What is an argumentative essay? What makes a good argumentative essay? How can you get a good grade on your argumentative essay? If you’re asking these questions, then you’ve come to the right place. Let us answer all your questions about argumentative essays for you! What is an argumentative essay? What makes a good argumentative essay? What steps do you need to take to write an argumentative essay? What is the structure of an argumentative essay? How can you get a good grade on your argumentative essay? What's an Argumentative Essay? The purpose of an argumentative essay is to establish a stance or position on an issue by providing reasons and supporting evidence. A well written argumentative essay will: - Introduce a compelling topic and engage the reader; - Explain and consider all sides of an issue fairly; - Address any potential counterarguments to the writer’s perspective; and - Persuade the reader to adopt or consider a new perspective. Of course, before you dive in to the writing, it's The EssayJack app has a few smart templates to support you as you write your essay. Filled with helpful tips, prompts, and video guidance created by educators you can use the EssayJack Argumentative Essay template to write your essay today. Sign up for a free trial or learn more about EssayJack here. What should a good argumentative essay have? A clear thesis statement in the introduction. Logical reasoning and points which support the thesis statement. Relevant examples or evidence which support the points. Three steps to writing an argumentative essay Step 1: Pick a topic and write a thesis statement A thesis statement is a one or two sentence summary of the central message or main claim of your essay. A strong thesis statement is vital as it tells the reader what the essay is about so they can decide if they want to read it or not. A strong thesis statement will usually state a claim, your stance on the claim, and the main points that will support your stance within your selected topic. It will also serve as a guideline for you when you are writing the body points of the essay. If you’re given the freedom to choose your topic for an argumentative essay, it’s best to follow your interests or passion. A good place to start would be to start thinking about things that affect you every day or a subject that you have a strong opinion on. But be careful, for most people’s opinions are not backed up by solid evidence. So once you think you’ve narrowed down on a topic or area of interest, begin your research and clarify the stance you will be taking. You'll also find your writing improves if you plan well ahead and follow the tips in this article during the writing process. Step 2: Research your ideas and organize your findings If you’ve ever experienced writer’s block it is most probably caused by one of two reasons. First, it’s because you’re staring at a blank screen and unsure how to start. The EssayJack app can help you past that with prompts, tips, and sentence starters. Second, it’s because you’re unsure of your thesis statement and supporting points because you’ve most probably not done enough research. Sometimes, writer's block can be similar to a mental block when you're trying to study so you can try using some tips outlined here to clear your head and get back into the writing mood. Planning for any essay is key, especially an argumentative essay because you’re presenting an argument that you need to defend with solid evidence. Your research should include all forms of reference sources and materials (books, journals, articles, blogs, documentaries) by credible sources and industry experts. Keep the following in mind when researching: - Read broadly to ensure you have a good overview of the topic including the main debates that have occurred or are occurring, arguments and counter-arguments, and the main experts in the area. Try using an e-reader for university or college to help you stay focused when you're reading your research. - Keep an open mind and attempt to view the issues from the perspective of different individuals and stakeholders. Acknowledging these views and addressing them in your essay will ensure that you have a well-balanced essay. - Keep an eye out for any unique angles that may not have been thoroughly explored yet. Remember that with Google at your fingertips research might be easy to do but also that you can’t ever completely research a topic due to the sheer number of resources at your disposal online. We’d recommend moving on to the next step once you feel have enough material because you can always do further research if you need it later on. Step 3: Draft a structure and write your essay This step involves outlining the content of your essay in a structure that creates a seamless flow for your argument but also for your reader. EssayJack is a good tool to use to create this outline and understand better what each section needs (try it for free here). The structure of an argumentative essay First Paragraph: Background and Thesis Statement Your opening statement is where you attempt to grab the attention or ‘hook’ the reader. This acts as a smooth segue to your background and thesis statement where you later establish your side on the issue. You can start with a surprising statistic that is not commonly known within the field. You can get creative here but make sure you’re still following the norms of scholarly or academic writing. That means no personal anecdotes or inspirational quotes etc. Save those for your narrative essays. Next, provide background on your topic to prepare the readers for the rest of your essay. Engage the reader by answering the following questions: - Why is this issue important? - What are the root causes of this problem? - Who or what is affected? - Are there any solutions available? - What can or should be done about it? For example, if the topic is gender inequality in the workplace, you can share statistics from research that exemplifies the difference in incomes of the average man and woman who perform the same role. Body Paragraphs: Develop your Arguments and Provide Evidence It’s best to dedicate one paragraph to each supporting point you have for your argument. All arguments or body paragraphs must always contain the following three parts: Part 1: Claim A claim is a statement you make to support your argument. It’s basically a reason that proves why your thesis statement is true. Example: Applying sin tax to products based on the amount of sugar will directly reduce the excessive consumption of heavily sugary products amongst consumers. Part 2: Evidence & Explanation Every claim made should be supported by relevant evidence and explanation of how that evidence supports your claim. This is where you insert the findings of your research from credible sources. Example: Case study of where sin tax resulted in lower consumption. The Measure D soda tax was approved by 76% of Berkeley voters on 4 November 2014 and took effect on 1 January 2015 as the first such tax in the United States. The measure imposes a tax of one cent per ounce on the distributors of specified sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened iced teas. In August 2016, a UC Berkeley study showed a 21% drop in the drinking of soda and sugary beverages in low-income Berkeley neighborhoods after a few months showing that the sin tax was lowering consumption of sugary drinks. Part 3: Tie-back to thesis This demonstrates that imposing a sin tax on sugary drinks is one way to reduce the consumption of sugar-based products. (Assuming that your thesis is about reducing consumption of sugary products and ways to do it). Additional Paragraphs: Challenging Your Own Arguments & Reinforcing Your Claims A good argumentative essay will also have paragraphs that address counterarguments. This demonstrates your knowledge of the topic and awareness of existing opposing arguments, which will impress most readers. However, if you are writing at the university level, this will almost always be expected of you. The success of these additional paragraphs will lie in how you refute these counterarguments and turn them around to strengthen your thesis statement and/or supporting points. It’s always useful to discuss these counterarguments with classmates or someone with an opposing view to understand how to break it down and counter it. Conclusion: Summarizing and Closing with Impact The conclusion summarizes your thesis statement and main arguments and tries to convince the reader that your argument is the most valid. Here are some ideas on how to conclude your essay: - Include a call to action. Inspire and invoke the reader to agree with your argument. Tell them what they need to think, do, feel, or believe from this point on. - Present hypothetical. Illustrate the chain of events that will happen if the reader adopts your ideas. Use past or present real-life examples to ground these depictions to a grounded reality. - Think "big picture." If you are arguing for policy changes, what are the implications of adopting (or not adopting) your ideas? How will they affect the reader (or the relevant group of people)? Once you are done with your conclusion, a good idea might be to go back to your introduction and see if you want to make any changes to it. While writing the essay, you may have picked up on or added points that you didn’t have before. You could have phrased your arguments in a compelling manner that you’d like to replicate in the introduction. This will definitely improve the flow of your essay. What’s next? Proofread and Review Your Essay Yup, the part that most dread after triumphantly finishing their essay, reading all of it! But proofread you must! Here are a few aspects to pay attention to while you proofread: Look out for any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes regardless of how minor fix them! They can derail the focus of the reader and undermine the intellectual integrity of your essay. Keep your audience in mind. In most cases, it will be your teacher or professor. Make sure your language reflects this, keep it formal and academic no colloquialisms! Have you got enough evidence and explained it well? If not, you can always do a little more to strengthen any weaker arguments. And you’re done! Yup, it's a long process but one that’s well worth it if you want to improve your critical thinking and problem-solving skills while getting good essay grades. Good luck, and have fun! 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