An argumentative essay is a structured piece of writing that presents a clear stance on a topic and supports it with evidence and reasoning.
Thesis Statement – Clearly states your position on the issue.
Evidence-Based Arguments – Uses facts, research, and examples to support claims.
Counterarguments & Rebuttals – Addresses opposing views and refutes them logically.
Logical Structure – Organized into introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Persuasive Tone – Aims to convince the reader through strong reasoning.
Choose a clear & Debatable Topic
Develop a Strong Thesis
Research Thoroughly
Example topics:
Is social media harmful or beneficial to society?
Is online learning as effective as traditional classrooms?
A comprehensive resource for exploring current social issues from multiple perspectives. This database offers a wide range of content including viewpoint essays, scholarly articles, news, statistics, primary sources, and multimedia. Designed to support critical thinking and debate, it is ideal for research assignments, persuasive writing, and understanding diverse viewpoints on controversial topics.
Points of View Reference Source is designed to support argumentative and analytical writing by presenting multiple perspectives on over 400 controversial topics. Each entry includes a topic overview, point and counterpoint essays, and a Guide to Critical Analysis to help students evaluate arguments and structure their own. With supporting articles from newspapers, magazines, and reference books, this resource is ideal for writing-intensive courses that emphasize persuasive essays, research papers, and critical thinking.
A comprehensive, multidisciplinary database offering full-text access to thousands of peer-reviewed journals, magazines, books, conference papers, and reports. It supports research across a wide range of subjects including science, technology, humanities, education, business, and health. Features include advanced search tools, citation assistance, subject indexing, and access to both current and archival content, making it a valuable resource for academic research at all levels.
The Imaginative Argument
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More than merely a writing text, The Imaginative Argument offers writers instruction on how to use their imaginations to improve their prose. Cioffi shows writers how they can enliven argument--the organizing rubric of all persuasive writing--by drawing on emotion, soul, and creativity, the wellsprings of imagination. While Cioffi suggests that argument should become a natural habit of mind for writers, he goes still further, inspiring writers to adopt as their gold standard the imaginative argument: the surprising yet strikingly apt insight that organizes disparate noises into music, that makes out of chaos, chaos theory. Rather than offering a model of writing based on established formulas or templates, Cioffi urges writers to envision argument as an active parsing of experience that imaginatively reinvents the world. Cioffi's manifesto asserts that successful argument also requires writers to explore their own deep-seated feelings, to exploit the fuzzy but often profoundly insightful logic of the imagination. But expression is not all that matters: Cioffi's work anchors itself in the actual. Drawing on Louis Kahn's notion that a good architect never has all the answers to a building's problems before its physical construction, Cioffi maintains that in argument, too, answers must be forged along the way, as the writer inventively deals with emergent problems and unforeseen complexities. Indeed, discovery, imagination, and invention suffuse all stages of the process. The Imaginative Argument offers all the intellectual kindling that writers need to ignite this creativity, from insights on developing ideas to avoiding bland assertions or logical leaps. It cites exemplary nonfiction prose stylists, including William James, Ruth Benedict, and Erving Goffman, as well as literary sources to demonstrate the dynamic of persuasive writing. Provocative and lively, it will prove not only essential reading but also inspiration for all those interested in arguing more imaginatively more successfully. This edition features new chapters that cover the revision process in greater depth, as well as the particular challenges of researching and writing in the digital age, such as working with technology and avoiding plagiarism. The book also includes new sample essays, an appendix to help instructors use the book in the classroom, and much more.
Persuasive Writing
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Developed from powerful techniques consistently proven in the world of multi-million pound commercial bid writing, Persuasive Writing reveals the most efficient and effective ways to make your words work, time after time. Discover how to: Transform any document into something truly compelling and persuasive Understand what your reader really wants to hear and use this to get what you want Combine logic and emotion to convince even the most sceptical reader Whether you're writing for business or for pleasure, the longest document or the shortest email, with these and many more proven techniques, Persuasive Writing will ensure every word works for you.