CHAPTER 6: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Definition and Purpose of Argumentative Essays

In this kind of essay, we not only give information but also present an argument with the PROS (supporting
ideas) and CONS (opposing ideas) of an argumentative issue. We should clearly take our stand and write
as if we are trying to persuade an opposing audience to adopt new beliefs or behavior.

When you write an argumentative essay, assume that the reader disagrees with you. But please
remember that your reader is no less intelligent than you. So, write objectively, LOGICALLY and
RESPECTFULLY. Try to understand your opponent’s point of view. If you do not, you are not likely to
convince the reader.

An argument follows when two groups disagree about something. People can have different opinions and
can offer reasons in support of their arguments. However, sometimes it might be difficult to convince
the other group because the argument could be based on a matter of preference, or belief.
Therefore, arguments of preference or belief are NOT the type of arguments. For example, a thesis such
as “My first experiences with Americans were shocking” has a central idea ‘shocking’ but it is not really
strongly persuasive, and it is certainly not argumentative.

Choosing an argumentative topic is not an easy task. The topic:

• should be narrowed down

X Marijuana should be considered illegal.
Not a good topic because it is too general. In some medical cases, marijuana is prescribed by the doctors
and the patients are encouraged to use it in case of suffering from too much pain.
Revised: Selling and using marijuana in public places should be considered illegal.

• should contain an argument

X We should decide whether we want a bicycle or a car.
Our stand is not clear: do we support having bicycles or cars?
Revised: If we are under the age of 30 and want a healthy life, we should definitely get a bicycle instead
of a car.

• should not be in question form

X Are you one of those who thinks cheating is not good for students?
A question cannot be an argument.
Revised: Cheating helps students learn.

• should not be a known fact

facts cannot be arguments
X Considering its geological position, Turkey has an important geopolitical role in the EU.
Revised: Considering its geopolitical role, we can clearly say that the EU cannot be without Turkey.

• should be a topic that can be adequately supported

X I feel that writing an argumentative essay is definitely a challenging task.
feelings cannot be supported; we cannot persuade other people

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If you believe that you can find enough evidence to support your idea and refute others effectively, you
can choose challenging topics as well. You can enjoy writing about such topics:
• Cheating is beneficial for students.
• Tofaş Şahin is a very good choice for conscientious drivers.
• Stress is good for the human body.
• Polygamy is quite natural.
• For women, there is no need for men.

ORGANIZATION/OUTLINE FOR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Hook: Begin with a compelling sentence or statement to grab

the reader's attention.
Connecting/Background Information: Provide relevant
INTRODUCTION Paragraph 1 context or background information on the topic.
Thesis statement: Present a clear and concise statement that
states your main argument or position on the topic.
Topic sentence: 1st Supporting Argument
Supporting Evidence: Present factual information, examples,
Paragraph 2 statistics, or expert opinions that support your argument.
Explanation and analysis: Discuss and interpret the
evidence, explaining how it supports your thesis.
Topic sentence: 2nd Supporting Argument
Supporting Evidence: Present factual information, examples,
Paragraph 3 statistics, or expert opinions that support your argument.
Explanation and analysis: Discuss and interpret the
evidence, explaining how it supports your thesis.
BODY Topic sentence: 3rd Supporting Argument
Supporting Evidence: Present factual information, examples,
Paragraph 4 statistics, or expert opinions that support your argument.
Explanation and analysis: Discuss and interpret the
evidence, explaining how it supports your thesis.
Counterargument 1: State opposing viewpoint or
counterargument that someone may have regarding your
Paragraph 5 thesis.
Opposite Refutation 1: Refute counterargument by providing
Side evidence or logical reasoning to show why it is invalid or less
persuasive than your own argument. Respond to potential
objections or alternative perspectives.
Counterargument 2 & Refutation 2: if any
Restate the thesis statement in a slightly different way.
Summarize the main points made in the body paragraphs,
CONCLUSION Paragraph 6 emphasizing their significance.
Provide a closing thought or call to action, encouraging the
reader to consider your viewpoint or take a specific action.

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 Studying a Sample Argumentative Essay
Read the example essay that argues for the use of school uniforms, and answer the questions that follow.

The School Uniform Question

Every morning, students across the nation wake up and face a daily decision: what to wear to
school. It may seem like a trivial matter, but this seemingly innocent choice has ignited a heated debate
within the public school system. On one side of the spectrum, there are those who advocate for
individuality, arguing that students should have the freedom to express themselves through their clothing
choices. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that implementing school uniforms is the
superior choice for fostering a positive learning environment by reducing distractions, instilling a sense of
belonging, and promoting equality.

First, implementing school uniforms would make students' lives much simpler. Just imagine a
world where students don't have to spend endless time and energy deciding what to wear every morning.
With uniforms, they wouldn't have to go through the hassle of going through their wardrobe, trying on
different outfits, and feeling stressed about making the right choice. Instead, they could just put on their
uniform and be ready for the day, knowing they are dressed appropriately according to the school's rules.
This simplified approach not only saves time but also reduces the worry and pressure that comes with
choosing clothes. By removing the need to make fashion decisions, school uniforms free up mental energy
that can be used for more important things, like focusing on schoolwork, building friendships, or
participating in extracurricular activities. Ultimately, the simplicity of school uniforms provides students
with a much-needed break from the daily struggle of choosing outfits and allows them to concentrate on
their education more easily.

Second, school uniforms influence students to act responsibly in groups and as individuals.
Uniforms give students the message that school is a special place for learning. In addition, uniforms create
a feeling of unity among students. For example, when students do something as a group such as attend
meetings in the auditorium, or eat lunch in the cafeteria, the fact that they all wear the same uniform
gives them a sense of community. Even more important, statistics show the positive effects that school
uniforms have on violence and truancy. According to a recent survey in a large school district in Florida,
incidents of school violence dropped by 50%, attendance and test scores improved, and student
suspensions declined approximately 30% after school uniforms were introduced.

Finally, school uniforms would help make all the students feel equal. Students’ standard of living
differ greatly from family to family, and some people are well off while others are not. People sometimes
forget that school is a place to get an education not to promote a “fashion show”. Implementing
mandatory school uniforms would make all the students look the same regardless of their financial status.
School uniforms would promote pride and help to raise the self-esteem of students who cannot afford to
wear expensive clothing.

Opponents of mandatory uniforms say that students who wear school uniforms cannot express
their individuality. This point has some merit on the surface. However, as stated previously, school is a
place to learn, not to flaunt wealth and fashion. Society must decide if individual expression through
clothing is more valuable than improved educational performance. It is important to remember that
school uniforms will be worn only during school hours. Students can express their individuality in the way
that they dress outside of the classroom.

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 In conclusion, there are many well documented benefits of implementing mandatory school
uniforms for students. Studies show that students learn better and act more responsibly when they wear
uniforms. Public schools should require uniforms in order to benefit both the students and society the
whole.

Questions about the Model Essay

1. What is the hook and background information in the introduction?

2. What is the thesis statement?
3. Body Paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 each give a reason for requiring school uniforms. These reasons can be
found in the topic sentences. What are the reasons?
4. What is the counterargument given in the body paragraph 5?
5. What is the writer’s refutation of the counterargument?
6. What is the organization of the concluding paragraph- A restatement of the thesis, or/and summary of
the main points? Is there a final thought given in the conclusion?

TOPICS FOR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

What is a great topic for an argumentative essay? Obviously, it should be an issue that you feel strongly
about, know something about, and would like to share your opinion about. What is your opinion, why
do you think this way? Can you think of some reasons why people might disagree with you?

When you choose a topic, consider these two questions:

1) Does the topic have two sides?
2) How much do you know about the topic?

Look at the list of argumentative topics below. What is your opinion about each topic? Are they two
sides of each topic?
Topics for Argument
Banning cigarettes Banning violent video games
Requiring school uniforms Using animals for medical research
Mandating military service Requiring a test for people who want children
Lowering the drinking age to 18 Banning cell phones in schools
Getting rid of zoos Requiring a year of study abroad

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Exercise 1: Identifying Topics for Argumentative Essays

1) Read these 8 topics. Put a check mark next to the ones that could be good topics for argument essays.

_________ 1. The first time I flew in a plane.

_________ 2. University education should be free.
_________ 3. How and why birds fly south for the winter.
_________ 4. High school teachers need a higher salary.
_________ 5. Steps needed to get a driver’s license.
_________ 6. Legalizing gay marriage.
_________ 7. Increasing tax on imported food.
_________ 8. How to become a karate master.

2) Can you think of three additional topics that would be excellent for an argumentative essay?
1. __________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

• After you choose a topic, think about what you know about it. What do you know about your side
of the argument and what do you know about the opposite side of the argument?
• A good way to organize your ideas is to use a Pro & Con T-chart.
(Pro = in favor of thesis statement, Con = against thesis statement)

Pro & Con T-Chart

Thesis Statement: Cell phones should not be allowed in university classrooms.

PRO CON

1. Cell phones distract students from learning if
they send messages or play games in class.
2. Cell phones might ring in class and disturb the
teacher.
3. Students could use cell phones to cheat on
tests.
1. Cell phones can easily be turned off and kept
out of sight.
2. University students are not children and
cellphones are important in an emergency.
3.Cell phones can be useful tools for education
such a being used as a dictionary or to make
memos.

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Supporting our ideas: This is the most important part when persuading others. We are asking some
people to change their beliefs or actions. We should be supporting our ideas with such facts, statistics
and/or authorities that there should not be room for any doubts.

Here are some faulty supports we should avoid:

Thesis: Leaving the university and starting to work is good for the adolescent because …

• Feelings, emotional arguments (… it makes one feel much better.)

• Irrelevant examples (wandering off the topic) (… he would then be able to take his girlfriend to expensive
restaurants.)
• Oversimplification (… only then would he understand what it means to be
an adult.)
• Hasty generalizations (... it is a widely known fact that all adolescents
look forward to earning money.)
• Unreliable, even false outside sources (… according to www.doubtme.com, 80% of working men wish
they quit school when they were at university and started working at an earlier age.)

Refuting opposing arguments: Before we start saying that the opponents are wrong, we should specify
their opposing ideas. Otherwise, it would be like hitting the other person with eyes closed. We should see
clearly what we are hitting and be prepared beforehand so that he cannot hit us back. We can do this by
knowing what we are refuting.

For example:
X Some people may say that adolescents should not leave university education; however, they are wrong.
(What they say is not wrong. Maybe their supporting idea is wrong /irrelevant /insufficient. We should
state their supporting idea specifically to be able to refute it.)

Revised: Some people may say that adolescents should not leave university education because they are
not physically and psychologically mature enough to cope with the problems of the real world. However,
they forget one fact: adolescents can vote or start driving at the age of 18 (in some countries even before
that age!), which proves that they are considered physically and psychologically mature at that age.

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 Useful Language and Phrases for Argumentative Essays

Signposts gain importance in the argumentative essay. They enable the readers to follow our arguments
easily. They tell the reader what you are going to do at key points in your assignment. They are most useful
when used in the following places:
• In the introduction
• At the beginning of a paragraph which develops a new idea
• At the beginning of a paragraph which expands on a previous idea
• At the beginning of a paragraph which offers a contrasting viewpoint
• At the end of a paragraph to sum up an idea
• In the conclusion

1) When pointing out opposing arguments (Cons):

Opponents of this idea claim/maintain that…
Those who disagree/ are against these ideas may say/ assert that…
Some people may disagree with this idea,
Some people may say that…however…

2) When stating specifically why they think like that:

They claim that … since …
The put forward this idea because …
They claim that … since …

3) Reaching the turning point:

However,
But
On the other hand,

4) When refuting the opposing idea, we may use the following strategies:
• compromise but prove their argument is not powerful enough:
- They have a point in thinking like that.
- To a certain extent they are right.
• completely disagree:
- After seeing this evidence, there is no way we can agree with this idea.
• say that their argument is irrelevant to the topic:
- Their argument is irrelevant to the topic.

5) Some useful signposting phrases for an introduction

• To understand the role of ... (your topic*)
• This essay aims to provide a discussion of ... (the ideas you will develop)
• This essay seeks to investigate/evaluate/illustrate/discuss the impact of ... (your topic) in
relation to ... (the ideas you will develop)
• Firstly, this assignment examines ... (your topic) and its links with ... (your first idea) Next, it
closely examines ... in relation to ... (your next idea) Finally, it focuses on ... and how this affects
...(your next idea)

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6) some useful signposting phrases for a paragraph which introduces or develops a new idea
• One aspect which illustrates ... (your topic) can be identified as ... (the idea you want to develop)
• The current debate about .. (your topic) identifies an interesting viewpoint on..(the idea you want
to develop)
• This first/next/ final section provides a general discussion of ...(the idea you want to develop)

7) Some useful signposting phrases for a paragraph which expands upon a previous idea
• Building on from the idea that ... (mention previous idea), this section illustrates that ... (introduce
your new idea).
• To further understand the role of ...(your topic or your previous idea) this section explores the
idea that ...
(introduce your new idea)
• Another line of thought on ... (your topic or your previous idea) demonstrates that ... (introduce
your new idea)

8) Some useful signposting phrases for a paragraph which offers a contrasting view
• However, another angle on this debate suggests that ... (introduce your contrasting idea)
• In contrast to evidence which presents the view that ... (mention your previous idea) an
alternative
• perspective illustrates that ... (introduce your contrasting idea)
• However, not all research shows that ... (mention your previous idea). Some evidence agrees
that ... (introduce your contrasting idea)

9) Some useful signposting phrases to sum up an idea in a paragraph

• This evidence highlights that ... (sum up your idea)
• There is general agreement that ... (sum up your idea)
• The strength of such an approach is that ...(sum up your idea)

10) Some useful signposting phrases for conclusion

• Clearly, this essay has shown that the main factors which impact upon ... (your topic) are
...(summarise your main ideas)
• The evidence presented in this assignment has shown that ... (mention the conclusions you have
drawn)
• To conclude, this assignment has addressed a number of significant issues which show that ...
(mention the
conclusions you have drawn)

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 Exercise 2 Brainstorming Supporting Ideas
Read the thesis statements and complete the Pro & Con T-charts. Write three ideas to support each
statement. Then write three ideas against each statement. Finally, choose an original topic and write a thesis
statement of your own. Then fill in the pros and cons for your new topic.

1. Thesis statement: Adults should be required to pass a test before they can become parents.
PRO CON
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

2. Thesis statement: The drinking age in Japan should be lowered to 18 years old.
PRO CON
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

3. ORIGINAL Thesis statement: _____________________________________________________________

PRO CON
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

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 Original Student Writing: Argument Essay
Brainstorming will help you get started with your argumentative essay. In this section, you will choose a topic for
your essay, write your thesis statement, think about several supporting ideas for your opinion, and think about the
counterargument.

Exercise 3 Planning your Essay

Follow the steps below to develop ideas for an argument essay.

1. First, choose any other topic and thesis statement that you want to write about. Remember that the topic
must have more than one point of view to qualify as an argument.
Essay topic: _____________________________________________________________________________
Thesis statement: ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Now brainstorm ideas about your topic. Fill out the Pro & Con T-Chart with as many ideas as you can.

PRO CON
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

3. Look at your Pro & Con T-chart again. Choose three reasons from your PRO list that support your thesis
most effectively and circle them. You now know what your major supporting information will be.

4. Now give attention to opposing points of view. In the box below, choose two counterarguments from your
CON list and write a refutation for each.

Counterargument (from CON list) Refutation (ATTACK - Why is it wrong?)

1.

2.

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 Exercise 4 Planning with an Outline
Try to complete the following outline before you begin writing your essay. You may use more support
sentences if you need. And try to use complete sentences when it is possible.

1. Introduction (Paragraph 1)
A. Hook: ____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
B. Connecting Information:______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
C. Thesis Statement: __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. Body
A. First Reason (Paragraph 2) topic sentence: _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
1. _____________________________________________________________________________
Support

2. _____________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________________
B. Second Reason (Paragraph 3) topic sentence: ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
1. _____________________________________________________________________________
Support

2. _____________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________________
C. Third Reason (Paragraph 4) topic sentence: ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
1. _____________________________________________________________________________
Support

2. _____________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________________
D. Counterargument (Paragraph 5)
1. Counterargument #1: ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Refutation (attack): _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Counterargument #2: ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Refutation (attack): _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Conclusion (Paragraph 6)
A. Restated Thesis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
B. Opinion/Suggestion/Prediction: _______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

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 Answers about the Model Essay
1. What is the hook and background information in the introduction?
The hook is the opening sentence that immediately engages the reader by highlighting the relatable and
daily experience of students deciding what to wear to school. The subsequent sentences provide
background information, setting up the debate between individuality and school uniforms. The mention
of the opposing viewpoints and the importance of examining the issue's underlying reasons and
consequences create intrigue and invite readers to delve deeper into the essay.

2. What is the thesis statement?

The thesis statement is included at the end of the paragraph: implementing school uniforms is the
superior choice for fostering a positive learning environment by reducing distractions, instilling a sense of
belonging, and promoting equality.

3. Body Paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 each give a reason for requiring school uniforms. These reasons can be
found in the topic sentences. What are the reasons?
Reason 1: making students’ lives simpler
Reason 2: act responsibly in groups and as individuals
Reason 3: creating equality among students

4. What is the counterargument given in the body paragraph 5?

Counterargument: Students who wear school uniforms cannot express their individuality

5. What is the writer’s refutation the counterargument?

School is a place to learn, not to flaunt wealth and fashion. Additionally, the writer points out that that
students have the freedom to express their individuality through clothing choices outside of the
classroom.
6. What is the organization of the concluding paragraph- A restatement of the thesis, or/and summary of
the main points? Is there a final thought given in the conclusion?
The organization of the concluding paragraph:
1. Restatement of the thesis or main argument: "In conclusion, there are many well-documented benefits
of implementing mandatory school uniforms for students."
2. Presentation of supporting evidence: "Studies show that students learn better and act more responsibly
when they wear uniforms."
3. Final thought: "Public schools should require uniforms in order to benefit both the students and society
as a whole."