The five parts of an argumentative essay are:
Argumentative essays are a form of academic writing, so they follow a particular format and citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). As a rule, you can find all those guidelines in the prompt you get from an instructor. If they aren’t there, the teacher probably assumes you already know how to format argumentative essays.
Argumentative essays are about debatable topics, so remember to devote at least one body paragraph to counterarguments your opponents might have on your thesis. We’ve tried our best to help you understand how to write an argumentative essay, and we hope we’ve answered any questions you might have had. Now it’s time to craft an excellent paper that your teacher will have no choice but to mark high, right? The number of paragraphs may vary depending on your assignment requirements and topic complexity. A standard 5-paragraph argumentative essay has three body paragraphs: two are for arguments that support your thesis, and one is for a rebuttal (counterarguments your opponents have on the issue). If you have the option to pick your own argumentative essay topic (which you most likely will), then choose one or two topics you find the most intriguing or that you have a vested interest in and do some preliminary research on both sides of the debate. By outlining your essay, you streamline your process and take care of any logic gaps before you dive headfirst into the writing. This will save you a lot of grief later on if you need to change your sources or your structure, so don't get too trigger-happy and skip this step. See the Argumentative Essay Format block below for more details on what to mention in every part of your essay outline, depending on your chosen model.
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Psychological theory states that human beings are not equipped to maintain conflicting loyalties indefinitely and that attempting to do so leads to a state called "cognitive dissonance." Cognitive dissonance theory is the psychological idea that people undergo tremendous mental stress or anxiety when holding contradictory beliefs, values, or loyalties (Festinger, 1957). Even if human beings initially hold a conflicting loyalty, they will do their best to find a mental equilibrium by making a choice between those loyalties—stay stalwart to a belief system or change their beliefs. One of the earliest formal examples of cognitive dissonance theory comes from Leon Festinger's When Prophesy Fails. Members of an apocalyptic cult are told that the end of the world will occur on a specific date and that they alone will be spared the Earth's destruction. When that day comes and goes with no apocalypse, the cult members face a cognitive dissonance between what they see and what they've been led to believe (Festinger, 1956). Some choose to believe that the cult's beliefs are still correct, but that the Earth was simply spared from destruction by mercy, while others choose to believe that they were lied to and that the cult was fraudulent all along. Both beliefs cannot be correct at the same time, and so the cult members are forced to make their choice.
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Here, you’ll make notes on what you’ll write in each paragraph, making it easier to craft a draft. It will help ensure that you include everything that you intended to add to the structure and that your argumentative essay flows logically.
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Check out these two argumentative essay examples on the use of landmines and freons (and note the excellent use of concrete sources to back up their arguments!).
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At first, writing an argumentative essay may seem like a monstrous hurdle to overcome, but with the proper preparation and understanding, you'll be able to knock yours out of the park.