THE GENRE OF ARGUMENT is a rhetoric that defines the distinguishing characteristics of the argument paper, which students can understand easily once they are aware of its context and purpose. By looking at argument as a genre, students gain insight into how purpose influences many features of successful argumentative writin. Students are led to find the problem within a topic and develop a position or thesis in response to that situation. The overt consideration of genre will help students to apply generic conventions in a multiplicity of contexts.