Don’t you get it?
Pharmaceuticals
getting into our
water supply is a
real problem!
Or : “So? What’s your point?”
What’s wrong with
that? Now, plain ol’
water cures
everything at just
pennies a glass!
Helpful Tips On The Gentle Art Of Getting Your Point Across
Clearly, Concisely, Creatively, and Correctly in the
Argumentative Paper
Thesis Statement 1:
Pollution is bad for the environment.
Is this a strong thesis statement
or a weak thesis statement? Why?
Thesis Statement 2:
As the continued sullying of Earth’s land,
air, and water has great potential to bring
harm to all life, America should allot at
least 25 percent of its budget toward
limiting pollution.
Is this a strong thesis statement
or a weak thesis statement? Why?
Thesis Statement 1 is not a good example of a
thesis statement, since it is not debatable.
Pollution is bad for the environment.
(In other words, this is a statement
so generally agreed upon by your
readers that it could essentially be
accepted as fact – and facts are really
hard to debate).

AUTHOR: “Is pollution bad for the environment?”

READER: “Yup.” (or, alternatively, “Nope.”)

STATUS OF ESSAY: Dead. In. The. Water.
The End.

You need to answer the all-important “Why?”
or “How?” question to make the subject
debatable!
Why is pollution bad for the environment?
 How (In what way) is pollution bad for the
environment?


Remember, your thesis questions (i.e., the
questions your thesis statement will attempt
to answer) CANNOT BE ANSWERED AS
“YES” OR “NO”

For an argumentative paper, you need to present the reader with
a “CALL TO ACTION”



“So, what should (or must) we do about that issue?”
Notice that, in your paper, you are attempting to be a catalyst for change,
and, as such, YOU ARE MAKING A JUDGMENT CALL IN FAVOR OF
YOUR PARTICULAR OPINION ON THE SUBJECT)
For an issue analysis paper, you give the reader the alternative
viewpoints on a controversial issue, BUT WITHOUT THE
JUDGMENT CALL



EXAMPLE: “While environmentalists see pollution as a threat to life on
our planet [VIEWPOINT ONE] , corporations see pollution as a
necessary and manageable byproduct of a robust economy and the
perpetuation of Americans’ way of life. [VIEWPOINT TWO]”
Notice that a conjunction was used at the beginning of the sentence (in
this case, “while”), which allows equal weighting to be given to both
sides of the issue WITHOUT MAKING ANY JUDGMENT CALL
In the issue analysis paper, you are “just the messenger” who presents
the two sides of an issue
Thesis Statement 3:
The use of illegal drugs in America is
detrimental because it encourages violent
crime, undermines family relationships, and
contributes to lost productivity in the
workplace; therefore, stronger governmental
and social programs should be targeted to
those populations shown to be at higher risk
for drug dependency.
Is this a strong thesis statement
or a weak thesis statement? Why?
Thesis Statement 4:
Drug use is detrimental to society.
Is this a strong thesis statement
or a weak thesis statement? Why?
Thesis Statement 4 is not a good example of a
thesis statement, since it is too broad, too
vague, and offers no effect or solution.
Drug use is detrimental to society.









AUTHOR: “Drug use is detrimental to society!”
READER: “So, antibiotics are out?”
AUTHOR: “Well, no… they’re OK when used
judiciously.”
READER: “How about drugs that fight cancer,
malaria, or Ebola? Are they bad, too?”
AUTHOR: “No, those are obviously good drugs to
have around.”
READER: “OBVIOUSLY? From your thesis statement,
NOTHING IS OBVIOUS! This conversation is giving
me a headache!”
AUTHOR: “Do you need a Tylenol?”
READER: “What are you, a drug pusher?”
(Insert sad trombone sound here) WAH-WAHHHH!

You need to be specific here (only when you say what you
mean can the reader fully understand that you mean what
you say)


What kind of drugs? Illegal drugs!
How exactly are these drugs detrimental to society?
 They increase violent crime (THERE’S A PARAGRAPH TELLING
THE READER HOW ILLEGAL DRUGS DO THIS)
 They undermine family relationships (HEY! THERE’S ANOTHER
PARAGRAPH TELLING THE READER HOW ILLEGAL DRUGS DO
THAT, TOO)
 They contribute to lost productivity in the workplace (WELL, I’LL BE
HORNSWOGGLED! THERE’S A THIRD PARAGRAPH!)

Plus, you can tell the reader how these problems can be solved
through governmental and social programs (either problem-byproblem in each of the paragraphs or all at once in its own
paragraph)!
Here’s one way to handle an
argumentative research essay, step by step:
Come up with a topic that can be argued or debated and
choose a side.
Think about an effect of, or solution to, that argument.
Devise three pieces of evidence that will support your effect
or solution and write them down on a piece of paper.
Rank those pieces of evidence according to how strong you
believe each item is to your overall effect or solution
1.
2.
3.
4.


Initially, you can perform this ranking based upon your “gut
feeling,” but you may need to rank them again later, dependent
upon the amount of material you can find for each evidence item
in the course of your research
Remember: Your argument is not “set in stone” and your priorities
may change as your research progresses
5.
Then, to construct your argument on paper,
follow this schema:


Think about some notes for your introduction
(perhaps start by including some background on the
subject about which you are writing, anecdotes, a
pithy quote, etc.)
DO NOT FORGET TO HAVE YOUR
INTRODUCTION LEAD UP TO THE MOST
IMPORTANT SENTENCE OF YOUR PAPER AT
THE END OF YOUR INTRODUCTION: THE
THESIS STATEMENT (which will provide the
roadmap to everything that follows in your paper)

From that ranking you made of your pieces of
evidence (according to how strong you believe each
item is to your overall effect or solution), your first
body paragraph (a paragraph that is not the
introduction or conclusion) should concern your
second strongest piece of evidence

From that ranking you made of your pieces of
evidence (according to how strong you believe each
item is to your overall effect or solution), your
second body paragraph should be about your
weakest piece of evidence


Your third body paragraph is known as
“THE CONCESSION”
and it’s where you concede (or acknowledge) the
opposing viewpoint(s)
this paragraph is important because it helps to give
your argument credibility and shows that you
understand what is at stake in expressing your point
of view (because, after all, there are at least two
sides to every argument, and you are writing an
argumentative essay, right?)


The fourth (and final) body paragraph is where you
meet up with the challenge of taking your stand
against the opposition and present your strongest
piece of evidence (you take what was at stake when
you conceded the opposing point of view and turn it
on its ear by going out with a “BANG”
Think: “Although I understand how and why the
opposing side believes this, they’re wrong…and my
strongest evidence shows why – BOOM!”)




The final paragraph of the essay is your conclusion
This is where you wrap things up by first restating your thesis
statement in an entirely new way with NO REPEATING OF
ANY OF THE SAME WORDS YOU USED IN THE
INTRODUCTION’S THESIS STATEMENT
(Think: “the essence of” or “a reinterpretation of” the original
thesis statement)
Then finish the paragraph with a few sentences providing any
closing thoughts you want your reader to take away after
reading your paper (it could include something you had
mentioned in your introductory paragraph, but now with new
perspective, an interesting and appropriate quote, a turn of
phrase – whatever)
In the conclusion, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE,
PRESENT ANY FURTHER EVIDENCE OR BRING UP ANY
NEW POINTS – that would just be overkill, you know, like
flogging a dead horse…
THAT’S IT
FOR THE
ARGUMENTATIVE
ESSAY!
Helpful Tips on Letting Your Audience
Make Up Their Own Mind
in the Issue Analysis Paper
The issue analysis research essay has some elements in common
with an argumentative essay, but also features some important
differences:
 You still have the introduction, complete with strong thesis
statement (just like in the argumentative style), but rather than
taking a stand, your thesis will simply provide the reader with
the opposing viewpoints that exist in regard to your
controversial topic
 YOU WILL NOT HAVE YOUR OWN “CALL TO ACTION,”
BUT YOU MAY DISCUSS EACH AND EVERY ALTERNATIVE
VIEWPOINTS’ POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS OR EFFECTS –
REMEMBER: YOU WILL PROVIDE NEITHER YOUR OWN
OPINION NOR A SOLUTION TO THE ISSUE AT HAND
BECAUSE YOU ARE ONLY ACTING AS A MESSENGER TO
PRESENT BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT EQUALLY
 Think: “compare and contrast,” rather than the argumentative
paper’s “cause and effect” or “problem and solution” schema

You can attack your issue analysis in one of two
ways for your body paragraphs:
Point-by-Point (item of evidence for opposing viewpoint
1 vs. analogous item of evidence for opposing viewpoint
2 – one point per body paragraph in multiple paragraphs
(analogous means points must be related – not
comparing “apples to oranges”)
 Perspective-by-Perspective (Viewpoint 1 with all its
evidence in one or more paragraphs, followed by
Viewpoint 2 with all its evidence in one or more
paragraphs


You will end your paper with the conclusion
paragraph, which starts with the restatement
of your thesis followed by closing thoughts on
your topic (in the same way we discussed for
the argumentative paper)
THAT’S IT
FOR THE ISSUE
ANALYSIS ESSAY!
And now, a few rules about your thesis statement
and its relationship to your paper…
Rule #1: If elements are contained in your thesis, they
must also be found in the body of your paper.
Rule #2: Conversely, if elements are contained within the body
of your paper, they must also be located within
your thesis.
Rule #3: If either of the above rules are violated, you
must perform a rewrite to ensure that thesis
and body match – not doing so is like crafting
an authorial “bait-and-switch” scheme that
serves to dupe your reader (you promised one thing,
but delivered something totally different OR delivered
something your reader never wanted)!
The content of thesis and body should match like…
THESIS
BODY PARAGRAPHS
In a nutshell, here is the general idea on how the essay is structured:
The Introduction:
Tells The Readers What
You’re Going To Tell
Them
The Body Paragraphs:
Tells Them
The Conclusion:
Tells Them What You
Told Them
Some Final Tips
Be sure to proofread every step of the way in your writing process by reading your
on-paper versions OUT LOUD and WORD-FOR-WORD,
EXACTLY AS THEY APPEAR ON THE PAGE!
(Note the emphasis on this audible vocalization of your work: Because the human
brain has adapted to adjust to things as they visually appear (it “fills in the
blanks”– a function that has otherwise served us well as a timesaver for survival
over the millennia), by adding the second sense of hearing as a “backup” sensory
input, your ears can often catch errors your eye did not even see!
As a result of this quirky workaround of the human brain, the importance of
listening to your paper’s clarity and accuracy cannot be stressed enough, so find
a place where you feel comfortable talking to yourself and read it
LOUD AND PROUD!
Another proofreading trick is to read the the paper backwards (in other words,
“.backwards paper the read to is trick proofreading Another”) because you can
remove the context factor and sometimes find mistakes that would be hidden
from you when reading the text normally (did you spot the error that was caught
in the backwards reading?)
Some examples of this “visual error function” of
your brain:
What does the following sentence say?
OLNY SRMAT POELPE CAN RAED THIS.
How about the following paragraph?
How about this one?
BE SURE TO PROOFREAD YOUR PAPER TO
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NOT ANY WORDS
OUT.
Or this one?
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to disolve the political
bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume among the powers of the the earth,
the separate and equal station to which the Laws
of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a
decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires
that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.”
“There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.”
— Louis Brandeis, former Associate Justice on
The Supreme Court of the United States, namesake of Brandeis University in Massachusetts
“The first draft of anything is shit.”
— Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize-winning author and journalist,
possible template for Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man in the World”
Any Questions?