Most likely, you have heard about argumentative essays at least once. What is this paper, and what is its purpose? Well, the main goal is to establish a definite position and attitude towards the selected issue and substantiate it with evidence. What is the best way to write an argumentative essay? There are four aspects that you should pay attention to:
- Your subject must be interesting.
- You must be convincing (make your claims).
- It is necessary to find answers to counterarguments in advance.
- Motivate the reader to accept your point of view.
Of course, such a paper's complexity depends on the chosen topic and the depth of research. But here, you get the main argumentative essay tips. This will help analyze the subject better and prepare the most reasoned position on each item.
What Should Such a Paper Have?
The first thing you need is to argue your position and create a strong thesis. Next, you have to conduct logical reasoning and provide convincing arguments. But these are not all tips for writing an argumentative essay. Do not forget about good examples, evidence, and any data that will prove your position on each point or question.
Three Main Steps & Tips on How to Write a Strong Argumentative Essay
1: Topic & thesis statement
A good hook for an argumentative essay is the first thing you need. The topic you choose may have varying degrees of relevance. Moreover, your professor may not leave you a chance. In any case, you should create a strong thesis statement. This will allow you to indicate the paper's main purpose, its significance, and even the level of expertise.
This is something like a vector of your movement because all subsequent paragraphs will reveal your position and argumentation. It is good if you have a personal opinion about the chosen topic. But the best way to start an argumentative essay is to find evidence that you are right. You cannot claim anything without support, so consider collecting all the data that will prove you are right.
2: Research & organize your findings
How to write a good argumentative essay? Your paper should be compelling and supported with facts. Do your research and take notes. You might want to highlight individual quotes or even paragraphs. And you should organize your findings. Save and organize all the trusted sources that you use while working.
Search for a hook for an argumentative essay. You should also work on your arguments and counterarguments. It's like chess because you need to think about the strategy a few moves ahead. Another aspect is impartiality. Your essay may contradict certain authors' work, or it may run counter to generally accepted standards.
But you shouldn't include an emotional component. Try to describe the problems and argue your position neutrally. Sometimes research requires a non-standard approach. Perhaps you should look at the problem from a different angle and pay attention to what has gone unnoticed by other people.
3: Draft a structure
The correct structure of an argumentative essay is the most important aspect. Without this, your work may be in vain. There are key steps and points to help your paper be compelling and logical.
First Paragraph
How to make an argumentative essay catchy? You need to grab attention with good background and a thesis statement. Your first paragraph is where you should formulate your idea and position, which will gradually unfold in other parts of the paper. The main challenge is to meet all academic requirements. But you can start with certain data or research findings that can be a compelling start to uncover the subject further.
After disclosing the background, you need to provide a few key questions that will be fundamental to you. In the future, you will need to give exhaustive answers in each of the paragraphs.
- Why is your chosen subject relevant?
- What is the problem, and how to solve it?
- Is this important in the context of your research?
- What should be done to solve the problem?
- Are there any root causes that made this subject relevant?
If the chosen topic involves statistics, then you can post them to show the significance of the problem or the relevance of your paper and all the arguments.
Body Paragraphs
Every argument of fact essay must be based on evidence. It's best if you reserve each paragraph for a specific aspect worth mentioning. Start with the statement. Uncover the root cause of your claim, which real data in the future will back up. You have to provide clear and structured evidence because your statements are meaningless without this.
Indicate the data that you received as a result of the research. In any case, you should only rely on reliable and trustworthy sources. For example, it is better to accompany some legal statements with references to legislation or certain amendments. There are many tips for argumentative essay tasks, and they are all closely related to the search for evidence. This is why you need to provide facts and explain how this can make your case persuasive.
Another important point concerns the connection of the main paragraphs with your thesis. If your paper has clear goals and arguments, then the structure of each block should be interconnected. This is necessary in order to maintain a logical consistency and expand your topic.
Additional Paragraphs
Almost any argument can have a counterargument. That is why you need additional paragraphs to address all the controversial aspects. But how to write an argumentative essay and not get confused by your evidence structure? Examine the subject and collect all the main arguments.
Next, you need to study opposing opinions and familiarize yourself with the evidence base. If you have clear confirmation of your case, then you can provide data, a quote from the research, and strengthen your thesis. In other words, you must be ready for the opposite opinion and have proof of your case.
Conclusion
This is the logical ending where you need to try to be as convincing as possible. Summarize everything you have written about up to this point. Perhaps you need to add a call to action or provide hypotheses. This type of assignment involves adding real-life examples to prove the strength of your arguments in action. You can also speculate about how your ideas might affect a subject or a specific problem.
Final Words
Any argumentative essay takes a lot of research time. You can't just take key aspects of a subject and question them. All your statements should be based not only on personal feelings and judgments. Study everything that is important and present the most convincing arguments.
You should also follow the plan clearly and adhere to all formatting requirements. Do not exceed the allowed word count. Try to be as concise as possible, but remember to be convincing. When all of your arguments are supported by credible sources or research results, then your essay can be considered a success.
And do not forget that grammatical or spelling mistakes are not allowed. You need to pay extra attention to the accuracy of the wording to be more convincing. Then your arguments will be understandable and more weighty.
