Possible Organization Strategy: Classical*
* The Classical argument strategy is just one way to organize your essay. More information about organization of your essay may be found in the Little, Brown HB pgs. 105-106 and McGraw-Hill Guide pgs. 461-472.
Rhetorical Context Page (a separate page where you identify your subject, audience, purpose, occasion, and thesis)
Subject: Your topic
Audience: Who you want to persuade and information about whether they are against, in support of, uninterested in, or unaware of your argument
Purpose: To persuade my audience that ______
Occasion: A brief explanation about why you chose to argue this topic and this stance
Thesis: [Copy and Paste Thesis Statement Here]
Title: This Should Reflect Your Thesis
1. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs)
There are a few strategies you can use to develop your introduction: tell a story, describe the situation, explain a key controversial term, use an analogy, explain the history of the issue, visualize a situation--real or imagined, use a key quotation and explain what you think it means to your issue.
Typically this is a good place to use emotion because it draws your readers in. Your introduction may be anywhere from 1 to 2 paragraphs of your essay. How you begin will depend largely on whether your target audience is against you, middle-of-the-road/ignorant on issue, or in support of you.
Example of situation description: If your issue is about global warming, you can describe the icebergs melting and polar bears having a difficult time finding as much food and shelter as before. You could then go on to describe other animals with other hardships due to global warming, such as sea life that is struggling.
2. Brief History (1-2 paragraphs)
If you did not begin with the history of your issue, explain how/when this issue specifically became a problem and for whom it is a problem up to the current situation of the issue. Beware the "since the dawn of man" explanation. How much air time you give to background information will depend upon your audience. If you're writing to an audience well informed on this issue, you may just want to summarize key points as reminders. If you are arguing to an audience which has little or vague knowledge of the issue, you may want to go into depth, so they know all they need to know to understand the issue. This is also a good place to explain key terms (organizations, definitions, etc.). Typically this will take 1 paragraph, but maybe two if the history is relevant to your thesis and lengthy.
Questions to consider: For what community is this issue a problem? How specifically is it a problem for them? Has the problem gotten worse or better or remained the same over its time?
If you did begin with the history or the history of the issue is not relevant to your argument, skip this part and just go to the next.
At the end of this section may be a good place to state or restate your claim (your stance on your research question). See thesis handout for more information
3. Supporting point #1 (1-2 paragraphs)
This is often a good place to start supporting your thesis through specific reasons. Remember that a reason is the "because" part of your argument. You should be able to say "because" after your claim and then give the reason. Making the reason a clear topic sentence will give your paragraph(s) focus.
Each reason with evidence may be anywhere from 1 to 2 paragraphs, depending on how much explanation it requires, how much evidence you have to support it, and how supportive/informed your audience is. Less informed audiences and those against often require more evidence and explanation than those you’re trying to motive. Audiences that require motivation often need writing that stirs the emotions and moves them to act.
4. Reason #2
This, again, may be anywhere from 1 to 2 paragraphs. To avoid redundancy and basic writing, try not to always begin your reason paragraphs with, "One reason is" or "another reason is." These become very mechanical transitions, and points will be deducted for that. Instead, try to develop more complex writing using synonymous terms and phrases, such as "Readers should support this idea because…," "One explanation for this is…," "Authorities agree that…," etc.
A general outline for an argumentative paragraph might be:
I. General point of support for thesis
- More specific explanation of general point
- Evidence (example, personal story, authority’s statement, study, analogy, statistics, numbers) to support reasoning
- Explanation of what evidence means and how it specifically supports your thesis
- Conclusion/transition to next paragraph
5. The other side
How much air time you give to this will depend on your audience and your sources/issue. Many of you have an issue where there is a lot of information for multiple or at least two different viewpoints. Some of you, though, have primarily one viewpoint that is trying to make itself heard against the current situation, so you may not have a lot to write on this point. For you, the “other side” is often just the uninformed or those happy with the status quo.
This is a good place to show how reasonable you are. Academic arguments typically outline the other side in a fair, reasonable tone, showing the other side’s primary reasons for its perspective and explaining why your perspective is more justified.
Ways that may help you begin this section: Detractors of X believe. . .However, what they are not taking into account is. . .
Critics of X argue. . . Although this is valid, a more important issue to consider is. . .
This is where key debatable assumptions are often stated and your stance is more finely focused.
6. The conclusion
This is typically where your workable solution comes in if it hasn’t already. Some students’ thesis statements have the solution built in (e.g. “legalize marijuana” or “vote for Proposition 24”), but a restatement wouldn’t hurt, and if you haven’t outlined the first step towards making the problem your issue presents less of a problem, then this is definitely the place. Try to be as specific as possible. Where can your audience go to advance this solution? Is there a website to sign a petition on or a group they can join and support? What can they do in their daily lives to improve the situation?
Also, like the introduction, this is a great place to use emotion. Often, if you were able to begin with an image, example, analogy, or story, you can come back to it here. This gives your readers a sense of closure and helps "tidy up" your argument, which makes it more memorable. Even if you didn't start with one, though, don't be afraid to end with a story or use figurative language.
Other strategies: memorable quotation, outlook of future if your argument succeeds, outlook of future if your argument doesn't succeed, description of current situation.