No matter your major, at some point during your college career, you will likely be asked to write an argumentative essay. Argumentative writing is an evidence-based approach to essay writing, in which the writer gives an argument and supports their position through the presentation of supporting evidence.

Argumentative writing is commonly used in academic writing in the humanities and social sciences. Argumentative essays generally call for extensive research, which may involve data collection and the examination and interpretation of various forms of evidence. In general, writers present their argument early in the essay and reveal evidence supporting their thesis in the body.

Argumentative essays generally have a serious and dispassionate tone. They are based upon the revelation of evidence and avoid appeals to emotion in favor of facts and statements. By definition, argumentative essays focus on controversial topics that inspire debate and disagreement. However, they avoid use of hyperbolic or impassioned language and opinion. Moreover, argumentative essays are almost always written in the third person and avoid subjective voicings.

In this article, we will discuss the process of writing an argumentative essay and outline the most common and effective structure for argumentative essays. 

Process of writing argumentative essays

Argumentative writing is an evidence-based writing style, so the process is largely based around the collection of various forms of evidence through research. In some writing styles, the writer may begin writing or conceptualizing their thesis before conducting the bulk of their research. However, in this style, it is the first and most important stage.

• Choose a topic

The first step in the process of writing any kind of essay is to select the topic you are writing about. If you are writing for a class, the topic may be chosen for you. Otherwise, you are free to write on the topics you please. Generally speaking, it is best to write about topics of interest or significance to the public. Furthermore, there should be an active debate surrounding the topic with various sides and opinions.

• Research

After deciding on your topic, you can begin to dive into your research phase. Depending on the field of study you are working in, the type of research you do may vary. If you are studying history, you will likely be looking at historical artifacts (primary sources) and historical analyses (secondary sources). If you are studying economics, you might look at a mixture of economic theory and empirical data. Social sciences might employ a variety of research methods, including interviews, data collection and analysis, and reviews of academic literature and theory.

In order to present a fair, accurate, and effective argument, it is important to review all types of sources and academic literature. Furthermore, during the research phase, writers should familiarize themselves with all sides of the debate that they are engaging in.

• Construct argument

After an extensive research phase, it is time to start constructing an argument. At this point, you should have a pretty thorough understanding of your topic and the different positions that experts and academics have taken on it. Moreover, you should know generally where you stand and what position you want to take in your paper. You can begin to construct your argument by formulating your position and beginning to organize evidence in support of it.

• Organize evidence

After you have decided where you stand on an issue, you can start to organize evidence supporting your position. You should gather a variety of types of evidence and sources so that your research is as varied and compelling as possible. Overreliance on few sources is considered a form of academic dishonesty and even plagiarism. At this point, you should begin to understand how you want to present your argument in your essay and in what order you want to present your evidence. You can start to organize your sources into different themes and even into different points. This will help you as you begin to write your outline.

• Build outline

Now that you have your evidence organized into different topics, you can start to build your outline. A complete outline should include your argument, topic sentences for each paragraph or section, and strong supporting evidence for each major claim you make. By the time you complete your outline, the research phase should be all but over. 

For details on how to craft an argumentative essay outline, check here.

• Write essay

After building a thorough outline, you will be ready to start writing. If you have a complete outline, the writing process should mostly consist of connecting evidence and fleshing out sections of your paper with transitions. It is important to make sure that your essay has a natural and logical flow. Many young writers and students add a lot of flourish to their writing to “sound smart” or mimic academic-sounding writing. More often than not, however, this leads to writing sounding dense, overcomplicated, and confusing. Writers should instead strive for clarity and readability. This will not only help your readers understand what you are trying to say, but it will help you stay focused and allow your ideas to take center stage.

• Reread, revise, and edit

Now that you have a complete draft, it is time to reread, revise, and edit. First, read over your draft aloud to yourself and try to identify any areas that sound unclear or confusing. Reword and rephrase these ideas to the best of your ability. Once you’ve edited on your own to a sufficient extent, you should seek a second opinion on your work. Have a colleague, professor, or teaching assistant read over your paper and help you identify areas of strength and weakness. In the end, you should have a paper that is tightly-edited and contains few to no grammatical or syntactical errors.

Structure of argumentative essays

Argumentative essays tend to follow a general structure featuring an introduction containing a thesis, body paragraphs containing evidence, and a conclusion outlining broader implications. While they do not need to follow this structure strictly, it is the most effective structure for a clear and compelling argument, and most essays in the genre are organized in this manner.

Introduction to argumentative essays

The introduction to an argumentative essay should clearly and concisely introduce the topic of an essay, demonstrate to readers why the essay topic is important, relevant, and interesting, provide readers with some familiarity of the debate surrounding the topic, and clearly state the argument that will be put forward in the paper.

• Topic sentence

At the very beginning of an argumentative essay, the writer should introduce the essay topic in a clear but general manner, without yet making an argument or claim about the topic. The “topic sentence,” as this subsection is often called, may be longer than one sentence, but it should be concise and probably no longer than two sentences. In some styles of essay writing, the introduction may open with an engaging hook or narrative. While there is nothing wrong with engaging writing, in argumentative essay writing, the writer should pursue clarity above flourish.

Example:

“In the past decade, the minimum wage has become one of the most contested topics in politics and economics.”

Here, the writer makes it clear that their essay will focus on the debate surrounding the minimum wage.

• Exigence

In the exigence of an essay, the writer must justify the essay on the grounds that the issue being discussed is relevant or important. Sometimes referred to as the “so what?” statement, the writer is tasked with convincing the reader that the issue at hand is important, and furthermore, that they should be interested in it. The writer should concisely explain the significance of the essay topic and give a brief overview of the debate surrounding the topic.

Example:

“As worker productivity has risen over the past 35 years, workers at the bottom of the economic ladder are receiving a smaller share of the pie. Some economists have pointed to stagnant wages as symptoms, or even a cause, of a trend of deepening inequality that has beset the U.S. economy since the 1980s. Economists on the political left, such as Joseph Stiglitz, propose that an increased minimum wage would lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty and have beneficial ripple effects for working class communities. Economists on the right contend that an increased minimum wage would cause an increase in unemployment that would offset gains caused by an increased minimum wage.”

In this example, the writer explains why the minimum wage is a relevant and controversial issue and discusses the major arguments for and against an increased minimum wage. 

• Thesis

The thesis statement is the heart of an argumentative essay. A thesis is an arguable statement on a given topic, defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a position or proposition that a person (such as a candidate for scholastic honors) advances and offers to maintain by argument.” 

A thesis should make a specific claim about a topic that can be defended with reason and evidence. Moreover, a thesis is not a statement of a fact or an opinion. Rather, it is a statement of a position that can be supported by facts. 

A reader should be able to formulate a counterargument against the argument put forward in your thesis. For example, “World War II was a devastating war that killed millions of people around the world,” is mostly a statement of fact, and therefore not an effective thesis, because there is no substantial counterclaim.

A strong thesis should also preview how an author intends to present and defend their argument in the rest of the paper. While it shouldn’t list evidence, it should provide readers with a general idea of how the writer intends to frame their argument. 

In total, a reader should be able to read the thesis of a paper and understand what claim the author is making, and have a general idea of how they intend to defend it.

Example: 

“While a minimum wage increase could lead to a short-term rise in unemployment in some areas, it would increase consumer spending and business activity by redistributing billions of dollars to lower-income workers, ultimately providing a net economic benefit.”

In this example, the author makes a clear argument (the minimum wage would benefit the economy) and gives the reader a general idea of how they will defend the claim (a higher minimum wage would increase consumer spending and business activity). The claim also has clear counterarguments (i.e., higher unemployment would outweigh the gains of increased spending; business activity and consumer spending would decrease).

The thesis on its own does not prove anything. Rather, the author states their claim, now they must defend it.

Body of argumentative essays

The body is the bulk of an essay and the space where the author provides the evidence for the claim they make in the introduction. The body of an essay consists of multiple paragraphs, each of which make a supporting argument for their thesis. Each paragraph should be limited to the discussion of one general idea.

Each body paragraph should follow the same general structure, beginning with a topic sentence that makes a supporting claim followed by evidence gathered through research.

• Topic sentence

In the first sentence of each body paragraph, the author will make a supporting claim for their thesis. The topic sentence of each paragraph will introduce the idea that will be advanced through the evidence presented in that paragraph. Each topic sentence should have a logical connection to the thesis and should provide a supporting point for the overall argument of the essay.

Example:

“In areas where a higher minimum wage has been implemented, it has led to an increase in consumer spending on durable goods and on services such as food consumption.”

Here, the author lays out a specific supporting claim for their thesis. While this topic sentence makes a claim, it does not yet provide any specific evidence to support this claim.

• Evidence

After the topic sentence, the writer can start to present evidence that supports the claim being made in the topic sentence of the paragraph. The strongest essays present their supporting evidence in a logical order with smooth transitions. In argumentative essays, writers can use a variety of forms of evidence to support their claims, including statistics, historical facts, logic, interviews, or anecdotal evidence.

In order to make their argument effective and convincing, the writer needs to select and frame their evidence carefully, with their readers in mind. To this point, writers should always address the counterarguments and evidence that goes against their conclusions. It is considered academically dishonest and unethical to exclude evidence that goes against your claim. In an argumentative essay, the writer should always address counterevidence and recontextualize it within their argument or explain how its conclusions are either misguided or misleading.

Example:

“A 2017 study on the local effects of minimum wage increases in Seattle, New York State, and California found that certain sectors of the economy — most notably food and durable goods– experienced small but significant increases in both consumption and prices. The authors of the study note that ‘firms may offset their higher labor costs by raising prices,’ while acknowledging that ‘these price increases have thus far been fairly modest.’” 

In this example, the author references a study that supports the claim made in the topic sentence of the paragraph. It also subtly acknowledges a counterargument — that minimum wage increases could cause inflation — and frames this argument as overstated. 

This, however, is only one piece of evidence. In order for the author to make a compelling argument, they should provide a variety of evidence gathered from different sources. Crucially, writers should not repeatedly reference one or two sources. In fact, the overuse of sources is considered a form of plagiarism, so it is very important for writers to address a variety of sources in order to make a truly original claim.

Conclusion to argumentative essays

After all of the evidence is laid out in a logical progression in the body paragraphs, the conclusion reframes the thesis statement considering the evidence presented throughout the essay. The writer should never present new information in the conclusion. Rather, in the conclusion, the writer should discuss and reconsider the evidence presented throughout the essay. The conclusion can also provide the writer with an opportunity to suggest areas for further research. Ultimately, the writer should finish the essay by pointing to the big-picture implications of their research.

Example:

“As various studies and economic analyses demonstrate, a large-scale implementation of a minimum wage increase may cause modest inflation and could temporarily depress the hiring market, but would also provide a significant stimulatory effect on economic activity across multiple sectors of the economy. On the whole, an incremental increase of the minimum wage is more likely to stimulate than depress economic activity by redistributing wealth to lower-income workers, who spend a greater percentage of their income than their wealthier counterparts. The economic gains caused by increased consumption are ultimately more likely to outweigh the resultant inflation and employment losses. Further research is needed to identify the optimal increase to the minimum wage as well as long-term inflationary trends. However, as the research presented in this paper makes clear, a minimum wage would help alleviate much of the economic stress currently facing lower-income workers and reduce the ever-widening wealth gap.”

In this example, we can see the major properties of an effective conclusion at work. At the beginning, the author restates their thesis with attention to the evidence presented in the body of an essay. Then, they redress some of the evidence that they have presented throughout the essay, identifying areas where further research is needed. Lastly, they connected their research to broader societal issues, reminding the reader why their research is relevant and important.

Conclusion

Research-based argumentative essays can be daunting, but with a strong understanding of the conventions of the genre and an organized approach to the research and writing process, they can be painless and even fun to write. Follow the steps and structure laid out in this article to formulate a compelling and well-written argumentative essay.