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Top Secret Tips for English Success

Top Ten Tips on How to Write an Argument Essay

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Argumentative Essay Tutorial Before getting into the top ten tips, it is important to understand the structure of an argument essay.
Here’s the breakdown for the organization of an argument. For a video explaining the organization, click here.

Introduction: Hook (Attention Grabber), Background Information, Main Idea (Thesis with points(optional))

Body: Main Points Paragraphs (topic sentence, supporting details, concluding sentence in each one).

Counterargument/Refutation: One paragraph stating the opposing viewpoint, then reproving your main point.

Conclusion: Summarizing your points and finally stating why your position is the most reasonable. Can end with a quote, anecdote, story, suggestion, or prediction.

Top Ten Hints for Arguments

  1. Use strong modals for your arguments (should, must, have to, supposed to).
  2. Use weak modals for your opponent’s arguments (may, might, could, etc.).
  3. Don’t make a point without evidence. Just because you think something is true doesn’t make it so.
  4. Don’t tear down another’s argument without using logic and stating why they are logically incorrect.
  5. Avoid Logical Fallacies.
  6. Don’t get personal – “Anyone who believes that is stupid.”
  7. Avoid “I” unless you’re giving a story, example, etc. in the introduction or conclusion.
  8. We already know what you think because of your modals. “People should” is just as good as “I think people should.”
  9. Check your sources, make sure that they are reliable. Web sources that include a .org or .edu are usually more reliable than a .com.
  10. Instead of using wikipedia.org as a source check the footnotes at the bottom and find the sources of the wikipedia article. In this way, you get the info closer to the original source.

    Mastering English Writing: Argumentative Essay Tutorial

    Name

    Date

    Class

    An Amazing Title That Doesn’t Simply Copy My Thesis

    This is where I get your attention by using a hook like a story, quote, fact, statistic, observation, or a really thought provoking question.  Now I’m going to begin to transition from the hook toward my main idea, but I’m going to make sure that it’s smooth and not choppy by coherently relating each sentence to the one before it.  Now I’m going to narrow down my topic so that my main idea is beginning to come into view.  In this final sentence, I am going to clearly give my thesis statement and make sure that you understand exactly which side of the argument I am on by using an a modal verb and/or an opinion indicator.

    I will give a transition word/phrase here and introduce my first point of support for my thesis statement. Here I will give evidence in the form of examples, common sense, statistics, and/or expert opinion using complex and compound sentences where possible. I will continue to show the relevance of this evidence to my main idea by restating it periodically throughout the body paragraphs.  After I give my evidence, this last sentence will wrap up this part of the topic and continue to relate back to the thesis statement.

    I will give a transition word/phrase here and introduce my second point of support for my thesis statement. Here I will give evidence in the form of examples, common sense, statistics, and/or expert opinion using complex and compound sentences where possible. I will continue to show the relevance of this evidence to my main idea by restating it periodically throughout the body paragraphs.  After I give my evidence, this last sentence will wrap up this part of the topic and continue to relate back to the thesis statement.

    I will give a transition word/phrase here and introduce my third point of support for my thesis statement. Here I will give evidence in the form of examples, common sense, statistics, and/or expert opinion using complex and compound sentences where possible. I will continue to show the relevance of this evidence to my main idea by restating it periodically throughout the body paragraphs.  After I give my evidence, this last sentence will wrap up this part of the topic and continue to relate back to the thesis statement.

    In this paragraph, I will acknowledge my opponent’s viewpoint on a specific aspect of my argument. I will elaborate just a bit more on their side here. In this sentence, I will use a contrasting transition and then directly address my opponent’s viewpoint found in the previous sentences. Finally, I will show how this refutation strengthens my own argument.

    I will use a concluding transition and begin to restate my main idea and show how it is the best choice.  I will summarize my points here and show how my case is reasonable and well thought out. In this final sentence, I will leave the reader thinking about my topic by using a suggestion, opinion, or prediction.

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