How to Make an Argumentative Essay Speckless — A Guide to an Argumentative Essay

An essential academic skill needed in educational and professional activities is the ability to provide reliable arguments. It costs a lot to prove to the audience that your point of view is indisputable. That is the core purpose of argumentative writing, including crafting a cheap argumentative essay. Argumentative essays are part of teaching in schools and universities, acting as an effective booster for developing students’ writing and persuasive abilities.

If you are reading this article, you most likely should write an argumentative essay, and this is the first time you have written this work. We have prepared a full step-by-step write-up. You will find out what an argumentative essay is, what arguments there are, and the structure of an argument paper. So let’s get started!

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is a written academic work. The main purpose of an argumentative essay is to comprehensively study an issue and present compelling arguments to convince the reader of the correctness of the author’s position. Arguments are based on professional awareness of the topic under study. At the heart of such an article is a controversial topic. 

There are a few tips to follow to make your essay corking.

Tip 1. Give attention and time to the thesis. As a rule, it should be narrowly focused and acutely problematic.

Tip 2. Use only reliable sources. That is a must for any argumentative essay, as the author’s point of view refers precisely to proven facts that cannot be disputed or replaced.

Tip 3. Remember to cite your sources. First, it is one of the basic requirements of argumentative papers. Secondly, it adds credibility to your work.

Argumentative Writing Outline

The base of any article is a structure or an outline. The correct alignment of the course of your thought in text form is half the battle. There are two types of argumentative essay format: a 5-paragraph essay and an extended structure. Let’s start with the first one.

5-Paragraph Argumentative Essay

The 5-paragraph essay is a classic outline for any academic paper. This format consists of three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. 

The 5-paragraph format is suitable for argumentative essays, the volume of which is at most 1000 words, or when a limited amount of time is allotted for writing the work. If we represent this outline graphically, the scheme will look like this:

Introduction	This is the first paragraph of an argumentative essay that clearly states the thesis.
The body of the paper	This part of the essay includes three paragraphs, i.e. three arguments and evidence. This part also refutes opposing opinions.
Conclusion	Here, you revisit your thesis in the context of all previous evidence and summarize it succinctly.

Extended structure of an Argumentative Essay

In your senior year of high school or university, essays should contain more complex arguments and convincing rebuttals. So, all the arguments can be divided into three types, from which the three forms of the argumentative research paper follow: Rogerian Argument, Aristotelian Argument, and Toulmin Argument. 

Rogerian Argument

The Rogerian argument, named after the method’s creator, psychotherapist Carl Roger, is about finding a compromise. You recognize the validity of your opinion and the opponent’s point of view. That is the least aggressive method, the essence of which is to find common ground. Instead of not accepting the opponent’s beliefs on a particular issue, Carl Roger suggests evaluating their position.

Aristotelian Argument

We can describe Aristotle’s method of argumentation in one single word. That is a conviction. The Aristotelian, or classical structure, relies on facts, emotions, and reasoning to prove the author’s point of view. Using this argumentation theory, the author does not consider the opposite point of view as possibly correct but tries to refute it with authoritative arguments, personal character, and impact on emotions.

Toulmin Argument

The British philosopher Stephen Toulmin believed that a good argument successfully checks and resists criticism. The components of the argumentation model, according to Tulman, are the following: Claim, Grounds, Warrant, Backing, Sub-arguments, Modal qualifier, and Rebuttal. 

No matter how complex your outline will be and what type of argumentation you choose, it is important to prepare strong arguments. That can only be done with a thorough study of the issue. Therefore, before you start writing an argumentative essay, you should conduct deep research, collect available information and determine your position.

How to Write an Argumentative Essay in 7 Steps

The argumentative essay is considered one of the most complicated written academic works. To make things easier for students, we have prepared a simple mini-guide on how to write an academic article. You can also use the free argumentative essay samples that you can find on our website.

Any written work requires compliance with certain patterns, which can be divided into three types: preparation part, writing part, and proofreading part. Thus, we have already identified three basic steps, which we will further subdivide into several more micro steps.

Preparation part

The preparatory part is the process of collecting information, choosing an outline, and filling in the gaps on the stated topic.

Step 1. Collecting material

To write a good academic article, the author must conduct an in-depth study of the stated topic and select all relevant materials on the problem. That is necessary for the correct formulation of arguments, counterarguments, and a clear thesis.

Step 2. Thesis formulating

The catchy thesis of an argumentative essay is a claim for success. The thesis is a statement that briefly and clearly states the main idea of your essay. There are different ways to formulate a thesis: direct and indirect. The standard direct formulation of the thesis assumes a direct expression of the idea to consider. An indirect formulation is the use of an example as a thesis. Below you can see what it is possible to use as an indirect thesis.

Step 3. Arguments and counterarguments

Let’s define two of the most important terms in argumentative writing. An argument is an idea used to support a thesis. A counterargument is an idea used as a refutation of a thesis. Whether we use arguments or counterarguments depends on the chosen position on the topic.

It is possible to single out primary and secondary argumentative statements sources. Primary sources include books, diaries, government documents, newspapers, and speeches of departmental officials. Secondary sources imply letters, training manuals, lecture notes, and films.

Writing Part

The writing part is the compilation of the collected material according to the selected outline.

Step 4. Thesis statement writing

An argumentative thesis is a statement on a topic that requires you to define your position. It must be concise, evidence-based, reasonable, and unambiguous. The thesis statement works like a “hook” for the whole essay.

Step 5. Body writing

If you have chosen a 5-paragraph format as an outline for your essay, then your body will include 3 paragraphs, i.e., 3 arguments with evidence. Rate each of your arguments according to the following parameters:

• value;
• novelty;
• effect on the reader;
• truthfulness.

A strong argument must meet all of these aspects. No need to try to cover the immensity. Each paragraph should be exactly about the idea you stated in the first sentence.

Step 6. Conclusion writing

In this part, the author should state the fundamental idea of the essay, the verdict on the topic under study, and what you came to during your research. Do not repeat arguments or introduce new information. Conciseness is our everything.

Proofreading Part

After the essay is ready, and it seems that you can already breathe a sigh of relief, you need to have a little more patience and check your text for grammar errors, relevance to the topic, the presence of the necessary links, and the correct design of the article according to the requirements.

Errors and shortcomings give the article an unprofessional and unfinished look. Proofreading is just as crucial for an essay as checking materials for authenticity.

Extra Advice to Better Your Argument Paper

We have outlined the main points for writing a good argumentative essay that claims to be highly appreciated. However, if you are willing to add personality to your work, we advise you to study these useful tips carefully.

Tip 1. Plain Language

When writing an essay, you should not use a lot of complex grammatical structures and ambiguous off-topic terms. Many students believe that the more complex the language, the better the reader can see the expertise. That is a big misconception. Most often, expertise expressed in simple and understandable language catches the reader.

Tip 2. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an amazing tool for finding deep and solid arguments. This method is aimed at developing critical thinking. Having generated the maximum number of ideas, you can select the most working and debatable ones.

Tip 3. Reference Page

Even if the Reference Page was not indicated in the requirements for the work, feel free to issue it. When you write an argumentative essay, you cannot help but use external sources. The Reference Page should be easy to read and properly formatted. You can find the rules for issuing your Reference Page here.

Wrapping Up

An argumentative essay indicates students’ critical thinking and research skills. It’s a great writing enhancement tool that you’ll need to write more complex and serious papers like term papers or dissertations.

There are several basic aspects to consider in argumentative writing: focus, conclusiveness, conciseness, and thoroughness. Regardless of what you write about and what format you choose to stick to these aspects, this is a must-have for a quality paper.

This article will help you write an interesting and high-quality argumentative essay. If you don’t have time to prepare an argumentative essay, you can always contact us for professional help.