Outline of an Argumentative Essay | Lecture Note

University:
Southern New Hampshire University
Course:
ENG122 | English Composition I
Academic year:

2020
Views:

68

Pages:

1
Author:

H Call

Outline of an Argumentative Essay I. Introduction A. Background Information: basic information about the issue (i.e. capital punishment) and the position being argued (i.e. capital punishment should/should not be allowed). B. Thesis Statement: states the position to be argued in the essay II. (Optional Background Paragraph) III. Reasons that Support the Thesis Statement A. Reason/Argument 1 (main point #1) 1. Supporting point/ evidence 2. Supporting point/ evidence B. Reason/Argument 2 (main point #2) 1. Supporting point/ evidence 2. Supporting point/ evidence C. III. Reason/Argument 3 (main point #3) 1. Supporting point/ evidence 2. Supporting point/ evidence. Counter Arguments and Responses to Them A. Mention the arguments from the other side of the issue (i.e. if you’re arguing that capital punishment should be legal in the US, mention the arguments from the people who think that capital punishment should not be legal.) B. Briefly refute (disprove) the other side’s arguments IV. (Optional Solution or Alternative Paragraph) V. Conclusion Notes:     Since this is a longer paper (4-5 pages), you will most likely have more than one paragraph per main point. This means that your discussion will be more detailed. This does not have to be a five-paragraph essay! Think carefully about how you order your reasons/arguments. Possible ways to order your arguments include most familiar®least familiar or least important (weakest)® ®most important (strongest). Section III (Counter Arguments) could also be located in the first paragraph following the introduction. You can have more than two supporting points/ evidence for each Reason/ Argument. You should not have fewer than two, however.