How to Write an Argumentative Essay

Start with a question that has two sides

A topic is not an argument. "Social media" is a topic. "Should schools restrict phone use during lessons?" is a question, and it is one where a sensible person could answer either way. If nobody would disagree with your position, there is nothing to argue.

Before you commit, write one sentence for each side. If you cannot state the opposing view fairly, you do not understand the debate well enough yet.

Write a thesis you can defend

Your thesis is your answer to the question, stated in one or two sentences, with the main reason attached. "Schools should restrict phone use during lessons because it measurably improves attention and has little cost to learning" is a thesis. "Phones in schools are a controversial issue" is not — it takes no position.

A good test: could someone write an essay arguing the opposite? If yes, you have a thesis.

Use a structure the reader can follow

Most argumentative essays follow the same shape, and markers expect it.

1. Introduction: set up the question, give the context a reader needs, and end with your thesis.
2. Body paragraphs: one main reason per paragraph, each supported by evidence.
3. Counterargument: the strongest objection to your position, and your response to it.
4. Conclusion: restate the thesis in light of what you have shown, and say why it matters.

Build each paragraph around one claim

Open the paragraph with the claim it will make. Follow it with evidence — a study, a statistic, a quotation, a concrete example. Then do the step most students skip: explain how that evidence supports the claim. Evidence does not speak for itself.

End by tying the paragraph back to your thesis. If a paragraph does not help prove the thesis, it belongs in a different essay.

Take the other side seriously

Answering a weak version of the opposing view convinces nobody. Pick the best objection you can find, state it the way its supporters would, and then show why your position still holds — because the objection rests on a mistaken assumption, applies only in limited cases, or is outweighed by something more important.

Conceding a small point often makes the rest of your argument more believable.

Revise for the argument first, the sentences second

On your first pass, ignore spelling. Read only your thesis and the first sentence of each paragraph. Do they form a logical chain? If not, fix the structure before polishing anything.

Then check each paragraph for evidence and explanation, and only after that work on clarity, grammar, and word choice.

Common mistakes

• A thesis that describes the topic instead of taking a position.
• Paragraphs that summarize sources without making a claim.
• Evidence dropped in with no explanation of what it shows.
• No counterargument, or one that is too weak to be worth answering.
• A conclusion that introduces a brand-new argument.