7/22/2024

Argumentative
Essays

Introduction
Argument essays, sometimes called persuasive
essays, are a type of academic writing in which
the writer takes a stance on a particular topic.
Writing argument essays can help you develop
several important skills. Crafting an effective
argument essay requires you to think critically and
evaluate various perspectives on an issue. In
addition, persuasively engaging and convincing
your audience will require you to develop your
communication skills. These skills are critical for
academic success.

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Introduction Body
Begin the introduction Include multiple body
paragraph with a hook to paragraphs within the essay.
grab the reader’s attention. Each paragraph should focus

Elements of Continue by adding

background information and
context. End with the thesis.
on a single point and include
evidence and analysis that
supports the thesis.

Argument
Counterargument Conclusion

Essays Every argument will have an

opposing view called the
Use the conclusion paragraph
to remind readers of your main
counterargument. Address this argument. Point out the
opposing view by providing implications of your essay and
evidence showing that the leave readers with lingering
counterargument is false. ideas about your topic.

Thesis Statements
In an argument essay, the thesis statement is a
clear, concise, and debatable statement that
presents the central argument or claim you
intend to support throughout your essay. It
serves as the central point around which your
entire essay revolves. An effective thesis
statement is focused and specific. The thesis
in an argument essay presents a viewpoint
that can be challenged or questioned. It offers
the reader an interpretation, position, or
perspective.

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Planning an
N T A T I V E
ARG U M E
Essay
• Step 1 - Choose your Topic • Step 4 - Consider Counterclaims
• Step 2 - Make a Claim • Step 5 - Look for Evidence
• Step 3 - Develop your Reasons • Step 6 - Conclude

1. CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC

This part will depend on the parameters of your assignment or task.

Sometimes you will have a topic assigned to you.

Other times you will have a choice from a selection of prompts.

You also might have free range to select your own topic or issue of interest.

Either way, you should ensure you can generate a question worthy of discussion between
opposing sides. To be able to prove your argument effectively, you will need to consider
both sides of the debate.

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2. MAKE A CLAIM
A claim is a position or stance that the writer takes on a topic, concept or issue. In persuasive essay
structure, this is known as the thesis statement and it will be found in your introduction. If your topic is
a statement, consider whether you agree or disagree. You will then need to state your viewpoint as a
clear, specific and defensible statement that can be used to guide your argument in your essay.

Ask yourself:
• Is the claim stated clearly and specifically? I.e. is it easy to understand (and not too vague or
broad)?
• Is it debatable? And would someone be interested in debating it?
• Can you support it?

Example:
Standardized testing is an ineffective and unfair way of evaluating student achievement.

3. DEVELOP YOUR REASONS

Often a writer will break down their overall claim, or thesis, into smaller claims. These
are usually stated as reasons or justifications for the writer's argument - in other words,
they are the 'why' behind the claim.

Using your critical thinking skills, identify as many reasons you can think of in support
of your claim. Then, pick your best ones and rank them in order of strength or
relevance.

Example:
• It is unfair to certain types of learners e.g. low-income, ESL and students with special needs.
• It can be disruptive to student learning and restrict teachers' abilities to teach effectively and
creatively.
• It places unnecessary amounts of stress on students, resulting in successful students losing
confidence if they don't perform well under test conditions.

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4. CONSIDER COUNTERCLAIMS
Part of writing an effective argument is anticipating opposing viewpoints so that you
can disprove or discredit them in order to strengthen your own argument. A
counterclaim is an argument that works to disagree with and disprove the writer's
claim. The main purpose of including a counterclaim is to address the opposite side of
the argument and provide a rebuttal. A rebuttal is when a writer disproves an
argument.

This means you'll not only work on proving your claim, but on disproving the
counterclaim or the opposition's argument.

Example:
• Standardized testing is fair and objective, creating a universal standard of education.
• It provides an inclusive opportunity, giving students from diverse backgrounds a chance to prove
they have mastered academic material despite their circumstances.

5. LOOK FOR EVIDENCE

Evidence is information and examples from other sources that support a writer's
reasoning.

It is important because it helps to build credibility and gain the reader's trust.

If writers cannot support their claims with any evidence, they could appear to be just
opinions, which are not as convincing.

To effectively use evidence to support each of your reasons, make sure it comes from
credible, trustworthy, sources and try to identify a range of different types to make your
writing interesting.

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Evidence can be split into hard and soft.

Hard Evidence Soft Evidence

This includes things such as: This includes things like:

• facts and statistics • personal anecdotes
• scientific data • word-of-mouth information (things heard
• carefully controlled observations from another person)
• measurements • appeals to false authority (quoting from
• surveys sources that are not experts on the topic)
• case studies • Other direct quotes from literary texts or
• information and opinions from experts in media texts
particular fields (i.e. quotes from doctors,
psychologists, scientists or academics).

Once you've found your evidence, you'll want to rank it in order of strength and relevance. Make
sure you can effectively link each piece of evidence to your claim through reasoning.

6 . C O N C LU D E

A good conclusion for an argumentative text shouldn't sound too

repetitive. Instead, emphasise your strongest points, state your
argument in a slightly different way and finish on a powerful note.

You might use a thought-provoking rhetorical question or appeal to

your specific audiences values or emotions.

If you feel you've successfully convinced the audience to agree with

your claims, you might end with a call to action. These are specific steps
you'd like your audience to take in order to promote social action and
support your cause.

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T h e L a n gu a g e o f
N T A T I V E
ARG U M E
Te x t s
• Style and Tone
• Rhetorical Devices
• Transitions

STYLE AND TONE

For most argumentative persuasive essays you want to write in a clear, concise
and objective manner with a mildly persuasive tone. If your tone is too strident or
inflammatory, you risk alienating your audience by sounding unreasonable.

Relying on facts rather than subjective opinions will make your essay sound more
convincing and professional, enhancing the legitimacy of your argument.

However, this does not mean there's no room for creativity with language
features. In fact, mixing up the writing style in an essay can be more engaging for
your reader and can often make an argument more convincing.

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RHETORICAL DEVICES

In argumentative essay, it's best to stick to rhetorical devices that appeal to ethos and logos. While you can
still include some techniques that appeal to pathos, these should be limited so that you still sound measured
and reasonable.

Consider language features such as:

• Tricolon and tetracolon
• Jargon
• Direct address
• Inclusive language
• Repetition
• Rhetorical Question
• Descriptive language
• Parallel sentence structure

TRANSITIONS
Transition words are used to link phrases, sentences or paragraphs within your essay. They help the
reader to progress from one idea to the next creating coherent relationships between your claims,
reasons and evidence. Different transition words can be used for different purposes. For example:

Adding Ideas Comparisons Examples Concessions

Also Similarly For example Some people think

In addition Like / unlike For instance It has been argued
Furthermore In comparison to Specifically Some may say
One point that shows In contrast to To illustrate While it’s true that
Another way However To be specific Many people assume
Moreover On the other hand This is clearly shown The problem with that

It's a good idea to build up a word bank of transition words so you don't end up relying on the same ones.
Varying your language can make your writing more engaging.