Argumentative Essays – Tips & Tricks

● Read the topic carefully. Underline the main point of the topic
(such as Politics).
● Decide ‘for’ or ‘against’ (i.e. are you in favour or against?).
● Jot down all the RELEVANT & LOGICAL points related to your
opinion. Spend 5-10 minutes doing this in the form of notes. No
emotional reasons should be included.
● Starting – No quotes are needed; some books/resources will tell you
to state your opinion at the start or by the end. In the paper, state it at
the BEGINNING of your essay, most preferably in the opening
paragraph.
● Manners in which you can start the essay:
● Ease into the topic then generally give your opinion. For
example: “The trend of social media has greatly increased
over the last four years. Nowadays, it has become a

necessity for teenagers. I personally believe ……..”

● Start directly by exclaiming a valid point and giving your
opinion. “Social Media, recently, has had a great
negative/positive impact on teenagers. My personal
opinion is that ……..”
● Remember this 3-point structure for the MAIN BODY of your
essay:
● General “For” Argument – Include all valid points that are
logical and EMPHASIZE on them – All points must be in
 favour of your opinion and they should be your
STRONGEST points.
● Counter Argument – Pick out you’re strongest counter
arguments and state them. Be completely logical and
honest when pointing the counter arguments. The reason
for this is that if you’re writing in favour, someone else will
write against. You have to give both sides of the argument
and prove yourself right.
● Disputing Counter Arguments – After writing the counter
arguments, you must dispute them and prove them to be
either wrong or not STRONG enough to win the
argument. Here’s an example:
your stance is social media is harmful

A counter argument could be “Social media is required for teenagers, it forms a

platform for conversations, discussions and sharing valued information“.

Disputing this counter argument “Although it does provide a medium for

communication, teenagers waste most of their precious time in procrastinating since
they needlessly read comics/have useless discussions. Social media is one of main
reasons why teenagers procrastinate.“

● To end your essay, you don’t simply conclude an argument

because it is a waste of words and time since you’re only repeating
what you’ve said. Two ways to end an Argumentative Essay are:
 ● Conclude your essay by restating your opinion in a
different perspective, i.e. you could say, “Other resources of
communication should be adopted such as messaging and
teenagers should be encouraged to have outdoor activities
rather than sit home and stick their heads to the
computers.”
● After disputing you’re counter arguments – finish on a
high by adding a strong ending sentence to conclude your
essay. For example “Hence all these points show that Social
media is indeed an unnecessary part of life which has been
forcibly indulged into the life of teenagers.”
● Things to remember:
● You’re not listing points or stating your opinion. You’re
trying to CONVINCE the examiner that you’re opinion is
correct using LOGICAL points.
● Don’t get emotional and carried away over the course of
your writing. Don’t be prejudiced.
● DO NOT EMPHASIZE TOO MUCH ON
VOCABULARY. Sentence structures, punctuation, tenses
are all equally as important as vocabulary. Don’t forcibly use
strong words if you don’t know their correct usage.
● You’re not making a list of your points. Don’t use “firstly,
secondly, thirdly and finally”. Remember, your language is
being tested. Use good expressions and connectives such as
“Furthermore, In addition to this”.

http://www.slideshare.net/englishbites/useful-argumentative-essay-words-and-
phrases
Here is a great website concerning words and expressions. Do read it.

Difference b/w Discursive and Argumentative Essays:

In Discursive essays, you present a balanced argument that contains ‘for’ and
‘against’ points. You do not state your opinion.

In Argumentative, you give your opinion and convince the reader on your
point of view.

Example Argumentative Essay:

Some people say that the Internet does more harm than good. What is your view?

To majority of teenagers and working adults, the Internet has been regarded as one the
most innovative achievements of humankind. Since the invention of the internet, its
pervasive and life-altering influences can be felt in many aspects of people’s daily lives.
While mostly beneficial in areas such as communication, trade and research, the
internet has also caused a proliferation of vices such as pornography and hacking.
Despite the negativity associated with the internet, I strongly believe that Internet does
more good than harm.

Communication all over the world has been considerably improved thanks to the
Internet. With the widespread availability of messengers and social networks like
Yahoo and Facebook, people can easily communicate irrespective of their geographic
locations. Gone are the days when international communication meant a delay of

倒装句， inverted sentence

 several days to months. Today, interaction through the Internet is not only much
cheaper and more convenient than traditional modes of communication, it also has
options to allow face to face interaction such as through the use of Skype. Now, family
members and businesses can not only have instantaneous communication, they can also
have the added personal touch even if they are in different continents or in any remote
part of the world.

The Internet is one of the key contributors to the global free trade. When the
transnational corporations want to open business in the other countries, they first have
to contact partners in those countries before officially making a deal. In such case, the
Internet certainly does a great job. Furthermore, the internet is instrumental in reducing
operation costs for businesses where employees can be easily hired from developing
countries and work remotely from their native land. For example, many transnational
companies set up call centres in countries like Philippines or India where workers are
cheaper to employ. The same benefits are applied to people’s daily lives. With the
omnipresence of online shops, many people are able to save their precious time
shopping. Instead, they have more time to do other important things such as helping
their children do homework or having a short visit to their parents’ house.

On the other hand, objectors of the Internet argue that it spoils the young generation
counter
by spreading pornography and violence, which is considered rampant nowadays. There
is no doubt that pornographic websites and violence videos are ubiquitous online, but
rebuttal whether the young is spoilt by it depends on the young themselves. Owing to the
continual warning of using the Internet on many cyber education programs, the youths
are supposed to know about all the boon and bane effect of surfing webs. Thus, once
they have heightened awareness, there is likelihood that they will not be attacked by
cyber hackers. Moreover there is a variety of information for their researches on line.
Instead of spending hours of flipping over hundreds of books in the libraries, one may
easily obtain necessary documentation within a second of mouse click.

Similar to any other technological inventions, the Internet has both pros and cons;
nonetheless, its benefits far outweigh its harms. With recent upgrades in Internet security
software and substantial improvements on its use, I am firmly convinced the Internet is
more a blessing than a curse.

Examiners' Tips

● Mention counter arguments – and dispute them. A strong argument

includes refutation of the other point of view. This way you can
show that you are not being purely ignorant or prejudiced in your
response. It is important to show balance in presenting the
argument.
● If you are having difficulty finding enough points to support your
stance you should consider arguing the opposite view – it might be
easier!
● Aim for an effective introduction which captures attention and
makes the topic and context clear
● You should end on the side you are arguing for structure your essay
so that you deal with the other side first and end strongly to clinch
your argument with a final convincing point . Do not repeat
 yourself.

● It is generally advisable to argue your own personal viewpoint as it is

likely to sound more convincing. It is however, possible, to argue
effectively for or against an argument which you have never
considered before, provided that you can marshal some evidence
from the media, facts, statistics and experience. These are the areas
from which you draw your supporting detail and illustration.
● Do not get too passionate about the topic as this will make your essay
sound too emotional and subjective, and therefore less persuasive.
● Sometimes there is a single word in the question which alters the
emphasis of the argument, for instance the word ‘compulsory’. Make
sure you pay attention to the key words in questions when you are
planning and answering – it is worth underlining key words to
remind you.
● Do not start each paragraph with a numbered point- firstly,
secondly, thirdly and so on- as this can get tedious for the reader and
sound quite artificial if the ideas are not in fact sequential. Use other
paragraph linking words, the ones which show whether your
argument is continuing in the same direction (e.g. ‘furthermore’, ‘in
addition’) or changing direction (e.g. ‘nevertheless’, ‘on the other
hand’). The key is to make sure that your argument is “building” as
you go. Use your connectives to help you take your reader with you
so that they can follow your train of thought all the way through.
● Three-point structures (sometimes called tricolons) can sound
authoritative, e.g. ‘involving the learners, the teachers and the
parent’. More than three of anything becomes a list; fewer lacks
persuasive impact and overuse of tricolons is rarely effective.