WRITING

Argument Essay

An argument essay needs order to be effective

To write a well-rounded argument essay, you need to become an expert in the opposing viewpoint.

One of my friends maintains that the best advice her father ever gave her was to first learn everything about your opponent’s argument, before you develop and state your own.

It turned out to be sound advice as my friend is very good at presenting her arguments. What’s more, her father never lost a court case. He was 76-0 with law suits against him. Not too bad, eh?

Below is an effective outline to use when you write your essay. Don’t forget to include as many of the points as possible to make your argument essay even more effective.

Argument Essay Outline:
Paragraph 1: State Your Proposition – Requires a general introduction of the problem plus your opinion about said problem.
Paragraph 2-3: Anticipate Opposition – State history of the problem including failed attempts at resolution of the problem (include sources)
Paragraph 4-6: Expand Your Argument – Extent of the problem i.e., who is affected, how bad is it, etc (include sources)
Paragraphs 7-8: Anticipate Consequences – Repercussions of the problem not being solved. (include sources)
Paragraphs 9-10: Connect with the Facts – Anticipate objections and make concessions while connecting your arguments with the facts.
Paragraph 11: Conclude – Restatement of thesis and summary of main ideas.

Something found in all good argument essays are appeals to the following three areas. People are more likely to be persuaded when you touch upon all three of the following areas as opposed to just one, or two of them.

Reason

Ethics

Emotion

Not all people are persuaded by logic. Likewise, some require an appeal to the ethic to be persuaded, while others won’t budge from their opinion unless you hit them where it hurts most; an appeal to their emotions.

To learn more about writing an argument essay click on the preceding link.