Argumentative Essay Guide

October 15, 2018 Every time a student is asked to complete an argumentative essay, his or her professor wants to check whether such scholar is able to prove and support a certain point of view. The main goal of such an essay is to answer a particular question, backing it with evidence and supporting with credible information. The key to success here is to highlight different viewpoints, although making the reader accept your point of view. This can be achieved by objective approach and multiple academic sources. If you want to make sure that your essay is really an argumentative one, you need to check whether you have answered the following questions: Who was affected by the matter? What was the cause of the issue? What are the possible results? What the reader needs to know about the issue? Argumentative and Persuasive Essay: What Is the Difference? There are many different types of essays, that can be quite similar and confuse even the most experienced student. It also happens with an argumentative essay, as it has a ‘twin’ brother a persuasive one. At first, you may think that both of them are the same and have a very similar structure. However, the methodology is different and you always need to remember the difference, as it is crucial for the success of your task. A persuasive essay is all about convincing the reader to accept your point of view, while an argumentative is about providing credible information to support your ideas. The first one uses bright and vivid languages, appeals to emotions and is not concerned about sources, while an argumentative essay aims to explain why your side is right. Let us no longer waste time and get straight to the topic: how to complete an outstanding argumentative essay. The first and the most important thing you need to remember is a variety of arguments you can use. So what are their types? Different Argumentative Types At first, you may be quite puzzled to see a variety of unknown words and terms but that is what an argumentative essay is about. These words may seem quite difficult at first and usually used by lawyers. Well, it is partially true, as lawyers base their career on arguments, so make yourself comfortable and let us learn about their five main types. Definition claims. Such essays are usually based on a controversial term. This means that a student needs to examine the word carefully, explain what it means and how it is usually used; Cause and effect claims. The main goal of such essay is to explain what caused a certain matter and how it may influence the future; Fact claims. Such essays aim to check whether a certain fact is true. When assigned with such an essay, you need to check multiple sources, compare facts and make conclusions; Value claims. Here a student needs to identify a certain belief and study why it is important and valuable for an individual or a society as a whole. Policy claims. If you are a sociology student, you are well aware of such type of an argumentative essay. Usually a teacher assigns a certain policy and asks to analyze whom it influences and what changes should be made. Remember, not depending on the type of an argumentative essay you have, you should always stick to the truth and strive to achieve progress. Not just to make the reader accept your side and change his or her point of view. Strategies of an Argumentative Essay You may think that writing an essay is very simple: just discuss a topic and try to avoid mistakes. However, if you are willing to succeed, you may need help of different strategies, invented and successfully applied by students across the world. There are three main strategies, when it comes to an argumentative essay. Just pick the one, which is the most suitable in your particular case. This strategy is very old and reliable, dating back to Romans and Greeks. It is as clear as day: you need to gradually introduce the reader to the topic, explain the context, provide main arguments and back everything with reliable data. In addition, the student needs to introduce audience to various points of view; The key feature of a Toulmin strategy is logics. You need to narrow the focus as much as possible, as well as to concentrate on exceptions. This strategy requires lots of time and skills, so you need to make sure you are ready to devote enough time to it; Using this strategy you need to concentrate on finding a compromise, which would befriend both sides. The Rogerian approach is used to find any possible similarities and an agreement instead of deciding who wins and who loses. In such a way, you show respect to all the sides. Creating an Outline The structure of an argumentative essay is similar to any other written assignment. It should contain an introduction, main paragraphs and conclusion. Although the structure of the main paragraphs is a bit different from those, you are used to see in a report or a book review. While your introductory section, as usual, is all about catching attention of the reader, your further paragraphs should have a strict direction and focus only on specific arguments. Make sure you create an outline of your future work, as it will greatly save your time in future! Introductory Section The first part of your argumentative essay should provide background details on the topic to let the audience understand what you are going to write about. If you want your introduction to be interesting and motivate the reader to continue, you need to follow a few tips: Work on the title. Too many students neglect this simple rule and forget that the name is crucial in catching attention and intriguing the reader! Write a ‘hook’. Depending on the context, use a fact, a doubtful question, statistics, quotes or an anecdote; If your topic is quite specific and not every reader knows the terms, provide definitions and introduce the audience to the topic; Always close your introduction with a thesis, which explains you position on the topic. However, if you struggle to write an outstanding introduction and feel that something is wrong, you can contact a professional writing service, which will assist you on every stage of the process! Main Paragraphs Depending on professor’s guidelines and a required size of your work, your main paragraphs may be five to fifteen sentences long. The main aim of this section is to back your thesis and explain your point of view. Here are the main elements you should focus on, when working on the main paragraphs of your work: Make sure you identify the problem, explaining it to the reader; Try to highlight at least two different sides of the discussed problem; Focus on the side, which you believe in; Try to explain why other points of view are incorrect, backing everything with evidence; Make recommendations and prognosis if necessary. Remember, a distinguishing feature of an argumentative essay is that it should be clear and specific. When the reader comes to an end of your paper, he or she needs to have a clear idea of various sides of the problem and possess enough information to take a certain side. Here are the things, which are crucial for a winning argumentative essay: Only credible sources; Examples from real life; Facts; Statistics; Visual materials; Appropriate jokes. Conclusion The final section of your essay is usually the shortest one and should contain a paraphrased summary of everything you have discussed in your work. If you want your work to be remarkable, here are the elements, which may help: Avoid any doubts. Be clear and stand on your ground; Remind about the credible sources you have used; Use statements, like ‘then’; Be obvious; Use vivid language. One of winning strategies is to restate possible objections your audience may have and explain why they should be left aside. This will make sure that the reader concentrates on your ideas. If you still don’t know whether you are ready to complete an argumentative essay, you can download examples online and see how they are completed by other students. Don’t forget that the main key to a successful essay is a credible and academic source. The more sources you find the better. Make sure you devote enough time to find proper arguments to back your ideas and provide a list of references, formatted according to the demands. If you are an emotional person and often drift away, remember that an argumentative essay should be based on statements and not on your personal subjective attitude towards the topic. In such a task, statistics, examples and facts are your weapons and let them speak for you. In case you have any questions left, contact our writing service and we will gladly help you with your argumentative essay!