Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology

Drafting Your Essay

Once you understand how to approach your topic and your audience, you will be ready to draft your essay. At this point, you will have selected the sources you will use to support your position as well as identified the strongest arguments against your position (and decided how to refute them). You may also have prepared a formal outline (or perhaps just a list of points to follow).

As you draft your argumentative essay, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Follow the general structure of an argumentative essay. State your thesis in your first paragraph, and discuss each major point in a separate paragraph, moving from least to most important point to emphasize your strongest argument. Introduce each body paragraph with a clearly worded topic sentence. Discuss each opposing argument in a separate paragraph, and be sure your refutation appears directly after your mention of each opposing argument. Finally, don’t forget to include a strong concluding statement in your essay’s last paragraph.
Decide how to arrange your material. As you draft your essay, you may notice that it is turning out to be an ethical argument, an evaluation argument, or another kind of argument that you recognize. If this is the case, you might want to ask your instructor how you can arrange your material so it is consistent with this type of argument.
Use evidence effectively. As you make your points, select the evidence that supports your argument most convincingly. As you write, summarize or paraphrase relevant information from your sources, and respond to this information in your own voice, supplementing material that you find in your sources with your own original ideas and conclusions. (For information on finding and evaluating sources, see Chapter 8; for information on integrating source material, see Chapter 9.)
Use coordination and subordination to make your meaning clear. Readers shouldn’t have to guess how two points are connected; you should use coordination and subordination to show them the relationship between ideas.

Choose coordinating conjunctions —and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet —carefully, making sure you are using the right word for your purpose. (Use and to show addition; but, for, or yet to show contradiction; or to present alternatives; and so to indicate a causal relationship.)

Choose subordinating conjunctions —although, because, and so on—carefully, and place them so that your emphasis will be clear.

Consider the following two sentences.

Achieving a green campus is vitally important. Creating a green campus is expensive.

If you want to stress the idea that green measures are called for, you would connect the two sentences like this:

Although creating a green campus is expensive, achieving a green campus is vitally important.

If, however, you want to place emphasis on the high cost, you would connect the two sentences as follows:

Although achieving a green campus is vitally important, creating a green campus is expensive.
Include transitional words and phrases. Be sure you have enough transitions to guide your readers through your discussion. Supply signals that move readers smoothly from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph, and choose signals that make sense in the context of your discussion.
SUGGESTED TRANSITIONS FOR ARGUMENT
- To show causal relationships: because, as a result, for this reason
- To indicate sequence: first, second, third; then; next; finally
- To introduce additional points: also, another, in addition, furthermore, moreover
- To move from general to specific: for example, for instance, in short, in other words
- To identify an opposing argument: however, although, even though, despite
- To grant the validity of an opposing argument: certainly, admittedly, granted, of course
- To introduce a refutation: however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still
GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

Using Parallelism

As you draft your argumentative essay, you should express corresponding words, phrases, and clauses in parallel terms. The use of matching parts of speech to express corresponding ideas strengthens your argument’s impact because it enables readers to follow your line of thought.

In particular, use parallelism in sentences that highlight paired items or items in a series.
- Paired Items
- Items in a Series
Define your terms. If the key terms of your argument have multiple meanings—as green does—be sure to indicate what the term means in the context of your argument. Terms like environmentally friendly, climate change, environmentally responsible, sustainable, and sustainability literacy may mean very different things to different readers.
Use clear language. An argument is no place for vague language or wordy phrasing. If you want readers to understand your points, your writing should be clear and direct. Avoid vague words like good, bad, right, and wrong, which are really just unsupported judgments that do nothing to help you make your case. Also avoid wordy phrases such as revolves around and is concerned with, particularly in your thesis statement and topic sentences.
Finally, show your confidence and your mastery of your material. Avoid qualifying your statements with phrases such as I think, I believe, it seems to me, and in my opinion. These qualifiers weaken your argument by suggesting that you are unsure of your material or that the statements that follow may not be true.