Writing an

Argumentative
Essay
Overview

Topic/Objective:

Cornell Notes

Name:

Argumentative Essay

Essential Question:
How

Class/Period:
Date:

do I write an argumentative essay?

Questions:

Notes:

Summary:

For your district writing

assessment, you will be
writing an argumentative
essay. Pay close attention
to the following
guidelines, take good
notes, and you will
succeed admirably. I will
personally give you all the
tools you will need to

You will be given a text

with both positive and
negative aspects about
starting school later.
You will also be given an
outline containing the
basic information for
each paragraph.

Writing an
Argumentative
Essay
Introduction

Take a look at the

Argumentative Essay
Outline for the
introduction. You will
use this as a
guideline to write
your paper. Be sure
to include everything

I. First Paragraph - Introduction

A. Issue Begin by asking the question
Should school start later?
B. Perspective State your perspective in one
sentence (a student) and give the
current
school hours of your school.
C. Position State whether you are for or
against starting school later in
one sentence.
D. Thesis Briefly state three different
reasons why you are for or against
starting school later.

Think-Pair-Share

What
information do
you include in
Think
Pair
Share
the
introduction?

The introduction
contains the issue,
your perspective,
your position, and
introduces the three
reasons for/against
the issue within the
thesis.

Once youve developed

your position, have
three different reasons
for why youve chosen
that position, and found
textual evidence to
support them, you will
be ready to write your
argumentative paper.

Begin by introducing the

issue. Give a brief
description, in your own
words, of the current
school hours. Tell the
reader when school begins
and ends. You must
assume that your reader
has no idea of what the

Take a look at the

following
example
regarding the
societal issue of
whether or not

Should bees be
killed?

Next, state your perspective.

Remember, your perspective
is how you view the issue.
Are you a politician? Are you
a consumer? Are you the
child of a consumer? Are you
a landowner? Your
perspective allows the
reader to better understand
why youre arguing your

Should bees be killed?

I am a homeowner and
have had bees on my
property.

Next, state your position.

This is a simple statement
that should only be one
sentence.

I am for school
starting later.
I am against
school starting

Should bees be
killed? I am a
homeowner and have
had bees on my
property. I am against
killing bees for a
couple of different
reasons.

Lastly, write a sentence

that will introduce your
first body paragraph.

I am for school
starting later
I ambecause
against
school
starting later
because

The order of your

reasons is the
same order you
will use in your
first body
paragraph. Take

Should bees be killed? I am a

homeowner and have had bees
on my property. I am against
killing bees for a couple of
reasons.
Idifferent
am against
killing bees
because they pollinate trees
and produce honey.

Your reader will know

that your first body
paragraph will begin
by talking about bees
pollinating trees and
will then be about
bees producing
honey.

Notice that
nowhere in the
introduction does it
call for quotes or
evidence. The
introduction should
be written in your

Also notice that the last

sentence states that you are
for or against school starting
later for three specific
reasons.

Guess what?
This is your
thesis!

If you follow those

guidelines, you will
have successfully
completed a fivesentence
introductory
paragraph with all

Writing an
Argumentative
Essay

First Body Paragraph

Reasons You Are for or
Against It

The first body

paragraph in your
essay is where the
meat is. This is
where you will
defend your position.
Take a look at the
outline.

II. First Body Paragraph Reasons you are for or

against it.
A. Begin the paragraph by saying Starting
school later is good/bad because
B. In three or more sentences, describe and
explain why your position is better.
(This is in your own words.)
C. Evidence Use ONE piece of evidence from
the text to support your reason. Start this
sentence by stating the articles title and
authors
name.

Think-Pair-Share

What information
do you include in
your first body
Thinkparagraph?
Pair
Share

The first body

paragraph contains
the reasons you are
for or against it, why
your position is
better, and textual
evidence to support
your position.

The first body

paragraph shall
contain four
sentences explaining
your reasons. The
fifth sentence is the
evidence you have

Be sure that your

evidence
supports your
reasons. Take a
look at the
following

Body Paragraph
Bees are important
because
#1
they pollinate trees and produce
honey. Pollinating allows fruit to
grow. Honey is used for many
things, to include medicine.
Without bees, this process
wouldnt take place. In the text,
Bees in America by Laura
Jones, it states

Writing an
Argumentative
Essay
Second Body Paragraph
The Opposing Viewpoint

The second body

paragraph in your essay
is where you offer the
opposite position of
yours. For example, if
you are for starting
school earlier, you will
talk about what is bad
about starting school

III. Second Body Paragraph The opposing

viewpoint
A. Begin the paragraph by saying Some
students might think starting
school later is good/bad
because
B. In three or more sentences, describe and
explain why other students may think their
position is better. (This is in your own
words)
C. Evidence Use ONE piece of evidence from
the text to support your reason. Restate

Think-Pair-Share

What information
do you include in
the second body
paragraph?
Think

Pair

Share

The second body

paragraph contains the
reasons the opposing
position may have, why
their position may be
better, and textual
evidence to support the
opposing position.

The second body

paragraph shall contain
four sentences
explaining the opposing
position. The fifth
sentence is the
evidence you have
found to support them.

If you follow those

guidelines, you will
have successfully
completed each of
your body
paragraphs with all
the necessary

Writing an
Argumentative
Essay
Conclusion

Look at the fourth and

final section of the
outline. This is the
conclusion. It is just as
important as the
introduction. It sums up
all your points and
should leave the reader
agreeing with you.

IV. Conclusion
A. Position Restate your position in different
words.
B. Opposing Position Remind the reader of the
opposing viewpoint.
C. Counterclaim State your position again.
D. Thesis State your thesis again.
E. Prediction Give a prediction of what may happen
if your position isnt taken seriously.

Think-Pair-Share

What information
do you include in
your conclusion?
Think

Pair

Share

The conclusion restates

your position, reminds the
reader of the opposite
position, and states your
position and your thesis
again. Lastly, it states a
prediction of what might
happen if your position
isnt adopted.

Begin by
restating your
position in
different
words.

Killing bees is
wrong, and we
need to stop.

Your second sentence

reminds the reader the
opposing position. This
shows that you, as the
writer, are open for
discussion on the issue. It
shows that you are willing
to see things from both
sides. Take a look at this

Killing bees is wrong, and

we need to stop.
Although
bees are one of the most
important insects for
human survival, people
may still find them
annoying and even
dangerous.

Notice that I didnt

change my position.
It was simply a
statement that
allowed the reader to
see that I understand
there are two sides
to every argument.

The third
sentence of the
conclusion states
your position
again. Look at
the example.

Killing bees is wrong, and we need

to stop. Although bees are one of
the most important insects, people
may still find them annoying and
even
dangerous.
However,
I still firmly believe that
whether or not theyre
dangerous, they are an important
aspect for human survival.

Providing a
counterclaim in
your conclusion
allows you to
show how
important your

The fourth
sentence of the
conclusion
restates your
thesis.

Killing bees is wrong, and we need

to stop. Although bees are one of
the most important insects, people
may still find them annoying and
even dangerous. However, I still
firmly believe that whether or not
theyre dangerous, they are an
important
for human
Therefore, aspect
I am against
killing
survival.
bees because they pollinate trees
and they produce honey.

The fifth and final

sentence of your
conclusion gives a
prediction of what
may happen if the
reader doesnt agree
with your position.

Killing bees is wrong, and we need

to stop. Although bees are one of
the most important insects, people
may still find them annoying and
even dangerous. However, I still
firmly believe that whether or not
theyre dangerous, they are an
important aspect for human
survival. Therefore, I am against
killing bees because they pollinate
trees and they produce honey. If the
killing doesnt stop, who knows
what will happen to our food supply.

If you follow those

guidelines, you will
have successfully
completed your
conclusion with all
the necessary
information.