Crafting a persuasive and impactful argumentative essay is no easy feat. Whether it’s building a sturdy thesis statement or providing robust evidence and examples, each step plays a crucial role in strengthening your argument and enhancing the overall quality of your essay.
The article, “Building a Stronger Argument: 5 Tips for Finalizing Your Argumentative Essay,” provides comprehensive guidance on this challenging task. It shares valuable insights and practical tips that can revolutionize your essay writing process, ensuring that your arguments are not just heard, but also resonate with the audience.
Learn how to initiate your essay with a compelling thesis statement, setting a clear and concise foundation for your argument. Understand the importance of thorough research and how to integrate evidence and examples seamlessly into your writing to bolster your statements.
The article outlines a systematic approach to organizing your arguments and counterarguments, ensuring clarity and coherence throughout the essay.
Addressing counterarguments is pivotal, and the article sheds light on how to effectively present and rebut them, enhancing the credibility of your essay. Additionally, the importance of coherence, cohesion, and engagement in your writing is emphasized, offering strategies to maintain a logical flow and keep your readers engrossed.
An excellent argumentative essay may make a difference in solving a specific problem. Yet, what is a good argument exactly? You can always apply for professional help from services reviewed by NoCramming and see a perfect argumentative essay example. Its professionals know several tricks and techniques to make any argument compelling. This article will show the building blocks of their proficiency.
You will learn practical techniques and advice on how to craft a compelling and engaging argumentative essay.
Start With a Strong Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is an axis that holds your whole argumentative essay together. You can write it when you complete research or a draft of the essay’s body. Usually, a thesis statement takes no more than a sentence. Yet, it holds the most decisive impact.
A solid thesis statement has the following features:
- It has a clear position on an issue.
- It is neither a fact nor a personal opinion.
- There should be room for actual argument.
A thesis statement should explore an impartial take on a situation with a clear idea. For example, the thesis statement “Students should exercise regularly to boost their academic performance” is better than “Students should exercise” or “Exercising is good because it is healthy.”
A thesis statement should take a particular angle that can be discussed. Yet, do not mistake discussion for a conflict. Ambiguous, sensitive, and provoking topics are not suitable for argumentative essays. Consult your professor regarding the chosen topic.
Provide Evidence and Examples
Decent research is half of your argument’s success. You must base your ideas on something. Relevant data and examples will help solidify your statements.
When you research, ensure that you use only peer-reviewed academic sources. Search engines like Google Scholar will help you find proper material. You can also apply for professional aid if you struggle to find appropriate sources. Writing experts will help you find the suitable materials with the relevant information.
Make notes of hard data and helpful quotes. Such lists will make writing much easier later. Do not focus too much on how well a particular thought fits in. List relevant quotes and data. You will use them later for examples and proofs of your arguments.
An argumentative paragraph consists of the following elements:
- Topic;
- Idea’s development;
- Support of the claim;
- Conclusion or transition.
The support sentences of your paragraph are the best place for your examples and quotes.
Arguments Organization and Structure
There could be multiple arguments in your thesis. Therefore, a typical structure for an argumentative essay may look like this:
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs:
- Argument 1
- Argument 2
- Argument 3
- Counterargument 1
- Counterargument 2
- Counterargument 3
- Conclusion
First, you must support your claim. Your arguments may be: “Exercising helps students relieve stress and remain concentrated. According to…” etc.
The number of arguments depends on the subject’s complexity. You need to ensure that arguments and counterarguments are even. You need to remember that counterarguments require development as well.
Address Counterarguments
Counterarguments are an essential part of your argumentative essay. They make your claim more believable and grounded. A counterargument is an opposition to your argument.
For example, for the statement “Students should exercise to succeed academically,” the counterargument will be “Students should not distract themselves from studying.”
Make a Rebuttal
Yet, it is not enough to merely provide a counterargument. You need to make a rebuttal. In your rebuttal, you must prove that your original point is stronger than the counterargument.
The rebuttal will sound like this in our exercise example: “Numerous studies have proven that a short exercising routine in between studying sessions improves concentration and cognitive abilities. In the long run, exercising is more beneficial for academic performance than the absence of it.”
Rebuttal should be constructive and consecutive. You can’t just claim that something is wrong. In this section, additional examples and proofs will be helpful. Ensure that each of your rebuttals has solid reasoning behind it.
Coherence and Cohesion
Coherence is a vital element of a strong argument. You don’t simply cram all your opinions into one pile and then contrast them with counterarguments. Making logical transitions between the thoughts is essential to ensure the idea’s comprehension.
First, you need to pay attention to the paragraph’s end. Usually, the last sentence of a paragraph is a conclusion for a thought and transition to the next one. Make a natural flow from one idea to another to ensure coherency.
Transitional words are a great tool to make these transitions smoother. Such words will help make it easier to follow your chain of arguments and support the claim:
- Additionally;
- Likewise;
- Although;
- In contrast;
- Therefore;
- Hence;
- Due to;
- Therefore.
Add Engagement
It is easier to perceive information when you are engaged in something. Therefore, adding some engagement techniques to your argumentative essay will make it shine even brighter.
Coherent style is a significant component of engagement. Yet, a few more techniques may prove helpful.
Start with a catchy introduction. It may be relevant statistics, a thought-provoking question, or a specific anecdote that will illustrate your arguments. The initial hook will make your readers stick to the end.
You may also use advanced writing techniques in your body paragraph. The following devices are great instruments to illustrate your thoughts or strengthen your rebuttal:
- Parallelism;
- Antithesis;
- Rhetorical question;
- Allusion.
Finally, wrap everything up with a concise conclusion to solidify your claim.
Final Words
Mastering all of the argumentative essay’s components is a challenging task. You need to write dozens of articles before having a solid grasp of all essential concepts.
Your arguments must be impartial. Provide an equal amount of counterarguments and solid rebuttals. You need a lot of practice to create good argumentative essays consistently. As you progress, you will see how your arguments genuinely start to shine.