How to Write an Argumentative Essay: Step-by-Step Guide

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is a special type of essay. The main goal of argumentative essays is to persuade your audience of your position by using facts, statistics, logic, and anecdotes. The more evidence you can use in your essay to support your viewpoint, the better chances you'll have at winning over any skeptics who may be reading it. 

Another word for argumentative essay is persuasive or opinion essay, but don't let that confuse you; even though it's trying to persuade people into thinking like you do about a topic, it still has all of those other important elements (facts, logic, etc.) that good expository essays need.

Step-by-Step Guide

Writing an argumentative essay can seem like a daunting task, particularly if you’ve never written one before or if you have to write it in less than a day (AKA the graduate school application essay). But, don’t worry! We’re here to help you learn how to write an argumentative essay step-by-step so that you can nail this assignment and ace your writing course, even if it’s your first one ever by following these simple three steps.

Step-1: Introduction

The introduction is a vital part of your essay and should introduce your argument clearly. You want it to be focused, so keep it short and direct. Open with a topic sentence that clearly states your position on the issue at hand; mention how you came to believe what you believe, then articulate what you will argue in favor of or against in your essay. Most importantly, make sure it ends with a thesis statement (AKA position statement). Your readers will be most interested in what you have to say if they know up front where you stand on an issue. Having a clear thesis can also help streamline your argument as well as give it focus and coherence.

 

Step-2: Body

The body of your essay should provide a compelling reason why you have taken a particular stance. Your body paragraphs should contain 3-5 sentences each, and they should focus on these key elements of your paper.

(1) Introduce your topic.

(2) Discuss why readers should agree with you on that topic.

(3) Use at least three different sources to support your point in that paragraph.

In addition to outlining what topics you’ll cover in each paragraph, it’s important to know how many paragraphs you need for an argumentative essay. A standard five-paragraph essay has three body paragraphs—but because argumentative essays are more complex than other types of essays, we recommend using four or five body paragraphs instead. You may even want to use six or seven if necessary! However many body paragraphs you decide upon, make sure that they flow logically from one another and cover all aspects of your argument as completely as possible.

 

Step-3: Conclusion

Writing a good conclusion will not only help you summarize your points in a concise manner, but also give you a chance to restate your thesis. Your concluding paragraph should never include new points—it's a time for final impressions. Close by reiterating why your argument is sound and/or what significance it has for society. Tie up any loose ends and look ahead at where you'll go from here; leave them looking forward, rather than back at all of that research! You'll want them to think of you as someone who can apply their education in real life, so use your conclusion as an opportunity to show off how your research can be utilized beyond academia. Keep your conclusion short—you don't want readers scrolling on their devices while they're thinking about what they've just read!