The argumentative essay is not bound to a mandatory structural form, nevertheless, as in any text, a characteristic base structure must be respected, such as the beginning, development and closure.
Start: is the introductory phase of the text. In it the initial approach of the subject is made and it is framed within a context, whether social, temporal, among others.
Development: is the general content of the essay, where the author presents all his thoughts on the subject, exposes his ideas and the bases that support it.
Throughout the development, the author interrelates his ideas with the arguments he presents to sustain it.
In this section, which is the essay itself, you have the freedom to introduce ideas, arguments and theoretical foundations in the order that you prefer or consider most appropriate for the management of the content.
Closure: it is the final phase of the essay, in which the author includes the content of the essay and elaborates a conclusion with his vision and the contribution he makes on the subject. In the same way, a final affirmation is made that motivates the reader to take an action or to assume as certain and proper the ideas of the person who writes.
5 steps to write an argumentative essay
1.- Select the topic and investigate
To write an essay and in general any type of text, it is necessary to carry out an investigation on the subject that we have selected. This allows us to better control the subject and make a clear vision of it.
Similarly, the research allows us to gather material such as bibliographic citations that can support the ideas that we will present throughout the paper. It also helps us to see the impact that the issue has caused in the sector where it has been treated and the opinion of other authors about it.
A good way to obtain ideas to write an argumentative essay and to fix our position with greater solidity on the subject in question, is to interview experts in the area.
But also to talk freely with those who, without being experts, are also affected or involved in the situation.
This allows us to expand our vision and obtain different angles of the same subject.
2.- Fix your posture
We have constantly mentioned that the argumentative essay shows the author’s vision. To do this you must form a very particular but reasoned central approach to the topic that you approach and present throughout the text in a coherent way.
The position of the author is always very personal, obeys the way he has to see the world and that has been built from his personal experience as well as from his studies on the subject in question.
To present your vision you must also have very solid bases that help you sustain it. It is not a simple opinion regarding a topic or a slight criticism. A “like” or “I do not think” are not enough for an essay.
The position of the author is always an approach or thesis on the subject studied, which is reasoned from various angles and presented different nuances of the situation.
In the argumentative essay the author goes out sketching his sustained ideas with theoretical, scientific or professional arguments that help him to lead the reader towards his vision of things.
3.- Do not forget to justify
Each time we propose an idea in any field of study, we must justify it. In argumentative essay, justification is part of its essence.
Just as the author presents his opinion of a topic, he must also present the reasons why he considers that his position is valid in relation to the positions of other specialists.
This he achieves from a coherent and profound reasoning of his proposals, and also using the opinion that other authors have wielded before.
4.- Relate to the reader
All essays, especially the argumentative one, interact with the reader. This is achieved by proposing questions that throughout the dissertation should be answered guided by the arguments of the author.
Similarly with the statements made by the writer, the reader is assuming a position on the subject; If these statements are to your liking or have been well conducted by the author, the reader may have a reasoning very close to what the essay suggests.
Interacting with the reader also means offering the reader a view of other angles of the topic and presenting a reasoning against them if these angles are not what we want to favor.
In this way we give the reader the freedom to evaluate other positions but at the same time we lead him to assume ours as the most logical and viable.
5.- Convincing the reader and motivating him to act
Just as the essay presents the author’s opinion on the subject, it also seeks to influence the reader in such a way that he assumes the author’s position as his own. That is to say, it induces him to think like the author with regard to the subject presented.
Similarly, the essay seeks to motivate the reader not only to assume a specific position on the subject, but also to ask questions that the reader must respond from his perspective while being guided by the author’s responses.
Another goal of the essay is to motivate the reader to act accordingly with the way of thinking that has been presented to him and that now assumes as his own given the convincing arguments that the author has made.
Logically, these are general actions, such as voting for a specific candidate or taking care of the environment.
Now, this convincing the reader about our ideas and motivating him to act is the result of a good use of the arguments within the text, as well as the way in which he interacts with the reader.
That is why it handles questions within the text that encourage the reader to respond and, at the end of the essay, propose a concrete action but from the motivation that leads the reader to act according to your ideas.