Argumentative Essay format
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY FORMAT
When writing an argumentative essay, a student must first choose a topic. The topic must be one that has two sides to it, and ideally, will have supporters for both sides of the topic.
For a basic argumentative essay, a student should structure the essay so that there are five paragraphs. The first paragraph will be the introduction, the second and third paragraphs will be the support paragraphs, the fourth paragraph will be the counter argument with rebuttal, and the final paragraph will be the conclusion. In terms of style, a writer would be wise to avoid the use of the personal pronouns "I" and "you" in the essay. When a writer uses "I" in the essay, there is a tendency to follow that pronoun with "think" or "believe" in the statement.
The only thing that will result from this pronoun usage will be a loss of credibility and a weakening of the essay. The essay will appear to be more opinion-based and less factual. In an argumentative essay, the writer wants the essay to appear clearly factual. If a writer utilizes the pronoun "you" too often, the audience will feel as though the essay is directed solely at them. This may not be catastrophic for the writer, unless the reader begins as a supporter. With an overuse of "you", the reader may feel under attack.
The introduction will start out with an attention-getter; this must be an interesting fact about the topic or a quote from an authoritative source about the topic. This will be followed by a general overview of the topic, generally spanning three to four sentences. The final sentence of the introduction will be the thesis statement. It is imperative that the writer must provide a stance in this statement along with reasons that support this stance.
The next two paragraphs will follow the same structure; these are the support body paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs will start with a topic sentence; the topic is taken from the thesis statement. Within the paragraph,
When writing an argumentative essay, a student must first choose a topic. The topic must be one that has two sides to it, and ideally, will have supporters for both sides of the topic.
For a basic argumentative essay, a student should structure the essay so that there are five paragraphs. The first paragraph will be the introduction, the second and third paragraphs will be the support paragraphs, the fourth paragraph will be the counter argument with rebuttal, and the final paragraph will be the conclusion. In terms of style, a writer would be wise to avoid the use of the personal pronouns "I" and "you" in the essay. When a writer uses "I" in the essay, there is a tendency to follow that pronoun with "think" or "believe" in the statement.
The only thing that will result from this pronoun usage will be a loss of credibility and a weakening of the essay. The essay will appear to be more opinion-based and less factual. In an argumentative essay, the writer wants the essay to appear clearly factual. If a writer utilizes the pronoun "you" too often, the audience will feel as though the essay is directed solely at them. This may not be catastrophic for the writer, unless the reader begins as a supporter. With an overuse of "you", the reader may feel under attack.
The introduction will start out with an attention-getter; this must be an interesting fact about the topic or a quote from an authoritative source about the topic. This will be followed by a general overview of the topic, generally spanning three to four sentences. The final sentence of the introduction will be the thesis statement. It is imperative that the writer must provide a stance in this statement along with reasons that support this stance.
The next two paragraphs will follow the same structure; these are the support body paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs will start with a topic sentence; the topic is taken from the thesis statement. Within the paragraph,