| ESSAY STRUCTURE
As with the Issue essay, there is no
single "correct," way to organize an Argument essay. In
general, your essay should include an introduction and a conclusion
paragraph separated by as at least two body paragraphs in which you
develop your critique of the stated argument. The template below spells
out this structure in more detail, and each of the sample Analysis
of Argument essays we present later follow this basic pattern.
Introductory Paragraph (2-4 sentences)
Try to accomplish
three goals in your introductory paragraph:
- Briefly restate the
argument in your own words.
- Briefly trace the
argument's line of reasoning.
- Indicate the extent
to which the argument is logically convincing.
- If possible, sum
up your arguments in one sentence (or two brief sentences).
Here's a sample template
for the first paragraph that accomplishes these goals:
The author concludes that____________, because ________. The author's
line of reasoning is that ______________. This argument is unconvincing
for several reasons; it is____________ and it uses _____________.
First Body Paragraph
(3-5 sentences)
In the first
body paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:
- The reasoning of
the argument
- One of the premises
of the argument
- One of the assumptions
of the argument
This is a partial free sample of our prep guide. To view the remainder of this page, purchase the 800score.com Prep Course.
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Chapter 3 - Section 3c: Template 
