Posted: June 30th, 2015

Argument

Argument Essay

ARGUMENT ESSAYS

The most important aspect of an argument essay is its purpose, which is to convince or persuade the reader of a particular point of view. Therefore, the thesis statement must be the strongest statement out of all of the various forms of essay writing. The thesis of an argument should make your point of view clear WITHOUT SAYING I THINK OR I FEEL. Your statement should be stated as though it is a fact without hedging it as your opinion. To say “I think,” “I feel,”  “I believe,” or “In my opinion” in an essay weakens your argument because it suggests that you could be wrong, and after all, it’s only your opinion anyway; there could be other good ones out there. This is the wrong approach! Have the courage of your convictions, even though you know others will disagree. Your thesis should be strong yet fairly short, and then present your arguments to support your statement as topic sentences in your body paragraphs.

One way to present strong arguments in your body paragraphs is to consider what the people of the opposite viewpoint would say. This way, you have shown that you have thought about your position and have made a careful decision. However, you always present the main points of opposition in subordinate clauses, never the main clause. If you put it in the main clause, it looks like you are arguing with yourself, and the other side may just win! Here are some examples of presenting the opposing view in a subordinate clause (emphasized in italics beginning the sentence):

While certain cosmetic companies say they must test products on animals before they can test on humans {subordinating clause beginning with “while”}, studies show that…. (your point supported by evidence)

Although proponents of the death penalty say that it is a deterrent to crime, it has been proven that states with the highest number of inmates on death row also have the highest murder rate.  {I don’t know if that is true; I only used that as an example of an argument.}

This way, you show that you have considered the other side and have discarded their argument. This is what debaters are trained to do, and in a sense an argument essay is a form of debate, and you are controlling what is said, making your case more effective.

Choose an argument topic and write your own essay of a MINIMUM of 1,000 words.

**** PLEASE DO NOT CHOOSE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENTS. Topics such as abortion and gay marriage are discouraged if your arguments are religious because a person’s faith is a very personal subject; therefore, it puts me in the uncomfortable position of evaluating your testament of faith in an objective way, putting us both in a difficult position. We do not all share the same faith. I respect everyone’s right to believe in any or no religous doctrine, but please do not use that as evidence in your papers.