How to write an argumentative essay
Argumentative essay is a quite common type of essay, especially in college. Argumentative essay presents a detailed argument for a specific thesis statement.
When writing an argumentative paper, you should take a specific stand on your subject and build your paper for your thesis statement and argument.
It is essential to learn this type. You will have many argumentative essay assignments throughout your college education.
Approaches to argumentative essays
You first need to improve your argumentation. Most college papers require you to create and defend your arguments, which is quite explicit in argumentative essays.
Therefore, regardless of the type of essay, you should first understand the importance of argumentation. In other words, you should come up with a topic, claim, or idea that triggers a sense of discussion and curiosity in the reader.
Some examples of argumentative essay topics
Remember, you always define a specific position about your research topic. In the introduction, you imply your stand through your thesis statement, usually your introduction‘s last sentence. Your essay then continues by detailing the argument, analysis, and evidence.
Argumentative essay topic example
Why staying outdoors is better than staying indoors?- Listing all the effects is a wrong approach.
- Research the overall impact, develop a stand and argument, and then back up your argument with your evidence (in APA, MLA, etc.). In other words, try to convince the reader of your claim with scientific and credible references to avoid plagiarism.
Argumentative essay topic example
Assess the black infant mortality rates in the United States.- Providing raw data to this prompt is the wrong approach.
- Try to construct your argument on data and let the reader interpret it. You support your argument with the relevant data rather than merely listing them.
Rogerian arguments
You’ll hear Rogerian arguments a lot when studying how to write an argumentative essay. Rogerian arguments provide students with some steps to repeat during the writing process:
- Opposing idea should be discussed
- Analyze the problems with the opposing idea
- Offer your stand (approach) and how you cover the problems of the opposing idea.
- Present a compromise. In other words, explain how the opposing idea could benefit from your contra ideas.
With the Rogerian arguments model, you’ll create a clear overview of both sides of a claim and argument. This approach is useful when analyzing a controversial topic.
The Rogerian model will enable you to find the middle and approach the topic with good faith rather than proving your points with pure demagogy.
For example, say you want to discuss that social media positively impacts communication (see social media essay examples). With the Rogerian model, you’ll:
- Accept that students spend so much time on social media platforms.
- Argue that the older generation believes social media harms personal communication
- Suggest that a decent use of social media may lead to practical and rapid communication
- Suggest that proper use of social media may also lead to practical communication for older people skeptical about its benefits.
Toulmin arguments
Like Roulmin’s arguments, the Toulmin model is also based on a four-step approach. You may repeat these steps as many times as you wish to develop a solid essay structure.
- Presenting a claim
- Showing evidence for the claim
- Describing the grounds for the evidence
- Evaluating the negative aspects of the claim to show you have evaluated the other perspectives as well.
The Toulmin model is essential when it comes to how to write an argumentative essay, as many students widely use it.
Even if you don’t follow all the steps above, you need to develop a clear connection between your argument, thesis statement, and essay. Remember, argumentation and evidence are essential when writing an argumentative essay.
For example, say you’re working on an argument about the impacts of social media on communication. With the Toulmin model, you’ll:
- Argue that social media has negative impacts on socializing and traditional communication.
- Present credible research data to support your argument
- Elaborate the argument by highlighting the qualitative and quantitative findings of the research.
- Evaluate the objections who find social media communication useful and make a connection between your claim and contra-claim to convince the reader.
However, you should always have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion when writing your argumentative essay. Here is an argumentative essay example, feel free to have a look before writing one.
Introduction of an argumentative essay
Like any other essay type, you start with an introduction when writing an argumentative essay. Your introduction needs a hook, background information, and a thesis statement when writing a short essay. You may also need to summarize your argumentative essay structure if you are preparing an extended essay.
Below, you’ll see an example of how to write an argumentative essay introduction. Please read the sentences carefully to analyze the hook, background information, and thesis statement.
Argumentative essay introduction example
The wide use of social media has a substantial impact on business, education, and even love life. Hook: You draw the reader’s attention with a strong claim. People now tend to use social media in different contexts, and many scholars discuss its role in human psychology. For many psychologists, the effects of social media platforms are concerning and potentially dangerous for addictive individuals. Background: You set the context of your argument. Although some scholars highlight such concerns, there are obviously many social media benefits as an asset of communication and socializing, creating a digital memory album, and meeting new people for introverted people. Thesis statement: You present the central argument of your essay.
Body of an argumentative essay
Like other types of essays, you’ll discuss and develop your arguments in the argumentative essay’s body. You need to present your credible evidence, your own analysis, deductions, and analysis in the body. In other words, you need to convince the reader of your claim and argument (thesis statement).
- When writing a short argumentative essay, your body should take no more than three paragraphs. Here is a guide on how to write paragraphs.
- If you’re writing an extended argumentative essay, you may have to add headings to divide your essay into different subtopics.
Paragraphs are like small essays, and they need to be structured in a gradual format. Each paragraph should have its topic, and you need to introduce each of them with a topic sentence.
Make sure that you don’t add irrelevant information and connect your sentences with transition words and sentences.
Argumentative essay body example
The excessive use of social media is a concern for many psychologists. Topic sentence: What will the paragraph be about? Its prevalence among society is extremely high; research found that almost every individual has a social media account (Radovic et al., 2017). However, many studies have stressed a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts (Scheinbaum, 2017). Evidence: You state and cite your evidence. Psychologists are not mistaken to think that social media can have serious impacts on human psychology; however, a further and expanded investigation is also necessary. Interpretation: This part evaluates the evidence. At this point, many psychologists stress the negative aspects of social media, but scholars have also highlighted the positive impacts of social media such as the availability of social networks, the feeling of belonging, and numerous business opportunities (Akram & Kumar, 2017). Counter argument: You present a counter-evidence to argue against the original claim. Therefore, the use of social media has positive sides that help individuals look for opportunities and different communities. Final sentence: You state your point made in this paragraph.
Conclusion of an argumentative essay
Like other types of essays, your argumentative essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes the findings.
Below, you will find an example of a conclusion of the argumentative essay.
Argumentative essay conclusion example
Social media has a substantial impact on many aspects of life; apart from adverse effects, its importance is valid in many fields such as communication, business opportunities, and the feeling of belonging. Summary: You summarize your arguments in the body and remind the reader of your thesis statement. As the current trends show, many individuals use social media opportunities in socializing, networking, and working life. Importance: Stress the importance of the argument by giving examples from the real life. After all, although many skeptics have increasingly highlighted the dangers of social media, it is here for a long time, and it is time to concentrate on its benefits with an optimistic approach. Closing statement: You capture the importance of your argument and conclude your essay with a memorable sentence.
Golden rule
You shouldn’t add any new information or quotation here. However, don’t forget to highlight the significance of your argument and rephrase your thesis statement.Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for reading. If you need further information, feel free to have a look at our essay samples or contact us at live chat.
Recently on Tamara Blog
Essay Topic Ideas
In the writing process, generating ideas is the least systematic and most innovative step. Now, let’s continue with the steps you can follow in order to find a topic for your academic essay.
Differences between US and UK English
Your English style should always be consistent throughout the process of writing your research paper, essay, or dissertation. Even though there are more than 160 different English dialects worldwide, American English and British English are known as the most commonly used styles.
Active and passive voice in writing
Active voice and passive voice define how an action is told. While the subject is doing the action in active voice, the person or thing that receives the action comes before the verb in passive voice. You should use the correct verb tense to create a passive voice.
First-person pronouns in academic writing
There are many different perspectives on using first-person pronouns (I, we, our, etc.) in academic writing among various disciplines. While many experts advise using first-person pronouns even in fields of science, there is no consensus.
Common phrasal verbs in writing
The two lists below show commonly used phrasal verbs in academic writing and their one-word synonyms. Although it is academically acceptable to use phrasal verbs, you might want to switch them to their one-word synonyms to make your writing diverse and more professional.
Tense selection in academic writing
Every type of an academic paper (essays, theses, and dissertations) might require you to choose different tenses. This article will show you the different tense selections in different parts of an academic paper.