20 What is an Argumentative Essay?


A lot of students approach the argumentative essay thinking that they just need to tell their readers their opinion about the topic and done, but that doesn’t really fully capture what an argumentative essay is. An argumentative essay is built around an argument, which is not a heated discussion about two opposing views, like you might have with your friends when you try to figure out Marvel vs. DC or PlayStation vs Xbox.[1] Instead, an argument is a series of reasons presented in order to persuade someone to believe your main point.

That last point is so important, I’m going to say it again: an argument is a presentation of a series of reasons intended to persuade someone to believe that your position is right or correct or best. It doesn’t matter how passionately you believe in something, or what your lifelong stance has been, or what you think about the topic—if you can’t present a series of reasons to support your position, you don’t have an argument. All you have is an opinion.

Because of this, the argumentative essay should also be based on well-researched studies and articles,[2] just like your issue-analysis report. If you expect your readers to listen to you and trust you, you should find and provide for them the best reasons and evidence out there. Simply relating one person’s experience[3] as justification for your position is not enough. It can certainly be a part of your argument, but it shouldn’t be the central pillar that your reasoning is built on.

As you present your argument, though, you also need to be careful about the way you talk about both your side and the opposing side. In order to persuade your readers that you are correct or that you see things the right way, you have to get them to trust you. Since all they have to go on is your words, you have to choose them carefully. If you go on and on and talk big about your ideas and make fun of or get offensive towards your opposition, you’re not going to get your readers to trust you. You need to make sure that your tone is not too biased.

  1. Wow. Those examples are incredibly stereotypically male. I just have no idea what girls argue about. Don’t @ me. Okay, maybe @ me and give me some ideas I can use here. ↵
  2. Instead of on TikTok videos or your uncle’s social media posts. ↵
  3. Whether yours or someone else’s. ↵

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The ENGL 1010 Student's Guide to the Essays Copyright © 2023 by Rik Andes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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