HOW TO WRITE AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

Table of Contents

• What is an Argumentative Essay?
• Choosing Good Argumentative Essay Topics
• Good Argumentative Essay Topics
• Creating an Argumentative Paper Outline
• Steps to Writing an Argumentative Essay
• Writing Your Rough Draft
• Your Argumentative Essay Final Draft
• Editing and Proofreading Your Argumentative Essay
• How to Write an Argumentative Research Paper: Other Tips

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An argumentative essay is one of the more common essay assignments students receive. It’s frequently seen on standardized tests. Students also receive argumentative essays as part of their ongoing coursework. It’s common, but argumentative essay mistakes are also common. These can be difficult essays to write correctly. They also take quite a bit of time.

To help with this, we’ve created this guide. Take a look at it now. Bookmark it for later. It’s the perfect resource for assignments like this.

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is a type of essay that requires the student to examine an issue with divergent opinions, conduct research, choose a position, and then write an essay convincing the reader why their chosen view is correct. It is similar to a persuasive essay, but there is one important difference.

A persuasive essay can be written using emotional persuasion.

For example, ‘Everybody should care about animal welfare because it’s the right thing to do.’ would be an appropriate statement in a persuasive essay. It wouldn’t be acceptable in an argumentative essay. Here, you would need research-backed data to support your argument. This assumes citations are in place.

That's the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong

-  Christopher Buckley

Your argumentative essay will also examine the important points and counterpoints. You cannot write an argumentative essay without giving evidence from both sides a fair shake. Just remember to focus on facts and data instead of your own personal beliefs.

Choosing Good Argumentative Essay Topics

There are definitely plenty of argumentative topics to choose from. Even when you are limited by the subject matter of the course you are taken, you should be able to find an interesting topic. After all, if it can be debated, you can write an argumentative essay on it. Just remember that you must choose a relevant topic, and you must pick one that isn’t universally agreed.

For example, whether or not capital punishment should be legal is a good choice. Crime is bad, is probably not a good choice.

Good Argumentative Essay Topics

• Will armed guards prevent school shootings?
• Do low carb diets help with sustainable weight loss?
• Is it better to invest in solar or nuclear energy?
• Should the United States renegotiate a treaty with Iran?
• Is it an appropriate strategy to impeach the president before the next election?
• How should a forest be restored after a fire?
• Is common core an effective strategy?
• Is it time to eliminate the electoral college?
• Should elections be a national holiday?
• Is right to work helping to state economies?
• Are no-kill animal shelters truly ethical?
• Is it appropriate to have dress codes in the workplace?
• Are hybrids a better choice than fully electrical vehicles?
• Will self-driving cars ever be accepted by the general public.

Creating an Argumentative Paper Outline

Once you understand the purpose of an argumentative essay and choose your topic, it’s time to work on your outline. This will help you to arrange the structure of your essay, define your main and supporting points, and flesh out your conclusion. Many essays use the five-paragraph format. Even if you don’t the general layout is the same. Your argumentative essay outline will cover your:

1. Introductory Paragraph
   • Hook to get the audience interested, such as a story or statistic
   • Explanation of the topic being explored
   • Your thesis statement
2. Body Paragraphs
   • Main Idea
     Supporting arguments
3. Conclusion
   • Restatement of your thesis
   • Summary of points being made

Steps to Writing an Argumentative Essay

Here, we will go over the steps you will take to write your essay.

Research

Remember that your points must be backed with evidence. Choose research sources that are reliable. Start with an academic database. Avoid blogs or other sources that are based on opinion, and not objective evidence. 

Argumentative essays require that you take very good notes. Remember that you must support your points with evidence. Take detailed notes, and organize them carefully. These will be the backbone of your outline.

Developing Your Thesis

Once you’ve finished your research, you should know which side of the issue you want to support. Your thesis statement is a clear and concise explanation of that.

Writing the Introduction

There are three key elements to your introduction. When you’re figuring out how to start an argumentative essay, think of the hook. That’s something you write to get your audience interested. Next, add some background data. This is the second part of your introduction. Finally, end with your thesis.

The Body Paragraphs

Every body paragraph will begin with a topic sentence. This transitions from the previous paragraph, and introduces a new supporting argument. Next, you will support that claim with evidence. Remember that your points must all relate to your thesis. Provide valid data and citations to back up your points.

Conclusion

Use strong language here, and restate your thesis with confidence. Leave no doubt that you have provided adequate evidence that proves your point. The more confident you are, the more likely readers will believe you have successfully argued your position.

Writing Your Rough Draft

Your first go at writing your essay will be your rough draft. This will be an expansion of the points you laid out in your outline. If you’ve organized your outline well, and researched appropriately, this step should be easy.

Your Argumentative Essay Final Draft

Once your rough draft is finished, it’s time to polish it into your final draft. Work on your paragraph transitions, so that you move smoothly from one point to another. Double check your supporting arguments. Are you using the best possible arguments to bolster your thesis?

Don’t forget about the opposing view.  You cannot argue your point without acknowledging any evidence supporting the other side. Show that your thesis is solid by demonstrating that your evidence is stronger than that supporting the opposite view.

Arguing is the olympics of talking

- Stewart Stafford

Editing And Proofreading Your Argumentative Essay

Even though you’ve done quite a bit to improve your essay when writing your final draft, you should edit and proofread it before you turn it in.  Double check your spelling and grammar. This is a good time to go back to your assignment rubric. Make sure you have followed all the instructions. Look at your citation format as well. Are your choice of fonts, margins, spacing, etc. all in compliance?

How to Write an Argumentative Paper: Other Tips

Here are some tips for writing an argumentative paper:

• Research the other point of view. Anticipate those arguments so that you can argue against them effectively.

• Use academic studies and papers for your research.

• If there are study groups or peer reviews, make a point to participate in these.

• Use a source for every statistic that you share.

• If you source a fact that seems a bit outlandish find a second source.

• Choose a topic that will hold your reader’s interest.

• Use a spelling and grammar checking app in addition to your own checking.

• Ask a peer to double check your work for readability and strength of arguments.

If you still need help writing an argumentative paper, we are available 24/7. Our guides are written to help you with your writing assignments, but we also offer other support and services. Just contact us, and a specialist will be assigned to help you.