5.5: Planning and Writing an Argumentative Essay

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Choose one of the following prompts to brainstorm ideas for an argumentative essay. Write down what you already know about the two sides of the issue.

Prompt 1: Should couples live together before they get married?

Prompt 2: Should colleges require general education courses for students?

Prompt 3: Should all employers require access to employees' social media sites?

Issue/Problem: _____________________________________________________________________

For:

Against:

Step 2: Take a position on your topic (for or against) and write a thesis statement clearly showing your position.

____________________________________________________________________

Step 3: Explore your topic: Go to your college library’s database to investigate two-sided issues (for example, Opposing Viewpoints database) Find two sources that provide some information on your topic from differing positions. Write the title and author of the article in the Work Cited entry box. Then note some information about the topic that you found in the article. Don’t copy sentences from the article; only write key words nd phrases with facts to use in your essay.

Work Cited Entry:

Notes from this article:

Work Cited Entry:

Notes from this article:

Use reporting words to refer to these sources in your essay:

According to…

According to the article “Whole Foods for Whole People”, …

Recent studies show that…

Recent studies show that genetically modified foods ...

X organization reported that

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that...

X person explained that

The governor of Maryland explained that ...

Step 4: Fill in this outline for your argumentative essay. Use your own ideas but note places where you use information from outside sources. Only use the two sources above.

Essay Outline:

I. Introduction

Background Information:

Thesis Statement (Your Position):

II. Supporting Reason 1 Topic Sentence:

III. Supporting Reason 2 Topic Sentence:

IV. Supporting Topic Sentence 3:(Address the opposition)

A. Opposing Arguments:

Details:

B. Your Response:

Details:

V. Conclusion:

Restate Thesis:

Final remarks: