What Should Your Argument Be?

What Should Your Argument Be?An important aspect of effective critical argument is to be able to carefully explore your assumptions and raise questions that are relevant to the topic you are debating. In Walt Whitman's song, 'Song of Myself,' there is the following sample of argument. 'Walt Whitman should find a life less full of waste / And the song of myself, may it ever last / Make me, a better poet than I am now!'Is this a good example of a persuasive argument? It is, in the context of poetry. Whitman doesn't think he has much of a life, or any life to write a poem about.He says he knows nothing of his own life and he should find a life less full of waste before he can say the song of myself, may it ever last, make me a better poet. And of course, it should make him a better poet than he is now!The problem is, it's all so vague and abstract, we can't even have an exact details on when and what he lived and how he lived it. We don't know exactly when or where or even how long ago. Of course, if you want to be persuasive in a dialogue, you have to be able to focus on the details, and the details are very important in a persuasive argument. That's why when I analyze important paragraphs in speeches and other writings, I always use 'detail writing.' We need details to make a persuasive argument. And of course, we also need details to stay on topic.So, Whitman may very well be right about 'Song of Myself,' but he doesn't really present any evidence to support it. He just says it so you can feel good about yourself. Remember, it's all just 'feel good'feel like a genius' stuff. In his haste to make himself sound like a genius, he's left out a critical element.The conclusion of Walt Whitman's 'Song of Myself,' may it ever last, make me a better poet. Yes, that is his aim. But to reach it, he has to ask serious questions of himself and his life. Which he refuses to do.