What is an English Argumentative Essay?

What is an English argumentative essay? You may be asking this question because your teacher, professor or lecturer has asked you to write one. Perhaps, you have come across this phrase somewhere and as a student or a scholar you want to learn more about an argumentative essay. An English argumentative essay is type of English language writing in which the writer defends his/her position on a given topic by providing evidence from historical, literature, research and person experience in supporting his/her viewpoint. Usually, the writer uses different arguments and good English language in proving his/her point.

You can not know what is an English argumentative essay until you know what it entails

In English writing, the term argument is used in reference to a reasoning process in which evidence is advanced. Academic argument may appear dispassionate if all arguments are done with heated tempers and raised voices- papyr.com. As such, although English argumentative essays can have an aspect of acrimony, they are usually written after thoughtful consideration and careful research of all available facts on an issue. Therefore, rhetoricians have for centuries advocated for argumentative essay writing as a way of learning how scholars should think or reason.

Writing argumentative essays demand that writers set a context, state their main ideas or arguments and then state their claim or thesis owl.english.purdue.edu. While writing an argumentative essay, you should examine your beliefs through testing your reasons for supporting or holding the beliefs. In such an essay, a dialog with a dialectical structure is established in the essay. It is in the dialog that you should explore different sides or views on an issue that you are considering with your readers while trying to show which perspective or side is more enlightened.

The analysis of an issue by the writer which entails the evaluation of the presented evidence, claims, hidden arguments, inherent contradictions and assumptions leads to championing of one side or perspective of an issue. With strong evidence and support, the writer and the reader are convinced to champion one viewpoint even though thoughtful, intelligent and reasonable people advocate the other side or perspective- wikihow.com.

The components of an argumentative essay

An English argumentative essay should depict clear knowledge and experience in the use of English language. As such, a good English argumentative essay is free of mistakes. It can be written on any topic. Usually, students, scholars and individuals can write English argumentative essays.

Examples of English argumentative essays include:

• Should there be a ban on handguns
• The government should make bankruptcy more difficult to discourage people from overspending
• Domestic violence by males has socio-cultural determinants

Before writing an English argumentative essay, one must conduct research. This research entails the evaluation of different viewpoints on an issue. Research involves evaluation of original documents or primary research and primary documents’ references or secondary research. Anecdotal experiences should also be evaluated. After collecting information that supports different perspectives on an issue, the writer should make a decision on the side or perspective that they should support depending on the strength of the arguments or available evidence.

Basically, this is done by writing a logically flowing essay. A good English argumentative essay has four major components. These are the introduction, background information, body paragraphs and the conclusion.

Introduction

Anybody who wants to learn what is an English argumentative essay should have sample essays with nice introductions to guide them. An English argumentative essay should hook the reader or catch the attention of the target readers with an excellent introduction. This is done through presentation of strong quotes, anecdotes, statistics or facts that relate to the essay topic. The introduction has to be interesting enough in order to hook readers so that they can be interested in reading more. The presented information should be connected properly in order to lead the readers to the thesis statement.

For instance, the introduction can start as follows, “Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate that more than 3,00 teen drivers aged between 14 and 18 years died in road accidents in 2013”. It can also start with, “Most teens desire to drive yet they are unwilling to engage in responsible driving”. Another example is, “Driving age ought to be raised to 20 years since most teen drivers cause accidents as they are yet to understand the impacts of their own actions”. The presented information should support the thesis statement which is also presented in the introduction. In this case, a thesis statement can be “the government should regulate teen drivers because they cause most accidents and they are yet to learn the impacts of their actions and become capable of taking responsibility of their own actions”

Background information

In this section, an English argumentative essay provides information that supports the argument that is presented by the introduction. Although background information is not a must-have for English argumentative essays, it is important because it creates awareness of the topic in the readers. For instance, in the teen drivers’ example, background information can include vital historical dates or explanation of the effects of teen accidents as well as the current laws that regulate driving.

It can also include the details of who sets the age that one must attain to acquire a driver’s license, variation in the allowed driving age among countries, who is allowed to drive, when and where. It may also include other restrictions for drivers such as teens being allowed to drive in the company of their guardians or parents only. This section simply provides information that helps the reader understand the topic better.

Body paragraphs

Perhaps, this section explains what is an English argumentative essay better. The body paragraphs are the main section of an English argumentative essay. In this section, the writer explains all the available evidence that supports the main argument or thesis statement. Here, the presented explanation should move from a general perspective to a specific perspective. A good English argumentative essay will convince readers to take a stance or the side of the writer by presenting strong arguments in this section.

Information in this section is presented as follows:

• General information that includes the topic sentence and some information presented in the introduction. For instance, in the teen drivers’ case general statistics of accidents that involve teens can be presented.
• Focusing the direction of the dialogue or argument. This entails sharing real facts with the readers. In the teen drivers’ case, information on how teens cause accidents can be shared.
• Being specific by illustrating or giving case studies or examples of accidents that involve teen drivers.
• Supporting details. Arguments of other scholars who support the argument of the essay can be presented in this section
• A brief wrap up of the body paragraphs section can be included with an insinuation or clear indication of the argument that the writer of the essay supports.

Rhetoric that includes statics or facts as well as emotional anecdotes can also be included in the body paragraphs to support the argument.

The conclusion

An English argumentative essay wraps up the discussion with a good conclusion. Again, the conclusion can define what is an English argumentative essay better. This is because it pulls back by restating the main argument or the viewpoint that the essay writer supports. Conclusion of an English argumentative essay can also be an action call or a future possibilities’ overview.

Generally, the conclusion of an English argumentative essay should:

• Restate the argument and why it is worth supporting
• Restate the claim or thesis
• Address the opposing opinions or viewpoints while explaining why the readers should concur with the opinion or the writer
• Give a future overview or an action call

After accomplishing these tasks, an English argumentative essay is considered complete unless otherwise instructed. There are no new points that should be introduced after the conclusion in trying to support the main claim or argument. Nevertheless, the conclusion should present a convincing and clear message.

The maxim of a preacher

Most English argumentative essays take the approach of a preacher’s maxim. This entails telling the readers what you intend to tell them in the introduction. This is followed by telling them in the body paragraphs. Finally, readers are reminded what they have been told in the conclusion.

Help with English argumentative essay

From the above information we hope you now understand what is an English argumentative essay. However if you need help with writing the argumentative essay of your choice, get in touch with us for assistance. Visit our homepage for more information about our academic writing services. You can also continue reading more academic paper writing guidelines and sample papers on this blog.

Sources

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/724/

http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp2/critique.htm

http://web.clark.edu/martpe/writing_strong_argument_papers.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Argumentative-Essay

http://www.premiumessays.net/articles/should-handguns-be-banned/

http://www.assignmentwritinghelp.net/assignments-essay-sample-on-sociocultural-determinants-of-male-domestic-violence.php

http://www.globalcompose.com/should-bankruptcy-be-made-more-difficult-%20in-order-to-discourage-overspending.php