All academic arguments usually contain the following elements: a claim; reasons derived from research that support the claim; acknowledgement of views that challenge the writer's statements, presentation of specific conditions under which either the writer's or another scholar's point of view would hold true; possibilities for future study.

Because all academic writing seeks to add new knowledge to the scholar's field, the author seeks to arrive at a single claim or thesis. Because of the demonstrative nature of academic writing, the claim or thesis is expressed in a statement that reveals the overall conclusion that all of his or her research points to. The reasons that support the scholar's view must be drawn from the research alone and be directly linked to the conclusion in one or more statements that begin with "because." Because the audience expects a scholar to know all of the arguments views about his or her topic, the argument must acknowledge those views that challenge the scholar's conclusion and provide evidence in the form of a series of supporting claims that respond to these challenges. Sometimes the academic writer explains the specific conditions under which his or her claim would apply, as well as conditions under which he or she concedes to those who would challenge the argument. Because scholars rarely think that their research has ended further discussion or inquiry, many arguments conclude by suggesting what kind of further research might be done.

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