Brushing up on how to write an argumentative essay can help you secure better grades for your work. You’ll learn how to structure your writing to improve its effectiveness. Moreover, you’ll know which outline to use and reduce the time it takes to compose and submit your essay.
Keep reading to learn about these essays so you know what to do when you receive one as your assignment.
What Is an Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay is a type of writing where you convince the reader of your viewpoints on a specific topic. You provide factual evidence in the form of high-quality sources and studies to support your claims. It’s like taking a stance in a debate and focusing on conveying your talking points to the audience.
It sounds similar to persuasive essays. However, in an argument essay, you need to provide facts. On the other hand, persuasive essays focus more on your opinions.
It also resembles expository essays. However, in this type of writing, you present an objective view in a neutral tone. In other words, you don’t try to convince the reader to take a similar stance as you.
In an argument-based essay, the goal is to change the reader’s opinion.
Argumentative Essay Outline
The key to writing a good essay is how you structure your work or argument. When it comes to this type of essay, there are different outlines based on how you make your arguments. The following sections cover how to write an argumentative essay in various formats.
Basic Argumentative Essay Structure
The basic argumentative essay structure helps get your point across to the reader in a straightforward manner. It consists of the following three sections:
- Introductory paragraph: You introduce the topic of discussion to the reader and let them know what to expect from your document. The thesis statement is part of the introduction and explains your argument’s core concepts in not more than two sentences.
- Body paragraphs: In three body paragraphs, you must explain your stance and provide satisfactory evidence. Each section should cover a new idea and include sources relevant to the essay’s topic.
- Conclusion paragraph: This is the final paragraph, which goes over the thesis statement and your talking points in the essay. You bring everything together and restate the same information as the body paragraphs.
You’ll use this outline when writing an essay to establish a viewpoint about the topic. Usually, you’ll get this essay on a test, where you must complete a series of assignments within a specific duration. Ideally, it won’t have more than five paragraphs.
If you need to write a longer essay, you can use other outlines, which the following sections cover.
Aristotelian (Classic)
The Aristotelian or classic structure focuses on swaying the reader to your side of the argument. You bring attention to the issue, provide your opinions, and share evidence to back up your stance. Unlike the basic structure, this format consists of more than five paragraphs.
Here’s how to use this outline in your essay:
- You introduce the problem in the discussion topic.
- You present your position on the issue. You explain in length your viewpoints.
- You highlight the opposing talking points and address each contrasting perspective individually.
- You provide the evidence to strengthen your side of the argument.
- You conclude the topic by reiterating your thesis statement and the core concepts of your argument.
You’ll use reasoning (logos), emotions (pathos), and integrity (ethos) writing styles in your work. You need to use this type of essay when you want to take a stance on the topic of discussion.
Toulmin
You break down the discourse about a topic or issue in the Toulmin argument. It involves extensive analysis and helps you understand the problem. Think of it as a way where you deconstruct the argument from every angle.
You use the following outline when you want to examine a topic using the Toulmin method:
- Claim: In this section, you highlight your thesis, i.e., the argument you want to present to the reader.
- Qualifier: You bring forward the evidence for your claim. This includes facts, research papers, and other similar high-quality sources.
- Warrant: You connect the claim with the qualifier. It can be explicit or implicit, based on how you approach the topic. However, if it is implicit, it gives the reader the opportunity to ask questions about your evidence, i.e., the qualifier.
- Backing: You provide secondary evidence to back up your claim. It’s common to confuse backing with qualifier. However, the former focuses on providing direct support, while the latter gives meaning to the warrant.
- Qualifier: You must include your claim’s limitations. In other words, the conditions under which your thesis statement won’t hold. This makes your viewpoints reasonable.
- Rebuttal: You finally tackle the counterarguments by giving your rebuttal. This helps establish your claim’s credibility, which is an argument.
The Toulmin method is for talking about topics where there isn’t a clear answer.
Rogerian
In the Rogerian method, you take a diplomatic approach, i.e., you accept both sides of the argument. In other words, the opposition and your viewpoints are valid when you discuss the topic. You work towards finding a middle ground where everyone agrees.
The Rogerian argument requires the following outline:
- You start by bringing forward the issue to the reader. However, you focus on being diplomatic in your approach.
- You talk about the opposing viewpoint first, i.e., the other side of the argument. This is crucial to the Rogerian method, showing you’re open to listening to the critics.
- You cover your viewpoints, which is the opposite of your opposition’s beliefs. It should be similar to what you talked about in the previous section.
- You present the middle ground or the bridge where both parties can agree. In other words, it indicates that you and the opposition share common values despite your differences.
You’ll use the Rogerian technique when writing for an audience with diverse viewpoints.
How To Write a Hook for an Argumentative Essay
The hook is the first statement the reader goes through when they read your essay. It should get people interested in your work and learn about your viewpoints. There are several ways to hook the reader in your argumentative essays, as highlighted below:
- You include a statistic or fact relevant to the topic you’re writing about.
- You ask a rhetorical question, which gets the reader to think about what you just said.
- You start with an anecdote, which connects the writer and the reader.
- You talk about a common misconception about your topic.
- You provide a quote, especially from a well-renowned individual, in your topic of discussion.
- You use imagery to get the reader’s attention to your essay.
How To Write a Thesis for an Argumentative Essay
The thesis is pivotal when introducing the essay’s topic to your readers. It should be a statement that people don’t agree with, as this gives you room to discuss your viewpoints. Here are the characteristics of a good thesis statement that will persuade readers about your side in the argumentative essays:
- It should be debatable, i.e., the reader can dispute your claim.
- Its theme is narrow, i.e., you focus on a specific talking point.
- It has evidence to stand on, i.e., there are facts, statistics, or research to support your statement.
- It asserts your point of view, i.e., it isn’t vague.
- It is reasonable, i.e., the claim is realistic.
The thesis for your essay shouldn’t be more than two sentences.
How To Write a Conclusion for an Argumentative Essay
The conclusion is how you close your argumentative essays. Think of it as the last opportunity to convince the reader about your viewpoint. If you don’t end on a strong note, the reader’s beliefs will likely not change. Here are a few tips on how to write a conclusion for this type of essay:
- You reiterate your thesis, as this is the core idea of your essay.
- You bring your audience’s attention to your main talking points, which become the supporting points.
- You highlight the final statement, i.e., the importance of your viewpoint. This is the final statement and the last hurrah to change readers’ opinions.
You should never introduce new concepts in the conclusion, which can confuse the reader.
Get a Head Start in Your Argumentative Essay With Smodin
Argumentative essays are essential in academics, as they get you to research and understand a topic. You learn how to put forth your viewpoints and address the counterpoints the readers may have.
Sometimes, it can be challenging to start this type of essay, as it requires significant groundwork. You may also have difficulties following the right format to give your argument the best shot. Sometimes, finding the right sources to support your statements is hard.
Thanks to Smodin you can stop worrying about how to write an argumentative essay because it gives you all the AI-powered tools you need. The AI Essay tool can create an outline in any format based on what you need to talk about. You can choose the number of arguments in the body paragraphs to understand how you should present your work.
Use Smodin’s state-of-the-art AI-powered Essay Writer to speed up researching and writing high-quality essays!
FAQs for How To Write an Argumentative Essay
Do you have more questions about this type of essay? The following sections answer questions students often ask about this topic.
How do I begin an argumentative essay?
You begin argumentative essays by writing an introduction, followed by a thesis. If you find starting challenging, write freely based on your research. Think of it as an essay that improves as you spend more time on it. It evolves as you come across new sources and ideas.
What are the 5 points of an argumentative essay?
The five points of argumentative essays are as follows:
- Introduction
- Thesis
- Body paragraphs
- Counterarguments
- Conclusion
How to write an argumentative essay with an example?
Here’s how to write argumentative essays with an example:
- You research the topic of discussion, i.e., the problem. For example, you ask questions about nuclear power’s viability as a clean energy source. Then, you research this subject.
- You pick a side based on what viewpoints you want to bring forward.
- You put together your talking points.
- You craft the outline using an appropriate structure based on how you want to argue the viewpoint.
- You create the first draft.
- You continue to revise the draft until you have an essay that convinces the reader about your viewpoint.
- You end with a strong conclusion, bringing all your talking points together.