Writing Basics: Writing an argumentative/persuasive essay

If your instructor asks you to write an argumentative or persuasive essay, your main task is to convince the reader to agree with your opinion on some subject.  Let's say that you are against smoking and want to write a persuasive essay about why people shouldn't smoke.  Before you start writing, stop and think about why you believe that people shouldn't smoke.  Pick out your three strongest reasons/arguments to support your opinion.  They might be that smoking 1) causes cancer, 2) increases the chances of having a heart attack, and 3) exposes others to second-hand smoke, which can be almost as dangerous as smoking. You have just decided what the body paragraphs of your essay will be.  Now, think about why people who smoke would disagree with you; they might say that they are free to smoke, that it makes them feel good, it reduces stress, and so on. This is called the counterargument.  Now think about how you would refute, or argue against, this counterargument.  This is called your refutation.  You now have the general outline for a six-paragraph essay.

I. Introduction, with hook and thesis statement
II.  First argument against smoking
III.  Second argument against smoking
IV. Third argument against smoking
V.  Counterargument and Refutation
VI. Conclusion

You now have an outline and can start writing the first draft of your essay.

Basic Writing: Prewriting and brainstorming

Thinking is the first step of writing.  Before you start writing an assignment, spend some time thinking about what you are going to write about.  Here are some tips for prewriting and brainstorming activities that will help you write a better essay.

1. Do a "brain dump." Think about what you are going to write about and then write down on a piece of paper all the ideas and words that come to your mind about the topic.  Don't worry about spelling at this point. Just write down as many of your thoughts as possible.

2. Talk about your topic.  Talk to as many people as you can about what you are going to write about and ask them what they think about your ideas.  This will help you have it clear in your mind what you want to write about.  Take some notes on what people tell you.

3. Sleep on it. As you are getting ready to go to bed, read the notes you have written down from steps 1 and 2 and put them on your bed stand next to a pencil or pen. When you go to sleep, your subconscious mind will think about your topic and "work" on it during the night.  If you wake up in the middle of the night with a thought, get up and write it down with your notes.  Go back to sleep.  When you wake up in the morning, look at your list and you will find that your subconscious mind has generated some new ideas while you slept. Write those new ideas down.

4. Review your notes and organize them into an outline for your essay.

Now you are ready to write your essay.