Argumentative Essay Examples and Tips

Essays are a big part of the educational process. If you don’t know how to write them, then you have two options. The first one is to keep reading articles like this and become a real master of writing essays, and the second option is to do nothing and receive bad grades. Evidently, the first option is more preferable, and you should continue reading this article if you want to get better at writing argumentative essays.

First of all it should be mentioned that argumentative essays are sometimes called persuasive essays. However, there are differences between these types of the essays and they shouldn’t be considered the same. Persuasive essays are short, tend to focus more on the emotions of the reader, and in most cases discuss your point of view. Argumentative essays are longer, give more attention to the opposing side, and tend to focus more on the facts, rather than on the emotions.

Before You Write

A list of things to do before you start writing an argumentative essay includes:

• picking a topic that interest you, that you can support with evidence, and that has two conflicting points;
• researching both sides of the argument;
• writing an outline.

As You Write

Like most essays, an argumentative essay consists of the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Here’s how you should work with each part of the essay:

• The Introduction. Present the topic and thesis statement of your essay. A thesis statement reflects the position that you have taken. Make sure that your introduction is written in a concise and clear manner.
• The Body. This part can range from three paragraphs to whatever upper limit defined by your assignment. In the body of your essay you should research both sides of the argument. Use one paragraph for each point, but make sure that you’re dedicating more efforts to explaining and justifying your viewpoint, rather than the opposing one. Support your points with solid evidence and leave no room for vague language. You can even use instances of your evidence refuting the opposing side’s evidence.
• The Conclusion. It serves as a summary of your essay and should be only one paragraph in length. Your position should be restated once again in the final paragraph. Summarize main points of your argument to show that your position is really strong and unshakable.

After You Write

Revision and editing are very important parts of working on an argumentative essay. If you skip doing this part, your teacher may find all your logical holes and grammatical mistakes instead of you, which will result in an undesirable mark. We recommend you to use ProWritingAid and EditMinion to help you with editing and revising. When revising your essay, make sure that you have:

• Avoided Emotional Language. Use solid facts and evidence instead of unreasonable emotions.
• Avoided Making up the Evidence. Never use untruthful data to make the other side look silly.
• Cited the Sources. Whether it’s a book or a journal article – you should cite all sources that you’re using.
• Used an Outline for Help. If you wrote an outline before writing an essay it will greatly assist you on all stages of essay writing.
• Had a Strong Argument. If you’ve chosen the weak argument, your essay is bound to become weak too.