How-to-write-an-Argument-Essay

HowtoWriteanArgumentEssayByGraceFlemingPlanningStageForanargumentessaytobeeffective,itmustcontaincertainelements.Forthisreason,youmusttakeafewminutestoplanandpreparebeforeyoujumpintowritinganargumentessay.FindaGoodTopicTofindgoodtopicforanargumentessayyoushouldconsiderseveralissuesthatwillhavetwoconflictingpointsofvieworverydifferentconclusions.Asyoulookoveralistoftopicsyoushouldfindonethatreallysparksyourinterest.Whileastronginterestinatopicisimportant,it'snotenoughtobeinterested.Youhavetoconsiderwhatpositionyoucanbackupwithreasoningandevidence.It'sonethingtohaveastrongbelief,butwhenshapinganargumentyou'llhavetoexplainwhyyourbeliefisreasonableandlogical.Asyouexplorethetopics,makeamentallistofpointsyoucoulduseasevidencefororagainstanissue.ConsiderBothSidesofYourTopicandTakeaPositionOnceyouhaveselectedatopicyoufeelstronglyabout,youshouldmakealistofpointsforbothsidesoftheargumentandpickaside.Oneofyourfirstobjectivesinyouressaywillbetopresentbothsidesofyourissuewithanassessmentofeach.Ofcourse,youwillconcludethatoneside(yourside)isthebestconclusion.Intheplanningstageyouwillneedtoconsiderstrongargumentsfortheotherside.Thenyou'llshootthemdown!GatherEvidenceWhenwethinkofargumentswemightpicturetwored-facedpeoplespeakingquiteloudlyandmakingdramaticgestures.Butthat'sbecauseface-to-faceargumentsoftenbecomeemotional.Infact,theactofarguinginvolvesprovidingprooftosupportyourclaim,withorwithoutemotions.Inanargumentessayyouwillhavetoprovideevidencewithoutprovidingtoomuchdrama.You'llexploretwosidesofatopic(briefly)andprovideproofastowhyonesideorpositionisthebestone.WritingStageOnceyou'vegivenyourselfasolidfoundationtoworkwith,youcanbegintocraftyouressay.Anargumentessayshouldcontainthreeparts:theintroduction,thebody,andtheconclusion.Thelengthoftheseparts(numberofparagraphs)willvary,dependingonthelengthofyouressayassignment.1.IntroduceyourtopicandassertyoursideAsinanyessay,thefirstparagraphofyourargumentessayshouldcontainabriefexplanationofyourtopic,somebackgroundinformation,andathesisstatement.Inthiscase,yourthesiswillbeastatementofyourpositiononaparticularcontroversialtopic.Exampleintroductoryparagraphwiththesisstatement:Sincetheturnofthenewcentury,atheoryhasemergedconcerningtheendoftheworld,oratleasttheendoflifeasweknowit.Thisnewtheorycentersaroundtheyear2012,adatethatmanyclaimhasmysteriousoriginsinancientmanuscriptsfrommanydifferentcultures.ThemostnotedcharacteristicofthisdateisthatitappearstomarktheendoftheMayancalendar.ButthereisnoevidencetosuggestthattheMayasawanygreatrelevancetothisdate.Infact,noneoftheclaimssurroundinga2012doomsdayeventholduptoscientificinquiry.Theyear2012willpasswithoutamajor,life-alteringcatastrophe.2.PresentbothsidesofthecontroversyThebodyofyouressaywillcontainthemeatofyourargument.Youshouldgointomoredetailaboutthetwosidesofyourcontroversyandstatethestrongestpointsofthecounter-sideofyourissue.Afterdescribingtheotherside,youwillpresentyourownviewpointandthenprovideevidencetoshowwhyyourpositionisthecorrectone.Selectyourstrongestevidenceandpresentyourpointsonebyone.Useamixofevidencetypes,fromstatistics,tootherstudiesandanecdotalstories.Thispartofyourpapercouldbeanylength,fromtwoparagraphstotwohundredpages.Re-stateyourpositionasthemostsensibleoneinyoursummaryparagraphs.TipsforYourEssay:AvoidemotionallanguageKnowthedifferencebetweenalogicalconclusionandanemotionalpointofviewDon'tmakeupevidenceCiteyoursourcesMakeanoutlineBepreparedtodefendyoursidebyknowingthestrongestargumentsfortheotherside.Youmightbechallengedbytheteacherorbyanotherstudent.SuggestedReadingHowtoChooseaPositionorSideRevisingandEditinganArgumentEssay50ArgumentTopicsEssayConstructionThesisSentenceStartWithaStoryIntroductoryParagraphOrganizingYourThoughtsVennDiagramMethodTextBoxMethodMindMapMethodHowtoWriteaGoodEssayStephenT.Asma—particularlyphilosophypapers.Pleasereadthiscarefullyandmakeeveryefforttoavoidthesepitfalls.Oneofthemajorerrorsthatstudentscommitisthattheyofferupapasticheoftheir“opinions”onagiventopic,buttheyneverfollow-throughtojustifythoseopinions.Thefirstthingthatonemustrealizeisthatyouraudience(thesmartreader)isnotintheleastbitinterestedinyour“opinion”oranyone'sopinionforthatmatter.Thisisashocktosomestudentswhobelievethatwhatwe'vebeendoinginclassisjusttradingopinionsonvarioustopics.Theconfusionliesinthefactthatsomestudentsareonlyattendingtothefirstpartofatwo-partprocess—theyareforgettingornotsufficientlyfollowingthesecondpartoftheprocess.Thesmartreaderisnotinterestedinyouropinion.Thesmartreaderisinterestedintheargumentthatyoucangivewhichexplainswhyyouholdthatopinion.Givinganargumentthatsupportsanddefendsyouropinionisthesecond-partofthetwo-partprocessthatweencounterinourreadingsandclassdiscussions.Generallyspeaking,youshouldtreatallopinion-statementsaslogicalconclusions,andtheartofgoodreadingandwritingistodigbacktothepremises,theassumptions,andtheevidencethatledapersontodrawthatconcl