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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 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
Here's a sample
template for this paragraph that accomplishes this goal:
First of all, ____________________________
is based upon the questionable assumption ________________________________.
That _______________,
however, _________________. Moreover, ________________________.
Second Body Paragraph
(3-4 sentences)
The purpose of the second
paragraph is to address one of the following:
- The reasoning of
the argument
- One of the premises
of the argument
- One of the assumptions
of the argument
Here's a sample template for this paragraph that accomplishes this
goal:
Secondly,
the author assumes that_________________________.
However, __________________________. It seems equally reasonable to
assume that____________________.
Third (and optional
Fourth) Body Paragraph
In this 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
Here's a sample template
for this paragraph that accomplishes this goal:
Finally, _______________________________________. The author fails
to consider__________________________________. For example, __________________.
Because the author's argument _________________.
Final Paragraph (2-3
sentences)
In the final paragraph
your goals are to:
- Summarize your critique
of the argument
- State the main point
of your essay
The final paragraph
is not the place to introduce new arguments or issues. Sample template:
In sum, I agree that______________________.
However, ____________________; on balance, _____________________.
You do not
have to adhere strictly to our template in order to write an effective
Argument essay. Our structure is simply a suggestion, one that has
proven to be a good writing strategy for this test. However, you may
find that another form works better for you, especially for the body
of your essay. The numbers of sentences indicated for each paragraph
are guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.
Note: The transitional
phrases used here are purposely simplistic; do not simply "parrot"
them word-for-word in your essay or adopt a fill-in the blank approach.
If you do, your essay might appear stilted or contrived.
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Chapter 3 - Section 3c: Template 
