How to Write an
Introduction to an
Argumentative
Essay
is
Presenter Name and Title
 Your
introduction should begin with a
“hook” or an attention grabber to pull-in
the reader. A hook could include an
anecdote or short story that has a point,
an epigraph, or quotation, a statistic, a
rhetorical question, or simply a response
to a prompt.
 “When
a cell phone goes off in the
classroom or a concert, we are irritated,
but at least our lives are not in danger.
When we are on the road, however,
irresponsible cell phone users are more
than irritating: They are putting our lives
at risk.”
 “According
to Nellie Mae statistics, in 2004
undergraduates had an average credit limit of
$3,683. Nearly 10% of the students in the Nellie
Mae study carried balances that exceed these
credit limit (Blair, 96). Do we want a nation of
people under twenty with credit card debt after
they graduate college?”
Do you believe in fate or do you
believe people cause their own
fate?
If you use a question, the
expectation of the reader is the
question will be answered in the
conclusion.
 Rabbi
Abraham Herschel argues that in a
society where “where terrible wrongs exist
everyone is responsible.” This is absolutely
true. Consider the example in the Clint
Eastwood film High Plains Drifter. The noname sheriff rides into town to avenge the
death of his brother. A murder that everyone
saw, but no one prevented. What this society
lacked was Good Samaritans. Without Good
Samaritans as a moral compass, a society is
left with selfish individuals.
 In
the children’s book Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory the mischievous little
dwarves known as Oompa Loompas ask
the question “Who do you blame for
that?” meaning who do you blame if your
child is selfish, lazy, or fat. Their answer:
“The mother and the father.” Parents
success is judged upon the success or
failure of their kids.
 The
thesis is your overriding statement that
states topic and claim of your essay. In an
argumentative essay, once you have read
and understood the prompt you are ready to
generate a thesis.
 Argumentative essays on the AP exam
usually ask you to do one of the following:
1. Support, Refute, Qualify
2. Defend, Challenge, Qualify
3. To What Extent…
 Topic
(Prompt) + Claim (Position on prompt
with verb) + Universal Idea (abstract noun define) + Exemplification (2 - 4 subtopics
proceeded with adjectives).
 EXAMPLE: I support the position that
Parents (Topic) should be judged (Position)
whether they effectively preparing their
kids to be successful, high-achieving
members of society who attend top-end
colleges and work high-paying jobs.
 Topic: What
subject is the prompt
addressing?
 Type: Argumentative? Synthesis?
Rhetorical Analysis
 Task: What position am I taking?
 Target Audience: What audience am I
writing this essay for?
“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents
which in prosperous circumstances would have
lain dormant.”
 —Horace
 Consider this quotation about adversity from the
Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that
defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace’s
assertion about the role that adversity (financial
or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.)
 plays in developing a person’s character.
Support your argument with appropriate
evidence from your reading,
 observation, or experience.

Your subtopics are topics that support your thesis. In
an argumentative essay, your subtopics can be
arranged either using a 2-3-1 format, chronological
order, degradation, or compare/contrast .
 2/3/1: Place your second best reason first, then your
weakest argument in the middle, and your strongest
argument as your last body paragraph.
 Chronological: Organized your subtopics by the
chronological events in a story, novel, event, etc.
 Degradation: Organize your subtopics from weak to
best, or from best to least.
 Compare/Contrast: Organize subtopics based upon
analyzing how two different topics are similar or
different (best for qualifying).

In 1998 President Bill Clinton told reporters when asked about
a relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, if they had any
type of relationship together, Clinton responded: “I did not
have sexual relations with that woman!” Later, it was
revealed Clinton did have an affair with Lewinsky and was
impeached, not because of his affair, but because he lied. A
similar situation occurs in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet
Letter. The dominant theme throughout the novel is sin vs.
guilt. This is played out in three scaffold scenes. The first
shows Hester Prynne on the scaffold for committing
adultery, the second has Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale on
the scaffold, suffering from his guilt at night time, and the
final scaffold scene has Dimmesdale’s final confession to the
Puritan people of Boston.
Hook: In 1998 President Bill Clinton told reporters when asked
about a relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, if they had
any type of relationship together. Clinton responded: “I did
not have sexual relations with that woman!” Later, it was
revealed Clinton did have an affair with Lewinsky and was
impeached, not because of his affair, but because he lied. A
similar situation occurs in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet
Letter.
Thesis: The dominant theme throughout the novel is sin vs.
guilt.
Subtopics: This is played out in three scaffold scene. The first
shows Hester Prynne on the scaffold for committing
adultery, the second has Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale on
the scaffold, suffering from his guilt at night time, and the
final scaffold scene has Dimmesdale’s final confession to the
Puritan people of Boston.
• Get in the habit of using MLA format.
• Header/Heading with ID #
• 1 inch margins
• in-text citations with author and page #s.
• Double-Spaced
• Times New Roman Font
• Typed
 1. Hook: Quote/Statistic/Definition/Story/
 Question/React
to Prompt/Weave a
Theme
 2. Thesis: State your position responding
to the prompt – Support/Refute/Qualify/
 3. Subtopics: Use the 2-3-1 format,
Chronological, Degradation,
Compare/Contrast structure to arrange
your evidence supporting your thesis.