{"id":233,"date":"2022-07-15T19:57:15","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T19:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/?page_id=233"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:08:01","slug":"pro-con-arguments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/instruction\/i-need-to-2\/pro-con-arguments\/","title":{"rendered":"Find Pro\/Con Arguments"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Why use Pro\/Con arguments?<\/h2>\n<p>Pro\/Con arguments enable you to better understand controversial topics by exploring different points of view on the same issue.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pro\/Con Arguments\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W4lXinzX9yU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>What should I consider before searching for Pro\/Con arguments?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Currency of Topic:\u00a0<\/strong>Pro\/Con arguments typically address current, controversial issues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scope of Topic:<\/strong> You are most likely to locate Pro\/Con arguments that are of national or international interest. Arguments on issues of local or regional interest may be more difficult to locate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keywords:<\/strong> When searching, avoid using the keywords &#8220;pro&#8221; and &#8220;con&#8221; unless\u00a0the issue uses pro- or con- to identify supporters of a given position (i.e. &#8220;pro-life&#8221; or &#8220;pro-choice&#8221;). As you become more familiar with the arguments on both sides, reconsider your keywords as well.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Author&#8217;s Argument:<\/strong> If available, the abstract may\u00a0provide a brief summary of the author&#8217;s viewpoint. Remember, each author will emphasize very different points in their argument &#8212; don&#8217;t rule out an article because it&#8217;s not written from &#8220;your side.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Where can I find Pro\/Con arguments?<\/h2>\n<h3><a title=\"Library Catalog\" href=\"https:\/\/i-share-uiu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/search?vid=01CARLI_UIU:CARLI_UIU&amp;lang=en\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Library Catalog<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Many books compile materials that support either or both positions of a given issue<\/li>\n<li>Click &#8220;Advanced Search&#8221; and enter search term(s) in the box(es) and click &#8220;Search&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><a title=\"CQ Researcher\" href=\"http:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/proxy\/go.php?url=http:\/\/library.cqpress.com\/cqresearcher\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CQ Researcher<\/a><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Type your keywords in the search box (e.g. &#8220;animal rights&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li>Click on the title of the report and select &#8220;Pro\/Con&#8221; from the menu on the left<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a title=\"Academic Search Complete\" href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/2w5hhj\/search\/advanced\/filters?defaultdb=asn\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)<\/a><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Type your search terms in the search box(es)<\/li>\n<li>Under &#8220;Search Options,&#8221; find the &#8220;Document Type&#8221; drop-down. Select &#8220;Editorial&#8221; and click &#8220;Search&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/proxy\/go.php?url=http:\/\/www.nexisuni.com\">Nexis Uni<\/a><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Click &#8220;Advanced Search&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Click the &#8220;News&#8221; tab<\/li>\n<li>Type &#8220;Opinion &amp; Editorial,&#8221; &#8220;Editorial,&#8221; &#8220;Opinion,&#8221; or &#8220;Opinion Editorials&#8221; and select &#8220;Section&#8221; from the drop-down<\/li>\n<li>Enter keywords in subsequent search boxes and click &#8220;Search&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/2w5hhj\/search\/advanced\/filters?defaultdb=bsu\">Business Source Ultimate<\/a><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Type your search terms in the search box(es)<\/li>\n<li>Under &#8220;Search Options,&#8221; find the &#8220;Document Type&#8221; drop-down. Select &#8220;Editorial&#8221; and click &#8220;Search&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Reputable Websites<\/h3>\n<p>You may be tempted to rely solely on websites for Pro\/Con arguments. While there is certainly no lack of opinions available online, you&#8217;ll still need to consider the author&#8217;s credibility, political alignment, and biases.\u00a0For more information on evaluating websites for credibility and relevancy, see our guide on <a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/instruction\/i-need-to-2\/evaluate-your-sources\/\">Evaluating Sources<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why use Pro\/Con arguments? Pro\/Con arguments enable you to better understand controversial topics by exploring different points of view on the same issue. What should I consider before searching for Pro\/Con arguments? Currency of Topic:\u00a0Pro\/Con arguments typically address current, controversial issues. Scope of Topic: You are most likely to locate Pro\/Con arguments that are of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"parent":284,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-233","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1739,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/233\/revisions\/1739"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}