When writing an argument essay, you’re writing in support of one side of an argument. This, of course, means there’s another side, and readers might disagree with your point of view. In order to strengthen your own argument and demonstrate that you’ve looked at all aspects of the topic, you need to address the opposing blogger.comted Reading Time: 8 mins · Getting the Basics Down Download ArticlePRO 1. Write a thesis statement. A thesis statement acts as the “road map” for your paper. It tells your audience what 2. Do research, if necessary. You can't begin to organize your essay %(4) In order for your argument to be persuasive, it must use an organizational structure that the audience perceives as both logical and easy to parse. Three argumentative methods —the Toulmin Method, Classical Method, and Rogerian Method — give guidance for how to organize the points in an argument
How to Organize an Essay (with Pictures) - wikiHow
The best time to think about how to organize your paper is during the pre-writing stage, not the writing or revising stage, how to organize an argumentative essay. A well-thought-out plan can save you from having to do a lot of reorganizing when the first draft is completed.
Moreover, it allows you to pay more attention to sentence-level issues when you sit down to write your paper. When you begin planning, ask the following questions: What type of essay am I going to be writing? Does it belong to a specific genre? In university, you may be asked to write, say, how to organize an argumentative essay, a book review, a lab report, a document study, or a compare-and-contrast essay.
Knowing the patterns of reasoning associated with a how to organize an argumentative essay can help you to structure your essay. They may conclude with an overall assessment of the value of the book. These typical features of a book review lead you to consider dividing your outline into three parts: 1 summary; 2 discussion of strengths and weaknesses; 3 overall evaluation.
The second and most substantial part will likely break down into two sub-parts. It is up to you to decide the order of the two subparts—whether to analyze strengths or weaknesses first. And of course it will be up to you to come up with actual strengths and weaknesses.
Be aware that genres are not fixed. Different professors will define the features of a genre differently. Read the assignment question carefully for guidance. Understanding genre can take you only so far. Most university essays are argumentative, and there is no set pattern for the shape of an argumentative essay.
The simple three-point essay taught in high school is far too restrictive for the complexities of most university assignments. You must be ready to come up with whatever essay structure helps you to convince your reader of the validity of your position. In other words, you must be flexible, and you must rely on your wits. Each essay presents a fresh problem. Though there are no easy formulas for generating an outline, you can avoid one of the most common pitfalls in student papers by remembering this simple principle: the structure of an essay should not be determined by the structure of its source material.
For example, an essay on an historical period should not necessarily follow the chronology of events from that period. Similarly, a well-constructed essay about a literary work does not usually progress in how to organize an argumentative essay with the plot. Your obligation is to advance your argument, not to reproduce the plot. If your essay is not well structured, then its overall weaknesses how to organize an argumentative essay show through in the individual paragraphs.
Detecting something stirring, Hamlet draws his sword and kills Polonius, thinking he has killed Claudius. Now Hamlet has blood on his hands, and the blood of the wrong person. He often accuses them of sins they could not have committed. It is doubtful that Gertrude even knows Claudius killed her previous husband. Hamlet goes on to ask Gertrude to compare the image of the two kings, old Hamlet and Claudius.
In Act 3, Scene 1, he denies to Ophelia ever having expressed his love for her, using his feigned madness as cover for his cruelty. Though his rantings may be an act, they cannot hide his obsessive anger at one particular woman: his mother. The second of these two paragraphs is much stronger, largely because it is not plot-driven. Notice that the paragraph jumps from one scene to another as is necessary, but the logic of the argument moves along a steady path.
At any given point in your essays, you will want to leave yourself free to go wherever you need to in your source material. Your only obligation is to further your argument. Paragraph a sticks closely to the narrative thread of Act 3, Scene 4, and as a result the paragraph makes several different points with no clear focus. Most essay outlines will never be handed in. They are meant to serve you and no one else. Occasionally, your professor will ask you to hand in an outline weeks prior to handing in your paper, how to organize an argumentative essay.
Usually, the point is to ensure that you are on the right track. Nevertheless, when you produce your outline, you should follow certain basic principles, how to organize an argumentative essay. Here is an example of an outline for an essay on Hamlet :. This is how to organize an argumentative essay example of a sentence outline. Another kind of outline is the topic outline.
It consists of fragments rather than full sentences. Topic outlines are more open-ended than sentence outlines: they leave much of the working out of the argument for the writing stage.
The earlier you begin planning, the better. It is usually a mistake to do all of your research and note-taking before beginning to draw up an outline. Of course, you will have to do some reading and weighing of evidence before you start to plan.
But as a potential argument begins to take shape in your mind, you may start to formalize your thoughts in the form of a tentative plan. You will be much more efficient in your reading and your research if you have some idea of where your argument is headed.
You can then search for evidence for the points in your tentative plan while you are reading and researching. As you gather evidence, those points that still lack evidence should guide you in your research. Remember, though, that your plan may need to be modified as you critically evaluate your evidence. Though convenient, the common method of how to organize an argumentative essay down your notes consecutively on paper is far from ideal, how to organize an argumentative essay.
The problem is that your points remain fixed on paper. Here are three alternatives that provide greater flexibility:. When you are researching, write down every idea, fact, quotation, or paraphrase on a separate index card. A useful alternative involves using both white and coloured cards. When you come up with a point that you think may be one of the main points in your outline, write it at the top of a coloured card.
Put each supporting note on a separate white card, using as much of the card as necessary. When you feel ready, arrange the coloured cards into a workable plan. Some of the points may not fit in. If so, either modify the plan or leave these points out.
You may need to fill gaps by creating new cards. You can shuffle your supporting material into the plan by placing each of the white cards behind the point it helps support. A different way of moving your notes around is to use the computer. You can collect your points consecutively, just as you would on paper. You can then sort your ideas when you are ready to start planning. Some people prefer to keep their planning low-tech. This method is designed to get your ideas onto a single page, where you can see them all at once.
When you have an idea, how to organize an argumentative essay, write it down on paper and draw a circle around it. When you have an idea which supports another idea, do the same, but connect the two circles with a line. Supporting source material can be represented concisely by a page reference inside a circle.
The advantage of the circle method is that you can see at a glance how things tie together; the disadvantage is that there is a limit to how much material you can cram onto a page. When you have completed your first draft, and you think your paper can be better organized, consider using a reverse outline. Reverse outlines are simple to create. Just read through your essay, how to organize an argumentative essay, and every time you make a new point, summarize it in the margin.
If the essay is reasonably well-organized, you should have one point in the margin for each paragraph, and your points read out in order should form a coherent argument.
You might, however, discover that some of your points are repeated at various places in your essay. Other points may be out of place, and still other key points may not appear at all. Think of all these points as the ingredients of an improved outline which you now must create. Use this new outline to cut and paste the sentences into a revised version of your essay, how to organize an argumentative essay, consolidating points that appear in several parts of your essay while eliminating repetition and creating smooth transitions where necessary.
You can improve even the most carefully planned essay by creating a reverse outline after completing your first draft. The process of revision should be as much about organization as it is about style.
It is self-evident that a well-planned paper is going to be better organized than a paper that was not planned out. Thinking carefully about how you are going to argue your paper and preparing an outline can only add to the quality of your final product. Nevertheless, some people find it more helpful than others to plan. Those who are good at coming up with ideas but find writing difficult often benefit from planning. By contrast, those who have trouble generating ideas but find writing easy may benefit from starting to write early.
Putting pen to paper or typing away at the keyboard may be just what is needed to get the ideas to flow. You have to find out for yourself what works best for you, though it is fair to say that at least some planning is always a good idea. Think about whether your current practices are serving you well. Be aware of the implications of planning too little or too much.
Planning provides the following advantages :. Search for. Printable PDF Version Fair-Use Policy.
How to Write an Argumentative Essay - Planning
, time: 5:50Tips for Organizing an Argumentative Essay - Judith L. Beumer Writing Center
· Getting the Basics Down Download ArticlePRO 1. Write a thesis statement. A thesis statement acts as the “road map” for your paper. It tells your audience what 2. Do research, if necessary. You can't begin to organize your essay %(4) When writing an argument essay, you’re writing in support of one side of an argument. This, of course, means there’s another side, and readers might disagree with your point of view. In order to strengthen your own argument and demonstrate that you’ve looked at all aspects of the topic, you need to address the opposing blogger.comted Reading Time: 8 mins · Organizing the Argumentative Essay Outline An argumentative essay follows the typical essay format: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, the body paragraphs are structured a bit differently from other body paragraphs. Surely, not something you can see in a cause and effect essay blogger.comted Reading Time: 7 mins
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