The Keystones of Writing an Academic Essay

All academic essays are, in essence, an argumentative essay. In almost all instances you have to argue a point or take a stance. The purpose of the argumentative essay is to show to the reader that your theory, your assertion, or your hypothesis is correct, or at least more truthful than the opposition. The act of an argument is a somewhat challenging skill to acquire, and some people think incorrectly, that if they have an opinion in an argument, that they can argue successfully. But there is more to it than that. The art of an argument is what makes people agree with your opinion. Have you ever tried to convert someone to your side, only to find that they did not budget? That is most likely due to the fact that the argument was not properly crafted.

When writing an argumentative paper you don’t necessarily have to prove your point entirely. What you have to do is convince the reader in a reasonable fashion that your position has merit or that your argument is more accurate than any competing arguments.

When writing your essay, be sure to organize it in the following way:

  1. Start with your thesis statement and assert its significance or its relevance within the bigger picture.
  2. Critically review any existing literature on the topic.
  3. Illustrate how your point of view is better than the others. Better in this sense might mean more explanatory or simpler than the others. Your version may use improved methods to gather data, such as more reliable methods or more valid methods.

Once you have done that, your job is to revise and edit the paper. You want to ensure that you have applied a critical process to the argument and that you have found any fallacies or errors in reasoning put forth by the opposition.

Try and think about how the reader may object to your argument. Will they say that your methods for collecting data were wrong? Will they saw that you have an imprecise concept in your argument? Your argument must be as strong as any objections to it. If you are unable to think of an objection and refute it, then you may need to revise your position within the argument.

If you are in need of topics, consider the ideas below:

  • Family planning services and the government
  • Using animals for scientific research
  • Home schooling
  • Animal testing
  • Security cameras and any invasion of privacy
  • Retirement age
  • Capital punishment
