What is an argumentative essay?

1
What is an argumentative essay?

• Is like a persuasive essay
• Should present pros and cons of the issue
• Should contain an argument
• Should contain evidence or support for the issue
  (facts, statistics, anecdotal evidence)
• Should concern a manageable topic
• Derived from the Bogazici University Writing Lab

2
Examples of Argumentative Topics

• Selling marijuana in public places should be
  illegal
• Polygamy is a natural state, and should be legal
  
• Assisted suicide should be legal
• Animal testing should be illegal
• Graphic video games make kids aggressive and/or
  violent
• Vistas is a better operating system than XP
• From Bogazici University Writing Lab
• From Glendale Community College English
  Department

3
Getting Started

• Picking a topic
• Something controversial
• Something argumentative
• Getting organized
• Outlining your paper
• Creating a keyword list
• Getting research

4
General Outline of a Paper

• Introduction Thesis statement
• Argument-evidence paragraph 1
• Argument-evidence paragraph 2
• Argument-evidence paragraph 3
• Summary of Argument Conclusion

5
Example Outline

• Thesis Beans are a more healthy source of
  protein than beef.
• Beans are fat-free.
  (Or, you can point out
  that beef is not fat-free)
• Beans are low-sodium.
  (Or, you can point out
  that beef is not low-sodium)
• Beans are cholesterol-free.
  (Or, you can point out that
  beef is not cholesterol-free)
• Conclusion Based on the facts that they are
  fat-free, low-sodium, and cholesterol free, beans
  are definitely a more healthy source of protein
  than beef.

6
Research

• Evidence for argumentative essays can be
  objective like facts, statistics, and case
  studies or anecdotal your personal
  experiences
• Objective evidence will require research you
  can use sources like books, articles, websites,
  and even people!

7
Research

• Articles in magazines, newspapers, and journals
  can be found using the Librarys databases.

• Books can be found using the Librarys online
  catalog.

• Good websites can be found using engines like
  Google and Ask

8
Keywords

• Regardless of where you seek resources books,
  articles, or websites the best way to search
  for resources is keyword searching
• Keywords represent the most important parts of
  your thesis statement or argument
• Before you start searching, develop a list of
  keywords from your argument

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Keywords Example

• Thesis Beans are a more healthy source of
  protein than beef.
• Beans ? legumes
• Source
• Healthy health
• Protein
• Beef red meat
• Cholesterol
• You will combine them together using AND!

Remember you arent limited to the actual words
from the thesis use related words or alternate
ideas! Also, look to your arguments for keywords,
too those are key ideas!
10
Quotations Citations

• Quotations when you use text from a resource in
  your own writing
• Citations how you acknowledge resources youve
  used in your paper

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Quotations

• Indirect Quotation Some researchers note
  that "children are totally insensitive to their
  parent's shyness" (Zimbardo 62).Direct
  Quotation Zimbardo notes that "children are
  totally insensitive to their parent's shyness"
  (62).Paraphrase While not all children are,
  research has shown that some children are
  insensible to the introversion or timidity of
  their parent or parents (Zimbardo 62).

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Citations

• Book
• Langland, William. Piers the Ploughman.
• Baltimore Penguin Books, Ltd., 1974.
• Journal article
• Thibodeau, P.L., and S.J. Melamut. "Ergonomics in
  the Electronic Library." Bulletin of the Medical
  Library Association 83.3 (July 1995) 322-329.

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Citations

• Journal article from a database
• Becker, Karen. "The Characteristics of
  Bibliographic Instruction in Relation to the
  Causes and Symptoms of Burnout." RQ 32.3 (Spring
  1993) 346-357. EBSCO ERIC. ULM University
  Library, Monroe, LA. 19 May 2009.
  lthttp//www.epnet.comgt.

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Citations

• Website
• Lowe, Megan. Citations Guide MLA Style. Megan
  Lowe _at_ ULM. 8 June 2006. University of Louisiana
  at Monroe. 12 June 2007 lthttp//www.ulm.edu/lowe/
  MLAcitationguide.htmlgt.
• Remember citations are important for two reasons
• They allow you to give credit where credit is
  due, which keeps you from plagiarism and cheating
  charges
• Allows readers to retrace your research steps and
  look at the actual resources you used