There I was…It was 2013, I was an aviation battalion S-3 in Afghanistan, and my boss had just given me less than 24 hours to write an argumentative essay. Someone at a higher headquarters wanted to redeploy one of our aerial medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopter companies without replacing it. My boss believed this decision would severely impede MEDEVAC in our area of operations and the division commander agreed. He said he would take the issue to his boss and asked us to provide a short paper summarizing our analysis and recommendation. The writing fell to me. I had thought I’d left the argumentative essay behind two years earlier when I graduated from the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). But once again, I found myself crafting a thesis, gathering evidence, and writing an argument. 

Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.

― Desmond Tutu 

Reflecting on this and other experiences, I realized that argumentative writing is one of the most important skills I learned at CGSC. The argumentative essay is a simple, yet powerful tool. It is writing an author uses to convince the reader of something. At its heart is the thesis—a claim that the author wants the persuade the reader is true. To do so, the author presents evidence—reasons that the reader should accept the author’s thesis. Evidence can be facts, logical arguments, data, or stories (like the one I used at the beginning of this essay to convince you of my thesis). Though argumentative writing is common in academia, many overlook its practical usefulness.  

For field grade officers, the ability to write well and persuade others is indispensable. There are three reasons why. First, most field grade work involves persuading peers and seniors rather than ordering around subordinates. Second, argumentative essays are everywhere in field grade life. Many routine field grade tasks are argumentative essays in disguise. Third, most field grades will serve on a general staff where persuasive writing will be vital to their success. CGSC graduates shouldn’t abandon the argumentative essay. Instead, they should aspire to master it.  

Argumentation—whether written or not—is something field grade officers must do well. Captains succeed by leading Soldiers they outrank, but majors succeed by influencing those they do not. Recommending a course of action, for example, requires a field grade officer to convince a commander that the unit should do something (thesis) based on a staff analysis (evidence). Battalion S-3s and XOs create opportunities by persuading their peers to work together, influencing the brigade to push back on a task, or convincing the division to allocate training resources. Moreover, email is the primary way much of this field grade work gets done, and commanders pay attention to how well their officers write. Field grades who can deliver a compelling argument have a crucial advantage over those who cannot. 

Another reason to master this tool is that many field grade tasks are argumentative essays in disguise. Award writing is a good example. Award recommendations are nothing more than argumentative essays. The recommender argues that someone should receive an award (thesis) and gives reasons why the approval authority should agree (evidence). Field grade leaders routinely write letters of recommendation for subordinates competing for nominative positions, applying to graduate school, or transitioning to civilian jobs. The writer argues that an organization should accept or hire a person (thesis) and provides reasons why (evidence). Evaluation reports are the most impactful argumentative essays that field grade officers write. Raters and senior raters advise boards whether a Soldier should be promoted (thesis) and why the Soldier’s performance and potential justify that recommendation (evidence). 

A final reason for mastering the argumentative essay is that persuasive writing is vital for success on a general staff. Personal interactions between general officers and those they senior rate are infrequent. Consequently, field grade officers’ reputations are based mainly on their writing skills—for better or worse. Moreover, senior leaders rarely have time to read lengthy staff products, so staff officers must write with concision and clarity. The MEDEVAC essay I wrote for my division commander in Afghanistan was two pages. A three-star I worked for preferred single-page information papers. I once drafted a recommendation for a four-star commander to send to the Army chief of staff. My boss told me to “keep it at the four-star level,” which meant I had to make an argument in three to four sentences.  

I expect this year’s CGSC graduates will have similar experiences. Accordingly, I advise them to build on the argumentative writing foundations laid at CGSC. There are three ways to do this. First, write often. Contributing to the professional discourse in journals and online forums is a great way to hone writing skills while adding to our professional body of knowledge. Second, read widely. Good writers are avid readers because it exposes them to effective (and not-so-effective) writing. Finally, study writing and argumentation. I recommend the following resources to start: 

• Effective argumentation blends clear thinking, logic, and reasoning. Oxford Guide to Effective Argument and Critical Thinking Oxford Guide covers all three.  
• The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition is a staple writing guide, but I also recommend The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century.  
• There are excellent resources on the internet as well, including this video of Steven Pinker, author of The Sense of Style.  

• Most universities host online writing labs. Among the best are Purdue University, Excelsior College, and the University of Toronto. Importantly, online writing labs cater to students, not professionals. To understand how professional writing differs from student writing, I recommend this video from the University of Chicago. 

To the CGSC class of 2020, I say congratulations! Many of you may be looking forward to leaving the argumentative essay behind. To be sure, you are finished with academic essays (for now, at least). But writing and arguing will be essential to your success as a field grade leader. Rather than abandoning the argumentative essay at graduation, I hope you instead resolve to master it.  

Lieutenant Colonel Trent J. Lythgoe is an Army Aviation Officer and Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Kansas.