6.5: Review of Major Points

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Bradley H. Dowden
California State University Sacramento

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We learned about how to improve writing, especially argumentative writing. 2Be sure your writing is clearly organized, or else you can lose your reader in the details. Here is the best way to structure argumentative writing: a) add your main point, the thesis statement, into the introductory paragraph; b) give an argument for your thesis; c) give counter-arguments and respond to them; (d) end with a conclusion paragraph that summarizes what you’ve done and perhaps suggests additional issues that need investigation. Whether writing to describe, argue, or explain, by providing a clear and precise structure you can dramatically improve the writing's effectiveness. Longer pieces are more effective when they are divided into three parts in this order:

Introduction (This is your opening, and it usually includes a statement of your thesis or conclusion.)
Middle (Your support for the thesis plus an assessment of objections to it.)
Conclusion (Summarize what you’ve done and what still needs doing.)

This isn't the only order that might be successful in persuading your audience to accept your conclusion. Essays can be effective even though they leave their conclusion until the end and deal early on with discounting possible objections. The most common error in creating an argumentative essay is not to adequately develop, the assessment of objections.

Getting the main points down on paper or in a word processor file should come before worrying about the organizational details. Write first; then worry about how to structure the ideas effectively. Sometimes when we respond to an argument we try to expose weaknesses in it. We might show that the reasons given are not true, or the reasons don't make the case even if they are true, and so forth. At other times we don't directly attack the argument but rather create a new argument for the opposite conclusion, and doing this is called creating a counterargument.