1Thinking That Weighs Both Sides
Weighing both sides is not splitting the difference; it is understanding the opposing view fully and still making a choice, which makes the judgement credible.
Being Fair Yet Decisive
- First understand the reasonable core of the opposing view, then note its limits, rather than dismissing it outright.Exam
- Compare the sides on shared value criteria (fairness, efficiency, feasibility) so the judgement has grounding.Compare
- Acknowledge the costs and risks of your own stance and explain why they remain acceptable.
- Avoid the 'straw man' — do not distort the opposing view to make it easy to refute.Trap
論證貼士
A high-scoring argument often has a pivot like 'admittedly … however …': concede the counter, then show why your stance is preferable, displaying mature judgement.
2Sources and Use of Evidence
Evidence can come from facts, principles, consequence reasoning and analogy. With few materials, the Chinese paper relies more on accumulated knowledge and a clear chain of reasoning.
Four Types of Evidence
- Facts and trends: cite widely known social phenomena or policy background to add weight (never fabricate figures).Exam
- Principles and values: appeal to fairness, justice or sustainability to legitimise the stance.
- Consequence reasoning: analyse short- and long-term effects to show causal thinking.Compare
- Analogy and contrast: compare with similar situations to aid understanding (ensure the analogy fits).
誠信提示
Prefer reliable general facts and rigorous reasoning over invented precise numbers: fabricated statistics, once spotted, badly undermine credibility.
3Common Argument Fallacies
Recognising and avoiding fallacies makes argument more rigorous. The following are the most common and most penalised errors in argumentative essays.
Thinking Traps to Avoid
- Hasty generalisation: drawing a general conclusion from isolated examples.Trap
- Appeal to emotion: persuading by sentiment rather than reason.Trap
- False dichotomy: reducing a complex issue to two extremes.Trap
- Circular reasoning: using the conclusion itself as its own reason.Trap
自檢清單
After the body, self-check quickly: does each point's reasoning hold, any leaps or shifted concepts? Catching a fallacy raises marks more than adding a paragraph.
