How to Start an Argumentative Essay
An essay introduction that doesn’t feature a thesis statement to an argument is straight out flat and 100% irrelevant. Without it, it’s hard for a reader to understand the primary point that you’re trying to make. When it comes to writing the thesis for the essay, it’s best to take a position on a particular issue, one in which a reader can easily argue against. In other words, the thesis of an argumentative essay cannot be a fact. And you’ll use the rest of the essay to provide arguments and evidence that support the thesis statement.
There’s nothing worse about an introductions than length. It’s easy to get bogged down to adding tons of words to fill up this section. However, chances are you’re more likely to sound boring and less interesting. When it comes to length, short and precise is better. In fact, short introductions are easy to read. Add to this the one or two sentences for the thesis statement, and what you have is a killer introduction that will get your audience reading. There’s nothing wrong with starting an essay with a quote. However, we don’t recommend writing a quotation in the introduction of an argumentative essay unless it’s absolutely necessary. Quotes don’t reflect your own thoughts about a topic and can limit your writing and arguing prowess as far as the topic in question is concerned. Stick to a strong hook instead, making sure you present a killer opening statement that will make your reader(s) wanting to read more. Now that you know how to start an argumentative essay the right way, it shouldn’t be hard for you to start and complete the assignment on your own. If you need help to write an argumentative essay, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. The introductions to many argumentative essays are seriously boring to read. Either they’re too general or they don’t go straight to the point, as a good intro should. To be clear, general and randomly written introductions won’t make your essay click with your reader. So you should avoid this. Remember that even if you’re not the most creative student when it comes to working on an argumentative essay in your class, you have to start the assignment with an impactful introduction for it to attract eyeballs. And if your opening sentence can grab the attention of your reader on the spot, they’ll definitely read the second, the third, and eventually all the way to the last sentence. We’ve all dreaded at some point during our studies. Argumentative essays are extra intimidating as you’ll have to do justice to the topic and make a strong argument in its favor. An argumentative essay is designed to convince the reader why your stance is correct by expanding on the topic and offering fact-based evidence against counter-claims. It requires thorough research of the topic, a clear thesis statement, and follow sound reasoning.
Example topics of an argumentative essay:
However, depending on the complexity of the topic, argumentative essays can be longer than five paragraphs. So, keep in mind to follow the assignment specifications when outlining your essay.
Argumentative Essay Example (PDF)
An argumentative essay can use one of the three arguments to approach a topic. Following an approach or combining them can help you structure your essay more easily and be more evident in your claims.
Argumentative Essay Example for University (PDF)
If you think about it, professors often read an argument's title and its opening statement before they can look at your actual arguments. Depending on how you frame the introduction, they may read all the way to the bottom of the page or not bother to read the essay at all. So what’s the best way to start an argumentative essay to make it engaging for the reader? And what should you avoid?
Argumentative Essay Example for College (PDF)
The thesis is the key to your argumentative essay; if it isn’t clear or readers can’t find it easily, your entire essay will be weak as a result. Always make sure that your thesis statement is easy to find. The typical spot for it is the final sentence of the introduction paragraph, but if it doesn’t fit in that spot for your essay, try to at least put it as the first or last sentence of a different paragraph so it stands out more.
College Argumentative Essay Sample (PDF)
When writing your essay, you may be tempted to ignore the other side of the argument and just focus on your side, but don’t do this. The best argumentative essays really tear apart the other side to show why readers shouldn’t believe it. Before you begin writing your essay, research what the other side believes, and what their strongest points are. Then, in your essay, be sure to mention each of these and use evidence to explain why they’re incorrect/weak arguments. That’ll make your essay much more effective than if you only focused on your side of the argument.
Argumentative Essay Example for Middle School(PDF)
Remember, an essay can’t be an argumentative essay if it doesn’t support its argument with evidence. For every point you make, make sure you have facts to back it up. Some examples are previous studies done on the topic, surveys of large groups of people, data points, etc. There should be lots of numbers in your argumentative essay that support your side of the argument. This will make your essay much stronger compared to only relying on your own opinions to support your argument.