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How to Write an Argumentative Essay

Starting from an application to an educational institution, students frequently get tasks to write an essay. An essay is a text that is at least 800-1,000 words long that is written according to an appropriate structure. There are different types of essays, and an argumentative essay (or persuasive essay) is one of the most popular among them. This article, prepared by our essay service, will provide you with detailed guidelines on how to write an argumentative essay step by step.

What is an argumentative essay?

what is an argumentative essay Let’s begin by focusing on the subject. An argumentative essay is one of the typical essay types requiring a writer to highlight some critical points in the text. It is vital to state the author’s own opinion on the current subject or event and convince readers to agree with author’s views. To create a brilliant argumentative essay, writers must possess an appropriate level of expertise in a particular field and skill in argumentative writing.

Do you have difficulties with persuading people to accept or even adopt your point of view? It is high time to say final goodbyes to such problems and explore the art of building powerful arguments.

A persuasive essay is a type of academic paper that requires taking a particular position (for or against the issue) and building a set of arguments to convince the reader. You can achieve this with the help of factual supporting evidence, logical structure, and proper conclusions. A good persuasive essay explains not only why your position is correct, but also why the opposite idea is incorrect. To build the connections between your thoughts and the opposing views, you should carry out prolific research, get a clear vision of both sides of the issue, and explain everything in a logical, well-structured, written manner.

There are the following argumentative essay types: types of argumentative essays

Personal. The main arguments are concentrated around the author’s personal position. It would help if you considered the genesis of the central thesis when writing a personal argumentative essay. The evidence and supporting arguments must be strong and based on real facts. Consider sources and rely on them.

Persuasive. This type of argumentative essay requires stating the author’s point of view from the beginning and convincing readers in different ways. It is needed to discuss other points of view, especially those opposed to the author’s opinion.

Research. This essay is written after a broad investigation of different external sources. The main goal is to find strong support for the main thesis from different angles. A particular amount of citations must support each argument.

Analysis. When creating an analysis argumentative essay, an author focuses on other authors’ thoughts and opinions. The principal analysis must be done on the particular type of sources, usually on other essays. The goal of such an essay is to investigate the sources, define their accordance to such criteria as persuasiveness, presentation of arguments, and overall style, and give the author’s opinion on the result of the analysis.

How to write an argumentative essay video guide

Watch this video to find out more about persuasive writing and learn to write an outstanding argumentative essay example.

How to structure an argumentative essay

Remember that the engagement of the readership will depend on how you will structure the text. As building a house needs a fundament, a good essay needs a structure. Skills on how to structure an argumentative essay make it easier to write it. A good outline saves the time and energy of writers that in turn boosts their creativity. According to the norms of academic writing, the persuasive essay, just like any other, must contain an:

  • Introduction
  • Main body
  • Conclusion

Regardless of what type of argumentative essay you are assigned to create, your text must include the sections mentioned above. It is vital to supply each section with drafts and data related to the particular section when outlining. Also, try to define the initial amount of paragraphs for the main body and add a short thesis for each paragraph.

argumentative essay outline

How to write an argumentative essay

Begin writing an argumentative essay with the preparation stage. It requires developing your unique opinion on a set subject. It is possible only if you will gather all the facts related to the topic. A quality investigation of the subject will make it possible for you to provide your position to the audience concisely.

After you have done the research, you can start writing your essay according to the outline.

1. An introduction is a vital part of an argument essay that defines whether the reader will go through the whole text or not. You need to be aware of how to start an argumentative essay effectively and draw your reader’s attention. The introduction is just a little part of your paper that helps readers determine whether the whole paper is interesting or not. Try to make it informative, attention-grabbing, and even a bit controversial. To make your introduction perfect, follow these steps:

  • Use a “hook”: it is the essential part of the introduction to grab the reader’s attention and invite him or her into the issue.
  • Provide a background: expand the information provided in the “hook”; demonstrate your comprehensive knowledge of the topic in several sentences.
  • Develop a thesis statement: write one or two sentences about the purpose of your paper, proving its significance. Do not forget to include your arguments into the thesis statement.

How to write a thesis statement. Your goal is to transform an argumentative essay topic into a question (if it was not already formulated in the form of a question) and then answer this question with the help of arguments. An effective thesis statement touches on debatable issues and problems that can be taken from different angles. A working approach to writing a thesis statement is to provide your opinion and support it with three main ideas. Your thesis statement should be concise, clear, and arguable.

To grab your readers’ attention, we suggest using such opening techniques as unusual details, a strong statement, a question, or an outrageous fact or anecdote.

Writing a successful opening is just the first step of making your essay structurally correct, readable, and effective. To keep up the good work, follow the steps below to come up with the idea of an irresistible thesis statement:

  • Specify the topic of your paper in a laconic manner.
  • Impose reasonable limits on the suggested topic.
  • Propose the structural organization of your paper (list the arguments).

Keep in mind this short formula while you are working on your thesis, and you will succeed:

“I’ve carried out prolific research, I know what I think about it, and I know how to prove I am right.”

2. The main body. Now that we’re done with the introduction, the hardest part, we will move to the main body – the biggest section in the argumentative essay structure.

In this part you should provide supporting evidence to maintain the opinion highlighted in your thesis statement. It should consist of at least three body paragraphs and provide logical reasoning to support your point of view.

Do not forget that you are writing a persuasive essay – argue with the audience and prove your correctness with cogent reasons. As almost all issues surrounding humans can be evaluated from two different sides, the challenge of a good persuasive writer is to provide readers with both sides of the issue, anticipate the opposing views, and include counter-arguments into the main ideas of your essay.

To make the content of your body paragraphs exceedingly persuasive, use supporting evidence, because facts, quotes, statistics and examples together work miracles! Here are tips for writing body paragraphs.

  1. Start from the topic sentence and use it as a tool for clarifying your position. Take one argument from your thesis, state it in the topic sentence and provide additional details if needed. Before writing, think about your audience – find out what needs to be described and how you can achieve it.
  2. Do not forget about concession statements! Concession statements are the opposing views which should be broadly used in your body paragraphs. Concessions won’t make your arguments weaker. Instead, they will prove your comprehensive understanding of the issue and demonstrate your ability to write from all perspectives. In fact, they will make your writing appear more confident, because you will show that you know and accept the existence of opposing views.
  3. Use transition words, such as first, second, nevertheless, however, eventually, and others to organize the whole essay and establish contact with the reader.

To make the main body useful, choose a confrontational writing approach to defend your thesis statement. The following three most widely used argumentative writing models are sufficient enough to make your argumentative essay successful:

Toulmin approach

Since Toulmin is the most popular method for academic papers, it is prevalent. The main goal of argumentative writing with the Toulmin approach is to build a strong connection between the grounds that support your side and your claims. To follow the Toulmin method, it is vital to make four steps while defending each of your arguments:

1) State your point of view briefly.
2) Bring the evidence to support your point of view.
3) Spell out how the evidence relates to your point of view and how it supports it.
4) Bring possible refutations and contradictions that may appear in terms of your point of view and its grounds.

Rogerian approach

This approach includes four essential steps that you have to apply to each of your arguments in aim to convince your audience to join your side:

1) Start with overlooking the opposite point of view. Investigate the arguments of people holding the opposite point of view and provide them briefly.
2) Define and show to the audience the problems and weak points of the opposite position.
3) Present your point of view confronting the opinion mentioned above. Show how your position relates to the main problem of an essay topic.
4) Brainstorm on the ideas of how to find an alternative solution that might involve both points of view. Find and present the benefits of those ideas.

Aristotelian or classical approach

This is the less widespread approach to argumentative writing; however, it has a lot of potential. According to this approach, the writer should use such elements as logos, ethos, and pathos to support his or her point of view:

1) Ethos of credibility. It is about your credibility as an author whose thoughts are worth the attention of the audience.
2) Logos. It is connected to logical framework between real facts and evidence and your statements as an author. Logos determines the author’s vision in connection to a particular subject.
3) Pathos. When it comes to pathos, the main thing to consider is the emotional aspect. Appeal to the feelings and emotions of your audience.

3. A conclusion is the closing section of an argumentative essay that aims to wrap it up. In this section, the author should emphasize the reasons why his or her opinion is correct. The common rule is that a conclusion must contain only the information provided in the thesis statement and the main body.

  1. State your thesis statement once again.
  2. Summarize the main ideas of your argument and briefly describe your position.
  3. Write a personal reflection, call for action or comment. Use one of the following approaches to do it effectively: prediction, recommendation, question, quotation. You may use a quotation with calling for an action, prediction or question. It will work in any type of paper.

The conclusion should remind the readership of the importance of the topic and restate your ideas. Restate the opposing views’ core points, and convince your audience to agree with your thoughts once again.

argumentative essay writing
Photo by Joanna Kosinska from Unsplash

Stages of writing a persuasive essay

Let’s switch the focus from theory to practice! Now check the following steps and practice your persuasive writing skills.

  1. Dedicate your time for choosing a topic. The topic should be a pleasure for you to write about!
  2. Brainstorm a little bit. You should carefully think about several ideas to write about.
  3. Find supplementary readings. Writing on a topic you’re not knowledgeable about will not be persuasive, which is why it is critically important to carry out extensive academic research, select relevant, peer-reviewed sources, and then read them and choose the arguments to be used in your thesis statement.
  4. Select the most convincing idea. Go through the arguments you chose for further analysis and find the most powerful idea. The same you should do with the most convincing opposing idea.
  5. Create an outline. Organize your evidence to develop the most successful persuasive strategy. Remember the typical structure of an argumentative essay includes five or six paragraphs, including the following points: introduction, body paragraphs, paragraph with opposing view, and conclusion.
  6. Write an introduction. Indicate precisely what you are writing about, and avoid overwhelming the paragraph with unnecessary details. Put the subject of your research (thesis statement) into the last sentence of the introduction.
  7. Move to body paragraphs. Start each paragraph with presenting one particular point of view. Use the evidence, such as quotes, examples, and statistics to support the arguments. Write one or two paragraphs about the opposing ideas and use your arguments to refute it.
  8. Finish with a strong conclusion. Use one of the elements of persuasive writing listed above: prediction, recommendation, question, quotation) to make your conclusion irresistible!
  9. Revise your paper. In this phase, you should reorganize and modify your paper if it is necessary. Read your essay once again and consider whether it is persuasive enough. Concentrate on your thesis statement, the structure of building the arguments, and persuasiveness of the conclusion. All of these elements in combination transform your essay into a real masterpiece!
  10. Proofread the paper and correct the mistakes. Do not forget about grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes. Check your paper on plagiarism to make sure that you have cited all of the sources properly.

How are unique argumentative essays created?

Unlike other essays that college students have to write, such as expository essays, persuasive essays, etc., argumentative essays are based on one key idea and many opposing positions. However, some types of essays, like summaries, cannot state the author’s thoughts and position – they are simply focused on a complete and unbiased view.

While writing an argumentative essay and searching for interesting topics, you are not just completing a university-level assignment; you are presenting your point of view and revealing it from the best side. The purpose of the work is to make sure that your opinion is logical, convincing, and far-sighted.

The uniqueness of your work lies in not allowing it to turn into a secondary essay, but on the contrary, to show your one-of-a-kind description of events or ideas. After all, they say that each unit of society is unique, which means that our thoughts, and even more so an essay, can be unique. To achieve such a result, you need to follow your own personal opinions and try to reflect on yourself in your work so that by looking at it, you can understand whose thoughts they are and what they look like.

Topic ideas for an argumentative essay

how to choose argumentative essay topic

A good topic of a persuasive essay should concentrate on a conflict of some sort. It is always better to talk about the broadly discussed and most relevant “hot” topics — those that overwhelm the news, social media, and research databases. Surely, you may refer to the events of the past, re-evaluate the historical experience and suggest an innovative point of view.

We handpicked some ultimate topics for an argumentative essay that will guarantee a better result:

  1. Can music help people to resolve their inner conflicts?
  2. How to control social networks’ influence on modern teenagers?
  3. How to prevent Stockholm syndrome from developing?
  4. Are video games dangerous?
  5. Is Barack Obama a hero to Americans?
  6. How did COVID-19 influence world economics?
  7. How do vaccination habits relate to the nation’s survival?
  8. Is banning tobacco effective for countries’ economics?
  9. How can education enhance the growth of microeconomics?
  10. Should children be forcibly taken from incompetent parents?
  11. Does social media encourage loneliness?
  12. Books vs. technology: who wins?
  13. Should cities offer book crossing, bike sharing or public Wi-Fi
  14. Getting a license for becoming a parent: is it necessary?
  15. Should advertisements be allowed in schools, public transport or television?

Here are some more argumentative essay writing tips to improve your paper:

  • An effective argumentative essay of any type provokes the audience to agree with the author’s thoughts as well as to form their own opinion and research the subject deeply.
  • Use a variety of techniques to make your text vibrant. Those can be bright quotations, statistics, numbers, historical facts, and other topic-related data.
  • Never skip editing and proofreading. Your teacher will definitely appreciate this step. Use online resources such as Grammarly, Hemmingway, etc., to be confident in your grammar and spelling.
  • If you are not familiar with a topic, start your research with some argumentative essay examples related to your task or look for a free argumentative essay sample on the web.

How to increase your chances of getting a good grade in an essay?

To create an excellent argumentative essay, it is not enough to add supporting evidence, a brief explanation, background information, further research, strong arguments, counter-arguments, etc. The main point of your work is you, your individuality, and your view of the world and its academic canons.

  • A good score may be present with a compelling topic that is easy for you to describe. The issue should be very familiar to you, as then you can sincerely write your worries and arguments because everyone knows that we always have something to say if the topic is close to us and our interests.
  • Justify your point of view without having your head in the clouds. You are not a philosopher here; you are an expert who enters into a personal discussion and gives solid arguments. It is advisable to add life experience and examples, referring to the fact that you are convinced that your opinions are correct and you have something to say.
  • Show that you have done a lot of research work and spent enough time studying the topic; talk about exactly how you feel regarding the importance and urgency of your chosen subject.
  • Do the work according to the teacher’s recommendations; even if you disagree with them, your opinion may differ, and this is normal, but the teacher will grade you. So the work must be suitable according to his or her standards.
  • Government regulation provides deadlines for the delivery of work and punishment for their delay for a reason. Show your discipline and hand over the work on time, perhaps earlier than the stated deadline. Teachers often reward students who are conscientious about deadlines.

write an argumentative essay
Photo by Joanna Kosinska from Unsplash

Mistakes to avoid while writing a persuasive essay

If you write without screw-ups, you must be an android. We, ordinary human beings (and talking sharks), make a lot of mistakes, which is why we need proofreading. But it is better to prevent making mistakes than to revise your paper several times, isn’t it? Check out this list of the most popular fails in a persuasive essay to avoid them:

  1. Your essay is long and uninformative. Do you want to read 10 papers rambling about the same thing again and again? Neither does your professor! Writing about everything is not acceptable in persuasive papers, as you need to be precise, accurate and strict concerning the topic you discuss. Use our essay word counter tool to stick to the required format and word count.
  2. You don’t care about your audience. Though you need to be laconic and precise, do not forget that your essay should be easy for comprehension, so provide explanations for particular terms or notions you use.
  3. The structure of your paper is hectic. Do not repeat the same arguments several times over, and make sure to use the “step by step” principle when developing your ideas. Build your persuasive strategy thoroughly, imagining that each idea you defend is a brick – a small part that establishes a basis for the whole construction.
  4. You don’t proofread your paper. Use synonyms often and adhere to the standards of academic writing – avoid both using a colloquial style and labeling your essay with numerous repetitive words.
  5. You forget about the importance of supporting evidence. Even if you believe that your words are entirely correct, support them with arguments from experts. It will transform an ordinary student paper into real scientific research and your words will make more sense for the audience.
  6. You don’t pay attention to your style. Consider the requirements of your audience and write in the appropriate tone. You may give your essay to a friend – it will help to identify sentences that are difficult to understand and paraphrase them.

Persuasive essay writing checklist

After your research and writing work is done, use the following questions to check your paper and make final changes if needed.

  • Does your paper present a specific topic or issue for discussion?
  • Does your topic contain a particular problem to be solved in the concluding part of the paper?
  • Does your introduction open with an intriguing “hook” (unusual detail, exaggeration, strong statement, quotation, statistic, question or anecdote)?
  • Have you provided brief background information on your topic in the introductory paragraph?
  • Have you put an effective thesis statement into the last sentence of the introduction?
  • Does each paragraph in the main body highlight a single argument or idea?
  • Does each body paragraph contain a topic sentence and supporting evidence (quotation, example, fact, statistics)?
  • Is the structure of your body paragraphs built properly?
  • Have you provided a paragraph with an opposing view?
  • Have you presented and refuted the opposite view comprehensively?
  • Does your conclusion start from restating the thesis statement?
  • Does your conclusion prove the correctness of your position and encourage the audience to act and think in the same way?
  • Have you provided a personal reflection, comment, prediction or recommendation in the conclusion?
  • Is the structure of the sentences similar throughout the whole paper?
  • Have you used transitional words to link the sentences and simplify the ideas?
  • Have you used synonyms, terms with definitions or academically appropriate words?
  • Have you achieved your purpose that was established before writing the paper?

What if you don’t like to write at all?

Each person can learn how to express their thoughts correctly, it’s just that it’s easy for some, but it seems like wandering in a dark forest for others. When you are a student, you don’t have much choice – they give you a task, and you have to do it, regardless of whether you like to write. What should you do if thinking about the compositions makes your hair stand on end?

  1. Ask some of your friends in the group to help you; perhaps someone will agree to write an essay for you. But you need to understand that each person is primarily concerned about their difficulties and problems. It is unlikely that anyone will spend their free evening finding evidentiary support for your work suitable for your argumentative essay.
  2. Pull yourself together, be patient, and try to write as best you can on your own. You will need a detailed description of the structure and requirements for writing an essay, a topic worthy of discussion, and many sources to help you understand this topic. The only question is whether you are ready to sacrifice your time for something that brings you only sadness.
  3. Request the help of a company that specializes in helping students. Go to its website and see all the benefits of working with them. Find out in detail about their authors, guarantees, and the principle of the service. You will guarantee yourself a good grade and healthy nerves, and most importantly, you will not have to step over yourself.

Argumentative essay sample

Should Schools Do More to Stop Bullying?

Introduction

One of the core functions of a school is to make concerted efforts to ensure that children have holistic and well-rounded growth. The findings from various researches indicate that bullying is not only a menace and a hindrance to a student’s well-being but also a constant issue that people come across even outside the school environment. Therefore, ensuring that there is no trace of bullying is just the beginning of the process. To ensure that children, and society in general, understand what culminates into bullying, find strategies to develop grit and resilience, and create safe space culture, schools ought to do more to stop bullying.

More Strategies for Schools

Bullying is a multifaceted concept. Broadly categorized, the signs and evidence of bullying are psychological, physical, and emotional. Moreover, the fact that the combination of physical, emotional, or mental types of bullying could be meted on one or more individuals makes the issue much more complicated (Boone, 2019). Coupled with the fact that people of different ages, gender, background, and developmental stages experience and react to bullying differently, the severity of the results of bullying could end up being fatal.

Consequently, a school should do more to stop bullying and mitigate the outcomes brought forth by circumstances of bullying. Constant education on the various definitions of bullying emerges as one of the main ways of creating awareness. Creating a culture where every individual is mindful of the well-being of others is also an additional item that school administrations need to include in the day-to-day strategies (Rivara & Menestrel, 2016). Additionally, treating each student uniquely based on their needs goes a long way to ensure that a student’s self-esteem acts as a tool to prevent the adverse effects of bullying.

Conclusion

Therefore, schools need to do more to prevent bullying. Some of the new things that schools should do include educating students on bullying, enhancing endurance and character among students, and create a safe space culture in schools. In so doing, schools will not only stop bullying but also mitigate the effects.

References

Bernal-Morales, B. (2018). Health and academic achievement. Norderstedt, Germany: BoD – Books on Demand.
Boone, C. (2019). Bullying in Schools: Prevention, gender differences and perspectives.
Rivara, F. P., & Menestrel, S. le. (2016). Preventing bullying through science, policy, and practice. National Academies Press.

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FAQ on how to write an argumentative essay

  • How do I start my introduction?

An introductory paragraph is easier to write when you know what precisely will hook the reader who falls into the hands of your argumentative essay. It all depends on the argumentative essay topics you will be offered to choose from or select yourself. After all, when you know what your issue will be, you will come up with a catchy beginning, and your work will be easy to remember and appreciate. The introduction should be like the beginning of any book, with a hook to keep the reader looking forward to your next thought.

  • What are the 4 parts of an argumentative essay?

Writing argumentative essays always starts with understanding the proper structure of an essay. A reasoned essay consists of three main parts: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Moreover, each has its substructure, presentation of information principles, and secrets. But in each section, a strong opinion prevails, on which the whole work rests. To get a good grade, it is crucial to adhere to the generally accepted structure for writing this type of essay; in a sense, it makes the work more accessible because there is a clear plan.

  • How do you write an argumentative essay example?

To understand how experts write argumentative essays, you need to understand what precisely the argumentative essay prompts should be. When you find an example essay, you immediately see a clear structure that best describes the main idea and message of the work. When there is a plan for writing and a given topic, part of the path has already been passed, and there is little left to do. Further, the author must find the necessary arguments and explain why this opinion exists in the work and the process of reaching it. It is crucial to explain and make the text compelling and unique so that each paragraph reflects the course of your thoughts and the sources you refer to.

  • What are the best topics for argumentative essays?

Essay topics should be chosen so that readers are encouraged to read your work enthusiastically and be extensive enough to argue your opinion and contribute. The main task of an argumentative essay is to describe and convince the reader that your idea is exciting and back it up with facts and relevant arguments. Even the first paragraph of the work should be convincing and inspire your awareness of the topic. Therefore, to get a good grade, the topic you choose should be easy for you, or rather, you should have some expertise in it to calmly and efficiently analyze and prescribe arguments.

  • How to hook the reader with an argumentative essay?

To hook the reader with your essay, you need to bring real-life examples in your work; the whole world of advertising and marketing uses this technique to convey its values ​​to the client, and in our case, we share our opinion with the reader. Life experiences resonate best with people because we influence neurons, which in turn causes delight. To do this, you need to choose a suitable topic, because if you write about space, it will be difficult for you to give an example from life unless you were brought up in a space camp or have been there yourself. Your text should have hooks that will make the reader read the work to the end and take your side on this topic.

  • Why should students write an argumentative essay?

An essay is one of the ways to express yourself during class and show what you are worth to the teacher and how you think and put words together. In addition, argumentative essays teach students to clear their thoughts and direct them in the right direction, analyze information, and draw independent conclusions, which must also be argued in this type of essay. Thanks to this kind of assignment, the teacher can assess not only students’ knowledge but also their analytical thinking. In addition, the skills of finding the correct information that will help supplement and expand the material of your work are also necessary.

  • How to get a good argumentative essay?

Getting an excellent argumentative essay is not so difficult when you understand how the structure should look, what exactly you need to write in each of them, and how to open and argue your thoughts. Importantly, you must choose the right topic and follow a clear structure. You need to understand that the work will take more than a few minutes and consists of three or more paragraphs. A reasoned essay will turn out worthy if you give it a steady amount of time and approach the work in good faith. In addition to all this, you need to leave only clearly stated thoughts; no one except the teacher wants to read a watery text without complexities and intrigue. The work should demonstrate your individuality and the style of your writing.

Get help with argumentative essay writing from us

We hope these guidelines on writing an argumentative essay will help your texts become better. Remember to follow an appropriate structure and support your views with strong evidence. Become an expert on your argumentative essay topic and be able to convince your audience to join your thoughts.

Here at EssayShark essay service, we strive to give you confidence in your assignments and lift your writing level in a helpful way. We cooperate with skilled authors who know how to write an excellent argumentative essay and make your most vivid dreams of a perfect academic performance come true. Our approach aims to give students the best result on any assignment they might get while studying at college or university.

Just ask us to “write my paper for me” and our writers will help you with any paper topic and formatting style.

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4 thoughts on “How to Write an Argumentative Essay

    1. EssayShark

      Everything depends on your instructor’s requirements – you can use cases from your own experience, or commonly known facts.

      Reply

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