Putting together an effective argumentative essay starts with knowing what you want others to believe or how you want them to act. But that’s just the beginning. To build your argument, you must develop a strategy for achieving your goal. Your strategy should reflect not only your overall goal but also a thorough understanding of your readers — their purposes in reading your essay, their knowledge of the issue, and their needs, interests, and backgrounds.

In short, you’ll need to figure out how to get your readers to accept your argument. To do so, start by defining your overall claim, and then identify the reasons and supporting evidence that will be most convincing or persuasive to your readers. In addition, consider how opposing positions affect your argument, and make sure that your reasoning is sound.