Analyze an argumentative text | Upgrade and Training | Preparation for the tests | Administrative
In an argumentative text, the speaker state his opinion on a subject and tries to share his point of view with an interlocutor.
For this, he presents arguments, that is to say ideas that allow him to demonstrate the correctness of his point of view.
In short, an argumentative text generally includes:
- a presentation of the thesis defended;
- of arguments, most often listed in ascending order of importance;
- of examples which illustrate the arguments and give them more weight;
- of logical connectors which structure the argument;
- of clues of the utterance situation (1st and 2nd person pronouns, modalisers).
The main characteristics of an argumentative text
Take for example this text from a newspaper article:
“France is today a colorful country, a land of mixing: it is from all the continents that our fellow citizens come. The genius of football is to have made it possible to constitute a team where all origins, all physical types coexist and work in common. How long can we ignore this lesson in politics and claim to constitute in national representation an institution almost exclusively composed of white-blue Gauls? The question, I know, is iconoclastic in France. One and indivisible republic, our country is honored not to discriminate between its citizens. Is this a reason not to require the body politic to take into account the differences and to make them its representative? «
Jean-Christophe Rufin, in The world, June 14, 2002.
Marks of subjectivity
• Argumentative discourse is a utterance anchored in the utterance situation. It is written in the present tense, most often in the first person.
» The question, I know it, is iconoclastic in France. «
• The speaker is more or less involved in his argument. To express clearly a subjective position, it can use modifiers, for example:
- adverbs of opinion (alas, no doubt, obviously, etc) or intensity (too much, not enough,, etc.);
- a pejorative lexical field, that is to say expressing a negative point of view, devaluing;
- a lexical field of improvement, that is to say expressing a positive, rewarding point of view; ex. : » The genius of football is to have allowed… ”.
• To involve the recipient in his reasoning, the speaker can use the second person and resort to injunctions or rhetorical questions.
» How long can we ignore this lesson in politics …? «
An organized speech
• To be effective, argumentative discourse must be organized: arguments are often linked by logical connectors, who express the opposition (but, however, nevertheless, nevertheless, however, on the other hand, etc.), the cause (because, indeed, etc.), the consequence (therefore, this is why, also, thus, therefore, etc.).
• The first stage of an argument often corresponds to the presentation of the thesis that we want to defend or refute. Then the speaker presents arguments or objections, often based on examples (taken from personal experience, history or current affairs).
• The argumentative scheme (ie the level of the argument) can vary: the speaker can choose to defend his own thesis and to ignore the opposing thesis; he can also start by refuting the opposing thesis or, conversely, pretending to concede certain points to the opposing thesis in order to better dispose the recipient to accept his own.
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