Higher Writing Portfolio
Argumentative Essay
This power point has based on the
information gathered from the text book,
Intermediate 2 and Higher English Essay
Skills for the Writing Portfolio, by Dr
Christopher Nicol - with thanks.
What’s the Difference between
Argumentative and Persuasive?
Argumentative: This is a formal essay where
you consider both sides of a controversial topic,
in a neutral fashion.
You may include a more subjective stance at the
conclusion of your essay, or you may wish to
remain objective.
Persuasive: This is an essay where you are
attempting to convince your reader to accept
your viewpoint on a particular topic.
This is not expected to be a balanced argument;
however, it is a good idea to acknowledge the
opposing view.
What does it mean?

Subjective:
If you look at something subjectively, you
are considering it with a personal or
emotional response.

Objective
If you look at something objectively, you
are considering it based on facts and
evidence, rather than on opinion.
IMPORTANT:
Regardless of whether you opt to write an
Argumentative or a Persuasive essay,
you should still provide legitimate, well
researched evidence in order to justify
your statements.
Your essay should also include a
Bibliography which cites the sources that
you have used within your work.
Planning
It is essential that you plan your essay as
this usually leads to a more convincing
and well thought out argument.
 Planning allows you to focus on the
structure your essay.
 Choose a topic that you feel strongly
about.
 Choose a topic that has lots of positive
and negative points!

Brainstorming
Helps to
advance
Medical
research
Animals have
no
Say/rights
Animal
Testing
Make-up
testing
not very
important
Animals
Are not as
Important
As humans
What
similarity
Do animals
Have to
Humans?
Less expensive
than to test
on humans
Protesters
get in the way
Prioritising
1.
2.
3.
Complete your mind-map, spider
diagram, flow chart – or whatever
method helps you to work out your ideas.
Now prioritise your points – work out
which ones are most convincing and will
help you to convey the argument most
effectively.
Decide which ones will be included in
your essay and the most effective order
to present them in.
Researching
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Undoubtedly, you should have clear, focused opinions
on your chosen topic… now, you have to back them up
with evidence! Research in the following areas:
Articles in good quality newspapers, you can use their
website or: http://findarticles.com
Look in the libraries factual/information section, in
publications and periodicals.
Biographies/autobiographies on key people related to
your topic.
Essays in literary/scientific/medical texts and journals.
You may search online on reliable websites. My
caveat: Avoid relying on wikipedia, use it as a starting
point – remember that anyone can edit the information
on here!
Plagiarism
To plagiarise, means to steal somebody
else’s work and ideas. The SQA take a
very firm stance on this, it is not
worthwhile taking this risk. Always
acknowledge your sources of information
otherwise you may suffer a severe penalty.
Plagiarism



Any time that you quote someone else’s point, or
a fact/statistic, you must refer to where you
found it/who said it.
If you are ever using someone else’s view point
to illustrate your argument, you must
acknowledge them otherwise you may be
accused of plagiarising.
Keep yourself right: Put quotations into inverted
commas, refer to the books/cites that you have
selected information from, acknowledge other
people’s ideas and viewpoints.
Possible Essay Structure:
Argumentative






Introduction which highlights both viewpoints.
First paragraph with ideas contrary to your
final viewpoint
Subsequent paragraphs with ideas coinciding
with your final viewpoint.
First paragraph with ideas coinciding with your
final viewpoint.
Subsequent paragraphs with ideas coinciding
with your final viewpoint.
Conclusion summing up and making your
stance clear.
Possible Essay Structure:
Persuasive
Introduction making stance clear
 Acknowledgement yet rejection of
alternative viewpoint
 First persuasive argument
 Subsequent persuasive arguments
 Conclusion

You should build up to your strongest point
in this type of essay, in order to really
convince your reader.
Writing the Main Body
Use PEEP – just as you would use the
“PEE” formula to analyse and evaluate
literature in critical essays, you can use
the same formula to explore your points
within a discursive essay.
It has one extra letter, P… for Personal
Opinion…
PEEP
P - Make a POINT
 E - Back it up with appropriate
EVIDENCE
 E - EXPLAIN your evidence
 P - Provide a PERSONAL comment on
your evidence and explanation.

The Voice of the Writer





You want to show your reader that you
understand the topic that you are arguing (either
argumentatively or persuasively).
So, avoid sweeping statements and
generalisations.
Do not make up facts and statistics!
Try to be assertive with your opinions whilst
remaining sensitive to the views of others.
Back up your statements with relevant and
reliable evidence.
Things to Avoid





Avoid a non sequitur (a conclusion that does not
logically follow the evidence).
Avoid false authorities (don’t provide evidence
from irrelevant sources).
Avoid over simplifying the false dilemma (not
everything is ‘black and white’, there are usually
lots of different options).
Avoid outdated information (try to find relevant
and current evidence when you are researching
the topic).
Avoid false analogies (don’t compare two
situations which are not logically linked).
The Final Checklist
For an Argumentative Draft
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Have I presented a balanced argument?
Have I justified my own ultimate stance?
Is the introduction suitably informative or does
it leave the reader asking questions or feeling
confused?
Which aspects of my essay do I view as being
the strongest?
Is my essay well organised? Does it flow
seamlessly with appropriate links?
Have I expressed myself effectively or do I
need to revise/edit my writing?
The Final Checklist
For a Persuasive Essay
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Have I presented the case effectively? Could I
persuade my readers to adopt my stance?
Have you provided successful means of persuasion or
are there aspects of the argument that need to be
strengthened?
Is my introduction informative? Does it clearly state my
stance without being pushy or over the top?
What aspects of my essay are strongest and what
needs to be improved?
Is my essay well organised or do I need to revise
anything?
How can I improve the essay? Do I need to provide
more proof or do I need to be more persuasive?
Before You Submit Your Essay…
Have you stuck to the word limit? The word limit
for Higher is 1300 words and for Intermediate
2, it is 1000. You will penalise yourself if you
choose to ignore this advice.
* If you find that you have an aspect of your
essay to fix or improve, use this opportunity
to do so! *