someone else; the second is that when people respond to an argument by writing agreements, they tend to do a very poor job of providing new supporting details--new reasons and supports for why the argument is good.  As a result, many instructors will not let you agree in any way at all, even briefly, in a formal response.  Others may allow you to agree to one point (or perhaps two out of four), but only if you contribute substantial new thought and detail even when you agree completely.  Often in a disagreement paper, it is quite acceptable to use the introduction or conclusion to briefly mention a few points with which you agree.  However, before you write any long section of agreement, be sure to ask your instructor what he or she wants.

            Formal disagreement has many uses in college and the professional world. In academic courses, it is useful for learning to argue with or against an author and her points of view or themes. Disagreement especially is very useful in developing your skills for research writing, abstract reasoning, and debate. It also helps you learn to bring your own experiences into academic debate in a useful manner.

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How Will You Start?

            The major section of this Web textbook called "Starting" offers a number of useful ways to start thinking, speaking, and writing about a subject. The following advice is for this chapter's type of paper in particular. 

"How to Start Your Paper by Reading." 

Writing Your Disagreement

            Once you've carefully read your text, start writing.  You can start by freewriting, by organizing/outlining, by collecting and/or expanding upon your critical-reading notes you've already made, or simply by writing your point-by-point disagreements.  You also can write about your feelings in disagreement with what you read, or even about images that occurred to you as you read the text.  Whichever method you choose, you probably will want to get as much of your thinking on paper as you can at the beginning.

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What Are Some Organizing Methods?

            When organizing a disagreement paper, you may want to consider three practical matters.  First, it is helpful to be aware of the typical visual/textual design; second, of the central key to organizing this type of paper; and third, of some dangers to avoid.  General principles of organization are described in detail in the "Organizing" chapter.  Specific details for this type of paper are below.  

            The sample paper in this chapter has its parts labeled.  As a result, you may want to see this sample and examine its labeled parts immediately before or after reading about the following organizing methods.

The Visual Plan

Here is a more detailed view of this structure.  This view is a visual and textual plan of how an evaluation generally looks when it is finished.  

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The Two Keys to Building a Disagreement

            The first key to the overall organization of a disagreement relates to your personal point of view.  You need to have three or four main points of disagreement (one of which might be an agreement, if your instructor will accept it), and there are two main ways to do so  To start either way, you may need to list the three or four main points of disagreement clearly and simply.  These points will determine your body sections.  You will have one main body section--one topic section--per disagreement.  How should you list or write them?  Choose either one of these two main two ways:

TWO WAYS TO START ORGANIZING
     

Both of these ways are quite acceptable starting methods, and you should use whichever one seems best for the way you like to think, for the particular essay or book you are reading, and for your comfort in figuring out what you want to say.  However, by the time you write a second or third draft, it is of equal importance to consider the second important key to organizing: audience.

            The second key to the overall organization of a disagreement is your audience's point of view.  You must make it clear at the very beginning of each major body section that you are disagreeing.  Otherwise, your audience may think that you are going to agree with the author, to analyze, or to evaluate.  The way to establish that you are disagreeing  is simply to state it.  You can do so once you are ready to write a second or third draft, or you can start each body section this way in your first draft--if doing so makes the first draft easier to write.  Here are several sample sentences, each of which is a standard type of first sentence for your first major topic section:

EXAMPLES OF THE FIRST SENTENCE OF A TOPIC SECTION

The important point in all of these sample beginnings is your clear statement that the author is wrong.  Once again, unless you start each section this way, your audience may not understand that you are disagreeing with the author: as a result, your readers may have to reread your beginning once they understand that you are opposing the author's point of view.  (If you are agreeing in one topic section with the author, then simply state this at the beginning of the section.)

            You also need to include several quotations from the author in each body section (more if your paper is supposed to be long).  This is important because your audience needs to hear what the author is saying from the author's own words.  In this way, your own disagreements will become clearer to your audience.  Throughout your paper, you should alternate between what the author says and what your own disagreement is (and why).  There are three basic ways to alternate between the author's ideas and yours:

1. Discuss your own disagreement at length.  Then explain the author's point of view and why, point by point, he or she is wrong.  
               

2. Discuss the author's point of view first.  Then explain why she is wrong.  
                   

3. Use a less-common method, which is to mix the two methods above, sub-point by sub-point.  How you create your own development may depend quite a bit on how you first write your rough drafts and/or how you feel most comfortable in writing your disagreements.

Example 2: Discussing the Author's Viewpoint First

            In all three examples, blue represents the topic sentence and red represents the disagreements.  Notice that in the first example, the red disagreement section comes first.  In the second example, it comes later, after an explanation of the author's beliefs.  And in the third example, it is mixed with explanation.  Also notice, however, that the topic sentence--in blue--always comes first, so that readers know the purpose of your topic section is to disagree.  (If you were to have a topic section in which you agreed, then you would indicate that by the beginning topic sentence, too: e.g., "Smith is right about one thing when he says, "_____.")

            If your instructor requires it, you may also need to add quotations from other sources.  Generally, the way to this is to choose sources that help support what you are saying, and add the quotations to the places where you are explaining why you disagree (or agree).  A lesser-used method, one usually reserved for longer research papers that must disagree, is to include one or more sources that help further explain the author's point of view, in addition to a greater number of sources helping to support your own point of view.  To see how to develop each paragraph individually, see the "Paragraphing" chapter in the "Revising and Editing" section.

Dangers to Avoid as You Organize

            One of the dangers in a disagreement is giving too little information in the introduction.  Your introduction must make clear to the reader the name of the author and title with which you are disagreeing, the author's main point, and your own overall disagreement.  

Elements of an Introduction

Two Examples of an Introduction

           Usually, in your conclusion, you restate the author's last name and/or the title of whatyou read, the author's main argument, and your overall disagreement, and you offer a final quotation--all in whatever order seems to work best..

            Another danger in developing a disagreement is beginning each topic section with only a quotation from the author.  As explained above, this may confuse your audience into thinking you plan to do something other than disagree.  You certainly may have a quotation in your first sentence, but be sure to add "X is wrong when he says," or something similar, to indicate you disagree with this particular point.

            A third danger is to have too few quotations from the author.  Remember that as you explain your disagreement, you need to bring in a number of quotations from the author so that the audience can see the author's own exact words with which you disagree.  You certainly should write your first and/or second draft in whatever way best works for you, even if it has no quotations.  However, by your second or third draft, you need to have plenty of quotations.  Here, for example, are two different ways, one rough and one finished, to write a paragraph that might appear in the middle or end of a topic section:

Examples of a Rough Paragraph and a Finished One

As the highlighting in bold shows, the finished example--on the left--has direct quotes from the author, whereas the earlier or rough draft--on the right--does not.

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            As you complete your later drafts, look carefully at the visual map above and the sample papers in this chapter.  Rearrange the order of your body sections and of your paragraphs as needed.  Consider your use of major organizing devices: for example, have you placed the correct key sentences in your introduction and conclusion, and have you developed a subtitle and topic sentence at the beginning of each major body section?  

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Are There Any Special Revising and Editing Needs?

            In revising a disagreement, the focus techniques with which you started in the "Introduction" to this chapter can help you in finishing your paper:

FOUR FOCUSES FOR REVISING: Subject, Drafts, Style, & Authenticity

FIRST & SECOND DRAFTS: Have you used all of these methods to write and revise your drafts? Free-write: after you have added quotations, try reading your paper aloud to see if it is choppy.  If it is, trying rewriting the choppy parts freely, without copying what you've already written. (To help cure choppy sentences, see "Using Mixed-Length Sentences" in the "Other Editing" chapter.)   Gather details: do your details--quotations, paraphrases, facts, figures, and/or stories--fully support your disagreements?  You cannot disagree intelligently unless you have your own supports to help back up what you are saying.  Be short--brief--on generalities when disagreeing, and long on supporting details.    Write for your audience: is your audience an instructor, a workplace coordinator, or your own peers?  Have you visualized your audience?  Have you read your paper aloud as if reading to this audience?  Have you tried reading your paper aloud to a friend or family member, pretending he or she is your audience?  What kinds of resistance to what you are saying--or confusion about it--might some of your audience members have, and how can you add a few phrases or sentences in places to help prevent that resistance or explain things better?   Organize: have you kept your introduction, conclusion, and/or beginning summary reasonably short, moving excess discussion in them to body sections?  Do you need to reorganize the body sections for the greatest degree of logic, clarity, and audience interest (placing more interesting information first and last)? Research: if you need to support your disagreements with research, do you have a sufficient number of high-quality sources?  Have you fully integrated them with your paper by adding quotations and/or paraphrases from them?  If you are using non-print sources, will they be considered respectable to your audience?  If you are using online sources, have you checked them carefully to verify their quality and accuracy (see "Evaluating Web Resources")?

STYLE & TONE: Have you converted all parts of your writing to the appropriate style and tone?  A disagreement should have an academic writing style, which means sentences and words of some length and complexity (but nothing you cannot easily understand yourself) and paragraphs that often are medium to long, though a mixing of lengths and an occasional short paragraph are desirable.  To create a more academic style, set your grammar check in recent MS Word programs to "Grammar & Style" (go to "Tools," "Options," "Grammar," and "Writing Style").  The tone or voice in a disagreement should be one of balance, fairness, and confidence in one's argument.

AUTHENTICITY: Have you written respectfully to your audience?  Have you made your paper appear more authentic by adding plenty of supporting details?  Have you tried to go to the heart of the matter you are discussing?  Have you brought interesting, vivid, and even unusual details into the paper's contents?  Have you been true to yourself and your own interests in the subject by trying to find the most interesting information to write about in each paragraph, something meaningful to you?

            For specific, line-by-line editing, a disagreement in particular needs proper development of your quotations and paraphrases of your text.  See the "Quoting & Paraphrasing" chapter for how to do this.  Remember that the typical quotation or paraphrase should have a statement of a source at its beginning and, after it, a page number.  Be sure to sandwich them, too: offer explanatory sentences before and/or after each, as needed.  

            In most disagreements, you should use the third-person pronoun: "he," "she," "it," and "they."  You should not use "you," as you are not giving directions or commanding your audience to agree with you.  You also should not use "I" at any time, unless you are referring to yourself in a story example, in which case you should start your story example with a transition (e.g., "For example, one time I was...) to help show that you are moving into a personal story.  Once the story is over, simply return to the third-person pronoun again.

            Paragraphing in most academic papers follows some relatively standard guidelines.  As stated in other chapters about academic writing, first, your introduction and conclusion each should be one medium to long paragraph.  The exceptions to this are (a) if you have dialogue, in which case you must provide a separate paragraph for each speaker's new turn, and (b) if you have an essay of many pages, in which case a two- to three-paragraph introduction or conclusion may be acceptable, and (c) if you are working in a discipline (such as the social sciences) that prefers very brief introductions and conclusions in some types of papers.  Second, each body section usually should have two or more paragraphs: the "five-star essay"--a middle-school method in which an essay has an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion--is considered much too simple for longer college papers.  Third is paragraph length.  Generally in college papers, paragraphs should not be longer than about two hundred words.  The exception to this is that longer papers may have slightly longer paragraphs.  Fourth is a topic sentence: longer paragraphs usually should begin with a sentence announcing the paragraph's subject or conclusion.  Fifth, don't worry about paragraphing in rough drafts.  If they won't be graded, you may paragraph (or not paragraph) in any way that best helps your flow of content and thought.  For more advice, go to the "Paragraphing" chapter.  

            In addition, several common, useful strategies about efficient, thorough editing are in the "Revising" and "Editing" sections.  These strategies also are summarized in one screen, which you might find very useful if you have not yet read it several times.  To read or review it, click here:  

How to Edit Your Final Draft.

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