Wr i t i n g

EN T A T I
A R G U M
V ETe x t s

Mary Rose
Year 11 and 12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
During this lesson, students will learn the skill of writing argumentive texts, with a
particular focus on persuasive essay. By the end of the lesson students should have the
skills to do the following:

01 02 03 04
Write in a formal style
using precise
vocabulary, syntax and
rhetorical devices to
effectively persuade an
Xxdd audience.

Gtdshh Drdh
Defining
EN T A T I
A R G U M
V ETe x t s
• Introduction
• Types of Argumentative Texts
• Argumentative Essay
• Purpose, Context and Audience
 INTRODUCTION

Arguments are a part of every day life and they can be used for many purposes - to change someone's point of view, to promote
social action, or to ask an audience to accept the writer’s stance on a concept, issue or problem.

Argumentative texts, also referred to as persuasive texts, are intended to express an argument in order to support or refute an
idea. The writer or speaker's purpose is to convince or persuade their audience to agree with their opinion, position or belief
and they do this in a reasoned, logical way that proves their validity.

Argument in its most basic form consists of four parts:

3. 4.
1. 2.
Reasons to Evidence to
Claims Counter Claims
support claims support reasons
 T Y P E S O F A R G U M E N TAT I V E T E X T S

Wr i t t e n F o r m s Oral Forms

Might include journalistic texts (articles, editorials, opinion Might include speeches, debates, advertising campaigns and
columns etc.), scientific texts (e.g. research papers), judicial opinion forums.
texts, essays, and more casual forms such as blogs and open
letters.
 A R G U M E N TAT I V E E S S AY
Argumentative essays look at an idea or issue, consider each side and make a case for one side
in particular. There are four main types of argumentative essays and each takes a different
approach to their structure and content. These are:

Persuasive Analytical Research Personal

For the purpose of understanding how to structure an argument, we're going to focus on the persuasive essay form, but note that
this structure can easily be adapted to the conventions of other text types.

Persuasive essays present an argument and try to persuade the audience that one side of the argument is better than the others.
They clearly state the writer's viewpoint and use reasoning and evidence to support it. As different sides of the argument are
discussed, the writer should refute these views in order to persuade the reader that their argument is the right one.
Before you plan your argumentative text, it's always important to consider the following:
Purpose
The obvious purpose would be to
persuade, but you also might aim to
educate, to raise awareness etc.
Make sure your specific persuasive
purpose is clear. That is, outline the
argument that you will present and
consider the action you wish your
audience to take if you are successful
in persuading them.
Context
This can include situational, authorial,
historical, social or political context.
Where might your hypothetical text
be published? What events or
experiences have influenced you to
write about it? What is the current
social or political climate surrounding
your topic?
Audience
Who are the group of readers or
listeners that your text is aimed at?
You'll need to ascertain things such as
their age, gender, ethnicity, socio-
economic status, knowledge level,
concerns, values, and possible biases
in order to have the best chance at
persuading them to agree with your
viewpoint.
Planning an
EN T A T I
A R G U M
V ETe x t
• Step 1 - Choose your Topic • Step 4 - Consider Counterclaims
• Step 2 - Make a Claim • Step 5 - Look for Evidence
• Step 3 - Develop your Reasons • Step 6 - Conclude
 1. CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC

This part will depend on the parameters of your assignment or

task.

Sometimes you will have a topic assigned to you.

Other times you will have a choice from a selection of prompts.

You also might have free range to select your own topic or issue
of interest.

Either way, you should ensure you can generate a question worthy
of discussion between opposing sides. To be able to prove your
argument effectively, you will need to consider both sides of the
debate.
2. MAKE A CLAIM
A claim is a position or stance that the writer takes on a topic, concept or issue. In persuasive essay structure, this is
known as the thesis statement and it will be found in your introduction. If your topic is a statement, consider whether you
agree or disagree. You will then need to state your viewpoint as a clear, specific and defensible statement that can be used
to guide your argument in your essay.

Ask yourself:
• Is the claim stated clearly and specifically? I.e. is it easy to understand (and not too vague or broad)?
• Is it debatable? And would someone be interested in debating it?
• Can you support it?

Example:
Standardized testing is an ineffective and unfair way of evaluating student achievement.
3. DEVELOP YOUR REASONS

Often a writer will break down their overall claim, or thesis, into smaller claims. These are usually
stated as reasons or justifications for the writer's argument - in other words, they are the 'why' behind
the claim.

Using your critical thinking skills, identify as many reasons you can think of in support of your claim.
Then, pick your best ones and rank them in order of strength or relevance.

Example:
• It is unfair to certain types of learners e.g. low-income, ESL and students with special needs.
• It can be disruptive to student learning and restrict teachers' abilities to teach effectively and creatively.
• It places unnecessary amounts of stress on students, resulting in successful students losing confidence if they don't
perform well under test conditions.
4. CONSIDER COUNTERCLAIMS
Part of writing an effective argument is anticipating opposing viewpoints so that you can disprove or
discredit them in order to strengthen your own argument. A counterclaim is an argument that works to
disagree with and disprove the writer's claim. The main purpose of including a counterclaim is to
address the opposite side of the argument and provide a rebuttal. A rebuttal is when a writer disproves
an argument.

This means you'll not only work on proving your claim, but on disproving the counterclaim or the
opposition's argument.

Example:
• Standardized testing is fair and objective, creating a universal standard of education.
• It provides an inclusive opportunity, giving students from diverse backgrounds a chance to prove they have mastered
academic material despite their circumstances.
5. LOOK FOR EVIDENCE

Evidence is information and examples from other sources that

support a writer's reasoning.

It is important because it helps to build credibility and gain the

reader's trust.

If writers cannot support their claims with any evidence, they

could appear to be just opinions, which are not as convincing.

To effectively use evidence to support each of your reasons,

make sure it comes from credible, trustworthy, sources and try
to identify a range of different types to make your writing
interesting.
Evidence can be split into hard and soft.

Hard Evidence Soft Evidence

This includes things such as: This includes things like:

• facts and statistics • personal anecdotes
• scientific data • word-of-mouth information (things heard from
• carefully controlled observations another person)
• measurements • appeals to false authority (quoting from sources
• surveys that are not experts on the topic)
• case studies • Other direct quotes from literary texts or media
• information and opinions from experts in particular texts
fields (i.e. quotes from doctors, psychologists,
scientists or academics).

Once you've found your evidence, you'll want to rank it in order of strength and relevance. Make sure you can
effectively link each piece of evidence to your claim through reasoning.
6. CONCLUDE

A good conclusion for an argumentative text shouldn't sound too

repetitive. Instead, emphasise your strongest points, state your
argument in a slightly different way and finish on a powerful note.

You might use a thought-provoking rhetorical question or appeal to

your specific audiences values or emotions.

If you feel you've successfully convinced the audience to agree with

your claims, you might end with a call to action. These are specific
steps you'd like your audience to take in order to promote social
action and support your cause.
The Language of
E N T A T I
A R G U M
V E Te x t s
• Style and Tone
• Rhetorical Devices
• Transitions
 STYLE AND TONE
For most argumentative persuasive essays you want to write in a
clear, concise and objective manner with a mildly persuasive tone.
If your tone is too strident or inflammatory, you risk alienating
your audience by sounding unreasonable.

Relying on facts rather than subjective opinions will make your

essay sound more convincing and professional, enhancing the
legitimacy of your argument.

However, this does not mean there's no room for creativity with
language features. In fact, mixing up the writing style in an essay
can be more engaging for your reader and can often make an
argument more convincing.
 RHETORICAL
DEVICES
In argumentative essay, it's best to stick to rhetorical devices
that appeal to ethos and logos. While you can still include some
techniques that appeal to pathos, these should be limited so that
you still sound measured and reasonable.

Consider language features such as:

• Tricolon and tetracolon
• Jargon
• Direct address
• Inclusive language
• Repetition
• Rhetorical Question
• Descriptive language
• Parallel sentence structure
 TRANSITIONS
Transition words are used to link phrases, sentences or paragraphs within your essay. They help the reader to progress
from one idea to the next creating coherent relationships between your claims, reasons and evidence. Different transition
words can be used for different purposes. For example:

Adding Ideas Comparisons Examples Concessions

Also Similarly For example Some people think

In addition Like / unlike For instance It has been argued
Furthermore In comparison to Specifically Some may say
One point that shows In contrast to To illustrate While it’s true that
Another way However To be specific Many people assume
Moreover On the other hand This is clearly shown The problem with that

It's a good idea to build up a word bank of transition words so you don't end up relying on the same ones. Varying your
language can make your writing more engaging.
 YOUR TURN
To conclude, learning how to effectively introduce, develop and
structure an argument is a necessary skill both for academia and in
every day life. Being able to back up opinions and ideas with strong
evidence and sound reasoning is a crucial part of the art of
persuasion.

For some helpful supplementary resources on argumentative

writing, check out the following:
• Planning an Argument Graphic Organiser
• Argumentative Writing Topics Flashcards
• Argumentative Essay Planner Worksheet
• Argumentative Writing Word Bank Poster
ELEMENTS