Hey guys,
I have a question about legal essays and I'm using the family option as an example.
Say I was talking about adoption in a family essay and i was discussing how the current process is lengthy and there is currently law reform to speed up the process. If I have a media article claiming that there are lengthy delays and that there are too many children out of care but I have another article claiming that a mother has unfairly lost her children due to the "fast track adoption amendment", should I discuss both cases with both pieces of evidence or should I choose one that supports my argument. For example, should I just argue that the current adoption is ineffective and use the first media article to support this?
If I was to discuss both sides of the argument, how would i do this? Like, how do I form a judgement without being contradictory if that makes sense.
Thanks heaps
Hey Angie! Great question!
The answer is simply that your
entire essay must re-enforce your main argument. If you started your paragraph in one way, you must carry that through, no contradictions. The answer to this is to leave room to wiggle in your topic sentences and your Thesis. Phrases like,
"there are both positives and negatives that can be gleamed from _________," or,
"is only somewhat effect in achieving ________." Notice how these leave me room to address both sides of the argument, because my argument is sort of neutral!
If you are looking to address two sides of something like you describe, this is my best piece of advice: Leave wiggle room when you introduce the argument in the first place. If you don't assume one specific side of the argument, then you aren't contradicting yourself