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Need to defend your opinion on an issue? Argumentative essays are one of the most popular types of
essays you’ll write in school. They combine persuasive arguments with fact-based research, and,
when done well, can be powerful tools for making someone agree with your point of view. If you’re
struggling to write an argumentative essay or just want to learn more about them, seeing
examples can be a big help.

After giving an overview of this type of essay, we provide three argumentative essay examples. After
each essay, we explain in-depth how the essay was structured, what worked, and where the essay
could be improved. We end with tips for making your own argumentative essay as strong as possible.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is an essay that uses evidence and facts to support the claim it’s making. Its
purpose is to persuade the reader to agree with the argument being made.

A good argumentative essay will use facts and evidence to support the argument, rather than
just the author’s thoughts and opinions. For example, say you wanted to write an argumentative
essay stating that Charleston, SC is a great destination for families. You couldn’t just say that it’s a
great place because you took your family there and enjoyed it. For it to be an argumentative essay,
you need to have facts and data to support your argument, such as the number of child-friendly
attractions in Charleston, special deals you can get with kids, and surveys of people who visited
Charleston as a family and enjoyed it. The first argument is based entirely on feelings, whereas the
second is based on evidence that can be proven.
The standard five paragraph format is common, but not required, for argumentative essays. These
essays typically follow one of two formats: the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model.

● The Toulmin model is the most common. It begins with an introduction, follows with a
thesis/claim, and gives data and evidence to support that claim. This style of essay also
includes rebuttals of counterarguments.
● The Rogerian model analyzes two sides of an argument and reaches a conclusion after
weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each.

3 Good Argumentative Essay Examples + Analysis

Below are three examples of argumentative essays, written by yours truly in my school days, as well
as analysis of what each did well and where it could be improved.

Argumentative Essay Example 1

As online learning becomes more common and more and more resources are converted to
digital form, some people have suggested that public libraries should be shut down and, in their
place, everyone should be given an iPad with an e-reader subscription.

Proponents of this idea state that it will save local cities and towns money because libraries are
expensive to maintain. They also believe it will encourage more people to read because they
won’t have to travel to a library to get a book; they can simply click on what they want to read
and read it from wherever they are. They could also access more materials because libraries
won’t have to buy physical copies of books; they can simply rent out as many digital copies as
they need.

However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets. First, digital books and
resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print resources. A study
done on tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets, retain 20%
less information, and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the
same information in print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause
numerous health problems, including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye
strain, at much higher instances than reading print does. People who use tablets and mobile
devices excessively also have a higher incidence of more serious health issues such as
fibromyalgia, shoulder and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and muscle strain. I know that
whenever I read from my e-reader for too long, my eyes begin to feel tired and my neck hurts.
We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people, more reasons
to look at screens.

Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service libraries offer is book
lending. Libraries have a multitude of benefits, and many are only available if the library has a
physical location. Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way
to converse with their neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering
patron questions, and keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, after a
local library instituted community events such as play times for toddlers and parents, job fairs for
teenagers, and meeting spaces for senior citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more
connected to their community. Similarly, a Pew survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly
two-thirds of American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major impact on their
community. People see libraries as a way to connect with others and get their questions answered,
benefits tablets can’t offer nearly as well or as easily.

While replacing libraries with tablets may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to
spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite the myriad issues surrounding them. It
would also end access to many of the benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In
many areas, libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be
replaced by a simple object.

Analysis

The author begins by giving an overview of the counter-argument, then the thesis appears as the first
sentence in the third paragraph. The essay then spends the rest of the paper dismantling the counter
argument and showing why readers should believe the other side.

What this essay does well:

○ Although it’s a bit unusual to have the thesis appear fairly far into the essay, it works
because, once the thesis is stated, the rest of the essay focuses on supporting it
since the counter-argument has already been discussed earlier in the paper.
○ This essay includes numerous facts and cites studies to support its case. By having
specific data to rely on, the author’s argument is stronger and readers will be more
inclined to agree with it.
○ For every argument the other side makes, the author makes sure to refute it and follow
up with why her opinion is the stronger one. In order to make a strong argument, it’s
important to dismantle the other side, which this essay does this by making the author's
view appear stronger.

How this essay could be improved:

○ This is a shorter paper, and if it needed to be expanded to meet length requirements, it

could include more examples and go more into depth with them, such as by explaining
specific cases where people benefited from local libraries.
○ Additionally, while the paper uses lots of data, the author also mentions their own
experience with using tablets. This should be removed since argumentative essays
focus on facts and data to support an argument, not the author’s own opinion or
experiences. Replacing that with more data on health issues associated with screen
time would strengthen the essay.
○ Some of the points made aren't completely accurate, particularly the one about
digital books being cheaper. It actually often costs a library more money to rent out
 numerous digital copies of a book compared to buying a single physical copy. Make
sure in your own essay you thoroughly research each of the points and rebuttals you
make, otherwise you'll look like you don't know the issue that well.

Ivie: VIPS Miramontes/Acoxpa (12hr)

Argumentative Essay Example 2

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through female
Anopheles mosquitoes. Each year, over half a billion people will become infected with malaria, with
roughly 80% of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly half a million people die of malaria every
year, most of them young children under the age of five. Unlike many other infectious diseases, the
death toll for malaria is rising. While there have been many programs designed to improve access
to malaria treatment, the best way to reduce the impact of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa is to focus
on reducing the number of people who contract the disease in the first place, rather than waiting to
treat the disease after the person is already infected.

There are multiple drugs available to treat malaria, and many of them work well and save lives, but
malaria eradication programs that focus too much on them and not enough on prevention haven’t
seen long-term success in Sub-Saharan Africa. A major program to combat malaria was WHO’s
Global Malaria Eradication Programme. Started in 1955, it had a goal of eliminating malaria in
Africa within the next ten years. Based upon previously successful programs in Brazil and the
United States, the program focused mainly on vector control. This included widely distributing
chloroquine and spraying large amounts of DDT. More than one billion dollars was spent trying to
abolish malaria. However, the program suffered from many problems and in 1969, WHO was forced
to admit that the program had not succeeded in eradicating malaria. The number of people in
Sub-Saharan Africa who contracted malaria as well as the number of malaria deaths had actually
increased over 10% during the time the program was active.

One of the major reasons for the failure of the project was that it set uniform strategies and policies.
By failing to consider variations between governments, geography, and infrastructure, the program
was not nearly as successful as it could have been. Sub-Saharan Africa has neither the money nor
the infrastructure to support such an elaborate program, and it couldn’t be run the way it was meant
to. Most African countries don't have the resources to send all their people to doctors and get shots,
nor can they afford to clear wetlands or other malaria prone areas. The continent’s spending per
person for eradicating malaria was just a quarter of what Brazil spent. Sub-Saharan Africa simply
can’t rely on a plan that requires more money, infrastructure, and expertise than they have to spare.

Additionally, the widespread use of chloroquine has created drug resistant parasites which are now
plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa. Because chloroquine was used widely but inconsistently, mosquitoes
developed resistance, and chloroquine is now nearly completely ineffective in Sub-Saharan Africa,
with over 95% of mosquitoes resistant to it. As a result, newer, more expensive drugs need to be
used to prevent and treat malaria, which further drives up the cost of malaria treatment for a region
that can ill afford it.

Instead of developing plans to treat malaria after the infection has incurred, programs should focus
on preventing infection from occurring in the first place. Not only is this plan cheaper and more
effective, reducing the number of people who contract malaria also reduces loss of work/school
days which can further bring down the productivity of the region.

One of the cheapest and most effective ways of preventing malaria is to implement
insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). These nets provide a protective barrier around the person or
people using them. While untreated bed nets are still helpful, those treated with insecticides are
much more useful because they stop mosquitoes from biting people through the nets, and they help
reduce mosquito populations in a community, thus helping people who don’t even own bed nets.
Bed nets are also very effective because most mosquito bites occur while the person is sleeping, so
bed nets would be able to drastically reduce the number of transmissions during the night. In fact,
transmission of malaria can be reduced by as much as 90% in areas where the use of ITNs is
widespread. Because money is so scarce in Sub-Saharan Africa, the low cost is a great benefit and
a major reason why the program is so successful. Bed nets cost roughly 2 USD to make, last
several years, and can protect two adults. Studies have shown that, for every 100-1000 more nets
are being used, one less child dies of malaria. With an estimated 300 million people in Africa not
being protected by mosquito nets, there’s the potential to save three million lives by spending just a
few dollars per person.

Reducing the number of people who contract malaria would also reduce poverty levels in Africa
significantly, thus improving other aspects of society like education levels and the economy. Vector
control is more effective than treatment strategies because it means fewer people are getting sick.
When fewer people get sick, the working population is stronger as a whole because people are not
put out of work from malaria, nor are they caring for sick relatives. Malaria-afflicted families can
typically only harvest 40% of the crops that healthy families can harvest. Additionally, a family with
members who have malaria spends roughly a quarter of its income treatment, not including the loss
of work they also must deal with due to the illness. It’s estimated that malaria costs Africa 12 billion
USD in lost income every year. A strong working population creates a stronger economy, which
Sub-Saharan Africa is in desperate need of.

Analysis

This essay begins with an introduction, which ends with the thesis (that malaria eradication plans in
Sub-Saharan Africa should focus on prevention rather than treatment). The first part of the essay lays
out why the counter argument (treatment rather than prevention) is not as effective, and the second
part of the essay focuses on why prevention of malaria is the better path to take.
What this essay does well:

○ The thesis appears early, is stated clearly, and is supported throughout the rest of the
essay. This makes the argument clear for readers to understand and follow throughout
the essay.
○ There’s lots of solid research in this essay, including specific programs that were
conducted and how successful they were, as well as specific data mentioned
throughout. This evidence helps strengthen the author’s argument.

How this essay could be improved:

○ The author makes a case for using expanding bed net use over waiting until malaria
occurs and beginning treatment, but not much of a plan is given for how the bed nets
would be distributed or how to ensure they’re being used properly. By going more into
detail of what she believes should be done, the author would be making a stronger
argument.
○ The introduction of the essay does a good job of laying out the seriousness of the
problem, but the conclusion is short and abrupt. Expanding it into its own paragraph
would give the author a final way to convince readers of her side of the argument.

Argumentative Essay Example 3

As college sports continue to be hugely popular and the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) brings in large amounts of revenue, people have revived the debate on whether college
athletes should get paid.

There are many ways payments could work. They could be in the form of a free-market
approach, where athletes are able to earn whatever the market is willing to pay them, it could be
a set amount of money per athlete, or student athletes could earn income from endorsements,
autographs, and control of their likeness, similar to the way top Olympians earn money.
Proponents of the idea believe that, because college athletes are the ones who are training,
participating in games, and bringing in audiences, they should receive some sort of
compensation for their work. If there were no college athletes, the NCAA wouldn’t exist, college
coaches wouldn’t receive there (sometimes very high) salaries, and brands like Nike couldn’t
profit from college sports. In fact, the NCAA brings in roughly $1 billion in revenue a year, but
college athletes don’t receive any of that money in the form of a paycheck. Additionally, people
who believe college athletes should be paid state that paying college athletes will actually
encourage them to remain in college longer and not turn pro as quickly, either by giving them a
way to begin earning money in college or requiring them to sign a contract stating they’ll stay at
the university for a certain number of years while making an agreed-upon salary.

Supporters of this idea point to Zion Williamson, the Duke basketball superstar, who, during his
freshman year, sustained a serious knee injury. Many argued that, even if he enjoyed playing for
Duke, it wasn’t worth risking another injury and ending his professional career before it even
began for a program that wasn’t paying him. Williamson seems to have agreed with them and
declared his eligibility for the NCAA draft later that year. If he was being paid, he may have
stayed at Duke longer. In fact, roughly a third of student athletes surveyed stated that receiving a
salary while in college would make them “strongly consider” remaining collegiate athletes longer
before turning pro.

Paying athletes could also stop the recruitment scandals that have plagued the NCAA. In 2018,
the NCAA stripped the University of Louisville's men's basketball team of its 2013 national
championship title because it was discovered coaches were using sex workers to entice recruits
to join the team. There have been dozens of other recruitment scandals where college athletes
and recruits have been bribed with anything from having their grades changed, to getting free
cars, to being straight out bribed. By paying college athletes and putting their salaries out in the
open, the NCAA could end the illegal and underhanded ways some schools and coaches try to
entice athletes to join.

People who argue against the idea of paying college athletes believe the practice could be
disastrous for college sports. By paying athletes, they argue, they’d turn college sports into a
bidding war, where only the richest schools could afford top athletes, and the majority of schools
would be shut out from developing a talented team (though some argue this already happens
because the best players often go to the most established college sports programs, who typically
pay their coaches millions of dollars per year). It could also ruin the tight camaraderie of many
college teams if players become jealous that certain teammates are making more money than
they are.

They also argue that paying college athletes actually means only a small fraction would make
significant money. Out of the 350 Division I athletic departments, fewer than a dozen earn any
money. Nearly all the money the NCAA makes comes from men’s football and basketball, so
paying college athletes would make a small group of men--who likely will be signed to pro teams
and begin making millions immediately out of college--rich at the expense of other players.

Those against paying college athletes also believe that the athletes are receiving enough
benefits already. The top athletes already receive scholarships that are worth tens of thousands
per year, they receive free food/housing/textbooks, have access to top medical care if they are
injured, receive top coaching, get travel perks and free gear, and can use their time in college as
 a way to capture the attention of professional recruiters. No other college students receive
anywhere near as much from their schools.

People on this side also point out that, while the NCAA brings in a massive amount of money
each year, it is still a non-profit organization. How? Because over 95% of those profits are
redistributed to its members’ institutions in the form of scholarships, grants, conferences, support
for Division II and Division III teams, and educational programs. Taking away a significant part of
that revenue would hurt smaller programs that rely on that money to keep running.

While both sides have good points, it’s clear that the negatives of paying college athletes far
outweigh the positives. College athletes spend a significant amount of time and energy playing
for their school, but they are compensated for it by the scholarships and perks they receive.
Adding a salary to that would result in a college athletic system where only a small handful of
athletes (those likely to become millionaires in the professional leagues) are paid by a handful of
schools who enter bidding wars to recruit them, while the majority of student athletics and
college athletic programs suffer or even shut down for lack of money. Continuing to offer the
current level of benefits to student athletes makes it possible for as many people to benefit from
and enjoy college sports as possible.

Analysis

This argumentative essay follows the Rogerian model. It discusses each side, first laying out multiple
reasons people believe student athletes should be paid, then discussing reasons why the athletes
shouldn’t be paid. It ends by stating that college athletes shouldn’t be paid by arguing that paying
them would destroy college athletics programs and cause them to have many of the issues
professional sports leagues have.

What this essay does well:

○ Both sides of the argument are well developed, with multiple reasons why people agree
with each side. It allows readers to get a full view of the argument and its nuances.
○ Certain statements on both sides are directly rebuffed in order to show where the
strengths and weaknesses of each side lie and give a more complete and sophisticated
look at the argument.

How this essay could be improved:

○ Using the Rogerian model can be tricky because oftentimes you don’t explicitly state
your argument until the end of the paper. Here, the thesis doesn’t appear until the first
sentence of the final paragraph. That doesn’t give readers a lot of time to be
convinced that your argument is the right one, compared to a paper where the
thesis is stated in the beginning and then supported throughout the paper. This paper
 could be strengthened if the final paragraph was expanded to more fully explain why the
author supports the view, or if the paper had made it clearer that paying athletes was
the weaker argument throughout.

3 Tips for Writing a Good Argumentative Essay

Now that you’ve seen examples of what good argumentative essay samples look like, follow these
three tips when crafting your own essay.

#1: Make Your Thesis Crystal Clear

The thesis is the key to your argumentative essay; if it isn’t clear or readers can’t find it easily, your
entire essay will be weak as a result. Always make sure that your thesis statement is easy to find.
The typical spot for it is the final sentence of the introduction paragraph, but if it doesn’t fit in that spot
for your essay, try to at least put it as the first or last sentence of a different paragraph so it
stands out more.

Also make sure that your thesis makes clear what side of the argument you’re on. After you’ve written
it, it’s a great idea to show your thesis to a couple different people--classmates are great for this. Just
by reading your thesis they should be able to understand what point you’ll be trying to make with the
rest of your essay.

#2: Show Why the Other Side Is Weak

When writing your essay, you may be tempted to ignore the other side of the argument and just focus
on your side, but don’t do this. The best argumentative essays really tear apart the other side to show
why readers shouldn’t believe it. Before you begin writing your essay, research what the other side
believes, and what their strongest points are. Then, in your essay, be sure to mention each of these
and use evidence to explain why they’re incorrect/weak arguments. That’ll make your essay much
more effective than if you only focused on your side of the argument.

#3: Use Evidence to Support Your Side

Remember, an essay can’t be an argumentative essay if it doesn’t support its argument with
evidence. For every point you make, make sure you have facts to back it up. Some examples are
previous studies done on the topic, surveys of large groups of people, data points, etc. There
should be lots of numbers in your argumentative essay that support your side of the argument. This
will make your essay much stronger compared to only relying on your own opinions to support your
argument.

Summary: Argumentative Essay Sample

Argumentative essays are persuasive essays that use facts and evidence to support their side of the
argument. Most argumentative essays follow either the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model. By
reading good argumentative essay examples, you can learn how to develop your essay and provide
enough support to make readers agree with your opinion. When writing your essay, remember to
always make your thesis clear, show where the other side is weak, and back up your opinion with
data and evidence.

What's Next?

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