Writing an assignment and presenting your point of view in an appropriate manner is a skill that requires a lot of carefulness and precision. Precisely, more than just presenting the things, putting all points in a convincing manner is yet another challenge faced by the students in their academic careers. There are various assignments students have to write in starting from essays to presentations and depending on the subjects. One type of such assignment is the argumentative essay, which students usually get in their college curriculum. These essays test your ability to write, along with checking your communication skills.
This blog is meant to introduce you to the various patterns which are used for writing argumentative essays and searching for argumentative essay topics. Also, it tells you about various types of arguments and different structures of arguments, and the argumentative essay structure.
What is an Argument?
An argument is a negation that you present over a point or a subject matter. It usually carries your point of view in a substantial manner so as to make sure that your reader agrees with your point. Besides, the motive of an argument is generally to put forth your point, which is different from the one which has been presented originally.
Types of Arguments
An argument is a piece of communication that helps in convincing the audience about your point of view. There are three types of arguments, explained in the following section.
Classic Argument
In a classic argument, you simply grab the attention of your readers by presenting the claims in the form of a question. It is then followed by background and supportive evidence in order to prove your point. The structure of arguments can be made in the following ways in the classic argument.
- Introduction: An introduction includes an introductory paragraph that catches the attention of the audience. Here you will introduce your topic and raise questions like why is the issue important and why the readers should look into the matter.
- Background Statement: Here, you will provide the background information, which helps the reader in understanding your case. You can mention the conditions, factors, and circumstances that your audience should be aware of.
- Proposition: In the proposition part, you need to present your thesis statement. This should be based on the information you have shared earlier and detail the points that will be talked about in the rest of the essay.
- Proof: Here, you will be required to write down the reasons, sub-points and evidence that prove your argument. All the assumptions you make should be clarified wherever required.
- Refutation: This section refutes your opposition view. It should be done by anticipating the argument and providing a detailed analysis of the thought and the reason why you are opposing it.
- Conclusion: Here, you will sum up all the points you have already mentioned, but in a more convincing manner. You can connect with your audience here with an emotional angle, which absolutely supports your arguments.
Rogerian Argument
This argument is based on the problem perspective method. Here you pose your argument as a problem and aim to gain more attention for it.
- Introduction: In the introductory part, you introduce the problem by presenting the issue in the form of a problem that you increase the chances of achieving positive change through your action.
- Opponents views summary: This section covers the views of the opponents in a much neutral tone because when you present your opponents view without criticizing them, then you secure a position of a fair listener and writer.
- A statement of understanding: The statement of understanding is presented to show that you comprehend the situations in which the opponents’ views might look agreeable to you. This further helps you in promoting yourself as a neutral writer.
- Positioning statement: Here, you will introduce your viewpoint after forming a strong place for yourself in the reader’s mind. This helps in making a stronger impact on the readers, and they tend to read or listen to your points with more concentration.
- Context of your statement: At this point, you will need to talk about the spaces where your point of view is valid. Here you can clearly talk about the grounds where your point of view can hold high importance.
- Statement of benefits: This is the concluding section where you are ought to mention the points that prove beneficial for your opponents. Here, you can detail them about the points, which can be useful for them if they agree with your take.
Toulmin Argument
It is a style of argumentation that breaks arguments down into six component parts: claim, data, warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, and backing. These six parts make it a good and realistic essay. The following part explains these six sections in detail.
- Data: This part consists of all the facts and the arguments that are necessary to prove your argument. The data mentioned here is helpful in presenting your facts. Besides, these add credibility to your argument. Therefore, here you need to make sure that the facts must be checked thoroughly.
- Claim: Here, you need to put your thesis statement, which is also known as a claim. The structure of the thesis statement should be followed properly. It should be able to convey your message correctly. This forms the most important part of your argument. Therefore, you must give high importance to framing it properly.
- Warrant: Warrants are comprised of logical statements, which help to bridge the gap between the data and the thesis statement presented. These are usually hypothetical but must be given with valid logic. The proper explanation of these points makes your reader understand your point of view so that they get more interested in your arguments.
- Qualifier: This part needs to mention the situations where your argument is valid and stands strong for that particular point. This particular section makes your argument highly agreeable. Therefore, you should ensure that you write your qualifiers with accuracy.
- Rebuttal: In this section, you need to talk about the counterarguments or the situations where the general argument does not stand true. If you present these arguments clearly, then you can make your paper more convenient for your reader to visualise the difference, where your points stand true and where they do not.
- Backing: This part of the argument states the evidence or the supportive statements, which prove helpful to validate the warrants. Also, these allow you to gain the confidence of your readers. They will start believing your concepts all the more after reading this.
What is an argumentative essay?
An argumentative essay is a research paper that takes a position on a controversial issue and tries to present evidence in favour of that position. It is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic, collect, generate, and evaluate evidence, and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner. Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material.
The assignments on argumentative essays given in college are highly demanding and require you to dive deeply into the subject, to be able to understand it thoroughly and exhibit your views accordingly. There are four types of argumentative essays.
- Persuasive Essay: A persuasive essay is aimed at convincing the readers to accept the particular view of the argument, which you are trying to discuss.
- Research Paper: Argumentative research papers involve supporting the main argument with the help of well-researched evidence from different sources.
- Analysis Essay: An analysis essay is a type of argumentative essay that is written for the purpose of analyzing another essay, which has already been written by some other author.
- Personal Essay: Personal essays are written on the basis of personal experiences in life. Therefore, these essays include sharing about your personal details, feelings and opinions about something.
Structure of Argumentative Essay
Title
While writing an argumentative essay, you first need to include an appealing title as it is the first thing that the readers come across. So, it is extremely essential for you to formulate the title in such a way that the readers get captivated to read your essay and find out what you have to say.
Introduction
An introduction of the argumentative essay is intended to familiarize your readers with the topic by explaining it to them in brief. After creating a title, write an appealing introduction that is interesting, simple yet written in an influential manner that provides all the necessary information in brief.
A thesis statement
After completing the introduction, you have to start working on the thesis statement of your essay. A good thesis statement gives your readers an idea about your views on the topic in a brief manner. It also evidently highlights the importance of your opinions about the topic. To recapitulate, your thesis statement should give your readers a clear and concise idea of your stand on the topic.
An informative body
The body of your essay includes all the information which you have gathered from your research. It is through the content of the body that you have to make your readers aware of different opinions which are centred on the topic, and then emphasize on what your thoughts for the same are. Also, you have to present different evidence in support of your opinions in the body of your essay. Thus, you should draft the body of your essay in such a way that it helps the readers get familiarised with different aspects of the subject but mainly emphasizes on your viewpoint.
A conclusion
This is the final structural component of your argumentative essay. It involves restating your opinions about the topic of discussion and then persuading your readers that your viewpoint is completely rational and righteous. For this, you have to restate the main points which support your opinions, again in conclusion.
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