If you are reading an article on argumentative essay writing tips, you probably find it difficult to compose this kind of papers or would like to take your writing to a new level. Before learning how to write an argumentative essay, the first thing you need to do is clarify the nature and purpose of this paper.
As a rule, argumentative essays make an attempt to prove a certain point of view by providing the pieces of evidence that support it. In other words, this paper is a purely logical, well-structured, and consecutive list of arguments that defend the author’s position regarding some issue. Clearly, it is impossible to prove a point without impressive evidence, so the research needed to find the supporting arguments is in the very essence of this writing.
The Defining Features of Argumentative Essays
The main feature that makes argumentative essays stand out of all the other sorts of assignments is the author’s right to choose the central argument. While many papers do not allow the students to express their attitude regarding the discussed problem, writing an argumentative essay requires for the writer to take a clear position.
Moreover, this type of essay often lets the author pick the theme of discussion on their own. As long as the topic relates to the studied material and calls for a deep research, any issue that is of interest to the student can be addressed. This is both a responsibility and a relief, as the author can take the paper to any direction.
One more peculiar feature of argumentative essays is their length: as a rule, it is bigger than of other kinds of essays. This is due to its main function, which is proving a certain point, and this cannot be done with a few short sentences. Every argument requires several supporting ideas and a discussion, which suggests longer paragraphs for this type of essay.
Argumentative Essay Writing Tips
How do you start an argumentative essay writing? The two basic elements needed to create a strong paper of this kind are passion and research. Out of all the existing argumentative essay tips, the most significant one is to choose a topic that you care about. This will give you motivation to write and make you sound more convincing. Once you find a sphere that interests you personally, go on and make a profound research on it. When all the material is prepared, plan your essay with a detailed outline. Then, develop each section with your ideas and evidence from literature. Below you can find some useful tips for writing an argumentative essay.
- Formulate a strong central argument. In order to create a meaningful and engaging paper, you need to build it upon a strong argument. It is better to take an argument that causes controversies and has its opponents and supporters in the general audience, so that your essay would make the readers agree or disagree with it. Naturally, it is advisable to write a paper on an argument that represents a non-standard or unusual position regarding certain issue. Depending on your area of research, you can find the most burning issues and build your argument on them.
- Choose a topic that touches you. Sometimes the professors provide you with topics to write about, and sometimes the suitable theme for an essay can be rather obvious. However, if you are lost regarding which topic to choose, the first criterion to use for you is your personal interest in it. Make sure that the topic you are focusing on lies within your area of interest and intersects with your professional knowledge. Regardless of the discipline you are creating a paper for, there must be some aspect that you feel passionate or curious about. One of the best argumentative essay writing tips is to follow your intuition and research that aspect. Remember that if your paper has no value for you, the readers will not feel much differently.
- Make a deep research. The biggest mistake made by students is that they discover a great deal of information about the argument they are writing about, but fail to research the opposing viewpoints. In order to make your position well-grounded, you need to find information about all the existing views on the problem and prove that your position is the most reasonable. Clearly, this takes much time and effort to address all the literature and data existing on the topic, but this is the only way to make your argumentative essay objective and convincing.
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Find all the evidence. The very purpose of your argumentative essay is to prove that your position is right, which can only be done with providing numerous supporting facts and evidence from different sources. That is why, the major part of your work on this sort of paper lies outside of the actual writing process and revolves around searching for relevant information.
It goes without saying that the evidence for your paper should only be taken from respectable sources, such as articles in scientific journals, credible publications, and books related to your topic. Find every bit of information that concerns the problem you discuss and choose only the strongest data to include in your essay. It is also good to highlight the blank areas and gaps in research to show the limitations of the existing materials. This will add objectivity to your paper.
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Make an outline. When you go through tons of sources and find the countless arguments and ideas for your paper, it can be hard to separate the significant materials from the less important ones. As a result, you may find yourself doubting regarding what should be left out and what should be put in the center of your paper. In order to settle this controversy, you need to make an outline. As soon as you will start arranging your ideas into a coherent plan of the essay, you will see what needs to be included and what is to be excluded. Besides, the number of sections in the outline is limited, so you will need to choose the strongest arguments only.
The classic outline of an argumentative essay should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, with every section having several paragraphs and corresponding ideas.
- Format it well. If you are wondering how to make a unique argumentative essay, you should pay a special attention to paper formatting. Apart from the proper referencing and format settings, you also need to consider the arrangement of each section:
- Introduction: as a rule, the opening part of an argumentative essay consists of one paragraph that presents the topic and expresses the key argument, also known as thesis statement.
- Body: the purpose of the paper’s body is to prove the main argument. Every paragraph should contain a supporting idea and a short discussion.
- Conclusion: the last paragraph of the essay should summarize the mentioned points and restate the main argument again.
- Show your passion. While focusing on all the research, do not forget the other key element of a good argumentative essay, the passion. To make your paper more convincing, add your personal position to it, show that you care, and express your attitude along with the objective analysis. Try to avoid sounding too formally and add individuality to your writing.
Top 3 Suggestions for Successful Argumentative Essay Writing
Suggestion #1: Examine the instructions
The instruction files provided by your professor often contain priceless information on how your paper should be organized. By reading it carefully, you will know which direction to follow and which aspects to consider.
Suggestion #2: Revolve around your main argument
Once you have expressed your position in the introductory paragraph, do not lose it out of sight! Every sentence and every paragraph you make should serve the purpose of reinforcing the main argument.
Suggestion #3: Use strong evidence
The best way to add credibility to your paper is to include the relevant quotes in it. Make notes while working with literature sources and use the most convincing quotes to complete your essay.
8 Tips to Get the Best Grade
- Study the area your essay relates to
- Define the burning and most controversial issues in the chosen sphere
- Choose a topic that engages you and formulate your position regarding the analyzed problem
- Use our writing tips for creating the paper
- Include only the strongest evidence and the most convincing quotes in your essay
- Proofread the final version of your writing and correct mistakes
- Check the formatting carefully
- Make sure the text is not plagiarized
Only by analyzing all the existing materials you will be able to formulate a balanced opinion about an issue and defend it in your essay. After all, all the argumentative essay writing tips are related to deep researching, so do not ignore this aspect under any circumstances. Use the most trusted online and offline sources to use in your paper, and remember to take notes while working with literature.
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