Argumentative Essays

Argumentative Essays – Tips & Tricks

 Read the topic carefully. Underline the main point of the topic (such as Politics).
 Decide ‘for’ or ‘against’ (i.e. are you in favour or against?).
 Jot down all the RELEVANT & LOGICAL points related to your opinion. Spend 5-10 minutes doing this in the form
of notes. No emotional reasons should be included. As we say in Urdu, don’t be “jazbaati“.

 Starting – No quotes are needed; some books/resources will tell you to state your opinion at the start or by the end.
In the paper, state it at the BEGINNING of your essay, most preferably in the opening paragraph.
 Manners in which you can start the essay:
 Ease into the topic then generally give your opinion. For example: “The trend of social media has greatly increased
over the last four years. Nowadays, it has become a necessity for teenagers. I personally believe ……..”
 Start directly by exclaiming a valid point and giving your opinion. “Social Media, recently, has had a great
negative/positive impact on teenagers. My personal opinion is that ……..”

 Remember this 3-point structure for the MAIN BODY of your essay:
 General “For” Argument – Include all valid points that are logical and EMPHASIZE on them – All points must be in
favour of your opinion and they should be your STRONGEST points.

 Counter Argument – Pick out you’re strongest counter arguments and state them. Be completely logical and honest
when pointing the counter arguments. The reason for this is that if you’re writing in favour, someone else will write
against. You have to give both sides of the argument and prove yourself right.
 Disputing Counter Arguments – After writing the counter arguments, you must dispute them and prove them to be
either wrong or not STRONG enough to win the argument. Here’s an example:
A counter argument could be “Social media is required for teenagers, it forms a platform for conversations,
discussions and sharing valued information“.
Disputing this counter argument “Although it does provide a medium for communication, teenagers waste most of
their precious time in procrastinating since they needlessly read comics/have useless discussions. Social media is
one of main reasons why teenagers procrastinate.“