What exactly is an Argument essay?
The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner. Please Note: Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay. These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is usually assigned as a final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy and extremely detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length.Argumentative essays also usually require an extensive amount of research of literature or previously published material. Argumentative essays may also require other research requiring for the student to collect data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. Detailed research allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the topic so that they may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research. Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear thesis and include good reasoning and critical thinking. 6 Tips for Writing your Argument Essay: 1.) Don’t make up data. Made up statistics and facts won’t impress the scorers, but strong arguments, supportive examples, and good organization will. 2.) Aim for cogency. Focus more on conveying your argument succinctly and forcefully than on your word choice and construction. Don’t include long wordy sentences that go nowhere just to try to sound more scholarly. 3.) You already know your thesis. No matter what it is that you are writing about, your thesis is always "the argument is flawed" since you have to prove your theory wrong. You only need to come up with logic examples that show why it is wrong. 4.) Plan. Construct your thesis, choose your three examples (flaws), and lay out your main points. Give yourself a clear “road map” before you start writing. 5.) Write. Once you have a solid template structure, writing the argument essay will be a piece of cake since all you will need to do is plug in the information on your already formatted template. 6.) Revise. Always leave time to proofread your essay to double check your grammar and the flow of the essay. 2 Original Sample Prompts You May Want to Write About: There are millions of different sample prompts that you can write about for your argument essay. You just have to decide what issues and topics you are interested in and care about the most. Below are 2 sample prompts you can consider writing about that are very interesting. 1.) Can Graffiti be considered art? 2.) Do you trust your Government and/or president? Do You Need Extra Help? Below is a link to a website with extra tips and information on how to write the perfect argument essay. |
Below are 3 possible template you may use to write your argument essay: Outline I Introduction/Thesis-Claim Body Paragraph 1: Present your 1st point and supporting evidence. Body Paragraph 2: Present your 2nd point and it's supporting evidence. Body Paragraph 3: Refute (prove wrong) your opposition's first point. Body Paragraph 4: Refute your opposition's second point. Conclusion/Restate Thesis Outline II Introduction/Thesis-Claim Body Paragraph 1: Refute (prove wrong)your opposition's first point. Body Paragraph 2: Refute your opposition's second point. Body Paragraph 3: Present your first point and supporting evidence. Body Paragraph 4: Present your second point and supporting evidence. Conclusion/Restate Thesis Outline III Introduction/Thesis-Claim Body Paragraph 1: Present your first point and it's supporting evidence, which also refutes one of your opposition's claims. Body Paragraph 2: Present your second point and it's supporting evidence, which also refutes a second opposition claim. Body Paragraph 3: Present your third point and it's supporting evidence, which also refutes a third opposition claim. Conclusion/Restate Thesis How is an Argumentative Essay Scored? |