Writing an Argumentative Essay
Introduction
1. Attention Grabber (question, statistic,
onomatopoeia, anecdote)
Ex. What do you think of when you think of sports?
I think of a rigorous competition between two
opposing sides.
1. Thesis sentence (opinion + 3 reasons)
Ex. Cheerleading is a sport because it is physically
demanding, requires teamwork, and involves
competition.
Body Paragraphs
• State your reason
• Explain the relevance
• Evidence
• Transition
Ex. My first reason for believing that cheerleading is a sport is
because of how physically demanding it is. As I said above, if
an activity is to be considered a sport, it must be physically
rigorous. Cheerleaders must be able to do flips, handstands,
and throw and catch their teammates. If that’s not considered
physical, I don’t know what is. In fact, some of the moves are
so difficult that it requires teamwork just to pull them off,
which is a second reason why cheerleading must be
considered a sport.
Counterargument
• State your opponents point of view
• Explain why this claim is not a valid argument
• Evidence to show why it isn’t valid.
• Conclusion Sentence
Ex. Some people think that because cheerleaders look pretty
while cheering that they can’t be considered athletes. This is
a silly argument because many athletes also have jobs as
models. Football player Tom Brady and basketball player
Dwight Howard are just two examples of athletes from other
sports who pride themselves in their looks both on and off
the playing field. Just because you can look good doing it,
doesn’t mean that an activity isn’t a sport.
Conclusion
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Restate the thesis ( in reverse)
Summarize your main points
Closing thought
The fact that it is physically demanding,
requires teamwork, and involves competition
makes cheerleading a sport.
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Requirements
A successful paper must Include:
An attention grabber
A clearly written thesis statement
3 reasons to support your thesis. Each reason
must be supported by evidence and it must be
clear how they relate to your opinion.
• A counterargument which is successfully
refuted.
• A clear conclusion which explains why the
topic is important and gives a call to action.
Rubric
• A – The paper meets all of the requirements, uses formal style, has very
few grammatical problems.
• B – The paper has a clear claim but one of the reasons lacks satisfactory
evidence or the counterargument needs to be further addressed. Paper
has mostly formal style and includes a few grammatical errors.
• C – The paper’s claim could be more precise. The support given is not
enough to be sufficient or the counterargument is not addressed. The
paper lacks transitions and has many grammatical errors.
• D – Has a weak claim. Does not offer valid reasons and evidence to
support the claim. Has major organizational flaws/ ideas are not clearly
separated. The paper includes many grammatical errors which make
reading difficult.
• F – The paper lacks a clear focus and does not provide support for a claim.