Felix Hunter
How To Write An Interesting Debate - Guide 2021
One of the most popular types of posts I see on reddit is an argument. For example:
"As a X, I feel Y about Z." You know what I mean? Due to the structure of this sentence, any response can become a counter argument - and with a good enough story behind it, you're in for an epic debate.
Even at its worst (which is still worth reading), your post will get lots of upvotes as people watch the comment section explode into mini-arguments within itself. At its best, you'll write something that stays on the front page for days while inspiring others to make their own take on it - and maybe even write interesting rebuttals back to yourself!
How do I write my paper?
Good debates have a few common traits, which I'll describe below. Let's start with an example from my own post history:
So what makes this one interesting? The first thing is the amount and structure of information - it has just enough to convey its point without getting bogged down by unrelated details. The second thing is the phrasing, which sets up a kind of call-and-response between the writer and reader in which each person can take on the role of either protagonist or antagonist. And thirdly, there are multiple story lines being presented at once that keep you engaged until all of them come together at the end. That's a pretty solid framework for how to make an interesting debate, but you can break it down and add your own spin on it too. Here are the basic steps:
- Define what you're arguing about - keep it simple!
First, you should make sure that what you're writing about is actually debatable. This means avoiding controversial topics like politics or religion - instead, choose things like "The best way to eat an ice cream cone" or "Who was more influential in the Civil War, Ulysses S Grant or Robert E Lee?" This will maximize your number of engaged readers while minimizing those who comment just to say they disagree with you (and vote down your post).
Also avoid including personal stories about yourself unless they really help clarify a concept being debated. There's a fine line between writing an argument that's relatable and one that's too close to home - make sure you're on the right side of it!
- Provide evidence for your claims - don't just state opinions as facts!
Secondly, you need to back up what you're saying with references to reputable outside sources. This means using inline citations (such as this) and citing all quotations. When writing rebuttals to your own post, make sure you cover all the sources that you can!
- Structure your argument so it has at least two sides - or more!
Thirdly, you should frame your argument into either a binary opposition (two sides) or a trinary one (three sides). For example:
"X is better than Y - but only when Z" vs "X is worse than Y if and only if Z". The former sounds like a lot of work but makes for an interesting debate about which side is being true to its premise. The latter makes for an even more interesting debate about the exceptions where one side might be superior to the other. In both cases, this lets each person take on the role of protagonist or antagonist, and lets you use the same phrasing for both your own post and rebuttals.
Another option is to give each side their own section in an article - for example, if there are three things that make a web host great (reliability, customer service, and price) then you can come up with two contrasting pairs: Reliability vs Price is fast vs cheap customer support vs speed reliability vs customer service doesn't matter if unavailable
A debate is a conversation where both parties are trying to convince the other of their point. They usually include facts, examples and expert opinions which they use as evidence for their argument. The most important thing about debates is that there are two sides with valid points on each side. Debates make people think critically so it can be very difficult to write my paper for me one because you have to consider all angles of an issue or idea in order to present a balanced view. There’s no way around this though – if you want your audience engaged by what you have to say, then challenging them while still being respectful will go much further than simply preaching at them from your soapbox
