Writing an argumentative essay

Pre-writing

State the "controversy" in the form of a yes/no question.

Should guns be made legal?
Is television harmful to children?

Divide your paper into two parts:

Pros	Cons
Guns can be helpful to defend ourselves from dangerous criminals ... ...	Guns can be harmful, especially at the hands of irresponsible people ... ...

• Decide which side of the argument you will defend.
• Remember to support your opinions with facts, statistics, examples, quotes ...

Writing

Include an introduction, a body and a conclusion:

Introduction:

State the problem: a clear thesis statement.

Body:

Paragraph: topic sentence

a. argument 1
b. argument 2
c. argument 3
d. ...

Paragraph: topic sentence

a. argument 1
b. argument 2
c. argument 3
d. ...

Conclusion:

a. Give a balanced view.
b. Give your opinion.