Table of Contents
What Is An Argumentative Essay?
An argumentative essay is a piece of writing that takes a specific stance upon a specific topic and tries to convince the reader that your stance is the right one. In an argumentative essay, the main purpose is to coerce the reader into supporting your stance through well-organized and detailed points. Trying to convince people that you are right is no small feat and several important steps go into this.
The Method – How To Write An Argumentative Essay
Step 1: Brainstorm
This is the first part of the writing process. It’s when you brainstorm ideas and begin to form the structure of your essay. This can be as simple as jotting down notes or making a flow chart.
Brainstorm your essay before deciding on your final position. Brainstorm both sides of the arguments, for and against; try to get at least six or seven points on both sides, then choose the three best points for each. Force yourself to get six or seven arguments and you may be surprised by what you find. Sometimes the best ideas are not the ones that come to mind first.
Do some thorough research before you begin to write an argumentative essay. You need to have an in-depth knowledge of the topic you will be arguing about. This is important, because you’ll be trying to convince people that you are right, and you need to show a good level of knowledge about what you’re arguing. You need to perform some research about the subject matter, so you can acquire as many points as possible. Search for reliable evidence to back them up. Remember, you’re trying to convince someone else that you are right, but first you need to convince yourself that your argument is the right one.
Step 2: Choose Your Position
Look at the list of arguments you wrote for each side in your brainstorm. Which side has the strongest arguments? Which do you think you can support best with examples and evidence? Which is the most interesting? Remember, your teacher is assessing your writing, not your opinion.
Consider what the main points you want to make are. Decide on your opinion about the question first; you need to ask yourself these questions and note down your answers. This is the basis for your brainstorm. Next, consider the main points you want to make. Decide your opinion about the question. Put your question in a circle in the center of the page, then write as many ideas as you can for and against the argument. Decide which points are positive and negative. Choose the two strongest ideas to support your opinion. You will need to think of an additional point connected to each, followed by an example. So, choose the point you have the most to write about. These will be your main ideas for the main body paragraphs.
Step 3: Plan Your Essay
This is the most important step, yet so many students skip it. If you put in the effort at this stage, the writing will be much easier. Plan a good introduction. If you start the essay well, the rest will follow. An introduction includes an attention grabber. This is something to grab the reader’s attention, to make them want to continue reading. It also has a thesis statement and three key arguments.
The body of the essay usually includes three paragraphs containing the key arguments. Don’t forget to add evidence and examples. Finally, plan the conclusion; actually, it’s very similar to the introduction, so, remember to paraphrase.
Next, write a topic sentence for each one. This should summarize the whole paragraph in a short clear sentence. It will be a general point; the sentences that follow will give more specific information about that point. Check that they are related to the question and your opinion. Now imagine someone is arguing against your opinion. What would they say? This is your counterpoint.
Step 4: Write The Essay
Follow your plan and start writing. Don’t worry about using the best vocabulary or writing it perfectly right now. Get all of your ideas onto the page and you can fix it later.
Step 5: Edit Your Writing
Once you’ve finished your essay, it’s time to take a step back and look at it again. Which parts worked, which parts can be improved. Be honest with yourself and find ways to improve your writing and your argument. Read your essay from the start. Change it to make it better and more professional. So, first add linking words (however, moreover, although, despite etc.). For better vocabulary use more specific words where possible. Choose the best word for each case. Check that you have both long and short sentences. Do you repeat yourself. Make sure that your arguments are clear.
Step 6: Polish Your Writing
Once you’ve looked over your work, it’s time to make it better. Revise the sections you think can be improved and make sure the entire essay flows well. This is your final edit, so focus on the details. Read it once for punctuation, once for spelling, and then once finally for clarity, because clarity is the most important.
If you follow the steps, you should have a great argumentative essay.
The Structure
When it comes to the outline and actually formatting of the essay this really depends on the content you are required to produce. So, if you are a high school student who is required to write a fairly simple essay on cyberbullying for example, a five-paragraph essay is ideal.
The Introduction
A big part of the argumentative essay is the introduction, because this is where you can grasp the reader’s attention, while also indicating and establishing what the whole essay is about. The introduction includes your opening statement, and it is an opportunity for you to set the tone of your essay.
First of all, the best way to start any essay, especially an argumentative one, is by using a trusty hook statement. Rhetorical questions seem to be a really efficient tool for hook statements, so the best way to do this is to present an idea that will subconsciously navigate your reader towards a preconceived notion: that your argument is the better one. This type of sentence makes the reader instantly think about the idea and question it wholeheartedly.
Now that you have the reader’s attention, start going more in depth about the idea and specifically your side of the argument. While doing this, briefly introduce the pillars of your argument or in other words the core ideas of your body paragraphs. To finish off your introduction, present a strong thesis theme that takes an absolute position on one side of the argument.
The Body Paragraphs
The body of your essay is possibly the most important part, as this is where you state your points and defend them. Alongside this you may need to shut down any kind of arguments that could potentially arise, by offering a solution for those as well.
To start, you introduce your first supporting reason in the topic sentence. Next, you cite the details or evidence. State a piece of evidence that supports your first reason. On average, these sentences will begin with transitions like ‘according to’ or ‘as stated by’.
Naturally, all three body paragraphs will carry the same structure, but the core focal point will obviously be different for each one. To begin any body paragraph, create a transitional sentence that smoothly moves the writing from one idea to the next, using terms such as ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, ‘thirdly’. The more creative you can get and avoid those simple terms, the better it looks for your writing.
Then, provide a thorough analysis of each one of your core ideas. Remember to make a logical point that helps support your thesis. Afterwards, every core idea needs backup to make it more viable. Using outside research and analysis, providing an external reference that strengthens your point, it greatly increases the overall value of your essay. Next, attempt to the counter-argument, and show how your argument is better than the counter-argument. Lastly, create a concluding statement that assertively wraps up your argument.
The Conclusion
Your conclusion is usually the part that readers remember the most, so it needs to be very captivating. You need to provide a summary of your whole essay in a few words and finish your argument with a strong closing statement. This is where you sum up your argument and leave the audience convinced of your position.
Be sure not to add in any new supporting reasons in this paragraph; any new information should have its own paragraph and be properly supported. Also, avoid using a basic line like ‘in conclusion’. Strengthen your voice by varying your transitions and using sophisticated vocabulary. Use phrases like ‘it is evident’, ‘these facts reveal’, ‘the evidence shows that’, anything that leaves a strong impression on your audience.
So, to wrap up any argumentative essay, you have to make sure to complete three checkboxes: first, restate your thesis statement in an assertive manner to subconsciously signal that it has been proven; next, restate the essence of each core argument you presented; this helps the reader put together all the information in a concise manner; last but certainly not least, present an overall concluding statement. The main goal of this sentence is to keep the reader thinking, even if the argument has been proven and explained. It will usually involve some call to action as well as repercussions that may occur if the idea isn’t taken seriously.
Building Arguments
The Claim Statement
Think of writing an argumentative essay as being a lawyer in a courtroom. You make a claim and then you back it up with evidence. A claim is something that can be argued. It’s similar to an opinion. You back up your claim with supporting reasons or details. That’s the basic idea. An argumentative essay is an essay in which you introduce a claim and support your claim with evidence. Your goal is not to inform your audience, but rather to persuade them to agree with you.
Supporting Claims
Now that you have your claim, it’s time to back it up with supporting evidence. The sources you use must be credible, for example, published documents, scientific studies and trusted news sources. For a source to be credible, it must be reliable, accurate, and trustworthy. Be especially careful when you evaluate internet sources, because anyone can put anything on the internet. Check who wrote the content, where the content came from, and how recent the content is.
Final Tips
- Make it simple but stylish. The argumentative essay is meant to be simple enough for the reader to understand your points completely. You need to use words that will interest the reader but do not sacrifice the elegance and style of your writing. You need to captivate their attention, but you also need to make sure your essay stays grammatically correct.
- Make your points conclusive. Having strong points is not enough; you also need to hammer your points in and make the reader agree with your view on the topic. You could ask yourself ‘what would make me believe these points?’ then use your views to relate with the reader.
- Eliminate any opposing arguments. To every side of an argument there is an opposite. It is not only important that you show why you are right, but you also need to show that anything else is wrong. You could think of what argument an opponent could make and then find a way to eliminate it. That will ensure the reader believes that your stance is the only one that can be right.
- Pay attention to the indicated wordcount. This shows how many words you need to write. Remember the examiner doesn’t want to read too much or too little.
The argumentative essay is always an interesting one to write because you usually learn something new about a topic while you are trying to prove that your beliefs are right. You might learn new information that will let you see things from another point of view, but in the end your goal is to write an essay that is both captivating and definitive. With the steps above you will achieve those goals.