How to write an argumentative essay?

An argumentative essay is one of the most typical writing assignments in academia. It balances other papers, like expository and descriptive, focusing on different aims and objectives. Although common, an argumentative paper requires time and effort to complete. Learn more about an argumentative essay and ways to write it successfully by reading this article.

What makes an argumentative essay different from others?

Given the number of various essay types, the question, "How different is argumentative paper?" often arises among students. First and foremost, the main difference lies behind the essay's purpose. While, for example, a descriptive essay focuses on appealing to people's sensory feelings to let them better understand the piece's purposes, an argumentative paper goes in a completely different direction. It aims to provide a robust argument, ensure the audience has no opposing views, and consider the presented idea legit and robust.

It's imperative to remember that an argumentative essay differs from a persuasive one. While the former uses a formal language, the latter can deviate from this course and include first-person pronouns and even informal expressions in particular cases.

Learn the audience

Researching the audience is the first step toward a successful argumentative essay. The problem with many students is that they often neglect to consider the readers when writing argumentative reports. As a result, pieces end up too basic–if the audience is proficient–or hard to read–if the readers have no background knowledge of the subject. Therefore, it's essential to learn more about the readers and build a couple of personas – someone with specific skills and expertise inherent to a group of people. Knowing that your readers are aware of the topic will let you brainstorm the subject and come up with more in-depth arguments, or vice versa.

Focus on using the appropriate language

Language plays a pivotal role in the paper's quality for a reason. As said earlier, an argumentative essay always follows formal language patterns, no matter the context. Secure a proactive and neutral language when criticizing or refuting other people's opinions. Thrusting and lambasting them, using an aggressive tone and phrases will do you no good. Your job is to sound compelling, reasonable, and professional. As experts from an essay writing service point out–click here to learn more about them–it's always best to:

• Avoid informal language
• Omit passive voice
• Stay away from exclamation marks
• Speak from the POV
• Get rid of contractions.

Design a strong thesis statement

Writing a good thesis statement is necessary to craft a mind-bending paper. A thesis (don't confuse it with a thesis-a final B.A. and M.A. work) is a sentence entailing the most critical information about the document, in our case, arguments. You must present these arguments clearly and concisely. Don't fall into the common trap of describing views right in a thesis. Not only will it make this sentence an entire paragraph, but it will also decrease the quality of your body part, as the last focuses on developing these arguments.

Designing a robust thesis immediately is hardly possible, so don't try doing that. Instead, jot down several thesis versions and analyze each version's strengths and weaknesses. Once you do that, you will manage to come up with an excellent thesis.

Create a compelling opener and maintain the right tone within the entire paper

Has this ever occurred to you? You spend lots of time brainstorming ideas, researching sources, and elaborating on points, but readers don't seem too excited about the piece? Well, you are not alone. Although numerous causes may result in that, it's often a weak opener that affects people's perception of the essay. An argumentative paper must kick off strongly and instantly spark the reader's attention!

Since the essay follows academic writing patterns, it's often refined and hard to read. That's why you need to boost people's enthusiasm so that they are ready to finish reading your paper. How to do that? Various options exist. For example, you can begin the paper with a relevant quote, statement, or statistics. Whatever you choose, ensure it's tightly connected to what you will say within your essay. And yes, keep the right, professional tone across the entire document.

Find relevant, updated, and academic literature to support your arguments

Research can be different depending on your topic and requirements. Typically, though, begin your research with Wikipedia. While not the right source to cite (we don’t recommend relying on Wikipedia as the core source), Wikipedia is a fantastic database of articles built upon academic sources. The strategy is clear: find a relevant, updated article and jump to the last section, the bibliography. There, you will see a host of materials used when writing the article. In addition to Wiki, don't hesitate to use Google Scholar and similar web resources.

Remember to present both sides

One of the major differences between an argumentative essay and other papers is that it includes both opinions about a particular matter. So, whether for or against it, remember to provide counterarguments to your points. Doing that means you are aware of the opposing thoughts and ready to refute them, which is your task in the last body paragraph – disprove opposite arguments.

Structure your writing

An argumentative essay is similar to other paper types when it comes to structuring. It needs to have:

• Introduction, including a hook, background, and thesis
• Body with a topic sentence, argument, evidence, and elaboration
• Conclusion alongside a thesis restatement, key points, and closing.

The number of paragraphs will vary depending on the requirements and word count. A standard two-page essay has one section for the intro, three or four for the body, and one for the conclusion.

Final thoughts on writing an argumentative paper

An argumentative essay requires developing solid arguments and finding trustworthy sources to support them. Besides, this paper type doesn't tolerate informal language, so ensure to adjust your work to academic writing standards. And finally, remember that you don't try to persuade readers but provide robust ideas backing them up with crystal-clear, authoritative thoughts. Incorporating all that will do the rest of the job. Writing an argumentative paper is doable with the right tactics, good luck!

Also Read

• How to structure an essay? A writing guide
• ‘Writing with Fire’ in Oscars, It is the most inspiring journalism movie

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