Argumentative Essays

To some extent, argumentative essays resemble written debates. Writers typically advance a thoroughly considered and well-supported argument that addresses competing positions on the issue and explains why the writer’s position is preferable to the others. Argumentative essays almost always draw on information from other sources (articles, books, Web sites, statistics, interviews, and so on) to provide evidence that supports the effort to convince readers of the merits of a particular stance on an issue or to persuade them to take action. Argumentative essays can also draw extensively on a writer’s personal experience with an issue.

Writers of argumentative essays must carefully consider readers’ needs, interests, backgrounds, and knowledge of an issue. A thorough understanding of readers’ familiarity with the issue, their purposes for reading the essay, and the values, beliefs, and assumptions they bring to a reading of the essay can help a writer make thoughtful, strategic choices about how to present and support an argument. It can also help a writer determine how best to acknowledge and argue for the comparative inadequacy of competing positions on the issue.