A Brief Guide to Writing Argumentative Essays Features 1. So, what do you write about? Pick a well-defined, controversial issue.

2. A clear position taken by the writer. In your thesis sentence, state what your position is. ou do not need to say! "I believe that we should financially support the space station." #sin$ the first person weakens your ar$u%ent. Say "&undin$ for the space station is i%perative to %aintain A%erica's co%petitive ed$e in the $lobal econo%y." The thesis can be modified elsewhere in the essay if you need to (ualify your position, but avoid hed$in$ in your thesis. ). A convincin$ ar$u%ent. An ar$u%entative essay does not %erely assert an opinion* it presents an ar$u%ent, and that ar$u%ent %ust be backed up by data that persuades readers that the opinion is valid. +his data consists of facts, statistics, the testi%ony of others throu$h personal interviews and (uestionnaires or throu$h articles and books, and e,a%ples. +he writer of an ar$u%entative essay should seek to use educated sources that are nonbiased, and to use them fairly. -. A reasonable tone. Assu%e that your reader will disa$ree with you or be skeptical. It is im ortant, therefore, that your tone be reasonable, rofessional, and trustworthy. .y anticipatin$ ob/ections and %akin$ concessions, you inspire confidence and show your $ood will. !te s of a "esearch #a er 1. 0ecide on a topic. $a%e sure it is one you are interested in and that it is not too broad or too narrow to analy&e ade'uately. 2. Begin your library and(or web research. ). 1rite the outline, rou$h draft, and the final paper. +hen rewrite it to %ake it sound as professional as possible. +o analy2e so%ethin$, divide it into parts. Since you are writin$ about a proble%, the body of your paper %i$ht look so%ethin$ like this! #aragra h )* General introduction of the roblem. Thesis statement which states your o inion. #aragra h +,-* .istory of the roblem /including, erha s, ast attem ts at a solution0. !ources needed #aragra h 1,2* E3tent of the roblem /who is affected4 how bad is it, etc.0. !ources needed #aragra hs 5,6* "e ercussion of the roblem if not solved. !ources needed. #aragra hs 7,)8* 9ou should have led u to a conclusion that your argument is sound. #ull it all together by connecting your argument with the facts. Antici ate ob:ections and ma%e concessions. #aragra h ))* ;onclusion* "estatement of thesis and summary of main ideas.

3. 4nce your paper has been written, check every (uotation in it for accuracy. our instructor %ay re(uire that every (uotation should be photocopied and included with what you turn in. All (uoted %atter should be clearly %arked on the photocopy.

W.AT I! A #A"AG"A#.< A para$raph is a collection of related sentences dealin$ with a sin$le topic. +o be as effective as possible, a para$raph should contain each of the followin$! #nity, 5oherence, A +opic Sentence, and Ade(uate 0evelop%ent I=T">?@;T>"9 #A"AG"A#.! +he %ost i%portant para$raphs in an essay introduce your topic to your reader. our introduction %ay be one para$raph in a fairly short essay or several para$raphs in a lon$er essay. A ro er introduction should*

!ome a

roaches to writing an introduction*

64+7! 8e$ardless if one uses a sin$le para$raph or three para$raphs, the introduction should be proportionately no %ore than one-fifth of the overall essay.

Introductions Thesis !tatement > ening, +his is the traditional style of openin$ a paper. +his is a "%inisu%%ary" of your paper. > ening with a !tory /Anecdote0, A $ood way of catchin$ your reader's attention is by sharin$ a story that sets up your paper. Sharin$ a story $ives a paper a %ore personal feel and helps %ake your reader co%fortable. ! ecific ?etail > ening- 9ivin$ specific details about your sub/ect appeals to your reader's curiosity and helps establish a visual picture of what your paper is about. > en with a Auotation, Another %ethod of writin$ an introduction is to open with a (uotation. +his %ethod %akes your introduction %ore interactive and %ore appealin$ to your reader. > en with an Interesting !tatistic, Statistics that $rab the reader help to %ake an effective introduction. Auestion > enings, Possibly the easiest openin$ is one that presents one or %ore (uestions to be answered in the paper. +his is effective because (uestions are usually what the reader has in %ind when he or she sees your topic. Beginning with a 'uestion- 1hen you be$in your essay with a (uestion, you ask your reader to consider with you the proble% that inspired you to write. 1hat (uestion are you tryin$ to answer in your essay? 1hy is this (uestion i%portant to you and to your readers? Beginning by !tating a #osition, 1hen you are writin$ an ar$u%entative essay, you %ay decide to be$in by statin$ your position in the first para$raph. 1hen you state your position, however, you need to be sure to help your reader understand the conte,t for your ar$u%ent. our thinkin$ about this topic did not sprin$ fro% nowhere! why is this topic i%portant to you? 1hy should it interest your readers? Beginning by >ffering Bac%ground, If your readers %ay be unfa%iliar with the topic about which you are writin$, your introductory para$raph %ay serve to $ive the% necessary back$round. So%eti%es that back$round can su%%ari2e the results of other people's writin$ about the topic. So%eti%es back$round infor%ation can place your topic in a lar$er conte,t.

Beginning by ?efining, 1henever you present an essay to readers, you want to be sure that you and your readers are definin$ ter%s in the sa%e way. Startin$ out by definin$ key ter%s %ay be useful when those ter%s are confusin$ or able to be %isread. Beginning by Illustrating, An illustration, e,a%ple, or anecdote can be an effective way of $eneratin$ your readers' interest in your essay. :ivid details, suspenseful narrative, or interestin$ descriptions can %ake your reader want to continue readin$. Illustrations, however, should relate to the focus of your essay. B>?9 #A"AG"A#.! A typical body para$raph should concern itself with a sin$le focus. +he nu%ber of body para$raphs to which a writer should dedicate her essay develop%ent is often debated* three body para$raphs are the least develop%ent e,pected of you because your thesis should bear enou$h co%ple,ity to warrant at least three points of further discussion. T.E T>#I; !E=TE=;E A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a $eneral way what idea or thesis the para$raph is $oin$ to deal with. Althou$h not all para$raphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can occur anywhere in the para$raph ;as the first sentence, the last sentence, or so%ewhere in the %iddle<, an easy way to %ake sure your reader understands the topic of the para$raph is to put your topic sentence near the be$innin$ of the para$raph. +ypically, body para$raphs or$ani2e the%selves around the followin$ pattern of develop%ent.

;>=;B@?I=G #A"AG"A#.!

our concludin$ para$raph should $ive your readers a sense of closure or co%pletion. :ery often, your concludin$ para$raph will develop naturally as you finish writin$ your body para$raphs.

ou should avoid doin$ the followin$ in concludin$ para$raphs. 1hile there are those that believe the first two, especially, are necessary in ar$u%entation papers, these techni(ues can take a fairly $ood paper and turn it into .A0 writin$. .e sure that your concludin$ para$raph e,e%plifies the sa%e kind of careful consideration durin$ develop%ent that your body para$raphs do.

AC>I? restating the thesis statement from the introductory aragra h in e3actly the same words AC>I? listing the main oints of each of the body aragra h AC>I? introducing an entirely new to ic.

4nce you have written your concludin$ para$raph, reread your thesis state%ent. =as your paper strayed fro% the ori$inal thesis? 0o you need to rewrite the thesis state%ent, the concludin$ para$raph, or both? A co%%on fresh%an writin$ error is lettin$ the paper develop naturally to its conclusion, even if it strays fro% the thesis, then sub%ittin$ the paper without %akin$ sure that the thesis state%ent and the conclusion e,press the sa%e opinion. 0on't be afraid to chan$e your thesis state%ent to reflect the %ain idea of the paper that you have written, but do be sure that the rest of the paper supports that final thesis state%ent. 4nce you have written your concludin$ para$raph and you know what your paper is really about, it's ti%e to work on the introductory para$raph. ;onclusions !ummary ;losing >any ti%es conclusions are si%ple re-state%ents of the thesis. >any ti%es these conclusions are %uch like their introductions . ;lose with a Bogical ;onclusion +his is a $ood closin$ for ar$u%entive or opinion papers that present two or %ore sides of an issue. +he conclusion drawn as a result of the research is presented here in the final para$raphs. "eal or "hetorical Auestion ;losings +his %ethod of concludin$ a paper is one step short of $ivin$ a lo$ical conclusion. 8ather than handin$ the conclusion over, you can leave the reader with a (uestion that causes hi% or her to draw his own conclusions. ;lose with a ! eculation or > inion +his is a $ood style for instances when the writer was unable to co%e up with an answer or a clear decision about whatever it was he or she was researchin$. ;lose with a "ecommendation A $ood conclusion is when the writer su$$ests that the reader do so%ethin$ in the way of support for a cause or a plea for the% to take action. ;oherence 7nsure your para$raph is coherent. 7very sentence in your para$raph should connect naturally with the surroundin$ sentences. Avoid len$thy or co%plicated para$raphs that lose the readers? attention even when only one idea is presented. Instead, use transitional e,pressions to direct the reader alon$ your train of thou$ht and repeat key words to connect each ite% to

your %ain idea. &or e,a%ple, transitional e,pressions can help you e,pand an idea further by usin$ words such as! and, also, besides, and furthermore. &or %ore infor%ation on transitional e,pressions see the "+ransitional 7,pressions" handout.

Some Useful Transitional Expressions

If you want to: Add Compare Contrast Concede (a point) Emphasize Illustrate lace !ualify "i#e a reason Show a result Summarize lace in time Use these transitional expressions: also, and, and then, as well, besides, beyond that, first (second, third, last, and so on), for one thing, furthermore, in addition, in fact, moreover, next, what is more also, as well, both (neither), in the same way, in like manner, likewise, similarly although, be that as it may, but, even though, however, in contrast, instead, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, yet, whereas certainly, granted that, of course, no doubt, to be sure above all, especially, in fact, in particular, indeed, most important, surely as a case in point, as an illustration, for example, for instance, in particular, one such, yet another above, beside, below, beyond, further, here, inside, nearby, next to, on the far side, outside, to the East (North, South, and so on) perhaps as, because, for, since and so, because of this, as a consequence, as a result, consequently, incidentally, for this reason, hence, so, therefore, thus all in all, finally, in any event, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, lastly, on the whole, to sum up after a while, afterward, as last, at present, briefly, currently, during, eventually, finally, first (second, and so on), gradually, immediately, in the future, later, meanwhile, now, recently, soon, suddenly, then

#A"AG"A#. @=IT9 7very para$raph in an essay should have a topic sentence with a controllin$ idea. 7ach sentence in the para$raph should relate to the topic and develop the controllin$ idea.