What Makes a ‘Good’ Argument and How Can You Tell?

A good argument is like a strong bridge, it connects the idea to the reason why you should believe it. If the pieces are missing or broken, the whole thing falls apart. A good argument has two parts: facts, which are things that are true, and reasons, which tell you why those facts matter.

How It Works

Imagine someone says, 'You should eat vegetables because they’re healthy.' That’s a simple but strong argument, it gives you both a fact (vegetables are healthy) and a reason (you should eat them for that). But if someone just says, 'Eat vegetables,' without explaining why, it doesn’t make the same impact.

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Examples

If your friend says you should take an umbrella because it looks like rain, that’s a good argument, it gives a reason based on what you can see.
Your teacher tells you to do homework every day because tests are coming up. That’s a good argument if the test is important and your grade depends on it.
You tell your mom not to take the car out because it's snowing, and she says, 'But I need to go.' Your argument isn't as strong without showing why the snow would make the trip dangerous.

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Categories: Philosophy · logic,reasoning,critical thinking,argumentation