Do you want to know the ultimate secret of always getting As on your essays? You just need to write what your teacher is looking for. Believe it or not, instructors don’t give you Cs and Ds out of spite, they use the same guidelines to check all papers of a particular type to make sure their evaluation is objective. If you need to get an A for your argumentative essay, make sure to include four essential ingredients your professor expects to see in an excellent paper.
Select a Debatable Topic
Unlike narrative or reflective papers, an argumentative essay needs a conflict, like a good book. The more controversial topic you choose, the harder it will be to convince the reader to take your side. However, that is exactly what this assignment is about. Don’t shy away from controversial questions, and your professor will appreciate your choice.
Let’s say you choose to discuss education. Don’t explain the structure of educational institutions or your own experience in school. Instead, raise the questions that no one wants to answer:
- should higher education be free or not?
- can online learning platforms replace traditional schools and colleges?
- will the teachers be necessary when robots take over the menial jobs, and artificial intelligence rules on Earth?
As you see, many questions can raise someone’s hackles and wound someone’s sensibilities. But these are the topics that will bring you the highest grade if you know how to make the most of them.
Pick A Side
Think about argumentative essay as a debate. You should be aware of all sides of the problem, but you have to make a stand and protect your point with everything you have. It’s not the time for partial solutions; you need to be all in. Otherwise, your instructor will not feel convinced to take your side by the end of the essay. And this means you lose the fight and only get a B if the professor feels charitable.
A thesis statement is a right place to showcase your point of view. You can’t write:
Online education has its merits, but traditional offline learning is still relevant.
Instead, make a stronger statement:
The evolution of Internet will inevitably make traditional schooling redundant, while online learning will become a mainstream trend.
Don’t Make Empty Arguments
No one likes unsubstantiated babbling, especially teachers. So support each of your arguments with hard evidence from the sources you have researched. Statistics, facts, first-hand accounts or expert opinions will help to support your point and convince readers to take your side. Always cite your sources, so that the professor can fact-check your paper. Otherwise, your argumentative essay will turn from an academic work into an opinionated blog post, at best.
Online learning platforms provide ample opportunity to master necessary skills. Coursera alone partners with 149 universities, hosts over 2,000 online courses. The platform has already provided online learning opportunities to over 25 million people around the globe.
Address Counterarguments
If you have ever seen a Presidential debate or your school debate team in action, you know that refuting the opponent is as important, as providing support for your arguments. However, you can’t merely say that the counterarguments are wrong, your claims will require evidence once again. If you include a passage addressing the opposing viewpoint before the conclusion, your professor will be impressed and you’ll get that elusive A.
One might say, that traditional schools employ more and more technological advances to make studies more interactive. However, they are still limited by the constraints of the rules and methods invented over a hundred years ago. Schools do not provide the same level of personalization and customization as online learning plans developed to suit the needs of a particular child.
Now you know to which parts of your argumentative essay the teacher will pay more attention. You have learned the four pillars of a convincing and A-worthy paper. Don’t forget to implement this knowledge, and let us know whether your professor has appreciated your insight. And if you don’t have the time to write an argumentative essay on your own, our writers will gladly complete it for you, using the same tricks you have learned today.
