argumentative vs opinion essay

Differences Between An Argumentative Essay And An Opinion Essay

by Faze Staff

What’s the difference between an argumentative essay and an opinion essay? In both, you share your perspective on an issue that you think is important, but they are written in different formats and have different purposes in the academic world. For example, when writing an argumentative essay, you usually present the opposing viewpoint to your own opinion and then refute it with solid evidence. On the other hand, opinion essays are based solely on your personal viewpoint and there isn’t much of a structure to how you choose to write it, as long as it’s well-organized and easy to read.

What is an argumentative essay?

An argument essay is one of two basic types of essays that you’ll encounter in your college writing classes: an argumentative essay and an expository essay. In contrast to an expository essay, which explains something, an argument essay does not explain anything; instead, it tries to convince its audience of a certain point of view on a given topic. An argumentative essay is intended to convince readers that your opinion or position on a topic is correct. It may focus on a current issue, such as gun control, or it may be more general in nature. In any case, your thesis will identify what you want to convince readers of: for example, you might argue that social media has had a positive impact on society or that it is harmful. You’ll then use evidence from research and personal experience to support your point of view. You can also write an argumentative essay about a fictional situation, in which case you’ll need to make up facts rather than rely on real-world data.

What’s an opinion essay?

Although both of these types of essays are meant to argue a point, they do so in different ways. With an opinion essay, you’re arguing your point through personal reflection or experience; in an argumentative essay, you’re taking a side on an issue and proving that position with facts, data and other evidence.

This is an essay that presents a point of view on a given subject, usually something controversial. They’re sometimes referred to as op-eds, short for opposite editorial pages. Opinion essays are similar to arguments but written in essay format rather than paragraph format. Unlike arguments, opinion pieces can support their claims with examples from personal experience or evidence found in sources, just like any other essay.

The main difference between an opinion essay and an argumentative essay is that an opinion essay doesn’t have any research behind it—it simply states your own personal viewpoint about something. This could be a person, place or thing (or all three). For example: This is my favorite restaurant because I love their shrimp fettuccine alfredo, but every time I go there I always get sick afterwards.

Key differences in each

A common misconception for a young essay writer is that an argumentative essay and an opinion essay are one in the same. In fact, these two types of essays are incredibly different; in order to produce a high-quality piece of writing, it’s essential to understand exactly what each type entails and how they differ from one another. Read on for a brief explanation of what distinguishes these two varieties of essays from one another

Common mistakes students make when writing an essay

Students often make mistakes when writing an essay due to careless mistakes or simply not following instruction, which we will explore further into today’s post. It’s very important for an essay writer to be precise with their word choices in order to convey a particular message effectively. If a student is not precise enough with his/her word choice, it can lead to an essay that fails to express its point clearly.

A few tips on how to write a great essay

From start to finish, a great essay takes time and effort, so you’ll want to plan your essay carefully. Before you get started, it’s helpful to identify exactly what kind of essay you’re being asked to write so that you can best focus your efforts. If you have trouble deciding, then you should contact an essay writer from en.samedayessay.com.

Even More Stories You May Like (courtesy of Google)

Comments are closed.

Many teachers think argumentative and persuasive writing are the same. Some would go as far as to say that persuasive writing has just turned into argumentative because of Common Core (not true). And where does opinion writing fall into all of this?

First of all, if you are a 1st-5th grade teacher, Common Core only expects students to master writing opinion pieces and work on short research projects. Argumentative writing does not come into play until 6th grade. Oh and those research projects students do in 1st-5th, you better believe those skills come into play when students start writing argumentatively in the upper grades! The graphic below describes the differences between opinion, persuasive and argumentative writing.

As you can see argumentative writing relies a lot more on reasoning and evidence which comes from a lot of in-depth annotation of articles.

Persuasive writing does not necessarily require all that much research. Opinion writing is the foundation for both. I also believe that opinion writing is dull! Persuasive writing requires an audience and can include debates which can be motivating and fun for students.

Just because persuasive writing is not mentioned in the Common Core doesn’t mean teachers should write it off entirely!

The units below make learning these skills FUN and RELEVANT for your students!

$ 13.00

$ 23.00

Common Core is designed to build upon skills learned from previous grades and this is very obvious when comparing the opinion and argumentative writing standards W.1, W.2, W.3.1.A, W.4.1.A, & W.6.1 Check it out…

1st Grade-Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion and provide some sense of closure.

2nd Grade- Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

3rd Grade-Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

4th Grade-Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose. 5th Grade-Exact same as 4th EXCEPT: 4th-Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details. 5th Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

6th Grade-Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Here are some writing prompts for each type of writing…

What is the best book you ever read or movie you’ve ever seen? What is your favorite animal?

What is your favorite food?

What are the most important qualities in a best friend?

Who is your hero?

Persuasive Convince your parents to buy you a new toy or get a new pet. Convince your teacher to let the class watch a movie on Friday.

Convince your principal to change the homework policy at your school.

Convince your mayor to build a new park in your neighborhood.

Convince the President to come visit your town.

Argumentative Should schools go completely digital?

Is social media out of control?

Should kids be allowed to wear whatever they want?

Should certain animals have the same rights as humans?

Is climate change real?

I hope I cleared up some things for you! If so please feel free to share this post out by clicking one of the purple social media buttons below!

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Choose Your Test

• Search Blogs By Category
• College Admissions
• AP and IB Exams
• GPA and Coursework

How to Write an A+ Argumentative Essay

Miscellaneous

You'll no doubt have to write a number of argumentative essays in both high school and college, but what, exactly, is an argumentative essay and how do you write the best one possible? Let's take a look.

A great argumentative essay always combines the same basic elements: approaching an argument from a rational perspective, researching sources, supporting your claims using facts rather than opinion, and articulating your reasoning into the most cogent and reasoned points. Argumentative essays are great building blocks for all sorts of research and rhetoric, so your teachers will expect you to master the technique before long.

But if this sounds daunting, never fear! We'll show how an argumentative essay differs from other kinds of papers, how to research and write them, how to pick an argumentative essay topic, and where to find example essays. So let's get started.

What Is an Argumentative Essay? How Is it Different from Other Kinds of Essays?

There are two basic requirements for any and all essays: to state a claim (a thesis statement) and to support that claim with evidence.

Though every essay is founded on these two ideas, there are several different types of essays, differentiated by the style of the writing, how the writer presents the thesis, and the types of evidence used to support the thesis statement.

Essays can be roughly divided into four different types:

#1: Argumentative #2: Persuasive #3: Expository #4: Analytical

So let's look at each type and what the differences are between them before we focus the rest of our time to argumentative essays.

Argumentative Essay

Argumentative essays are what this article is all about, so let's talk about them first.

An argumentative essay attempts to convince a reader to agree with a particular argument (the writer's thesis statement). The writer takes a firm stand one way or another on a topic and then uses hard evidence to support that stance.

An argumentative essay seeks to prove to the reader that one argument —the writer's argument— is the factually and logically correct one. This means that an argumentative essay must use only evidence-based support to back up a claim , rather than emotional or philosophical reasoning (which is often allowed in other types of essays). Thus, an argumentative essay has a burden of substantiated proof and sources , whereas some other types of essays (namely persuasive essays) do not.

You can write an argumentative essay on any topic, so long as there's room for argument. Generally, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one, so long as you support the argumentative essay with hard evidence.

Example topics of an argumentative essay:

• "Should farmers be allowed to shoot wolves if those wolves injure or kill farm animals?"
• "Should the drinking age be lowered in the United States?"
• "Are alternatives to democracy effective and/or feasible to implement?"

The next three types of essays are not argumentative essays, but you may have written them in school. We're going to cover them so you know what not to do for your argumentative essay.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative essays, so it can be easy to get them confused. But knowing what makes an argumentative essay different than a persuasive essay can often mean the difference between an excellent grade and an average one.

Persuasive essays seek to persuade a reader to agree with the point of view of the writer, whether that point of view is based on factual evidence or not. The writer has much more flexibility in the evidence they can use, with the ability to use moral, cultural, or opinion-based reasoning as well as factual reasoning to persuade the reader to agree the writer's side of a given issue.

Instead of being forced to use "pure" reason as one would in an argumentative essay, the writer of a persuasive essay can manipulate or appeal to the reader's emotions. So long as the writer attempts to steer the readers into agreeing with the thesis statement, the writer doesn't necessarily need hard evidence in favor of the argument.

Often, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one—the difference is all in the approach and the evidence you present.

Example topics of a persuasive essay:

• "Should children be responsible for their parents' debts?"
• "Should cheating on a test be automatic grounds for expulsion?"
• "How much should sports leagues be held accountable for player injuries and the long-term consequences of those injuries?"

Expository Essay

An expository essay is typically a short essay in which the writer explains an idea, issue, or theme , or discusses the history of a person, place, or idea.

This is typically a fact-forward essay with little argument or opinion one way or the other.

Example topics of an expository essay:

• "The History of the Philadelphia Liberty Bell"
• "The Reasons I Always Wanted to be a Doctor"
• "The Meaning Behind the Colloquialism ‘People in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones'"

Analytical Essay

An analytical essay seeks to delve into the deeper meaning of a text or work of art, or unpack a complicated idea . These kinds of essays closely interpret a source and look into its meaning by analyzing it at both a macro and micro level.

This type of analysis can be augmented by historical context or other expert or widely-regarded opinions on the subject, but is mainly supported directly through the original source (the piece or art or text being analyzed) .

Example topics of an analytical essay:

• "Victory Gin in Place of Water: The Symbolism Behind Gin as the Only Potable Substance in George Orwell's 1984"
• "Amarna Period Art: The Meaning Behind the Shift from Rigid to Fluid Poses"
• "Adultery During WWII, as Told Through a Series of Letters to and from Soldiers"

There are many different types of essay and, over time, you'll be able to master them all.

A Typical Argumentative Essay Assignment

The average argumentative essay is between three to five pages, and will require at least three or four separate sources with which to back your claims . As for the essay topic , you'll most often be asked to write an argumentative essay in an English class on a "general" topic of your choice, ranging the gamut from science, to history, to literature.

But while the topics of an argumentative essay can span several different fields, the structure of an argumentative essay is always the same: you must support a claim—a claim that can reasonably have multiple sides—using multiple sources and using a standard essay format (which we'll talk about later on).

This is why many argumentative essay topics begin with the word "should," as in:

• "Should all students be required to learn chemistry in high school?"
• "Should children be required to learn a second language?"
• "Should schools or governments be allowed to ban books?"

These topics all have at least two sides of the argument: Yes or no. And you must support the side you choose with evidence as to why your side is the correct one.

But there are also plenty of other ways to frame an argumentative essay as well:

• "Does using social media do more to benefit or harm people?"
• "Does the legal status of artwork or its creators—graffiti and vandalism, pirated media, a creator who's in jail—have an impact on the art itself?"
• "Is or should anyone ever be ‘above the law?'"

Though these are worded differently than the first three, you're still essentially forced to pick between two sides of an issue: yes or no, for or against, benefit or detriment. Though your argument might not fall entirely into one side of the divide or another—for instance, you could claim that social media has positively impacted some aspects of modern life while being a detriment to others—your essay should still support one side of the argument above all. Your final stance would be that overall , social media is beneficial or overall , social media is harmful.

If your argument is one that is mostly text-based or backed by a single source (e.g., "How does Salinger show that Holden Caulfield is an unreliable narrator?" or "Does Gatsby personify the American Dream?"), then it's an analytical essay, rather than an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay will always be focused on more general topics so that you can use multiple sources to back up your claims.

Good Argumentative Essay Topics

So you know the basic idea behind an argumentative essay, but what topic should you write about?

Again, almost always, you'll be asked to write an argumentative essay on a free topic of your choice, or you'll be asked to select between a few given topics . If you're given complete free reign of topics, then it'll be up to you to find an essay topic that no only appeals to you, but that you can turn into an A+ argumentative essay.

What makes a "good" argumentative essay topic depends on both the subject matter and your personal interest —it can be hard to give your best effort on something that bores you to tears! But it can also be near impossible to write an argumentative essay on a topic that has no room for debate.

As we said earlier, a good argumentative essay topic will be one that has the potential to reasonably go in at least two directions—for or against, yes or no, and why . For example, it's pretty hard to write an argumentative essay on whether or not people should be allowed to murder one another—not a whole lot of debate there for most people!—but writing an essay for or against the death penalty has a lot more wiggle room for evidence and argument.

A good topic is also one that can be substantiated through hard evidence and relevant sources . So be sure to pick a topic that other people have studied (or at least studied elements of) so that you can use their data in your argument. For example, if you're arguing that it should be mandatory for all middle school children to play a sport, you might have to apply smaller scientific data points to the larger picture you're trying to justify. There are probably several studies you could cite on the benefits of physical activity and the positive effect structure and teamwork has on young minds, but there's probably no study you could use where a group of scientists put all middle-schoolers in one jurisdiction into a mandatory sports program (since that's probably never happened). So long as your evidence is relevant to your point and you can extrapolate from it to form a larger whole, you can use it as a part of your resource material.

And if you need ideas on where to get started, or just want to see sample argumentative essay topics, then check out these links for hundreds of potential argumentative essay topics.

101 Persuasive (or Argumentative) Essay and Speech Topics

301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing

Top 50 Ideas for Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Writing

[Note: some of these say "persuasive essay topics," but just remember that the same topic can often be used for both a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay; the difference is in your writing style and the evidence you use to support your claims.]

KO! Find that one argumentative essay topic you can absolutely conquer.

Argumentative Essay Format

Argumentative Essays are composed of four main elements:

• A position (your argument)
• Your reasons
• Supporting evidence for those reasons (from reliable sources)
• Counterargument(s) (possible opposing arguments and reasons why those arguments are incorrect)

If you're familiar with essay writing in general, then you're also probably familiar with the five paragraph essay structure . This structure is a simple tool to show how one outlines an essay and breaks it down into its component parts, although it can be expanded into as many paragraphs as you want beyond the core five.

The standard argumentative essay is often 3-5 pages, which will usually mean a lot more than five paragraphs, but your overall structure will look the same as a much shorter essay.

An argumentative essay at its simplest structure will look like:

Paragraph 1: Intro

• Set up the story/problem/issue
• Thesis/claim

Paragraph 2: Support

• Reason #1 claim is correct
• Supporting evidence with sources

Paragraph 3: Support

• Reason #2 claim is correct

Paragraph 4: Counterargument

• Explanation of argument for the other side
• Refutation of opposing argument with supporting evidence

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

• Re-state claim
• Sum up reasons and support of claim from the essay to prove claim is correct

Now let's unpack each of these paragraph types to see how they work (with examples!), what goes into them, and why.

Paragraph 1—Set Up and Claim

Your first task is to introduce the reader to the topic at hand so they'll be prepared for your claim. Give a little background information, set the scene, and give the reader some stakes so that they care about the issue you're going to discuss.

Next, you absolutely must have a position on an argument and make that position clear to the readers. It's not an argumentative essay unless you're arguing for a specific claim, and this claim will be your thesis statement.

Your thesis CANNOT be a mere statement of fact (e.g., "Washington DC is the capital of the United States"). Your thesis must instead be an opinion which can be backed up with evidence and has the potential to be argued against (e.g., "New York should be the capital of the United States").

Paragraphs 2 and 3—Your Evidence

These are your body paragraphs in which you give the reasons why your argument is the best one and back up this reasoning with concrete evidence .

The argument supporting the thesis of an argumentative essay should be one that can be supported by facts and evidence, rather than personal opinion or cultural or religious mores.

For example, if you're arguing that New York should be the new capital of the US, you would have to back up that fact by discussing the factual contrasts between New York and DC in terms of location, population, revenue, and laws. You would then have to talk about the precedents for what makes for a good capital city and why New York fits the bill more than DC does.

Your argument can't simply be that a lot of people think New York is the best city ever and that you agree.

In addition to using concrete evidence, you always want to keep the tone of your essay passionate, but impersonal . Even though you're writing your argument from a single opinion, don't use first person language—"I think," "I feel," "I believe,"—to present your claims. Doing so is repetitive, since by writing the essay you're already telling the audience what you feel, and using first person language weakens your writing voice.

For example,

"I think that Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States."

"Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States."

The second statement sounds far stronger and more analytical.

Paragraph 4—Argument for the Other Side and Refutation

Even without a counter argument, you can make a pretty persuasive claim, but a counterargument will round out your essay into one that is much more persuasive and substantial.

By anticipating an argument against your claim and taking the initiative to counter it, you're allowing yourself to get ahead of the game. This way, you show that you've given great thought to all sides of the issue before choosing your position, and you demonstrate in multiple ways how yours is the more reasoned and supported side.

Paragraph 5—Conclusion

This paragraph is where you re-state your argument and summarize why it's the best claim.

Briefly touch on your supporting evidence and voila! A finished argumentative essay.

Your essay should have just as awesome a skeleton as this plesiosaur does. (In other words: a ridiculously awesome skeleton)

Argumentative Essay Example: 5-Paragraph Style

It always helps to have an example to learn from. I've written a full 5-paragraph argumentative essay here. Look at how I state my thesis in paragraph 1, give supporting evidence in paragraphs 2 and 3, address a counterargument in paragraph 4, and conclude in paragraph 5.

Topic: Is it possible to maintain conflicting loyalties?

Paragraph 1

It is almost impossible to go through life without encountering a situation where your loyalties to different people or causes come into conflict with each other. Maybe you have a loving relationship with your sister, but she disagrees with your decision to join the army, or you find yourself torn between your cultural beliefs and your scientific ones. These conflicting loyalties can often be maintained for a time, but as examples from both history and psychological theory illustrate, sooner or later, people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever.

The first two sentences set the scene and give some hypothetical examples and stakes for the reader to care about.

The third sentence finishes off the intro with the thesis statement, making very clear how the author stands on the issue ("people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever." )

Paragraphs 2 and 3

Psychological theory states that human beings are not equipped to maintain conflicting loyalties indefinitely and that attempting to do so leads to a state called "cognitive dissonance." Cognitive dissonance theory is the psychological idea that people undergo tremendous mental stress or anxiety when holding contradictory beliefs, values, or loyalties (Festinger, 1957). Even if human beings initially hold a conflicting loyalty, they will do their best to find a mental equilibrium by making a choice between those loyalties—stay stalwart to a belief system or change their beliefs. One of the earliest formal examples of cognitive dissonance theory comes from Leon Festinger's When Prophesy Fails . Members of an apocalyptic cult are told that the end of the world will occur on a specific date and that they alone will be spared the Earth's destruction. When that day comes and goes with no apocalypse, the cult members face a cognitive dissonance between what they see and what they've been led to believe (Festinger, 1956). Some choose to believe that the cult's beliefs are still correct, but that the Earth was simply spared from destruction by mercy, while others choose to believe that they were lied to and that the cult was fraudulent all along. Both beliefs cannot be correct at the same time, and so the cult members are forced to make their choice.

But even when conflicting loyalties can lead to potentially physical, rather than just mental, consequences, people will always make a choice to fall on one side or other of a dividing line. Take, for instance, Nicolaus Copernicus, a man born and raised in Catholic Poland (and educated in Catholic Italy). Though the Catholic church dictated specific scientific teachings, Copernicus' loyalty to his own observations and scientific evidence won out over his loyalty to his country's government and belief system. When he published his heliocentric model of the solar system--in opposition to the geocentric model that had been widely accepted for hundreds of years (Hannam, 2011)-- Copernicus was making a choice between his loyalties. In an attempt t o maintain his fealty both to the established system and to what he believed, h e sat on his findings for a number of years (Fantoli, 1994). But, ultimately, Copernicus made the choice to side with his beliefs and observations above all and published his work for the world to see (even though, in doing so, he risked both his reputation and personal freedoms).

These two paragraphs provide the reasons why the author supports the main argument and uses substantiated sources to back those reasons.

The paragraph on cognitive dissonance theory gives both broad supporting evidence and more narrow, detailed supporting evidence to show why the thesis statement is correct not just anecdotally but also scientifically and psychologically. First, we see why people in general have a difficult time accepting conflicting loyalties and desires and then how this applies to individuals through the example of the cult members from the Dr. Festinger's research.

The next paragraph continues to use more detailed examples from history to provide further evidence of why the thesis that people cannot indefinitely maintain conflicting loyalties is true.

Paragraph 4

Some will claim that it is possible to maintain conflicting beliefs or loyalties permanently, but this is often more a matter of people deluding themselves and still making a choice for one side or the other, rather than truly maintaining loyalty to both sides equally. For example, Lancelot du Lac typifies a person who claims to maintain a balanced loyalty between to two parties, but his attempt to do so fails (as all attempts to permanently maintain conflicting loyalties must). Lancelot tells himself and others that he is equally devoted to both King Arthur and his court and to being Queen Guinevere's knight (Malory, 2008). But he can neither be in two places at once to protect both the king and queen, nor can he help but let his romantic feelings for the queen to interfere with his duties to the king and the kingdom. Ultimately, he and Queen Guinevere give into their feelings for one another and Lancelot—though he denies it—chooses his loyalty to her over his loyalty to Arthur. This decision plunges the kingdom into a civil war, ages Lancelot prematurely, and ultimately leads to Camelot's ruin (Raabe, 1987). Though Lancelot claimed to have been loyal to both the king and the queen, this loyalty was ultimately in conflict, and he could not maintain it.

Here we have the acknowledgement of a potential counter-argument and the evidence as to why it isn't true.

The argument is that some people (or literary characters) have asserted that they give equal weight to their conflicting loyalties. The refutation is that, though some may claim to be able to maintain conflicting loyalties, they're either lying to others or deceiving themselves. The paragraph shows why this is true by providing an example of this in action.

Paragraph 5

Whether it be through literature or history, time and time again, people demonstrate the challenges of trying to manage conflicting loyalties and the inevitable consequences of doing so. Though belief systems are malleable and will often change over time, it is not possible to maintain two mutually exclusive loyalties or beliefs at once. In the end, people always make a choice, and loyalty for one party or one side of an issue will always trump loyalty to the other.

The concluding paragraph summarizes the essay, touches on the evidence presented, and re-states the thesis statement.

How to Write an Argumentative Essay: 8 Steps

Writing the best argumentative essay is all about the preparation, so let's talk steps:

#1: Preliminary Research

If you have the option to pick your own argumentative essay topic (which you most likely will), then choose one or two topics you find the most intriguing or that you have a vested interest in and do some preliminary research on both sides of the debate.

Do an open internet search just to see what the general chatter is on the topic and what the research trends are.

Did your preliminary reading influence you to pick a side or change your side? Without diving into all the scholarly articles at length, do you believe there's enough evidence to support your claim? Have there been scientific studies? Experiments? Does a noted scholar in the field agree with you? If not, you may need to pick another topic or side of the argument to support.

#2: Pick Your Side and Form Your Thesis

Now's the time to pick the side of the argument you feel you can support the best and summarize your main point into your thesis statement.

Your thesis will be the basis of your entire essay, so make sure you know which side you're on, that you've stated it clearly, and that you stick by your argument throughout the entire essay .

#3: Heavy-Duty Research Time

You've taken a gander at what the internet at large has to say on your argument, but now's the time to actually read those sources and take notes.

Check scholarly journals online at Google Scholar , the Directory of Open Access Journals , or JStor . You can also search individual university or school libraries and websites to see what kinds of academic articles you can access for free. Keep track of your important quotes and page numbers and put them somewhere that's easy to find later.

And don't forget to check your school or local libraries as well!

#4: Outline

Follow the five-paragraph outline structure from the previous section.

Fill in your topic, your reasons, and your supporting evidence into each of the categories.

Before you begin to flesh out the essay, take a look at what you've got. Is your thesis statement in the first paragraph? Is it clear? Is your argument logical? Does your supporting evidence support your reasoning?

By outlining your essay, you streamline your process and take care of any logic gaps before you dive headfirst into the writing. This will save you a lot of grief later on if you need to change your sources or your structure, so don't get too trigger-happy and skip this step.

Now that you've laid out exactly what you'll need for your essay and where, it's time to fill in all the gaps by writing it out.

Take it one step at a time and expand your ideas into complete sentences and substantiated claims. It may feel daunting to turn an outline into a complete draft, but just remember that you've already laid out all the groundwork; now you're just filling in the gaps.

If you have the time before deadline, give yourself a day or two (or even just an hour!) away from your essay . Looking it over with fresh eyes will allow you to see errors, both minor and major, that you likely would have missed had you tried to edit when it was still raw.

Take a first pass over the entire essay and try your best to ignore any minor spelling or grammar mistakes—you're just looking at the big picture right now. Does it make sense as a whole? Did the essay succeed in making an argument and backing that argument up logically? (Do you feel persuaded?)

If not, go back and make notes so that you can fix it for your final draft.

Once you've made your revisions to the overall structure, mark all your small errors and grammar problems so you can fix them in the next draft.

#7: Final Draft

Use the notes you made on the rough draft and go in and hack and smooth away until you're satisfied with the final result.

A checklist for your final draft:

• Formatting is correct according to your teacher's standards
• No errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• Essay is the right length and size for the assignment
• The argument is present, consistent, and concise
• Each reason is supported by relevant evidence
• The essay makes sense overall

#8: Celebrate!

Once you've brought that final draft to a perfect polish and turned in your assignment, you're done! Go you!

Be prepared and ♪ you'll never go hungry again ♪, *cough*, or struggle with your argumentative essay-writing again. (Walt Disney Studios)

Good Examples of Argumentative Essays Online

Theory is all well and good, but examples are key. Just to get you started on what a fully-fleshed out argumentative essay looks like, let's see some examples in action.

Check out these two argumentative essay examples on the use of landmines and freons (and note the excellent use of concrete sources to back up their arguments!).

The Use of Landmines

A Shattered Sky

The Take-Aways: Keys to Writing an Argumentative Essay

At first, writing an argumentative essay may seem like a monstrous hurdle to overcome, but with the proper preparation and understanding, you'll be able to knock yours out of the park.

Remember the differences between a persuasive essay and an argumentative one, make sure your thesis is clear, and double-check that your supporting evidence is both relevant to your point and well-sourced . Pick your topic, do your research, make your outline, and fill in the gaps. Before you know it, you'll have yourself an A+ argumentative essay there, my friend.

What's Next?

Now you know the ins and outs of an argumentative essay, but how comfortable are you writing in other styles? Learn more about the four writing styles and when it makes sense to use each .

Understand how to make an argument, but still having trouble organizing your thoughts? Check out our guide to three popular essay formats and choose which one is right for you.

Ready to make your case, but not sure what to write about? We've created a list of 50 potential argumentative essay topics to spark your imagination.

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Courtney scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT in high school and went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. She is passionate about bringing education and the tools to succeed to students from all backgrounds and walks of life, as she believes open education is one of the great societal equalizers. She has years of tutoring experience and writes creative works in her free time.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essays: What’s the Difference?

The difference between an argumentative and persuasive essay isn’t always clear. If you’re struggling with either style for your next assignment, don’t worry. The following will clarify everything you need to know so you can write with confidence.

First, we define the primary objectives of argumentative vs. persuasive writing. We then compare the best strategies for starting the writing process. In both cases, the key is knowing your audience, which we will discuss later in this article by Custom-Writing.org experts.

• 🎯 Primary Objectives
• 🎬 Starting Your Essay
• ✍️ Writing Technique
• 👁️ Point of View
• ❓ So, what’s the difference?

🔗 References

🎯 persuasive vs. argumentative writing: primary objectives.

Both argumentative and persuasive essays require you to present your point of view on a specific topic. However, your approach will differ between the two. The words “argumentative” and “persuasive” should help you recognize what you are expected to achieve. Let’s see how.

For the argumentative essay, it is sufficient to present your point of view and nothing more. That said, the information you present should come across as being reliable enough for the readers. They don’t need to agree with your take on the issue at hand. The reader need only acknowledge that your point of view is worth considering.

In a persuasive essay, however, your goal is to get the reader on your side. And so, in addition to presenting sensible information, you want the reader to share your opinion.

Here are some examples to show you the difference. For more examples try and use a thesis statement generator for persuasive essay and for argumentative one, and you’ll clearly see what sets them apart.

Additionally, you can take a look at any example of term paper for college , which will clearly show you the differences between the types. Remember, though, that the more controversial your topic is, the more likely it is that the reader will disagree with you!

🎬 Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essay: How to Start

For either type of essay, the foundation is generally the same. Before even thinking about your introduction, settle on a topic that genuinely interests you. What follows will differ for argumentative and persuasive essays.

In the case of argumentative writing, it’s crucial to have all the information you need to build up a strong set of arguments and examples. Therefore, don’t forget to spend some time researching your topic in earnest. Once you have all the data, you can easily choose which side to take. Never force a paper to align with your personal opinion if you don’t have enough supporting evidence.

In the case of a persuasive essay, your job is to make sure you have a decent topic and identify which side to support. The starting point is a bit less complicated.

✍️ Persuasive vs. Argumentative Essays: Writing Technique

This is where things get interesting in the clash between persuasive and argumentative writing. For college-level writing, it’s never enough to follow a general essay outline . Getting that coveted higher mark requires that you know the unique yet subtle features of both writing styles.

Topical and relevant reasons are the backbone of any argumentative text. This is where preliminary research comes in. Having requisite evidence and facts from credible sources ensures the worthiness of your essay. That way, the reader can validate your point of view.

As with argumentative writing, persuasive essays should include some measure of supporting facts. What distinguishes persuasive writing is that you must also engage the reader on an emotional level. Moreover, there’s no need to present opposing opinions. Your goal is to make the reader take your side. All’s fair in love and war!

👁️ Persuasive vs. Argumentative Essays: Point of View

Let’s talk more about presenting different opinions. You were probably taught that an academic essay includes at least three arguments and an additional counterargument . Keep in mind, however, that this rule applies only to argumentative essays, in which you introduce three or more arguments with evidence to support your point of view. You then offset that point of view by including an opposing opinion. By doing so, you allow the reader to choose a side, even though the facts, as you’ve presented them, are in favor of your opinion. This is a logic-based approach.

In a persuasive essay, you’re not likely to entertain the opposition. Your conviction is the very essence of the essay. Your take on the issue in question must come across as the only sensible approach. If you’re feeling confident, you’re welcome to include a counterargument, but only if you decimate it right away!

👏 The Audience of Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essays

We’ve seen the differences and similarities between argumentative and persuasive writing and walked you through the technical aspects of both. But there’s one final piece of the puzzle to be considered: the question of your audience. This is the biggest difference of them all.

When writing an argumentative essay, remember that you don’t need to convince anyone. There is no audience. You’re simply presenting the information you gathered without expecting anything in return (except maybe a pat on the back from your teacher).

Without an audience, there’s no one to persuade. This touches on another crucial element of the writing process : understanding what and how your readers think. This allows you to pick the best strategy to convince them to join your side.

❓ What’s the Difference between a Persuasive Essay and an Argumentative Essay?

The main difference between a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay comes down to your audience. For persuasive writing, it’s necessary to feel out your audience and wield that knowledge to prove the efficacy of your perspective. For argumentative writing, opt for a logical approach and just present the facts with no intent to persuade anyone.

Persuasive Essay Topics

• Cigarettes manufacturers must be banned. 
• Unrestricted access to women’s health care is crucial for the welfare of future generations.
• College sports need to benefit student-athletes .
• Lowering TOEFL scores across university will benefit international students. 
• American football promotes violence and jeopardize sportsmen’s health.
• Tattoos are fine art. 
• Animal transplantation can reduce the problem of organs shortage.
• Smoking in public places should be banned to protect and improve public health.
• Job drug test has to be made obligatory.  
• It is necessary to prohibit using cellphones while driving .
• Gun control legislation must be revised.
• Surveillance cameras have to be installed in all public places.  
• Mandatory overtime for nurses must be made illegal.  
• Marijuana should be legalized for medical use.
• Business should switch to remote work for an increased talent pool.  
• Experimentation on animals has to be banned.  
• It is crucial to limit clear cutting in rainforest. 
• It is necessary to forbid guns in college campuses .
• Companies should prioritize the development of biometric security.  
• Abortions should be legalized worldwide.
• Children should not have grades in school .
• Wearing face mask in public places should be mandatory.
• English language learners have to be immersed in English. 
• Net neutrality should be supported.  
• Body organs sale should not be allowed.

Argumentative Essay Topics

• Should celebrities be a positive role model ?
• Does the use of social media in nursing violate patients’ rights regarding privacy?
• Is it right to abolish capital punishment ?
• Is it ethical to use animals for research?  
• Should bullies be expelled from school?
• Is it fair to try juveniles as adults ?
• Do you think it wise to lower drinking age to 18?  
• Will implementation of free higher education diminish economic disparities? 
• Should the voluntary euthanasia be permitted?
• Is stem cells use ethical?
• Should schoolchildren study the evolution theory?  
• Is container deposit legislation an urgent issue?
• Is marriage based on love more successful than arranged?
• Should the use of cell phones in public places be banned?
• Is it right for celebrities to be involved in political activism? 
• Do you agree that health insurance has to cover art and music therapy ?
• Does the government have right to monitor its citizens using technology? 
• Is it ethical to perform gene editing on human embryos?
• Do you think online dating as serious as dating in person?  
• Should vaccination of children be compulsory?
• Are the social media platforms a threat to human relationships?
• Are there limits to what should be questioned? 
• Should modern society become vegan?
• Do you think the cigarette smoking should be made illegal?
• Should illegal immigrants have full access to all social services?
• Argumentative Essays // Purdue Writing Lab
• Argumentative Essay Structure (University of Washington)
• Suggestions for Developing Argumentative Essays (UC Berkeley)
• Argumentative essay | Quick guide (article) | Khan Academy
• Writing a Persuasive Essay: Hamilton College
• Persuasion (UMN Libraries)
• Persuasive Writing – Georgetown Law
• Share to Facebook
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

You don’t need to be a nerd to understand the general idea behind cause and effect essays. Let’s see! If you skip a meal, you get hungry. And if you write an essay about it, your goal is achieved! However, following multiple rules of academic writing can be a tough...

An argumentative essay is a genre of academic writing that investigates different sides of a particular issue. Its central purpose is to inform the readers rather than expressively persuade them. Thus, it is crucial to differentiate between argumentative and persuasive essays. While composing an argumentative essay, the students have to...

It’s not a secret that the reader notices an essay title first. No catchy hook or colorful examples attract more attention from a quick glance. Composing a creative title for your essay is essential if you strive to succeed, as it: Thus, how you name your paper is of the...

The conclusion is the last paragraph in your paper that draws the ideas and reasoning together. However, its purpose does not end there. A definite essay conclusion accomplishes several goals: Therefore, a conclusion usually consists of: Our experts prepared this guide, where you will find great tips on how to...

A five-paragraph essay is one of the most common academic assignments a student may face. It has a well-defined structure: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Writing an introduction can be the most challenging part of the entire piece. It aims to introduce the main ideas and present...

Exemplification essays, also called illustration essays, are one of the easiest papers to write. However, even the simplest tasks require experience and practice. It is a good idea to find and analyze free exemplification essay examples. You can also ask your teacher to give you some sample exemplification essays from...

During their school years, students may not always have the opportunity to select a topic for their essay or research paper. Instructors tend to assign one or offer a list of ideas that might not seem engaging. Moreover, even the topic that you choose yourself can sometimes end up being...

Sorry to disappoint you, but if you think that your high scores and grades would be enough to get accepted into the university of your dreams, you’re wrong… The best colleges worldwide, such as the Ivy League schools receive applications from thousands and thousands of talented students. You gotta stand...

Writing an essay is a task that everyone has to deal with. The first encounter most likely happens at primary school. Compositions in primary school are quite basic and only require a good imagination and somewhat decent writing skills. But… As time passes, essay writing becomes more and more complicated....

Often when you’re completing academic writing, especially essays, you need to use pronouns. In academic writing, the use of the word you is unacceptable. You can find yourself in a sticky situation, deciding upon gender-neutral pronouns in your academic writing. How can students deal with it? In most situations today,...

A divorce is a life-changing experience that affects spouses and their children (if there are any). Since divorce rates are relatively high in modern society, more and more people face this problem nowadays. When you are assigned to compose an argumentative essay about divorce, you should be as careful as...

Corruption is an abuse of power that was entrusted to a person or group of people for personal gain. It can appear in various settings and affect different social classes, leading to unemployment and other economic issues. This is why writing an essay on corruption can become a challenge. One...

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Kinds of argumentative academic essays and their purposes

Published on November 5, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023.

Most of the time, when your supervisors and others talk about academic essays what they mean is essays that present well-reasoned points of view on various topics . This article explains some essential kinds of these essays—exegetical, discursive, expository, and argumentative—and outlines their key differences and similarities. We’ll call the group of them “persuasive essays,” since they all require you to persuade your reader in some way.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Kinds of persuasive academic essays, difference between persuasive academic essays and standard scientific articles, differences between kinds of persuasive academic essays, other interesting articles.

Exegetical essays persuade your reader to interpret a theory in a certain way and show your ability to understand and accurately explain difficult ideas.

Discursive essays persuade your reader to see the different sides of a debate in a certain way and present your ability to compare different approaches to a topic.

Expository essays persuade your reader that your opinion is the right one and that you are a competent critical thinker.

Argumentative essays persuade your reader to see something new in a field of research and to see that you have some authority in that field.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

One thing that separates a persuasive academic essay from a standard scientific article or an article in a newspaper is that the author’s point of view plays a more obvious role. Whereas a scientist is taught not to present the facts as she sees them but as anyone can see them, an essayist always presents information from a certain point of view (usually her own), even if she usually avoids referring to herself in the text.

The different kinds of persuasive academic essays are distinguished by the different things they do, but also by the prominence of the author’s point of view. The following tables presents the differences.

What all persuasive academic essays do

The first thing to notice is that, while essay assignments do sometimes ask for one or the other of these types of essay, often persuasive academic essays will need to mix these styles. For example, in order to properly situate her view in the current literature on a topic, the author of an argumentative essay will sometimes need to present a brief exegesis of someone else’s view. Many other combinations are possible, and the argumentative essay, especially, may draw on each of the other three styles.

Second, each of these academic essay forms is argumentative, even though we call only one of them “the argumentative essay.” In fact, you should keep in mind that, speaking loosely, people sometimes do refer to all of these as “argumentative essays.” This term is not entirely inaccurate, since they all require skillful treatment of argumentation, and they all require you to persuade your reader of something.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Bryson, S. (2023, July 23). Kinds of argumentative academic essays and their purposes. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/kinds-argumentative-academic-essays-purposes/

Is this article helpful?

Shane Bryson

Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.

Get unlimited documents corrected

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

Opinion, Persuasive, and Argumentative Writing

It seems everyone has an opinion these days, and most of us don’t aren’t too shy about sharing them!  I’ve even heard some make the claim that opinion is the lowest form of knowledge. Maybe…but that doesn’t change the reality that opinion writing is now included in my curriculum. Today’s post begins a series about opinion writing with a focus on how I taught it to my 4th graders. Before we begin, let’s start with a clear understanding of the differences between opinion, persuasive, and argumentative writing. Are they the same or not?

Persuasive Writing 101

For years my curriculum required students to write a persuasive essay. The focus was on convincing the reader to take any action or accept a belief as true. We worked hard at asking students to write in authentic situations (for example, more recess or a longer lunch period) about which they could also write passionately. I loved to use children’s literature to reinforce how other writers wrote persuasively. My favorite texts were I Wanna Iguana and Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School .

What’s the Difference, Anyway?

The focus has shifted away from persuasive essays in recent years, however. We now teach students how to write an opinion essay – a small but distinct difference. The graphic below from Write Steps Writing breaks down the differences between what we used to teach students (persuasive), what we teach them now (opinion), and what will be expected of them in the future (argument) as they progress through school.

Another excellent website is The Six Trait Gurus . This post goes into great detail about the differences with LOTS of instructional suggestions for teachers.

Blogging Blitz!

My focus in the next several posts will be about opinion writing – specifically how I taught it to my students. We spent 6 weeks on our unit of study, with a different prompt every week. The first week was an introduction to the genre, then 4 weeks of practice prompts with the (you guessed it) assessment prompt the final week. At the end of this week, I’ll be offering one prompt as a free download if you’re interested. I’m challenging myself to publish a lot more posts than I normally would, but I really enjoyed this unit and have lots of thoughts I want to share. Happy teaching!

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home » Language » Linguistic » Difference Between Argumentative and Persuasive Essay

Difference Between Argumentative and Persuasive Essay

Main difference – argumentative vs persuasive essay.

Persuasive essay and Argumentative essay are similar in nature and thus, often confused to be the same though there exists a difference between the two. In fact, Persuasive essay and Argumentative essay are two different types of essays, and  the main difference between them is that the persuasive essay depends on opinions and emotions while an argumentative essay uses logic and reason. Let us first look at these two types of essays in detail and then move on to identify the differences between a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay.

What is an Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay is a piece of writing that attempts to convince the readers that the author’s idea is true . This is a genre of writing that is used to defend or prove a point. A writer should do a thorough research; gather accurate facts and figures before writing an argumentative essay. This is more like a debate written on paper. While writing an argumentative essay, a writer should be aware of both pros and cons of the argument, and should try to discredit the opposing view by using evidence .

What is a Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay is a piece of writing that attempts to convince the readers to agree with author’s ideas. In this type of essay, the writer can use his own ideas, opinions and evoke the emotions in the reader in order to convince them to agree to his opinion . A writer of a persuasive essay needs to do research, gather evidence, but a clever writer can create a successful essay without knowing much. This is because; a persuasive writing appeals more to reader’s emotions rather than minds. In persuasive writing, the writer should have certain awareness about the audience . For example, opinions and ideas that could appeal to teenagers may not have the same effect on adults. First person narration and Second person narration (Ex: In my opinion, I believe, etc.,) are commonly used as the writer is addressing the audience directly.

As discussed before, argumentative essays are a genre of writing that attempts to convince the readers to accept the writer’s idea as true, by using statistics, facts and figures, etc. while persuasive essays are a genre of writing that attempts to convince the readers to agree with the writer, by using emotions, personal ideas, etc. In other words, an argumentative essay is based on logic and reasons while a persuasive essay is based on emotions and personal opinions. When it comes preparations, before writing an argumentative essay, the writer needs to do a thorough research on the subject but does not need to have the knowledge about the audience. On the other hand, the writer can write a persuasive essay even without doing much research, but he should have certain  knowledge about the audience.

When we look at both types of essays in the perspective of the audience; an argumentative essay appeals to the minds of the readers whereas, a persuasive essay appeals to the hearts of the readers. Also,  an argumentative essay acknowledges opposing views, but a persuasive essay may not acknowledge opposing views.

About the Author: Hasa

Hasanthi is a seasoned content writer and editor with over 8 years of experience. Armed with a BA degree in English and a knack for digital marketing, she explores her passions for literature, history, culture, and food through her engaging and informative writing.

​You May Also Like These

How to write an Argumentative Essay

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

In this article, we will explore the process of constructing a high-quality argumentative essay. The ability to craft a coherent argument and to express those arguments with others in a discussion are essential skills to encourage in our students. This skill helps our students engage with the world, process their thoughts, and discover their opinions.

Table of Contents

In this article, we will use the terms ‘discussion’ and ‘argument’ interchangeably. But, it is worth noting that the real purpose of a discussion is to explore a variety of arguments to arrive at the truth, where possible.

Teaching our students the basics of argument and discussion is not about tooling them up to ‘win’. The discussion processes are as much about the student discovering what they think as they are about persuading others to agree. As students mature and get more practised in their discussions, they will discover that often discussion is a necessary precursor to having an opinion on a given topic, no matter how basic or advanced that topic may be.

For students, the discussion often bridges the gap between speaking and listening learning areas and reading and writing. It is for this reason that we will look at some oral discussion activities before examining how to approach the writing of discussion pieces in the classroom. These oral activities can serve as excellent pre-writing exercises for the students to prepare their thoughts and ideas before writing. They also work well as standalone oral activities that allow students to practice their persuasive speaking skills and all that entails.

A COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON PERSUASIVE WRITING SKILLS

Teach your students to produce writing that  PERSUADES  and  INFLUENCES  thinking with this  HUGE  writing guide bundle covering: ⭐ Persuasive Texts / Essays ⭐ Expository Essays⭐ Argumentative Essays⭐ Discussions.

A complete 140 PAGE unit of work on persuasive texts for teachers and students. No preparation is required.

what is an argumentative essay

An argumentative essay, also known as a discussion, presents both sides of the argument on a specific topic so the audience can form their own opinion.

STRUCTURE OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

CLARITY Choose a clear, firm and debatable topic, and stress its importance. There should be no confusion about what or what you are writing about or why.

PROVIDE CONTEXT A bit of background information is often needed early in the essay to understand the argument. Bring your audience up to speed on the topic.

ORDER Use sequential paragraphs or statements. Keep things in order by creating paragraphs that lead us from opinion A to opinion B through well-crafted segways and transitions.

RESEARCH Nothing will sink your essay faster than a poorly researched paper full of questionable “facts” and ill-informed opinions . Get your evidence straight.

LOGICAL & RATIONAL You are not a “shock jock” or a biased blogger. You are presenting both sides of an argument to let your readers make a decision.

FEATURES OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

IMPERSONAL VOICE Keep your own opinions out and let your audience form their own.

TENSE Discussions are usually written in present tense.

LOGICAL CONNECTIVES Use terms such as therefore and however to connect concepts and points of contention.

RESPECTED SOURCES Valued information comes from respected sources. Ensure you use reputable evidence.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AN ARGUMENTIVE ESSAY AND A PERSUASIVE ESSAY?

These styles of writing are often confused, and whilst they do share common elements, they are two separate genres with different purposes. If you are looking for a complete guide to writing a persuasive essay, please view ours here.

• A PERSUASIVE ESSAY presents EMOTION, and the author’s purpose is to try and CONVINCE YOU to think as they do. It is about the sales pitch more so than an emphasis on the specifications and details of the subject area.
• An ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY presents EVIDENCE and LOGIC at its core. Whilst you are still trying to influence your readers’ thinking on a given topic, you shouldn’t pull on your reader’s heartstrings nearly as much as presenting a mountain of facts, data and specifics that cannot be ignored.

POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING YOUR ESSAY

Pick your poison wisely: choosing discussion topics.

The beauty of incorporating discussion and argument into the classroom is that you can quickly build your lessons around the student’s interests. From the youngest students in elementary to those wizened old owls in high school, a quick class brainstorm will reveal a wealth of juicy topics for them to get their mental teeth into. In this day and age of political correctness, however, be sensitive to the selection of a topic for discussion appropriate to the demographics of your class. While controversial topics can lead to the most lively of discussions, it is best to avoid subjects too close to the bone that may cause deep rifts in the class dynamic. If in doubt, rather than take suggestions from the class, have some exciting topics pre-prepared for the students to choose from or to vote on.

You can find numerous topics on the web, but here are some to get you started…

• All zoos should be shut down, and the animals should be returned to the wild. – Discuss
• Mobile phones should be embraced as learning tools in the classroom. – Discuss
• Parents have different expectations for their sons and daughters. – Discuss
• Do we give children too many trophies? – Discuss
• Is it ethical to eat meat? – Discuss
• School canteens promote poor diets. – Discuss
• Can money buy happiness? – Discuss
• Is animal testing justified? – Discuss
• Are we too dependent on computers? Discuss
• Do violent video games and films create social problems? – Discuss

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT: DO YOUR RESEARCH

The challenge in writing a good discussion or argumentative essay is to be open-minded, even if you know which side you want to support.

Factual research and evidence are your number one tool.  It gives you credibility by sourcing knowledge from experts but more importantly, it gives your own opinions and ideas greater weight as you have demonstrated a broad and accurate understanding of the topic you are writing about.

be sure to spend some time researching your topic before writing about it, and make sure you reference where you have sourced this knowledge.

Most students will head straight for the internet to find their evidence, so ensure you understand how to use it correctly.  This poster demonstrates how to get the most out of the three major search platforms on the web.   You can download the free poster version of it here.

An Argumentative Essay Outline

The aim of a well-written discussion text is to present information and opinions that express more than one viewpoint. This will often take the form of a newspaper report or a leaflet.  Regardless of the genre of the writing undertaken, however, some common factors apply to most discussion texts. Most often, they are written in the present tense and are commonly structured in the following way:

INTRODUCTION

No better place to begin than at the start. The title should typically be a general statement or even a question that draws attention to a specific issue. For example, Should cell phones be banned in schools?

  The introduction section itself should usually be relatively brief and open with a brief statement on the issue and provide some background to the issue to be discussed. It will outline the arguments to be reviewed ahead, but the introduction itself does not usually contain any of the student’s opinions or views on the topic in question. There are, however, several things to consider when writing the introduction.

As with any genre of writing, it is essential to grab the reader’s attention from the outset, and discussion texts are no different. Fortunately, there are several tried and tested methods of achieving this. Here are a few that may be suitable openers for your students’ discussion writing:

●     open with a quotation relevant to the topic being addressed. A well-chosen quotation can grab the attention of even the most distracted of readers and compel them to read more!

●     a surprising fact is another excellent way to grab the reader’s attention and illuminate the topic to be discussed. Not only is it engaging, but informative too!

●     a joke. Everyone loves a laugh, and a joke can provide an excellent in to the student’s writing. But, encourage your students to be careful here; the suitability of a humorous opening will largely depend on the topic being discussed. As jokes may not always be appropriate to the material, they must be used wisely.

THE ARGUMENTS

In writing a balanced argument, students must consider the positives and negatives of the issue. The body of the text should be focused on presenting the pros and cons, the for and against arguments, relating to the central issue. This is why oral starter activities can be so valuable as prewriting exercises.

After the student has laid out the topic in their introduction by providing the necessary background information, it is time for the student to consider laying out the case for the argument.

Using time connectives is an excellent way for students to organize their information. Adverbs of time, such as firstly, secondly, next, then etc. and phrases such as, in addition to, therefore etc., can help students structure their information chronologically and coherently.

Depending on the length of the text, it is typically recommended that each paragraph consists of a single point. It is important to remind students that in the presentation of a balanced argument, they should not express their own bias or even their own point of view , instead, they are laying out both sides of the argument for the reader and should give equal weight to each point of view. When exploring each point, whether for or against, the PEE method can be a helpful way to aid students in structuring their paragraphs and give the direction of their argument:

Be sure to check out our own complete guide to writing perfect paragraphs here .

P = Point (Student makes their point at the beginning of the paragraph)

E = Evidence (Student provides evidence that underpins this point)

E =Explain (Student explores point further and ties back to the central issue)

When the student has considered each of their points for the argument, for example, three separate paragraphs each making three points for the argument, it is now time to consider and do the same for the argument against . The purpose here is to set up an opposition to the previously made points, to offer the other side of the story.

Encourage students here to use words and phrases that set up this contrast, for example, however , contrastingly , on the other hand , etc. Displaying these words and phrases in a word bank can also be a great way to help weaker students to organize their writing.

In the conclusion, the student reviews the information, summarises the arguments made and weighs up the issue in light of the available evidence. At this point, students can offer their own opinion in favor or against the issue at hand, but only if it is appropriate to the genre of the discussion text. 

Students often find it difficult to know how to end their writing. One excellent way to finish their discussion is to end it with a question, a challenge to the readers to form their own opinion on the issue in light of the evidence that has been presented.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

• Make sure you clearly explain the topic to the audience before you get into taking sides.
• When you have selected a topic, ensure that you research both sides of the argument thoroughly before writing.
• In your conclusion, make it clear which side of the argument you side on, even make a recommendation but allow the reader to keep an open mind.
• Keep everything in order.
• List all the items that will be required to complete the task.
• Use paragraphs effectively. Each new argument should start with a new paragraph.
• Keep your arguments short, sharp and to the point.
• Use the correct language and terms.

ORAL ACTIVITIES TO GET IN THE ‘DISCUSSION’ ZONE

ORAL ACTIVITY 1: PROS AND CONS

This great warm-up exercise allows students to explore a topic, weigh up the different possible opinions, and even offers a chance for the student to discover what they think about a topic. This exercise can also serve as a fantastic prep exercise for a piece of extended writing and involves minimal prep.

Pros and Cons involve students making a list of a given topic’s pro and con arguments. This is often best done in small groups where the students can brainstorm together and bounce ideas off one another. The process of comparing the for and against of an issue gives them an awareness of the range of opinions on the matter, helping them on their way to forming their own opinion.

The list created during this activity can also provide a helpful outline that can work as a springboard for later writing. It is a great way to organize ideas coherently that can seamlessly feed into the writing process described later below.

BY LISTING POINTS AND COUNTERPOINTS TOGETHER, STUDENTS GET INTO THE PRACTICE OF DEVELOPING A NUANCED AND CONSIDERED ARGUMENT RATHER THAN PRODUCING MERE PROPAGANDA. THIS HELPS THEM INTERNALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING FULL CONSIDERATION TO A RANGE OF DIFFERING OPINIONS ABOUT THE SAME TOPIC.

ORAL ACTIVITY 2: THINK – PAIR – SHARE

This activity requires almost zero prep, other than giving the class a topic to get their teeth into!

First, have the students think silently about the topic for a minute or two. They may scratch down doodles or brief notes of their ideas on a piece of paper to use in the discussion portion of this exercise, but this is not a writing activity!

Then, partner them up with another student. At this stage, you may consider differentiation; you may wish to match students with other students of equal ability or with a stronger one as support. Either way, students discuss the topic with their partners for a predetermined number of minutes. The length of time will be dictated by the students’ ages and abilities. Experiment to find the most suitable length of time for your class.

After the time is up, students can share their opinions with the class. You can also scribe the ideas generated by each group onto a master list displayed on the whiteboard as part of a pre-writing exercise. This can also be an excellent exercise to begin the preparation for a formal debate, as it affords the students opportunities to think on their feet, engage with differing opinions, and to work on public speaking skills such as body language.

ORAL ACTIVITY 3. SPEED-DATING FUN

This is a pacy, fun activity to get a lively conversation going in a manner that apes the popular speed dating format – but with a more virtuous intent! You can organize the desks in rows facing each other or in concentric circles in the middle of the classroom.

Choose one row or circle to be mobile. Give students a list of topics to discuss and start the clock. After three minutes or so, signal the time is up and instruct students to move to the following table. At the next station, they can either discuss the same topic or move on to the next topic on their list.

Of course, you may shorten or lengthen the allotted time based on the student’s abilities or the complexities of the topics. However, as this exercise works best in fun and fast-paced, and the aim is for each student to have the opportunity to speak with every other student, it is often best to keep the topics fairly straightforward. Questions like Is it better to live in the town than the country? or Do dogs make better pets than cats? work well here.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCUSSION IN THE CLASSROOM

The discrete teaching of discussion and argument in the classroom is essential. It offers students invaluable opportunities to test their opinions and ideas with their peers in a safe environment. Students learn that disagreement is inevitable and not fatal! They learn, too, that it is okay to revise an opinion in the light of compelling evidence they had not previously considered.

Discussion is a proving ground for ideas. Ideas tested in the arena of classroom discussion will likely be expressed much more coherently in written form. Often, students are not fully aware of exactly how they think on an issue until they have had a chance to try out their embryonic ideas with each other in a public discussion. It also helps students avoid the dangers of the echo chamber of their minds where frequently their ideas existed without challenge.

Encouraging our students to engage in respectful and productive disagreement is perhaps one of the most important skills we can help them develop.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Discussion activities offer tremendous opportunities for some informal assessment that helps with planning to best meet the needs of your students in future lessons. The fact that they are not teacher-led gives the teacher a chance to take a backseat and give full attention to the students’ conversations. This allows you to spot areas of difficulty and gaps in learning – all valuable information that will be priceless for effective future lesson planning.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

The first task in writing an excellent argumentative essay is finding a suitable topic with solid and valid opinions for both sides of the argument.  You will find some engaging writing prompts below.

structure of argumentative essay

sample argumentative essay

Below are a collection of student writing samples of discussions.  Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail.  Please take a moment to read them in detail, and the teacher and student guide highlight some of the critical elements of discussions to consider before writing.

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of writing a discussion.

We would recommend reading the example either a year above or below, as well as the grade you are currently working with to gain a broader appreciation of this text type.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (92 Reviews)

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO WRITING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

How to Write Perfect Persuasive Essays in 5 Simple Steps

Top 25 Essay Topics for 2024

How to Write a Winning Debate Speech

5 Top Persuasive Writing Lesson Plans for Students and Teachers

Compare argumentative v. persuasive writing

Learning Center

Filter by Category:

Compare argumentative vs. persuasive writing

Read more: The Ultimate Guide to the Six Traits of Writing

While showing persuasive or argumentative essay examples can be helpful, students also need a concrete and specific list of the ingredients found in each type .

Topics & Perspectives

All opinion writing starts with stating a position, stance, or claim. However, the nature of opinion writing is that these topics are debatable—there are differing opinions as to what is correct, fair, or best. And according to the standards—the inclusion (or exclusion) of multiple perspectives is the biggest difference between persuasive writing and argumentative writing.

To consider persuasive writing visually, think of it as a lopsided scale.

Organization & Structure

All genres of argument (e.g., opinion , review, recommendation, persuasive letters, speeches, debates, argument, etc.) utilize a what-and-why structure. The beginning introduces what the writer thinks (e.g., his claim, opinion) and the body outlines why he thinks it (e.g., reasons with evidence). The difference between persuasive and argumentative comes within the body of the written piece.

PERSUASIVE: Traditional instruction encourages starting with the strongest reason. But this means that the reasons will weaken and fizzle by the end.

A more powerful approach would be to leave the reader pondering the best reason. To create this effect, present the reasons in a 2-3-1 order.

First, rank the reasons, determining which is the number one best reason. Which one will resonate with the audience best? That reason should be saved for the final paragraph of the body.

Then, identify the weakest reason of the three. It should be buried in the middle position, leaving the second-best reason to be explained first.

This organization allows students to start with a solid first reason and save their best for last. Leaving “the clincher” for the final body paragraph provides a strong segue into the conclusion.

ARGUMENT: This more sophisticated genre also has 3 (or more) reasons presented within the body. However, there is the added challenge of incorporating the counterclaim with an argumentative versus a persuasive piece.

Ideally, points from the opposition are woven into each of the body paragraphs. After identifying and elaborating on one reason, the writer transitions to explain the opposition’s counterpoint (e.g., However, On the other hand, etc.). Then the writer either concedes or refutes it before introducing the second reason. This They say/I say organization intermixes the strengths and limitations of both perspectives. (TIP: Show this by color coding the two positions.)

Although this is a more sophisticated structure, initially it may be easier to simply develop the counterclaim within its own body paragraph. Insert this additional information all about the opposition after the weakest reason—but before the best one. This would adjust the organization to be: 2-3-CC-1.

Audience & Point of View

A writer tailors his message to the audience—or intended reader . An awareness of the audience impacts the formality of the writing.

If the writer uses first-person pronouns (i.e., I, me, my ), he implies a prior relationship between the writer and the reader. This can make the writer—and thus his opinion—more personal. Conversely, third-person pronouns maintain distance between the writer and reader—keeping the communication formal and among strangers.

PERSUASIVE: Academic writing—including persuasive—typically avoids using first-person I and second-person you . However, there are exceptions in some persuasive writing.

If the intended audience is a specific individual or a group, then direct the persuasive message to them explicitly. This might include naming the audience within the opening or greeting and/or speaking directly to the reader using an occasional you . Acknowledging this personal connection between reader and writer can actually strengthen the persuasive tone.

Consequently, using first-person and second-person pronouns in persuasive writing is not necessarily wrong.

ARGUMENT: Argumentative writing is much more formal. There is no relationship between the writer and reader. Thus, it is always written using third-person pronouns.

Although the writer is sharing his opinion, he replaces I with advocates and supporters and substitutes you with opponents and adversaries . This word choice is essential when writing about a debatable or controversial issue that is already fueled with personal emotion.

The more formal third-person point of view helps maintain a tone of fairness and reasonableness. It keeps the focus on the subject matter—not the feelings of either the writer or the reader.

Tone & Attitude

In addition to teaching students what information to reveal in each body paragraph, provide instruction on how to say it from a persuasive versus argumentative stance.

PERSUASIVE: Although voice is an obvious element of persuasion, writers consider the emotional tactics that will resonate best with their audience. He may present one reason using a disgusted tone, a second reason using a sympathetic voice, and his final reason leaves the reader feeling motivated and inspired.

CAUTION #1: While making strong emotional appeals can fuel persuasive writing, a string of voice-filled and passionate pleas are NOT enough to support an opinion that lacks proof (i.e., evidence, facts, data, quotes).

CAUTION #2: It’s easy to become passionate when explaining only one side. However, avoid any polarizing comments about the opposition (e.g., You’re dumb if you think… ).

ARGUMENT: It’s not that argumentative writing lacks voice. Rather, the tone is simply not as outwardly passionate as the one-sided persuasive.

With the addition of the counterclaim, the writer attempts to demonstrate he is knowledgeable and fair-minded about the issue. This is intended to speak to the skeptical reader and ultimately influence his thinking. Consequently, the writer maintains an objective tone relying on his logical reasons substantiated with evidence. The writer convinces the reader with his information—not his emotion.

At the secondary level, this ingredient of argumentative writing usually includes additional instruction on ethos, pathos, and logos.

While there is a difference between persuasive and argumentative—there are also several similarities—including how the claim is determined and reasons are inferred.

Research & Position

Whether writing a one-sided persuasive versus an argument with multiple perspectives, the writer always enters the process by researching the topic. He gathers information on both/all sides. After studying the issue and the evidence available for all perspectives, aligns with the strongest position—the one with the most evidence . This then converts into his claim or topic sentence .

Reasons & Evidence

When gathering the evidence to determine the strongest side of an argument or persuasive piece, the writer makes a list of facts collected from texts. Each of these text details is potential evidence the writer may cite—but none are the student’s own reasons .

In an argument or persuasive writing, the student must present his reasons to support his opinion. All the details he has collected from text came from other authors—other sources. None are a result of his own thinking.

Consequently, a student must combine several related text details and generate a common category that they all fit. That category or idea is a reason. Then, the grouping of text details serves as the supporting evidence.

According to the college and career-ready standards, the answer to what is argumentative writing, as compared to persuasive writing, comes down to several factors. Therefore, it makes sense that presenting a one-sided persuasive is the standard at the elementary level. This is the foundation of a future argument in middle and high school. If a student can’t woo the reader when presenting one perspective, he will struggle when he must juggle and present two.

Dissect the K-12 Argumentative Standard

Posters | Persuasive | Argumentative

Purchase a set of Genre Essentials posters to use during your daily writing mini-lesson instruction.

View Related Articles

Thank you for providing detailed and distinct explanation between the different writing styles.

Related Articles

Advance students from opinion to persuasive to argumentative

Require WHAT & WHY in primary opinion writing

Evaluate 4 factors in argument analysis

• Customer Reviews
• Extended Essays
• IB Internal Assessment
• Theory of Knowledge
• Literature Review
• Dissertations
• Essay Writing
• Research Writing
• Assignment Help
• Capstone Projects
• College Application
• Online Class

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay: How Do They Compare?

by  Antony W

August 10, 2023

It’s easy to assume that an argumentative essay is synonymous to persuasive essay writing because they both convince your audience to agree with your point of view.

But the two are different not only in terms of purpose but also in terms of the tone used in writing and the expected results.

In this comparison post, we’ll tell you the difference between persuasive and argumentative essay , our goal being to help you approach both assignments the right way.

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay writing is an assignment that requires students to pick a topic, investigate it, collect and evaluate evidence, choose a position, and then defend their stand.

For an essay to be considered argumentative, it must be clear and concise and feature a logical transition between the introduction , body paragraphs , and the conclusion .

Argumentative essays require evidential support, which can be either factual, statistical, historical, or logical.

What is a Persuasive Essay?

A persuasive essay is an assignment written to persuade.

An author uses first and second person point of view to express their conviction in a way that shows their thinking is the best.

Persuasive writing tends to be somewhat aggressive in approach, but in most cases, it tends to be emotional, passionate, and personal.

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay

Let’s take a closer look on argumentative vs persuasive essay below.  

Keep in mind that this guide focuses mostly on the differences between the two  types of essays . 

Differences in Starting Point

You’re going to put very little work to persuasive essay writing and therefore you’ll find it easier to write. That’s because it has quite a simpler starting point.

When it comes to writing this essay, all you have to do is to identify the topic you’d like to cover and choose your side.

An argumentative essay is completely different in terms of its starting point. You have to choose a topic, research it in-depth, and then decide which side you’d like to support using reasonable and sufficient evidence.

Differences in Writing Technique

Difference in Tone

Argumentative essay writing requires an authoritative tone in order to make your ideas clear.

To demonstrate your authoritativeness on the topic, and to prove to the reader that you can argue your points, you need to use a formal tone as well as the right language to complete the essay. 

More often than not, your arguments have to reflect a consistent use of a somewhat complex language, as it’s necessary to fill the assignment with the technical terms related to the subject.

It’s a completely different case in persuasive writing.

Here’s where you write as if you’re talking a friend, and therefore you can use a more relaxed tone that identifies with your readers’ emotions, sense of humor, intelligence, and sometimes ego.

Difference in Purpose

The purpose of persuasive writing is to express your thoughts and beliefs in hope to convince your audience to share your point of view.

You may have a claim in persuasive writing, but there are often no solid and undeniable facts to present so as to defend your position.

For what it’s worth, especially since the primary goal is to sway the reader in hope that they either agree with you or take an action, often a persuasive essay tends to use a non-formal kind of debate and emotional appeal.

The purpose of an argument is completely different. Authors need to invest in research and come up with compelling arguments to defend their positions. 

Instead of swaying your audience, you present the evidence for or against an argument and let your audience decides whether to take your stand or to write off your argument completely.

Difference in Conclusion

In argumentative essay writing, your conclusion should demonstrate two things.

First, demonstrate the position you take in the argument, and second, let the reader know that they can recognize other point of view.

By doing so, you not only demonstrate that you put effort in researching your topic but also establish that your stand is the best among all in relation to the topic in question.

The conclusion of a persuasive essay isn’t as robust and may not even be as convincing.

First, the end of the essay tries to put a reader in the position to accept that an author’s thoughts are the only source of information on the subject in question.

In a way, the assumption is that the author expects the reader will recognize and agree with their stand.

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay: Get Writing Help

Let’s face it:

Writing an argumentative or persuasive essay isn’t always as easy, especially if you have so many other assignments to complete.

If we’re being honest, sometimes the best way to beat your deadline is to seek academic writing help.

At Help for Assessment, we invest a lot of time and resources to help students understand, complete, and submit their essays on time.

So if you don’t have the time to complete the papers yourself, and you need help from an academic writing service that has written thousands of essays already, you can count on us to help you complete the work.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

How to Convince an Audience: Opinion versus Persuasion

SHARON’S BLOG

You may be very good at expressing your opinions, especially when you want to change someone’s mind.

What you may not know is that if you truly want to change someone’s mind, you have to stop thinking about your opinion and start thinking about your audience.

This tutorial, with a free infographic to download, will show you very clearly the difference between writing an opinion and writing to persuade an audience.

Opinion versus Persuasion

Writing or expressing an opinion is all about what you like; convincing another person to do something is all about what they need to hear to be persuaded.

Here’s an infographic that shows the difference between writing an opinion and writing to persuade. After the infographic, I’ve included a short writing exercise you can do quickly. My writing class just did it, and they had fun sharing their ideas about alligators, snow leopards, snakes, and so forth.

To download the infographic for the tutorial, click here .

Writing exercise: Do this one step at a time. 

1. Write your opinion of an animal you love or hate. It can be a particular animal (“I love my pet alligator”) or all animals of a kind (“I hate all snakes”). Then make a list of about 3-5 reasons why you love or hate this animal. When you have finished your list, put it aside.

Note: When you have strong feelings about your topic, writing is easier. One student in my class had a hard time coming up with three reasons why she disliked her animal. I asked her to think about an animal she had some strong feelings about—really loved or truly hated. She switched her animal to snakes and wrote four wonderful reasons why she hated snakes.

2. Now you are going to persuade a friend to buy this animal as a pet. Make a list of 3-5 reasons why your friend should buy this animal as a pet. Or, if you wrote about a hated animal, persuade a friend NOT to buy this animal as a pet. Make a list of 3-5 reasons why your friend should avoid this animal as a pet.

3. Make a Venn diagram like the one in the infographic, if you wish. Look at both lists. How many reasons are the same in both lists? How many are different? WHY are they different?

By now I think you see that when you write to persuade others, you will be more effective if you make your list of points fit your audience. Take yourself out of the equation and try to connect your audience with your topic.

If you want to take this lesson further and write a short persuasive essay, you’ll find a great list of 100 persuasion topics here .

More tutorials on persuasive writing:

Avoid these three mistakes >> Three powerful persuasion tools >> Three effective persuasion strategies advertisers and politicians use >> 5 powerful strategies found in an important speech >>

You’ll find this practical lesson and others in The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School.

Note: Emma L. helped with the opinion/persuasion points on the infographic. Print

Looking for something?

Sharon’s Blog

Grading Essays Made Easy

Homeschool Life

Miscellaneous

Proofreading Tips

Writing Prompts

Writing/Teaching Tips

Middle school prompts

Description

High school prompts

Download free samples of our courses    here. Dismiss

Discover more from Writing with Sharon Watson-Easy-to-use Homeschool Writing and Literature Curriculum

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Differences Between Argumentative & Discursive Essay Writing

​Argumentative and discursive writing form a large portion of the Paper 1 Syllabus, albeit often mistaken for each other due to their similarities and overlaps in writing techniques. In the first part of this two-part series, let us iron out the differences between these two text types so that we can tackle them better in our writing.

​Neutrality vs Taking a Stand

The baseline difference between Argumentative and Discursive is innate to definition. As the terms imply, an argumentative essay requires you to argue towards an explicit stand. Its individual points and structure revolve around putting across and strengthening this stand to convince the reader. Discursive, on the other hand, requires you to discuss an issue as is, primarily to educate the reader. Thus, there isn’t a need to take an explicit stand or frame its points towards one.

It is important to distinguish this main difference between the two early-on; missing the purpose of the text type causes our writing to go haywire and become severely penalized.

​Balance & Scope

​The onus is on the writer in you to present the most holistic take on a topic as possible. However, both text types achieve the concept of balance and scope differently.

Discursive is generally neutral and free-for-all discussion; as such, we aim to maximize breadth and depth. There are 2 trains of thought to come up with a decent number of points to work with. The first way is to consider the dimensions of a topic. Most issues usually involve political, social and economic dimensions, and in some cases, technological, psychological, geographical and other applicable ones. We can dedicate one paragraph for a dimension and elaborate on it thoroughly. Secondly, we can analyze the topic at different scales – usually by considering how the topic affects the individual, group and society. Oftentimes, there are intermediate levels such as groups within an organization or groups of different backgrounds impacting each other.

Argumentative essays, on the other hand, achieve a balance between thesis and anti-thesis that support and refute your stand respectively. You must devise enough thesis points that are sufficiently in-depth standalone, while being sufficiently-varied to cover factors for scope. The anti-thesis is also essential; without it, only presenting a thesis makes your writing appear one-sided and stubborn or silent regarding the flaws of your argument. In contrast, acknowledging these gaps and being able to counter-argue against them is a sign of strength. Not only do you acknowledge potential holes and exceptions in the opposite arguments, you can also refute them confidently and thoroughly, thus making your argument more holistic.

Structure & Content Ratio

In timed examination conditions, you are expected to write an introduction, five body paragraphs and a conclusion to compose an essay of healthy length and completeness.

Based on our earlier reasoning, the optimal structure for Argumentative would be:

• State a stand in the introduction such that it is made strong and clear from the get-go
• Three body paragraphs supporting the thesis. It is sequentially logical to start the body text by substantiating it with your stand. It is also simpler to write more body paragraphs for the thesis than the anti-thesis so as to outnumber and overpower the latter.
• A signpost paragraph that separates the thesis and anti-thesis points. Generally, writing the thesis and anti-thesis points separately also makes the argument clearer and easier to follow (without the need for intermediate sign-postings and complex expressions, at least).
• Two body paragraphs supporting the anti-thesis, each ending with a counter-argument that furthers your thesis.
• A conclusion that reiterates your stand for a lasting impact on the reader. It also contains closing comments.

Discursive structure is less rigid, but your sequence of paragraphs must be justifiably logical. For instance, if we generate our points using the scaling method, it is sensible to write them in ascending scale ie. a body paragraph about the individual level, then the group, then the organization, and finally, the societal level.

Difficult Areas

​Which of these two text types is easier? You may find the Discursive to be harder as it requires you to devise a wider range of points. Or that the Argumentative is easier if you feel strongly for a topic or can express your views more directly, albeit bearing a higher risk for not sounding critical, balanced or clear-stating of your stand. Difficulty also varies with the question and to an extent, your prior knowledge of the topic (and similar ones). Ultimately, the answer lies in your ability and knowledge. Every situation is a different scenario.

Do you have a preference for either text type? In the next part of our series, we shall zero-in on some smart ways to start each text type’s introduction.

Tuition Classes

English , Primary 4

English , Primary 5

English , Primary 6 (PSLE)

English , Secondary 1

English , Secondary 2

English , Secondary 3

English , Secondary 4 (O-Level)

Quick Links

SMART Sheets

Join Us (Jobs & Careers)

The Learning Board - English, Math & Science Tuition Centre In Singapore

[email protected]

Bishan Mall 501 Bishan Street 11 #01-366 Singapore 570501

People's Garden 33 Lorong 7 Realty Park Singapore 536791

Kembangan Court 5 Jalan Masjid #01-14 Singapore 418924