Governments should not pass clean air legislation and regulate emissions! August 13, For example, you can start an argumentative essay on animal rights with the following sentence:. by Michael Spencer · Published December 28, What ACT target score should you be aiming for?
How to Write a Good Argumentative Paper?
Published on July 24, by Jack Caulfield. Revised on December 6, An argumentative essay expresses an extended argument for a particular thesis statement. Tips for writing argumentative essays author takes a clearly defined stance on their subject and builds up an evidence-based case for it. Argumentative essays are by far the most common type of essay to write at university. Table of contents When do you write an argumentative essay? Approaches to argumentative essays Introducing your argument The body: Developing your argument Concluding your argument Frequently asked questions about argumentative essays.
You might be assigned an argumentative essay as a writing exercise in high school or in a composition class. At university, the vast majority of essays or papers you write will involve some form of argumentation. For example, both rhetorical analysis and literary analysis essays involve making arguments about texts. At a university level, all the prompts below imply an argumentative essay as the appropriate response, tips for writing argumentative essays. Your research should lead you to develop a specific position on the topic, tips for writing argumentative essays. The essay then argues for that position and aims to convince the reader by presenting your evidence, evaluation and analysis.
An argumentative essay should be objective in its approach; your arguments should rely on logic and tips for writing argumentative essays, not on exaggeration or appeals to emotion. There are many possible approaches to argumentative essays, but there are two common models that can help you start outlining your arguments: The Toulmin model and the Rogerian model. The Toulmin model consists of four steps, which may be repeated as many times as necessary for the argument:. The Toulmin model is a common approach in academic essays.
You might:. The Rogerian model also consists of four steps you might repeat throughout your essay:. This model builds up a clear picture of both sides of an argument and seeks a compromise. It is particularly useful when people tend to disagree strongly on the issue discussed, allowing you to approach opposing arguments in good faith. Regardless of which approach you take, your essay should always be structured using an introductiona bodyand a conclusion. Scribbr Plagiarism Checker. Like other academic essays, an argumentative essay begins with an introduction. The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated.
For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment. The body of an argumentative essay is where you develop your arguments in detail. In the standard five-paragraph format for short essays, the body takes up three of your five paragraphs.
In longer essays, it will be more paragraphs, and might be divided into sections with headings. Each paragraph covers its own topic, tips for writing argumentative essays, introduced with a topic sentence. This example paragraph takes a Rogerian approach: It first acknowledges the merits of the opposing position and then highlights problems with that position. Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing.
The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives. An argumentative essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes and reflects on the arguments made in the body. No new arguments or evidence appear tips for writing argumentative essays, but in longer essays you may discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your argument and suggest topics for future research. In all conclusions, you should stress the relevance and importance of your argument. The internet has had a major positive impact tips for writing argumentative essays the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications.
The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way. Rather, it aims to explain something e. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.
At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essaysresearch papersand other academic texts except exams and in-class exercises. Add a citation whenever you quoteparaphrasetips for writing argumentative essays, or summarize information or ideas from a source, tips for writing argumentative essays. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text. The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APAMLAand Chicago.
The majority of the essays written at university are tips for writing argumentative essays sort of argumentative essay. In composition classes you might be given assignments that specifically test your ability to write an argumentative essay. Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. What is your plagiarism score? Compare your paper with over 60 billion web pages and 30 million publications. When do I need to cite sources? When do I write an argumentative essay? Is this article helpful? Jack Caulfield Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature.
He writes and edits for Scribbr, and reads a lot of books in his spare time. Other students also liked. It usually comes at the end of the introduction. How to write topic sentences A topic sentence sums up the main point of each paragraph. Use topic sentences to structure your ideas and keep your paragraphs focused. How to write an expository essay An expository essay provides an explanation of a topic.
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Topics that have local, national, or global relevance often also resonate with us on a personal level. Consider choosing a topic that holds a connection between something you know or care about and something that is relevant to the rest of society. For example, if you are a huge football fan, a great argumentative topic for you might be arguing whether football leagues need to do more to prevent concussions. And not only is this a great argumentative topic: you also get to write about one of your passions! Think of your thesis as the trunk of a tree. Its job is to support your arguments—which are like the branches.
What do you do now? You establish your position on the topic by writing a killer thesis statement! In more concrete terms, a thesis statement conveys your point of view on your topic, usually in one sentence toward the end of your introduction paragraph. Your thesis statement tells your reader what your argument is, then the rest of your essay shows and explains why your argument is logical. Why does an argumentative essay need a thesis, though? Well, the thesis statement—the sentence with your main claim—is actually the entire point of an argumentative essay.
Got it? To keep the sky blue, governments must pass clean air legislation and regulate emissions. The second example states a position on a topic. The best way to keep the sky blue. And what position is being conveyed? That the best way to keep the sky blue is by passing clean air legislation and regulating emissions. Governments should not pass clean air legislation and regulate emissions! That infringes on my right to pollute the earth! The argument in this one? Teachers should incorporate more relevant pop culture texts into their curriculum. This thesis statement also gives a specific reason for making the argument above: To give students an understanding of the role of the American Dream in contemporary life.
An actual image of you killing your argumentative essay prompts after reading this article! These are the parts that will flesh out your argument and support the claim you made in your thesis statement. Like other types of essays, argumentative essays typically have three main sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Within those sections, there are some key elements that a reader—and especially an exam scorer or professor—is always going to expect you to include. To make the most of the body section, you have to know how to support your claim your thesis statement , what evidence and explanations are and when you should use them, and how and when to address opposing viewpoints.
This probably feels like a big deal! The body and conclusion make up most of the essay, right? There are three main areas where you want to focus your energy as you develop a strategy for how to write an argumentative essay: supporting your claim—your thesis statement—in your essay, addressing other viewpoints on your topic, and writing a solid conclusion. Supporting your claim in your thesis statement is where that research comes in handy. Remember your reader? Evidence can be material from any authoritative and credible outside source that supports your position on your topic. In some cases, evidence can come in the form of photos, video footage, or audio recordings.
In other cases, you might be pulling reasons, facts, or statistics from news media articles, public policy, or scholarly books or journals. There are some clues you can look for that indicate whether or not a source is credible , such as whether:. On some exams, like the AP exams , you may be given pretty strict parameters for what evidence to use and how to use it. You might be given six short readings that all address the same topic, have 15 minutes to read them, then be required to pull material from a minimum of three of the short readings to support your claim in an argumentative essay. When the sources are handed to you like that, be sure to take notes that will help you pick out evidence as you read. Highlight, underline, put checkmarks in the margins of your exam.
do whatever you need to do to begin identifying the material that you find most helpful or relevant. Those highlights and check marks might just turn into your quotes, paraphrases, or summaries of evidence in your completed exam essay. Now you know that taking a strategic mindset toward evidence and explanations is critical to grasping how to write an argumentative essay. You never want to just stick some quotes from an article into your paragraph and call it a day. Instead, you want to comment on the evidence in a way that helps your reader see how it supports the position you stated in your thesis.
Understanding how to incorporate evidence and explanations to your advantage is really important. Instead, their evaluation is going to focus on the way you incorporated evidence and explained it in your essay. Opposing viewpoints function kind of like an elephant in the room. In fact, your audience might even buy into an opposing viewpoint and be waiting for you to show them why your viewpoint is better. But why? Without being too obvious, it might be worth pointing this out when you address the opposition. Great conclusions get your readers to check the "I Agree" box on your entire essay. So much has happened since you stated your thesis in the introduction!
And why waste a whole paragraph—the very last thing your audience is going to read—on just repeating yourself? One thing you want to avoid in your conclusion, though: presenting new supporting points or new evidence. That can just be confusing for your reader. For some aspiring argumentative essay writers, showing is better than telling. Thesis Statement: In order to most effectively protect user data and combat the spread of disinformation, the U. government should implement more stringent regulations of Facebook and other social media outlets. Here we go:. Example Body Paragraph: Data mining has affected a lot of people in recent years. Facebook has 2. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg himself supports adopting a global framework for privacy and data protection, which would protect more users than before.
Ask yourself: does this make a claim that some people might agree with, but others might disagree with? The answer is yes. Also, there are definitely good, reliable sources out there that will help this writer prove their argument. So this paper is off to a strong start! The topic sentence should make a point that gets right at that, instead of throwing out a random fact about data mining. For example, it would be a great idea to include exactly what Mark Zuckerberg said! This paragraph is a bit better than the first one, but it still needs some work. The reader already knows that mining user data is a big issue, so the topic sentence would be a great place to make a point about why more stringent government regulations would most effectively protect user data.
Example Body Paragraph: Though Facebook claims to be implementing company policies that will protect user data and stop the spread of misinformation , its attempts have been unsuccessful compared to those made by the federal government. First, the topic sentences get to the point. It gives a clear reason why our claim in favor of more stringent government regulations is a good claim : because Facebook has failed to self-regulate its practices. This paragraph also provides strong evidence and specific examples that support the point made in the topic sentence. Perhaps most importantly, though, this writer explains why the evidence is important.
The bold sentence in the example is where the writer links the evidence back to their opinion. In this case, they explain that the pressure from Federal Trade Commission and Congress—and the threat of regulation—have helped change Facebook for the better. Like in this example paragraph, you just have to effectively develop your position by appropriately and convincingly relying on evidence from good sources. This is all great information, right? This tip applies to every aspect of writing an argumentative essay. Define your position clearly in your thesis statement and stick to that position!
The thesis is the backbone of your paper, and every paragraph should help prove your thesis in one way or another. Nothing is as powerful as good, strong evidence. Then you can paraphrase, briefly summarize, or quote from your sources as you incorporate them into your paragraphs. As in any essay, the first paragraph of your argument essay should introduce the topic with a brief explanation of your topic, some background information, and a thesis statement. In this case, your thesis is a statement of your position on a specific controversial topic. The body of your essay should contain the meat of your argument. Go into more detail about the two sides of your topic and state the strongest points of the counter-side of your issue.
After describing the "other" side, present your own viewpoint and then provide evidence to show why your position is the correct one. Work to discredit the other side using some of the information you discovered in your research. Choose your strongest evidence and present your points one by one. Use a mix of evidence, from statistics to other studies and anecdotal stories. A strong conclusion can help summarize your point of view and reinforce with your reader why your stance is the best option. You might consider reserving one overwhelmingly shocking statistic for the conclusion, one that leaves no room for doubt in your reader's mind. At the very least, use this final paragraph or two as an opportunity to restate your position as the most sensible one. When writing your essay, consider these tips to help craft the most rational and poignant argument for your readers.
Avoid emotional language that can sound irrational. Know the difference between a logical conclusion and an emotional point of view. Share Flipboard Email. An Introduction to Essay Writing. Introduction Choosing a Topic. Writing an Introduction. How to Begin an Essay Writing a Great First Paragraph Strong Thesis Statements Attention-Grabbing Opening Sentences Check Your Knowledge: How to Support a Topic Sentence. Structuring and Outlining. How to Write a 5-Paragraph Essay Create an Outline Using a Venn Diagram Use Text Boxes to Outline and Organize Check Your Knowledge: Create a Simple Outline. Types of Essays. How to Write a Narrative Essay How to Write an Argumentative Essay How to Write an Expository Essay How to Write a Personal Narrative How to Write an Opinion Essay How to Write a Profile.
Editing and Improving. Making Paragraphs Flow With Smooth Transitions Replace These Overused, Tired Words An Essay Revision Checklist. By Grace Fleming Grace Fleming. Grace Fleming, M. Learn about our Editorial Process.
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