Essay Writing & Its Types
Week 5, Chapter 5
Argumentative Essay
Writing
What is the point of arguing?
You want to get your point across!
You want others to believe in what you have to say.
An argumentative essay does the same thing – it tries
to convince readers of your point of view.
What is an Argumentative
Essay?
An argumentative essay is a type of essay that
presents arguments about both sides of an issue.
It could be that both sides are presented equally
balanced, or it could be that one side is presented
more forcefully than the other.
It all depends on the writer, and what side he
supports the most.
What’s the point of an argumentative
essay?
In argumentative writing, a writer takes a position
for or against an issue
He/she writes to convince the reader to believe or
do something.
Argumentative essays are written to get the reader
to accept a point of view.
In order to convince the reader, you need more
than an opinion; you need facts or examples to
back up your opinion.
Introduction
Ideas for the introductory paragraph opening:
Opening with a shocking statement:
“Cigarettes are the number one cause of lung
cancer in Canada!”
Opening with a quotation:
“Elbert Hubbard once said, “Truth is stronger
than fiction.”
Introduction
Ideas for the introductory paragraph opening:
Opening with a rhetoric:
“Have you ever considered how many books
we’d read if it were not for television?”
Opening with a statistical finding:
65% of road accidents are caused by drink
driving.”
The general structure of an argumentative essay
follows this format:
Introduction:
Attention Grabber / hook, Background
Information, Thesis Statement
Body:
Three body paragraphs (three major arguments)
Conclusion:
Restatement of opinion
Example
co-education should be Co-education should not
allowed be allowed
-equality social issues
-economical: many religious values of
people can study at one avoiding intermingling
place of both genders
Example of a Thesis Statement
Although many believe that co-education gives an
equal chance to everyone to learn, but some people
find it contradicting to our social and religious
values.
Example of an Introduction:
Of all the problems facing the environment today, the
one that bothers me the most is global warming. Some
scientists say that the earth is getting warmer because of
the greenhouse effect. In this paper I will describe the
greenhouse effect and whether the earth’s atmosphere is
actually getting warmer.
Body
You must then provide arguments to support your
opinion. Each paragraph is based on a solid reason
to back your opinion.
A good argumentative writer tries to anticipate
opposing viewpoints.
One of the paragraphs in the body should be used
to discuss opposing viewpoints and your counter-
argument.
Body
Use examples, real-life experiences, statistics or
research.
Give a scenario, especially when you want the
reader to see a different point of view.
Use cues for the reader, for example; suppose if,
what if, imagine.
Conclusion
A piece of argumentative writing usually ends by
summarizing the most important details of the
argument and stating once again what the reader is
to for or against.
Conclusion
Restate your opinion
Summarize the main points of your argument.
Write a personal comment of call for action.
With a Question:
Closing with a question lets your readers make
their own predictions, draw their own conclusions.
With Recommendations:
Stress or recommend the action you want the
readers to take.
Expository Essay Writing:
Cause and Effect
Cause and Effect Essay
A cause is something that produces an event or
condition.
An effect is what results from an event or condition.
The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to
determine how various phenomena relate in terms
of origins and results.
Developing a Thesis
Use the complex nature of cause and effect to your
advantage.
Claim one of a number of causes or effects to be the
primary, or main, cause or effect.
As soon as you claim that one cause or one effect is
more crucial than the others, you have developed a
thesis.
Structure of the Cause and
Effect Essay
The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one
of the following two primary ways:
Start with the cause and then talk about the effects.
Start with the effect and then talk about the causes.
Phrases of Causation
as a result consequently
because due to
hence since
thus therefore
Writing a Cause and Effect
Essay
Choose an interesting cause-and-effect relationship.
Introduce your topic in an engaging way.
End your introduction with a thesis that states the
main cause, the main effect, or both.
Organize your essay by starting with either the
cause-then-effect structure or the effect-then-cause
structure.
Writing a Cause and Effect Essay
Within each section, you should clearly explain and
support the causes and effects using a full range of
evidence.
Sequence in terms of order of importance.
Order the causes from least to most important (or vice versa)
Order the effects from least important to most important (or vice
versa).
Use the phrases of causation to connect various events
or conditions.
End your essay with a conclusion that summarizes
your main points and reinforces your thesis.
Refer to the sample given in the
course pack.
Expository Essay Writing:
Problem & Solution
What are problem-solution
essays?
Problem-solution essays consider
the problems of a particular situation
give solutions to those problems.
They are in some ways similar to cause and effect
essays, especially in terms of structure.
Problem-solution essays have the following four
components:
Situation
Problem
Solution
Evaluation
Structure
There are two main ways to structure a problem-
solution essay.
Block Structure
Chain Structure
These are similar to the ways to structure cause and
effect essays.
Block Structure
For the block structure, all of
the problems are listed first, Introduction (including 'situation')
and all of the solutions are Problem 1
listed afterwards.
Problem 2 ...
Transition sentence/paragraph
Solution 1
Solution 2 ...
Conclusion (including 'evaluation')
Chain Structure
For the chain structure, Introduction (including
each problem is followed 'situation')
immediately by the Problem 1 & Solution to
solution to that problem. Problem 1
Problem 2 & Solution to
Problem 2
Problem 3 & Solution to
Problem 3...
Conclusion (including
'evaluation')
Refer to the sample given in the course
pack
Resources
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-englishcomp1v2/chapter/writ
ing-for-success-cause-and-effect/
http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/types%20of%20essays/ARGU
MENTATIVE%20ESSAY.pdf
https://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/essays/problemsolution/
Thank you
