This argumentative essay follows the Rogerian model. It discusses each side, first laying out multiple reasons people believe student athletes should be paid, then discussing reasons why the athletes shouldn’t be paid. It ends by stating that college athletes shouldn’t be paid by arguing that paying them would destroy college athletics programs and cause them to have many of the issues professional sports leagues have.
A good argumentative essay will use facts and evidence to support the argument, rather than just the author’s thoughts and opinions. For example, say you wanted to write an argumentative essay stating that Charleston, SC is a great destination for families. You couldn’t just say that it’s a great place because you took your family there and enjoyed it. For it to be an argumentative essay, you need to have facts and data to support your argument, such as the number of child-friendly attractions in Charleston, special deals you can get with kids, and surveys of people who visited Charleston as a family and enjoyed it. The first argument is based entirely on feelings, whereas the second is based on evidence that can be proven.
How this essay could be improved:
- This is a shorter paper, and if it needed to be expanded to meet length requirements, it could include more examples and go more into depth with them, such as by explaining specific cases where people benefited from local libraries.
- Additionally, while the paper uses lots of data, the author also mentions their own experience with using tablets. This should be removed since argumentative essays focus on facts and data to support an argument, not the author’s own opinion or experiences. Replacing that with more data on health issues associated with screen time would strengthen the essay.
- Some of the points made aren't completely accurate, particularly the one about digital books being cheaper. It actually often costs a library more money to rent out numerous digital copies of a book compared to buying a single physical copy. Make sure in your own essay you thoroughly research each of the points and rebuttals you make, otherwise you'll look like you don't know the issue that well.
Proponents of the idea believe that, because college athletes are the ones who are training, participating in games, and bringing in audiences, they should receive some sort of compensation for their work. If there were no college athletes, the NCAA wouldn’t exist, college coaches wouldn’t receive there (sometimes very high) salaries, and brands like Nike couldn’t profit from college sports. In fact, the NCAA brings in roughly $1 billion in revenue a year, but college athletes don’t receive any of that money in the form of a paycheck. Additionally, people who believe college athletes should be paid state that paying college athletes will actually encourage them to remain in college longer and not turn pro as quickly, either by giving them a way to begin earning money in college or requiring them to sign a contract stating they’ll stay at the university for a certain number of years while making an agreed-upon salary.
#1: Make Your Thesis Crystal Clear
One of the major reasons for the failure of the project was that it set uniform strategies and policies. By failing to consider variations between governments, geography, and infrastructure, the program was not nearly as successful as it could have been. Sub-Saharan Africa has neither the money nor the infrastructure to support such an elaborate program, and it couldn’t be run the way it was meant to. Most African countries don't have the resources to send all their people to doctors and get shots, nor can they afford to clear wetlands or other malaria prone areas. The continent’s spending per person for eradicating malaria was just a quarter of what Brazil spent. Sub-Saharan Africa simply can’t rely on a plan that requires more money, infrastructure, and expertise than they have to spare.
However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets. First, digital books and resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print resources. A study done on tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets, retain 20% less information, and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the same information in print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause numerous health problems, including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye strain, at much higher instances than reading print does. People who use tablets and mobile devices excessively also have a higher incidence of more serious health issues such as fibromyalgia, shoulder and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and muscle strain. I know that whenever I read from my e-reader for too long, my eyes begin to feel tired and my neck hurts. We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people, more reasons to look at screens.
Additionally, the widespread use of chloroquine has created drug resistant parasites which are now plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa. Because chloroquine was used widely but inconsistently, mosquitoes developed resistance, and chloroquine is now nearly completely ineffective in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 95% of mosquitoes resistant to it. As a result, newer, more expensive drugs need to be used to prevent and treat malaria, which further drives up the cost of malaria treatment for a region that can ill afford it.
What this essay does well:
- Both sides of the argument are well developed, with multiple reasons why people agree with each side. It allows readers to get a full view of the argument and its nuances.
- Certain statements on both sides are directly rebuffed in order to show where the strengths and weaknesses of each side lie and give a more complete and sophisticated look at the argument.
The body of your paper is the heart of your argument. Devote at least one paragraph to each of your ideas, go into details about both sides of the issue, and provide the most convincing counter-arguments.
Are you struggling with your argumentative essay? You are not alone. This type of academic writing is truly challenging, and most students experience hard times when trying to tailor one. However, you don’t have to worry – argumentation is an art, and you can master it. Think about your argumentative essay as if it was a dish. And in this article, you will find a winning recipe. The key ingredients of a delicious paper are:
Once you have chosen a topic, think about both sides of the argument and make a list of points for each. This will help you shape your own argument and explain why your position is valid. The points from the list will serve as evidence of your validity. Pick your side of the issue and think of the central argument that backs it up. The task is to describe your argument as the right one and work against the opposing point, and explain why you disagree with it.
When you are armed with information, start writing your paper. Like any other academic essay, an argumentative one contains three main parts:
Get to work
Since you are writing an argumentative paper, you need to find a debatable topic – the one that has at least two debating points of view. Try to choose the topic you care about – being passionate about it, you will be more successful in your writing.
- Compelling topic
Introduce and briefly explain your topic, give background details, intriguing statistics, and end your paragraph with a thesis statement. In your thesis statement, reveal your position about the topic.
End your paper with a summary of your central point and restate other supporting arguments. Don’t provide new information or quotes in your final paragraph.
Look at this step as getting your readers on the same page. When you do that, they’re in a better place to understand your arguments.
The argumentative essay’s thesis statement should be a crisp and clear explanation of the main argument of your essay.
So, to make this task slightly easier, we’ve put together critical do’s and don’ts that you must keep in mind while writing an introduction for an argumentative essay.
An argumentative essay involves investigating a topic, doing comprehensive research, collating evidence and presenting your argument. The first step is writing the introduction.
4. Give background information
Let’s first understand the purpose of the introductory paragraph. The point of the introduction is to introduce the topic while drawing readers in and making them intrigued to know more.
After writing an enticing hook, you need to go on to introduce your topic which includes what you’re going to be writing about.
The first one or two sentences of your essay are known as the essay hook and are meant to generate interest in readers and grab their attention. Writing a catchy hook is likely to increase your chances of scoring well.
- An introduction where you introduce the central message of your paper (the thesis statement). Example: Tobacco products can induce various health problems, including cancers, heart attacks, and obesity.
- Background of the subject where you introduce early studies about children who have grown up in adoptive environments. Here you can also talk about the long-term effects of smoking.
- Main arguments — Talk about the main points of your position. For example, you could write about the feeling of addiction that makes it difficult to give up smoking.
- Refutation — Here is where your counterarguments come into place. Introduce the opposite side you will need to refute as being invalid. Example: Some people think that smoking does not affect health and that genetic predisposition is more impactful in causing problems for one’s health. However, there is major evidence which shows that smoking can cause bigger long-term damage to lungs than a genetic predisposition to cancer.
- Conclusion — Present all of the main arguments and provide solutions or studies that need to be conducted in the future.
This approach works best if the topic of your argumentative essay is highly polemical or is a potential seed for different discussions. For instance, such issues as causes of global warming, gender identification problems, and philosophical problems work best if the Rogerian approach is applied. There is no specific structure that needs to be followed in the Rogerian approach. It’s more about how you present the information: be sympathetic to both sides of the argument. It’s important to concede that the opposing side may also be valid. So, the more wide-scoped view of a subject you take, the better. You don't have to solve the issue, it's more important to explore the compromise between the two sides to arrive at a solution to a pressing problem.
Learning this style of writing is the beginning of your journey to getting the grades that you deserve. Read this article to learn how to write an argumentative essay with an expert essay writing service.
An argumentative essay is a style of academic writing where an author presents both sides of an argument or issue. The main purpose of an argumentative essay is to inform rather than convince – that’s why this type of paper should not be confused with a persuasive essay.
3 Ways to Approach Argumentative Writing
The following skills are evaluated when grading an argumentative essay:
There are three main ways to approach an argumentative essay. These techniques will help you create a proper structure.
This type of paper is assigned to train a student’s ability to debate. It can therefore greatly influence the public speaking skills of a person later on in their life. When writing an argumentative essay, it is important to focus on facts and information rather than personal ideas or preferences. The author may present arguments equally, or support one in favour of others. Regardless, the thesis must include all of the primary points (and counterpoints) that will appear in the essay. It is almost like a political debate with oneself.
Are you struggling with your argumentative essay? You are not alone. This type of academic writing is truly challenging, and most students experience hard times when trying to tailor one. However, you don’t have to worry – argumentation is an art, and you can master it. Think about your argumentative essay as if it was a dish. And in this article, you will find a winning recipe. The key ingredients of a delicious paper are:
The body of your paper is the heart of your argument. Devote at least one paragraph to each of your ideas, go into details about both sides of the issue, and provide the most convincing counter-arguments.
End your paper with a summary of your central point and restate other supporting arguments. Don’t provide new information or quotes in your final paragraph.
When you are armed with information, start writing your paper. Like any other academic essay, an argumentative one contains three main parts:
Choose a topic and your standpoint
You may reveal the opposing position first and then move to your own position as a correct one. Feel free to discredit and crush the opposing point with the facts you found during your research, just don’t use any aggressive language. Your points should be presented one by one, from the weakest to the strongest one. Support each of them with evidence, statistics, quotations, or even stories from real life – just make sure that they are convincing and relevant. Use reliable and fresh academic sources only.
Since you are writing an argumentative paper, you need to find a debatable topic – the one that has at least two debating points of view. Try to choose the topic you care about – being passionate about it, you will be more successful in your writing.
Introduce and briefly explain your topic, give background details, intriguing statistics, and end your paragraph with a thesis statement. In your thesis statement, reveal your position about the topic.