Writing a Strong Argumentative Essay Outline

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Writing a Strong Argumentative Essay Outline
Table of Contents
  1. Writing a Strong Argumentative Essay Outline
  2. Argumentative Essay Structure / Outline
  3. Outline Part 1: Introduction
  4. Outline Part 2: Body of Your Argument plus Supporting Evidences
  5. Outline Part 3: Opponent's Claims / Counterarguments
  6. Outline Part 4: Conclusion
  7. To Sum It Up

As a student you may not be required to write an outline as a part of your argumentative essay (or find for reasons why homework should be banned), but you still should do it. Even if it seems to you a waste of time, don’t skip the argumentative essay outline prior to writing the very first paragraph of your paper.

Why does it matter for you and your reader? Students are used to thinking of an outline as of mandatory part of the paper. However, it’s more than a sketch of your work or an introduction to the paper itself. But, rather - a content writing technique that will help you arrange ideas and logically distribute them in an argumentative essay. Here are some outline basics that will help you learn and understand how the one should be written. Or, in case you wish to turn to our homework help service to order argumentative essays online you can ask a professional writer for hire to follow these outline writing guidelines.

Argumentative Essay Structure / Outline 

The structure of the effective outline reflects your entire argumentative essay structure. The main difference is that the outline is just a short plan where you don't put everything as you do in the essay. Take your time to create a detailed outline, and this will help you to save some time during the essay writing.

Please make sure you're following the next four sections for the argumentative essay:

  1. Introduction part.
  2. A body part (contains 2-3 arguments).
  3. A paragraph with several opposite arguments.
  4. Conclusion part.

Needless to say, you need to support your thesis statement. You include the opposite point of view to give readers to understand that the author writes objectively all the judgments with respect to all the existing arguments.

Outline Part 1: Introduction

Any essay must be started with a short introduction that contains several parts.

1. Hook

At the very beginning, think about how you can catch your readers' attention. Of course, it's good to understand the target audience and define their interests. You have to write just a couple of sentences to make people interested in reading the essay further. That's why it's important to make a strong hook at the very beginning of your argumentative paper. 

2. Background data

There is no need to write a lot here but you need to explain what your entire paper is about and provide the readers with some important facts. Mention why the chosen topic is so important and what problem you're going to discuss in your paper.

3. A thesis statement

This is the main idea of your entire document that should be written just in 1-2 sentences. Every sentence and every thought in your essay must be connected with a thesis statement for argumentative essay. Remember that all you have to do is to state your main goal clearly and shortly without doubts.  

Outline Part 2: Body of Your Argument plus Supporting Evidences

In the argumentative paper, every claim must be well-supported by the evidence. A claim is a statement that supports your paper's thesis. A piece of evidence is proof based on statistics and well-known facts. The writer has to find evidence during the research in various sources. Keep in mind that evidence cannot be taken from your experience but only on well-known facts. You can include up to five paragraphs with claims supported by evidence. See the samples below:

  1. Claim #1. Drinking alcohol for people younger than 21 should be banned. Supporting Evidence: According to the statistics, about 25% of drunk teenagers come to an emergency with traumas caused by their condition. 
  2. Claim #2. Markets shouldn't sell alcohol to people younger than 21. Supporting Evidence: If we look at the facts on road accidents, we can see that around 31% of car accidents happened because of drunk drivers who were younger than 21.
  3. Claim #3. The drinking age should be raised to 21. Supporting Evidence: Over 10% of young people who drink a lot of alcohol have problems with their mental health according to the reports. Around 13% of drinking students have problems with memorizing things and studying following the college reports.

Remember that you need to add opposite points of view because the reader may think your arguments are subjective.

Outline Part 3: Opponent's Claims / Counterarguments 

In this part, you need to write the point of view of your opponents. Your main task is to refute them with strong evidence. Your essay wouldn't be argumentative if you fail this important task. Put the opposite arguments and provide them with evidence to show readers these are mistaken points of view. When you have finished writing this part by refuting all the arguments from the opposite side, it's time to do your conclusion.

Outline Part 4: Conclusion

Let's see how to write a conclusion for an essay. This is the last part of your paper where you need to sum things up and answer two questions:

  1. Why is the problem stated in your paper so important?
  2. Why is your argument correct?

Don't write too much here because the reader must get a feeling that your paper is going to its logical end. Just restate your thesis here and make suggestions for further research on the particular problem, if needed. 

To Sum It Up

We hope this guide helped you in creating a strong and reliable outline for an argumentative essay. In case you face some issues and need help, you are always welcomed on our website. Just fill our simple order form and we will be ready to solve your problems without nerves. It's easy to contact the team of experts and ask for assistance just when you need it.

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