Argumentative Writing Samples & Templates

Are you looking for tips on how you can come up with a well-written argumentative essay? Are you looking for argumentative writing samples and templates? You have landed on the correct website as we have all of these and more in this very article.

We have a couple of argumentative essay examples that would give you a good glimpse of how your finished argumentative essay should look like. If you need to know more about argumentative writing style, just keep reading this article!

Sample Argumentative Persuasive Essay to Download

Printable Argumentative Essay for University

Importance of an Argumentative Essay

• Enhances Critical Thinking:
  • Writing an argumentative essay requires deep analysis and evaluation of different perspectives, which sharpens critical thinking skills. You can also see more on Discursive Writing.
• Improves Persuasive Skills:
  • These essays teach how to persuade others by using evidence and reasoning, valuable in both academic contexts and everyday life.
• Encourages Research Skills:
  • To defend a position effectively, writers must gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources, enhancing their research abilities.
• Fosters Clear Writing:
  • Argumentative essays outline require clarity in thought and expression, helping writers learn to communicate ideas succinctly and effectively.
• Teaches Structured Writing:
  • These essays demand a clear structure, including a well-defined thesis, coherent arguments, and a logical conclusion, which can improve overall writing organization.
• Promotes Empathy and Understanding:
  • By exploring opposing views, writers can develop a better understanding of different perspectives, fostering empathy.
• Helps in Academic Success:
  • Proficiency in argumentative writing is often crucial for academic success across various subjects, as it is commonly used in assessments. You can also see more on Counter Argument.
• Prepares for Professional Challenges:
  • The ability to argue effectively is valuable in many professional fields, including law, journalism, marketing, and more, making these skills highly transferable and beneficial.

Sample Argumentative Essay for Education in PDF

Sample Thesis Statement for an Argumentative Essay

Effective Strategies to Write an Argumentative Essay

Writing an effective argumentative essay involves several strategic steps to ensure clarity, persuasiveness, and logical consistency. Here are some strategies to help you craft a compelling argumentative essay:

1. Choose a Debatable Topic:
   • Select a topic that has at least two opposing perspectives. This ensures there is enough scope for argument and that the topic is interesting to both you and your readers. You can also see more on Persuasive Writing.
2. Research Extensively:
   • Gather credible sources to support your argument. Use academic journals, books, reputable websites, and expert opinions to build a strong foundation for your claims.
3. Formulate a Clear Thesis Statement:
   • Your thesis should clearly state your position on the topic. This statement guides the entire essay, providing a reference point for your arguments.
4. Organize Your Argument:
   • Structure your essay in a clear and logical manner. Typically, an argumentative essay includes an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph should explore a specific aspect of your argument.
5. Use Evidence Effectively:
   • Support each point with facts, statistics, quotes, and examples. Make sure your evidence is relevant and provides substantial support for your arguments. You can also see more Student Essay.
6. Address Counterarguments:
   • Acknowledge and refute opposing viewpoints. This demonstrates your understanding of the topic and strengthens your position. Show why your perspective is more valid or advantageous.
7. Write Clearly and Concisely:
   • Use a clear and persuasive tone. Avoid overly complex sentences or jargon that could confuse readers. Clarity and precision in writing enhance the effectiveness of your argument.
8. Conclude Effectively:
   • Summarize the main points and restate your thesis in the conclusion. Provide a final perspective on the topic to reinforce your argument and leave a lasting impression on the reader.
9. Proofread and Revise:
   • Review your essay for any grammatical, punctuation, or stylistic errors. Make sure your arguments flow logically and that all claims are supported by evidence. Revisions can significantly improve the clarity and impact of your essay. You can also see more Essay Structure.

By following these strategies, you can create a robust and persuasive argumentative essay that effectively communicates your viewpoint and engages your audience.

Free Argumentative Essay for Rubric Sample

Editable Death Penalty Argument Essay

What is the Main Purpose of Argumentative Essay?

The main purpose of an argumentative essay is to effectively convey a specific viewpoint and persuade the reader to consider or accept this perspective. Here are eight specific aims of an argumentative essay:

1. To Persuade:
   • The primary aim is to persuade the reader of the validity of the writer’s perspective or stance on a controversial issue through logical reasoning and evidence. You can also see more on Evaluation Essay.
2. To Present Balanced Arguments:
   • It strives to present a balanced view by discussing multiple sides of the issue, though ultimately supporting one side more convincingly.
3. To Develop Critical Thinking:
   • Writing and reading argumentative essays encourage the development of critical thinking skills as one must analyze different perspectives and evidence critically.
4. To Enhance Research Skills:
   • These essays require extensive research to gather supporting evidence, thereby improving research capabilities and familiarity with various sources and methodologies.
5. To Improve Writing Skills:
   • Crafting an argumentative essay helps refine writing skills, teaching how to structure thoughts clearly and cohesively.
6. To Foster Analytical Skills:
   • Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of different arguments within an essay helps enhance analytical skills.
7. To Encourage Ethical Reasoning:
   • Often, argumentative essays deal with ethical dilemmas, prompting writers and readers to consider moral implications of various viewpoints.
8. To Prepare for Debates and Discussions:
   • Writing argumentative essays prepares individuals for real-life debates and discussions by training them to formulate and express their thoughts logically and persuasively.

These objectives make argumentative essays a critical exercise in not only academic settings but also in everyday life where persuasion is a valuable skill.

Formal Argumentative Essay in Word

Argumentative Essay Thesis Statement Format

Academic Argument Essay Example

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

When you are required to write an essay wherein you are tasked to investigate, collect, and evaluate evidence that you have gathered. You are also tasked to pick a position and defend the said position. This type of writing is what is called argumentative essay writing.

Argumentative writing is often used interchangeably with expository writing. The two types of writing styles are fairly similar but one difference that they do have is the fact that when it comes to argumentative writing, the pre-writing processes, and the research that is involved is way more extensive. Expository writing involves less discussion and the essay is also a bit shorter than an argumentative essay.

Characteristics of a Good Argumentative Essay

• Strong thesis statement. A good argumentative essay has a strong yet brief and concise thesis statement that can be found in the very first paragraph of the essay. Your thesis statement should give the reader a good idea of what the rest of the essay would be all about. Your first paragraph should also let the readers know why the essay’s topic is deemed to be important and why there is a need for the issue to be discussed in a more detailed manner.
• Cohesive. You want to make sure that every paragraph that you include in your essay will flow smoothly. It must all be interrelated with each to ensure that everything makes sense from start to finish. The way you present the transitions is important because it will be the mold that will help to shape your essay. Your transition is usually the first sentence of every paragraph. Make sure that this will help to wrap up the idea that you had in the previous paragraph. You might be interested in more sample essay examples.
• Focused. Make sure that every paragraph is limited to discussing one point that is related to the topic you chose for your essay. Doing so gives more clarity to the message that you are trying to get across and it also gives your essay more direction. This also helps to make your essay more readable and more logical, which is what you should be aiming for. You might want to check out persuasive essay examples.
• Presents evidence. The evidence is what makes your essay more solid. You want to make sure that you research for accurate and current information that is up to date. Make sure that they show support for your arguments.
• Good conclusion. You want to make sure that the conclusion does not only restate or reiterate the main points of your essay. You should always make sure that you restate these main points and relate these to the pieces of evidence that you have gathered. You have to make sure that these also end up being logical and easy to understand, so synthesize the information that you have discussed in the body of your essay.

Other Characteristics of an Argumentative Essay

• Arguments are complete. Think of your argumentative essay like you are actually debating with another person. Make sure that it has a beginning, middle, and end to it. Make sure that it is complete and will not leave your reader hanging. You may also see analysis essay examples.
• Stick to five paragraphs. Sticking to a five-paragraph essay formula is fairly common for whatever essay writing task you may have. The five parts are namely
  • the introduction;
  • the body of the paragraph, which will be composed of three paragraphs that presents the main points and the pieces of evidence gathered; and
  • the concluding paragraph or closing paragraph.

Take note that not all argumentative essays will only have five paragraphs. Topics that are deemed to be more complex and needs a more detailed research process will have more than just five paragraphs. This typically happens to argumentative essays that have a lot of resources. Argumentative essays also tend to become longer than five paragraphs if there is also a need to discuss any subtopics in a detailed manner and if there are a lot of different opinions surrounding the issue. You may also see essay sample templates.

Classical Argument Essay Outline Sample

Evaluation Argument Essay Sample

Argumentative & Persuasive Essay Sample in PDF

Sample Argument Analysis Essay to Download

Free Argumentative Essay Outline Sample

Types of Argumentative Essays

Argumentative essays can vary in approach depending on the specific purpose and audience. Here are five common types of argumentative essays that showcase different ways to structure arguments and present ideas:

1. Classical (Aristotelian) Argument:
   • This is the most straightforward type of argumentative essay. It presents the main argument, provides supporting evidence, and concludes with a strong appeal to the reader to accept the thesis. The focus is on logical consistency, effective support, and a clear conclusion. You can also see more on Commentary Writing.
2. Rogerian Argument:
   • The Rogerian model seeks common ground with opposing viewpoints. It acknowledges the validity of opposing arguments while gently persuading the reader towards an alternative perspective that finds a middle ground between differing views. This type is effective in polarized debates.
3. Toulmin Model:
   • This approach is useful for dealing with complex or highly contested issues. It breaks the argument down into six parts: claim, grounds, warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, and backing. The Toulmin model is particularly good at establishing the logic behind a claim, making it transparent and robust.
4. Persuasive (Advocacy) Essay:
   • While similar to the classical argument, the persuasive essay places a stronger emphasis on convincing the reader through emotional appeals alongside logical arguments. The writer may use personal anecdotes, emotional language, and strong calls to action to sway the reader. You can also see more on Analysis Essay.
5. Analysis Essay (Analytical):
   • This type focuses on taking a piece of literature, an event, or another medium and analyzing its components to develop an argument about the subject. It’s less about persuading for a particular point of view and more about presenting an analysis that is debatable and supports a specific thesis.

Each type of argumentative essay serves a different purpose and may be chosen based on the audience’s receptiveness to particular methods of argumentation or the nature of the topic being discussed.

Argumentative Essay Sample for Teacher Example

Sample Argumentative Essay Checklist

Argumentative Essay Example

How to Write an Argumentative Essay

You have to make sure that before you start writing your argumentative essay, you already have a good understanding of how you will be writing your essay. You also want to make sure that all of the evidence that you will present is also relevant to the topic that you are discussing. You may also see essay sample in a word.

If you are having a hard time figuring out how to write an argumentative essay, we are here to lay down the basics and help you out with this struggle.

1. Understand the Format

The very first thing that you need to ensure that you end up with a good argumentative essay is making sure that you have a good understanding of how you will format the essay. Here are a couple of tips on how you can do so:

• Make sure you know why you are writing the essay. The main purpose of an argumentative essay is to investigate and discuss an issue. You want to make sure that you are able to conduct proper research in order to cover all aspects revolving around the issue. It also aims to give an overview of the issue and also lets the reader know what your stand on the issue is. You may also see script writing samples.
• Understand the method you will follow when writing. There is no fixed formula that you should follow when it comes to writing your argumentative essay. However, you should prepare yourself for going the extra mile when it comes to these essays as they are very heavy in detail. Making an essay outline for your argumentative essay will definitely be a big help.
• Understand your expected outcome. Since you are letting people know what your position is on the certain issue is, you would want to sway them into believing that your stand is an opinion that should be considered when it comes to these issues. Envision the result you want ahead and make sure that you aim to reach that goal. You may also see letter writing samples.

2. Select the Topic

• Choose an interesting topic. You want to choose a topic that you would be interested to write about. You will be researching about your topic a lot, so you have to make sure that you really want to write about your topic and that you are highly interested in it. Make sure that it would also fit the format that you are going to follow. You may also see memo writing samples.
• Testing the argument. You can help to refine and improve your argument by doing this step. You can find someone else who holds an opposite position to your argument and test to see if it makes any sense. A debate-style of conversation is preferable for testing your argument. You may also see business report writing samples.
• Think about your readers. You have to make sure that you will be picking a topic that your audience will also be able to relate to. Think about where your audience is coming from and match it with the tone that you will be using for your essay. You may also see reflective writing samples.
• Understand surrounding factors. This particularly refers to the rhetorical situation of the essay. The rhetorical situation actually helps to persuade your reader to believe the stand that you have for the issue. You may also see technical writing samples.

Structure the Argument

• Have a catchy title. An original and catchy title can help to hook your reader to your essay. Basically, your title is a preview of your whole essay before they even get to the introduction of your essay. You may also see proposal writing samples.
• Come up with your thesis statement. As what has been discussed earlier, you want to make sure that the thesis statement of your essay will end up being strong and you also want to make sure that it is a good representation of what you stand for. Having a thesis statement will help to guide your reader to what they should be expecting all throughout the rest of the essay. You may also see sample report writing formats.
• Brief introduction. The introductory paragraph of your essay does not need to be a long one. A couple sentences that would give relevant information about the topic being discussed would suffice.
• Start the body of your essay. Present your argument, the supporting evidence, and the opposing position in the body of your essay to make sure that it makes sense. You may also see printable writing paper templates.
• Start your conclusion. This section will help to reassert and reiterate the main points of your essay. Connect the topic with the interest of your audience.

1. Research and Sources

• Research. As what has been emphasized in this article, doing extensive research is of high importance for your argumentative research. Go to your local library, search journals, and other research papers that will help to give your position a solid background.
• Reputable sources. You want to make sure that you only choose sources that are reputable. You can make sure that your sources are reputable by looking at the sources of the journal or research paper you are currently checking out. Make sure that you also choose relevant facts and quotes from the scholarly sources that you are reading. You may also see summary writing samples.
• Cite the sources. Take note of the sources you have. Properly citing sources can help you to avoid getting tagged for plagiarized work.

2. Edit and Revise

As with any type of write-up, you want to make sure that your essay is free from any grammatical errors and any incorrect spellings. Here’s how you can effectively edit and revise your work. You may also see informative essay examples.

• Take a step back. Give yourself a day or two of rest after you have written your essay. You want to make sure that you do not get too wrapped up in your own writing, so taking some time off is best. After a day or two, you will have fresh eyes for your essay and you will surely be able to detect errors way easier.
• Check grammar. It is not uncommon to have any grammatical errors in your essay. So make sure that you check these out first. Check your essay for
  • incomplete phrases,
  • parallelism, and
  • correct subject-verb agreement.
• Check for any problems. Making sure that everything is formatted correctly will help to make your essays have more sense and become more logical. In turn, your readers will be able to easily understand the main points that you are trying to get across. You may also see job application writing samples.

We hope that you learned a lot from this article. Make sure that you do not hesitate to check out our Academic Essay Samples for more tips regarding coming up with a good essay.

How do I start off an argumentative essay?

Begin with a clear, engaging hook that introduces the topic, provides context, and presents your thesis statement, outlining the position you will argue for throughout the essay.

What are the qualities of a good argumentative writing?

Good argumentative writing includes a clear thesis, logical reasoning, credible evidence, counterarguments, and a persuasive tone, all structured coherently to support the main argument effectively.

How to end an argumentative essay?

Conclude by summarizing the main points, reinforcing your thesis, addressing counterarguments, and leaving readers with a compelling final thought or call to action that strengthens your position.