Argument Essay Tips Voice This is a formal

Argument Essay Tips

Voice • This is a formal essay for a formal audience. • You may use I if you are using a personal anecdote as an example, however, watch phrases like “I think” or “I believe” • Try to avoid clichés or slang • Use rhetorical strategies when appropriate

Argument Structure • You must have a line of reasoning. What are your big reasons that support your claim? • At some point address the opposing viewpoint. • Reasons need to be supported by concrete examples from REHUGO. • Start with historical examples and current events. • Make sure examples from pop culture, personal experience and reading are appropriate to the example.

How to add Sophistication • Quality of Examples • Acknowledge that multiple viewpoints exist. • Have a nuanced argument ( Avoid Either/Or thinking, or assuming that others see the world as you experience it. ) • Line of reasoning! Make sure you essay is well organized and that each section follows from the previous section.

Argument Option 1 • Prompt • Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose a controversial local, national, or global issue with which you are familiar. Then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that carefully considers the opposing positions on this controversy and proposes a solution or compromise.

Controversial Issue • Note that the prompt asks for a solution • Don’t choose a problem that is unsolvable • You can choose something that is a local issue • Think about what issues might be overdone

Opposing Positions • This is not a rant • You must deal with other side in a way that shows that you respect their viewpoint. • You also need to offer a solution or compromise. • Remember the Rogerian structure. • A Solution that offers a compromise is usually more sophisticated

Argument Option Two • The following excerpt is from researcher Erin Bryant’s “Real Lies, White Lies and Gray Lies: Towards a Typology of Deception” (2008). Read the excerpt carefully. Then write an essay that argues your position on the circumstances—if any—under which lying should be considered acceptable. •

Tips • Pick a side here. Lying can’t be good and bad. • This is a good essay to qualify. • Remember, all or nothing essays tend to be viewed as less sophisticated. Should we really NEVER lie? • Remember the issues raised about lying in the Kant chapter in Justice • .