Argumentative essay writing guidlines

As a college student, your instructors must be required to write numerous essays as part of your academic work. Argumentative essays are one of the most common types of work that you will do. This type of work aims to provide proof for an opinion about a particular topic. Topics for argumentative essays have two points of view, and hence you will have some opponents. You will be expected to present proof to refute the position of your opponents about your subject.

When you learn skills for writing argumentative essays, you will be able to develop your reasoning and ability to support your opinions. A writer needs to use persuasive language in writing this type of assignment. Therefore, one should take adequate time to identify appropriate words and phrases to use before starting their work.

When writing an argumentative essay, the main aim of any writer should be to provide adequate evidence that can support their opinion. The exercise requires an individual to spend a significant amount of time researching relevant information to complete their work. Proper research will help you to grab the attention of your target audience and convince them.

One of the challenges people have when writing argumentative essays is finding appropriate subjects for their work. However, that should not be a problem as you can find numerous ideas from many sources. For example, you can get them when you read newspaper headlines and listening to conversations on different platforms.

Suppose you have never written an argumentative essay before and have no idea of how to write this type of academic assignment. In that case, you are recommended to look for some examples to get some inspiration. By the time you complete reading this article, you will have acquired enough knowledge to write a perfect argumentative essay. When you browse the internet, you will find many outlines to help you develop a good structure for your essay.

Five Types of Argument Claims

1.   Facts.

Is the subject true or not?

2.   Definition.

What is the meaning of your argument?

3.   Value.

Importance of the topic.

4.   Cause and effect.

The audience would want to understand what caused the issue and some of the effects it has had.

5.   Policy.

What should be done about the topic?

Steps in Writing an Argumentative Essay

a)   Introduction.

In this section, the writer should reveal their topic and thesis to the readers. Ensure that you include a hook during the first few lines of your essay to encourage your audience to keep reading. Provide a background of your topic to enable the readers to have a better understanding of your essay.

In this part, explain to your readers the issues that you seek to address in your work. Make them understand how the problem relates to them and reveal your opinion about it. Give reasons why you have the opinion. To answer the question, you need to write a thesis. Ensure that the topic you chose for your essay is debatable.

In your introduction, tell a relevant true story to your audience. Present a hypothetical situation of the problem to enable the readers to understand your work. Ask a question that will make your target audience to think deeply about your topic. You should also provide statistics that support your argument. Only provide statistics from reputable sources to ensure that your work is credible.

How to Write a Thesis for your Introduction

This statement's aim in the introductory part of your assignment is to provide a summary of the main points and claims. Explain your stance about the topic. Writers should take enough time to develop a strong thesis for their argumentative essay. Writing a good thesis helps the readers to anticipate the contents of your work and determining whether it is worth their time. The following are some of the ways that you can use to write your thesis:

•   Question and answer format.

It is considered one of the easiest ways to write your thesis. It involves turning the topic into a question and providing answers for them.

•   Refute objections.

In this method, a writer states an argument of their work and then presents a refuting statement.

•   Roadmap.

It involves writing some points that will be included in your essay. You should state your claim about the topic, view, and information to support your claim.

b)   Develop your Argument.

At this point, the readers of your work have understood what your work is all about. However, you have not provided enough information to convince them about your argument. Come up with a strong argument. All the paragraphs in your body should present claims that relate to the thesis. You can include up to 4 supporting arguments in one paragraph. The readers of your work will also expect you to provide concrete evidence that supports your opinion. Some of the sources of evidence include government agencies and scientific research findings. Use statistics to strengthen your work.

c)   Look at the Opposing Viewpoint.

The aim of this is to convince your audience and involves evaluating opposing views. It will help if you are acknowledged that there are other views concerning the topic. Provide statistics, facts, and quotes that refute such views. Writers should take time to gather adequate evidence that will convince the readers of their work. Include all the sources that you used to gather evidence for your argumentative essay. 

d)   Conclusion.

It is an essential part of this type of academic assignment. In this section, you should restate all the main points in your work and the supporting evidence. In other words, provide a summary of the essay. Restate the topic and explain the reasons for your opinion. The conclusion should not exceed two paragraphs to avoid too much repetition.

e)   Revise your Work.

Go through your work and eliminate any grammatical and spelling mistakes. Failure to do so may lead to poor grades.