Regardless of the course you’re taking in college, you’ll encounter different essays. Your professor assesses these pieces by looking at the quality of the content you present. They’ll also check how you present it, from the first sentence to the last. It means you have to organize the content in a way that it’s easy to understand the message. With a top-quality essay, you’ll score high marks.

One of the types of essays that you’ll encounter in almost all disciplines is the argumentative essay. The name “argument” here doesn’t mean a disagreement. Instead, you’re supposed to take a stance on an issue and explain your point of view using facts. Simply put, you should convince the reader why your point of view is the best.

But that’s not all that matters – how you start this type of essay determines the quality of your final piece. So how should you start such an essay? We’ve curated a complete guide of every step you should follow to achieve a stunning piece.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

The world is already dealing with different issues. They include youth unemployment, global warming, education financing, and human workers vs. autonomous machines. As an individual, you have a given standpoint on how to deal with these issues. Your stance could be based on observations, research, and personal experiences. In an argumentative essay, you’re expected to present your stance on that issue academically.

But you don’t just show your stance; you must persuade the audience using facts, data, and other evidence. While at it, you should acknowledge the opposing viewpoints and respectfully explain the weaknesses of that viewpoint.

Types of Argumentative Essay Prompts

You can have two types of prompts from your professor; a two-sided and an open-ended question. Let’s check them out.

Two-Sided Argumentative Essay Prompt

In a two-sided question, you have an issue you should take a side on – you can either argue for or against. Examples of two-sided argumentative essay questions include:

• Are human activities the main causes of global warming?

• Is social media good for the youth?

• Should lethal autonomous weapons be banned?

• Will AI completely replace human workers?

• Has the internet made society better?

Open-Ended Argumentative Essay Prompt

In an open-ended argumentative essay question, you provide information on an issue. You’re not compelled to take a given point of view. It’s more of informative writing. Examples of the prompts you can have for this essay include:

• What are the effects of youth unemployment?

• What are the effects of technology on education?

• Why is AI not a threat to humanity?

• Is capitalism the most efficient economic system?

Approaches in Argumentative Essay Prompts

You can approach an argumentative essay prompt in two ways – it all depends on the instructions you receive from your professor. The first approach is using the Toulmin model. In this method, you take a stance on an issue and convince the reader that your viewpoint is the best.

Take an essay prompt like, “Is social media good for the youth?” You can decide to argue on why social media isn’t good for the youth by giving reasons such as social media addiction, cases of depression among the youth, and the fact that it makes the youth anti-social – while at it, provide data and other pieces of evidence. Acknowledge the opposing views and explain why you feel the opposing stance isn’t strong enough – provide evidence.

The second approach is called the Rogerian model. With this method, you begin by acknowledging the opposing view while accepting that those with this stance have a strong point. You then argue your position on the issue. Finally, you reach a middle ground that accommodates both sides of the argument.

How Should You Start Writing Your Argumentative Essay?

Now that you know what an argumentative essay entails, it’s time to understand how you should start writing your piece. The goal is to stay organized to compose a quality essay. What is the procedure you should use?

Understand the Essay Prompt

Some students dive right into the writing step even before analyzing the prompt. The problem with this approach is that you may miss some crucial essay details that you’re expected to address in the paper. When this happens, you write a low-quality argumentative essay. Such a piece will automatically score low marks.

The first thing you should do is read the essay question. Take note of all the keywords used in the prompt – the keywords determine the type of response the professor expects you to give. So ensure you internalize all the parts of the essay prompt.

What should you do if you feel the question is too complex? You can seek clarification from the professor about what is expected from you. Also, you can ask for ideas from your classmates to understand what to write. You should only begin working on your argumentative essay when you’re sure about what is expected from you.

Read the Essay Guidelines Carefully

It’s common to hear students asking questions like, “Who can write an essay for me?” Sometimes it’s because such students don’t understand the essay instructions. The assignment guidelines are essential parts of essay writing. Failure to follow any of the instructions may mean you lose vital marks.

The professor can specify the argument model you should take – it could be the Toulmin or Rogerian. Stick to the model specified when writing your piece. Also, the instructor will specify the paper volume you should write, the sources to use, and the right formatting style to apply. Don’t overlook any of the guidelines.

Sometimes, you’ll be free to choose a topic you’re comfortable with. While this is advantageous, you could also become confused as there could be thousands of topics to consider. As you think about an argumentative essay topic, you should ensure it has qualities such as:

• It’s relevant.

• It’s interesting/engaging.

• You can cover it within the scope of the assignment.

Take time and come up with many probable topics. For example, you can create a list of 5 to 10 topics. Then eliminate others and pick the one you feel you can write the best content on.

Create an Elaborate Essay Writing Plan

Writing an argumentative essay without a plan isn’t a good idea. First, you may end up with a low-quality paper. Also, the writing process could take a lot of your time. Therefore, you should have a writing plan before you embark on the process.

At this point, you already know the magnitude of the task you have to deal with. Subdivide the whole task into the different processes involved; research, writing, editing, and proofreading. Allocate enough time for the different writing processes.

Obtain the Right Content for Your Argumentative Essay

The quality of the content in your essay significantly determines the grade you obtain. For example, comprehensive content on the topic indicates that you understand what you’re writing about. With such, the professor finds it easy to award you a good grade.

So, brainstorm and write down the ideas you intend to include in the essay. Next, get sources with content on the topic in question. These sources could be books, journals, and credible websites. Read the sources carefully and take note of examples, illustrations, and data that can strengthen your arguments in the essay.

When you’ve gathered adequate information, analyze it and determine what ends up in your final paper. Assess the examples and the data you have. If a given point isn’t strong enough, get more evidence to support it.

Determine Your Essay’s Outline

The professor should find it easy to follow the arguments presented. That’s why you should have a perfect outline before you begin writing. That way, you’ll know where each piece of information will fit in advance. With conventional argumentative essays, your essay should have three sections; introduction, body, and conclusion.

The introductory paragraph is where you let the reader know the argument you intend to advance in the essay. You should make this section as enticing as possible to make the reader continue looking through the rest of the piece. For example, provide enough background information to ensure the reader understands your argument’s context. In the last part of the introductory paragraph, write the thesis statement. It’s a statement that announces the stance you intend to defend in the essay.

Next, determine how you want to write your argumentative essay’s body paragraphs. Each paragraph should discuss one idea that is outlined in the topic sentence. You then explain the idea as you include the relevant examples. In one of the body paragraphs (depending on the model you use), address the opposing stance.

The last part of your essay is the conclusion. Here, you review the ideas in the essay and connect them to your thesis statement. You shouldn’t introduce any new ideas here.

Singing Off

How you start your argumentative essay determines the quality of your final piece. Understand the prompt and have an elaborate writing plan for the best results. Get the right content for your paper and determine the essay outline to follow. After this preparation, you can go straight to the writing process.