Writing an Argumentative Essay - The Ultimate Guide

An argumentative essay is a piece of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; assemble, create, evaluate, and concisely present an argument.

This genre of essay requires extensive research and collection of secondary as well as primary data. Empirical research is also common in argumentative essay writing practice which includes interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. The extensive amount of research helps the writer/student to understand different perspectives on the given topic and fun persuasive essay topics. Irrespective of the amount of research involved, the clearly defined stance must be supported by sound reasoning in a persuasive way.

Structure of Argumentative Essay

The following are the building blocks of a compelling persuasive essay. When I write my essay, I keep the basic structure of an essay in mind and start to write it accordingly

Opening paragraph

The introductory or opening paragraph must set the context of the topic by generally reviewing the given topic. A one-line description of the importance of the topic must be provided to grab the attention of the reader. The thesis statement/argument is clearly expressed in this paragraph along with the supporting background information and evidence. You can take help from an essay writing service to develop a strong thesis statement for your essay as it makes the foundation for the essay.

Body Paragraphs:

General argumentative essay comprised of three body paragraphs supporting the thesis statement. Each body paragraph states a topic sentence of one general idea with the most accurate factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal evidence contributing to the overall author’s stance clearly and concisely. The progression and alignment of paragraphs should build up the logical connection of the thesis statement to the evidence by explaining how and why the evidence supports the thesis. The author can also back up the argument with results of interviews, surveys, and observations in the form of statistics and text citations including avoiding irrelevant information.

Conflicting points of view to the thesis statement can be also stated here in one or two paragraphs, depending on the required length of the given assignment. These paragraphs must explain opposing perspectives and why the author disapproves or disagrees with them backing up with the facts. To make the essay more appealing, it’s important to note that the author must state the reason why conflicting opinions/positions are not up to date-or well-informed at the current time. This will in turn enhance the credibility of the author’s approach to analyzing and expressing the range of opinions in a meaningful manner.

One of the most important qualities of a persuasive essay is the logical transition of one concept to another. Meaning that every section of the essay should base on the logical transformation from one idea to another. The author should conclude the previous ideas at the end of one paragraph and introduce the next one to be included in the follow-up section.

Concluding Paragraph

This paragraph is the trickiest and most confusing point of writing. The common mistake the authors make is to provide additional information. The concluding paragraph leaves an immediate impression on the reader about the author's skill and expertise. Therefore, it must be drafted logically and effectively.

• Avoid adding new facts or data, rather logically synthesize previously stated data.

• Reiterate the importance of the topic, and review the main ideas and thesis statement.

• A complimentary paragraph of discussion may be included pointing out required further research and studies which can be conducted in the light of the presented work

Models/Types of Argumentative Essay

Generally, an essay writer would consider one or a combination of all three types of models while writing a persuasive paper. Following are the three types of models for argumentative essay

Classical/Aristotelian

This is the simplest and most popular form of argumentative writing. It presents the argument and the author’s opinion, followed by the supporting facts and figures making the stance as solid as possible. The methodology is simple as it follows the general line of thinking of a person. This is the most effective piece of writing if the reader has limited knowledge and beliefs related to the topic as it summarizes the facts clearly and briefly.

Rogerian: Another effective way of writing a persuasive paper is to follow the following steps.

• State the problem

• Recognize opposing sides of the problem

• Present a clear statement of the author's point of view

• explanation of why the author’s perspective is the most significant one

Polarizing topics ask for this kind of argumentation where two opposing sides are acknowledged, and the author supports the middle ground with clear evidence.

The four important components of the Rogerian model are

• Discussion on the pros and cons of two opposing arguments

• Shed light on the problems associated with both arguments

• Clearly present the middle statement or author’s point of view and how it addresses the previously mentioned problems

• Clearly state the benefits the opposing proponents would receive by adopting or accepting the author’s argument.

The Rogerian model helps establish a clear depiction of two extreme arguments and tries to find and support the middling ground.

Toulmin

The third most important module of argumentation follows the as such;

• The author presents the claim,

• Present the facts/ground to support the claim

• Clear justification and linkage of ground to the author's claim

• Identification of possible limitations of the presented claim to give the reader an idea that all perspectives were considered in the establishment of an argument.

This method can also be used in polarizing topics, but it only sticks to one side of the opposing opinion and makes it difficult to argue or even consider the other side of the controversial argumentative essay topics. Regardless of which model or combination is adopted, every argumentative essay must include the same structure: Introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs.