SOURCE: https://www.grammarly.

com/blog/argumentative-essay-outline/
WHAT IS AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY?
An argumentative essay is a short, nonfiction piece of writing that uses logical evidence and
empirical data to convince the reader of a certain point of view. Because of its reliance on
structure and planning, the first step in writing one is often drafting a solid argumentative
essay outline.
HOW IS AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY STRUCTURED?
Argumentative essays typically include an explanation of the writer’s stand or position about
a topic (thesis), reasons or arguments that will become the foundation of his stand or opinion
about a topic, and evidence or supporting details to back up his or her reasons arguments.
Sometimes, the writer may include the opposing points of view, and his or her rebuttals
against these opposing points of view.
The order in which these sections are presented, however, depends on the format. There are
three formats in writing an argumentative essay: Aristotelian, Rogerian, and Toulmin.
ARISTOTELIAN OUTLINE FOR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
I. INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
A. TOPIC QUESTION: ______________________________
B. AUTHOR’S STAND (THESIS): _______________________
II. BODY PARAGRAPHS
A. REASON/ARGUMENT 1: ___________________________________
B. REASON/ARGUMENT 2: ___________________________________
C. OPPOSING ARGUMENT: ___________________________________
III. CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH
A. AUTHOR’S STAND (THESIS): ________________________
Things to remember:
• The topic should be something that you are interested to explore and confident to talk
about. In order to make it easy for the writer to make a stand about the topic, he or
she may convert the topic into a topic question.
• The author’s stand or thesis must not be too broad or too narrow. A thesis that is too
broad may become very generalized. A thesis that is too narrow may not give you
enough ideas to explore.
• Every reason or argument must be backed up by evidence (ethos) and logic (logos).
Also, a good argument appeals to emotions (pathos) to persuade people.
• Sometimes, you may highlight an existing opposing argument about your topic. Then,
you may debunk the opposing argument to fully establish your stand or thesis.
• It is very important to create an interesting introduction and conclusion for your
argumentative essay: ask a rhetoric question, tell a narrative, or disclose a statistic.
Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/argumentative-essay-examples

ACTIVITY 5A: CREATING AN OUTLINE FOR YOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

INTRODUCTION TOPIC QUESTION: Should libraries be converted to digital form?

PARAGRAPH THESIS STATEMENT: It will be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets due
to its negative consequences.
BODY REASON/ARGUMENT 1: There is less learning and more problems associated with
PARAGRAPH digital books and resources from a tablet than print resources in a physical
library.
REASON/ARGUMENT 2: Physical libraries offer a lot of services, not only book
lending.
OPPOSING ARGUMENT: Physical libraries may be “impractical” but the
experience of visiting an actual library is “priceless.”
CONCLUSION THESIS STATEMENT: It will be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets due
PARAGRAPH to its negative consequences.

ACTIVITY 5B: PROVIDING SUPPORTING DETAILS TO YOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

INTRODUCTION TOPIC QUESTION: Should libraries be converted to digital form?

PARAGRAPH THESIS STATEMENT: It will be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets due
to its negative consequences.
BODY REASON/ARGUMENT 1: There is less learning and more problems associated with
PARAGRAPH digital books and resources from a tablet than print resources in a physical
library.

SUPPORTING DETAILS:
• A study done on tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30%
slower on tablets, retain 20% less information, and understand 10% less of
what they read.
• Staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause numerous health
problems.
REASON/ARGUMENT 2: Physical libraries offer a lot of services, not only book
lending.

SUPPORTING DETAILS:
• Libraries have a multitude of benefits which include acting as a quiet
study space, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, etc.
• A survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of American
adults feel that closing their local library would have a major impact on
their community.
OPPOSING ARGUMENT: Physical libraries may be “impractical” but the
experience of visiting an actual library is “priceless.”

SUPPORTING DETAILS:
• One of the advantages in digitalizing physical libraries is that it can save
the local government money because libraries are expensive to maintain.
• However, in both instances of maintaining the physical library and
digitalizing it, money is still involved.
CONCLUSION THESIS STATEMENT: It will be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets due
PARAGRAPH to its negative consequences.
ACTIVITY 5C: WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

INTRODUCTION As online learning becomes more common and more and more resources are
PARAGRAPH converted to digital form, many people have suggested that public libraries
should be shut down and, in their place, everyone should be given a tablet with
an e-reader subscription. I totally disagree with this idea and it would be a serious
mistake to replace libraries with tablets.
BODY First, digital books and resources are associated with less learning and more
PARAGRAPH problems than print resources. A study done on tablet vs book reading found that
people read 20-30% slower on tablets, retain 20% less information, and
REASON OR understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the same
ARGUMENT 1 information in print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to
cause numerous health problems, including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes,
headaches, and eye strain, at much higher instances than reading print does.
People who use tablets and mobile devices excessively also have a higher
incidence of more serious health issues such as fibromyalgia, shoulder and back
pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and muscle strain. I know that whenever I read
from my e-reader for too long, my eyes begin to feel tired and my neck hurts. We
should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people,
more reasons to look at screens.
BODY Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service libraries
PARAGRAPH offer is book lending. Libraries have a multitude of benefits, and many are only
available if the library has a physical location. Some of these benefits include
REASON OR acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to converse with their
ARGUMENT 2 neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering patron
questions, and keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found
that, after a local library instituted community events such as play times for
toddlers and parents, job fairs for teenagers, and meeting spaces for senior
citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their
community. Similarly, a Pew survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-
thirds of American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major
impact on their community. People see libraries as a way to connect with others
and get their questions answered, benefits tablets can’t offer as easily.
BODY There may be numerous advantages in digitalizing physical libraries. Many
PARAGRAPH people state that it will save the local government money because libraries are
expensive to maintain. They also believe it will encourage more people to read
OPPOSING because they won’t have to travel to a library to get a book. Thus, they can
ARGUMENT simply click on what they want to read and read it from wherever they are. They
could also access more materials because libraries won’t have to buy physical
copies of books; they can simply rent out as many digital copies as they need.
However, money will still be an issue if we opt in digitalizing libraries. The local
government will still buy tablets and allot funds for its maintenance. They also
need to pay for the e-subscription. In both instances, money is still involved.
Nothing beats the joy in going to the library and the experience of being
surrounded by books as compared to the idle life of using tables.
CONCLUSION While replacing libraries with tablets may seem like a simple solution, it would
PARAGRAPH encourage people to spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite
the myriad issues surrounding them. It would also end access to many of the
benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In many areas, libraries are
such an important part of the community network that they could never be
replaced by a simple object.

ACTIVITY 5D: SUBMITTING THE FINAL DRAFT OF YOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY (END)
NAME: NAME:
SECTION: SECTION:
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST
ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE
NUMBER SIGNATURE (100) NUMBER SIGNATURE (100)
ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN
OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A
ARG. ESSAY ARG. ESSAY
5B: PROVIDING 5B: PROVIDING
SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A
TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY
5C: WRITING THE 5C: WRITING THE FIRST
FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR N/A DRAFT OF YOUR ARG. N/A
ARG. ESSAY ESSAY
5D: SUBMITTING THE 5D: SUBMITTING THE
FINAL DRAFT OF FINAL DRAFT OF
YOUR ARG. ESSAY YOUR ARG. ESSAY
ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN
ARGUMENTATIVE ARGUMENTATIVE
SPEECH SPEECH

NAME: NAME:
SECTION: SECTION:
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST
ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE
NUMBER SIGNATURE (100) NUMBER SIGNATURE (100)
ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN
OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A
ARG. ESSAY ARG. ESSAY
5B: PROVIDING 5B: PROVIDING
SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A
TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY
5C: WRITING THE 5C: WRITING THE FIRST
FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR N/A DRAFT OF YOUR ARG. N/A
ARG. ESSAY ESSAY
5D: SUBMITTING THE 5D: SUBMITTING THE
FINAL DRAFT OF FINAL DRAFT OF
YOUR ARG. ESSAY YOUR ARG. ESSAY
ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN
ARGUMENTATIVE ARGUMENTATIVE
SPEECH SPEECH

NAME: NAME:
SECTION: SECTION:
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY/SPEECH TO-DO LIST
ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TASK TEACHER’S SCORE
NUMBER SIGNATURE (100) NUMBER SIGNATURE (100)
ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN ACT. 5 5A: CREATING AN
OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A OUTLINE FOR YOUR N/A
ARG. ESSAY ARG. ESSAY
5B: PROVIDING 5B: PROVIDING
SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A SUPPORTING DETAILS N/A
TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY TO YOUR ARG. ESSAY
5C: WRITING THE 5C: WRITING THE FIRST
FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR N/A DRAFT OF YOUR ARG. N/A
ARG. ESSAY ESSAY
5D: SUBMITTING THE 5D: SUBMITTING THE
FINAL DRAFT OF FINAL DRAFT OF
YOUR ARG. ESSAY YOUR ARG. ESSAY
ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN ACT. 6 DELIVERING AN
ARGUMENTATIVE ARGUMENTATIVE
SPEECH SPEECH