Comparison
Argument vs Explanation: Test What the Passage Is Doing
Distinguish evidence for a disputed claim from an explanation of an accepted event. Use one worked example, a context test and three answered reading checks.
Updated
The question the passage answers
An argument offers reasons for accepting a conclusion. An explanation offers an account of how or why something is the case. To distinguish them, ask what the reader is supposed to accept as established and what is being questioned. The words “because” and “therefore” are clues; neither word settles the classification on its own.
A causal explanation may say why a device stopped. An argument may offer evidence that it stopped, that a particular cause operated, or that the proposed explanation is correct. One passage can perform more than one of those jobs.
One sentence in two contexts
Consider this invented sentence: The display went dark because its power supply stopped providing power.
| Context | What is accepted? | Main task |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone saw the dark display and asks why. | The display went dark. | Explain the event by identifying the proposed cause. |
| Someone doubts that the display ever went dark; a report cites a verified power interruption and the device's operation. | The supporting observations and relevant operating facts, if established. | Support the conclusion that the display went dark. |
| Everyone accepts the darkness but disputes the cause. | The display went dark. | Argue for the proposed explanation against alternatives. |
The second and third tasks require actual support. Merely adding “because” to the sentence does not establish a power interruption or rule out a failed component. In the example, the contexts are stipulated for teaching; no real device diagnosis is being reported.
A four-step reading test
- Write the exact proposition being explained or defended.
- Record what the audience already accepts. If that is unclear, mark the uncertainty.
- Identify the offered reasons. Ask whether they support accepting the proposition, explain an accepted proposition, or both.
- Evaluate the appropriate task. An argument needs adequate support; an explanation needs an adequate account of the relevant why or how.
Do not force every paragraph into one exclusive box. An essay may first argue that a problem exists, then explain its mechanism, then defend that explanation. Annotating those transitions is more useful than giving the whole essay one label.
Three checks with answers
“The window is open because the room was hot.” Everyone agrees that the window is open. What is the main job?
It offers a proposed explanation of an accepted situation. Whether heat really motivated opening the window remains a separate evidential question.
“The room was hot, so the window must have been opened.” What needs checking?
This offers a reason for accepting the conclusion. The inference needs support: heat alone does not establish that anyone opened the window. Calling it an argument does not make it a good argument.
Does explaining someone's action justify or excuse it?
Not automatically. An account of why an action happened and an ethical defense of that action answer different questions. Additional normative reasons would be needed.
Continue with the argument reconstruction guide to number premises and conclusions. Use valid and sound arguments when the passage makes a deductive claim.
Choose the question that matches your confusion.
How do I separate a causal explanation from an argument?
Offer reasons for accepting a conclusion.
Make an accepted event or fact understandable.
Sources and further reading
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Argument
Introduction and structural approach: support for a conclusion; explanations; indicator words do not guarantee an argument.