There is no secret that academic writing constitutes a large part of the curriculum. Whether in high school, college, or university, this form of assignment is widely used to help students retain the studied material and test their knowledge. Often, young people have to complete dozens of such projects every semester. So every essay or another paper you write has a huge effect on your final grade.
Among all types of academic papers, there are some easier and some harder ones. Argumentative essays are considered to be the second type. The main thing that makes this task so hard to complete is that apart from doing lots of research and writing a compelling text, students are also required to persuade readers of the correctness of their ideas. And this takes strong skills to accomplish.
How do you overcome this challenge and secure a high grade for yourself? One way to do this is to go to buyessaygo.com and get a brilliant essay written by a real pro and tailored to your specific needs. This way, you will get a guaranteed high grade and save plenty of time.
But if you want to cope with this challenge on your own, read on to discover the top six secrets to creating a persuasive argumentative paper.
1. Brainstorm the Topic
When writing any assignment, most students focus on their research, believing that it’s the most crucial element of a strong paper. That’s true. But the topic you pick in the first place actually constitutes 50 percent of success.
The first secret to getting the desired A+ is to take enough time to brainstorm and choose a perfect topic.
What is the most important rule for selecting a topic? A good topic should be relevant and important, give enough space for research and ignite interest in readers. But it must be something you truly care about. Choose a topic that you are passionate about and want to learn more about, this is the ultimate tip for success.
2. Formulate a Strong Argument
The next crucial element of a strong argumentative paper is, of course, a strong argument. It is basically the heart of your essay. It is a statement that you strongly believe in and will be able to persuade others of its correctness. If it is good and logical, you shouldn’t have any problems with supporting it in your work. Be very careful at this stage.
To formulate a good claim, students need to do some preliminary research. Start by reviewing a list of relevant literature and peer-reviewed articles. Also, don’t hesitate to check other academic works and articles written on your topic. And, finally, don’t hesitate to check what experts and other people say concerning your topic.
Once ready, use the accumulated knowledge to define your own stance. The more original it will be, the easier it will be to hook your readers. Therefore, if you can, don’t hesitate to choose an argument that contrasts the “typical” perspective on the topic. This will help you make your essay truly fascinating.
3. Delve Into a Research
Once you have a clearly-defined stance, you have to focus on the research. When you get to this stage, you should already have some preliminary data. But don’t think that this will be enough to craft a top-notch essay. Now, it’s time to delve deeper and study your topic thoroughly.
First of all, this stage is necessary to expand your own understanding of the subject matter. The more you read about the chosen topic, the better you will be able to disclose it on paper.
The most important tip for your research process is not to focus solely on the data that goes in line with your own ideas. Be sure to pay enough attention to contradicting viewpoints as well. Analyzing opposing views will help you find the weak points in them, which you can later use to strengthen your own argument.
Pro Tip: Take notes and bookmark different sources during this stage. This will help you a lot when you get to collecting and organizing supporting facts for your paper.
4. Collect Supporting Materials for Your Essay
When writing an argumentative paper, students have to provide a solid grounding for every claim they make. Therefore, having enough supporting materials is crucial for success. So after you are done researching, focus on gathering and organizing the data.
At this stage, you can make use of the notes and bookmarks you’ve made during your research. Collect facts and arguments from different resources to make your paper look complete and thorough. Also, don’t forget to verify your sources. To get a high grade, ensure that every source you mention in your essay is 100 percent valid.
Also, pay special attention to the materials related to the opposing viewpoints on the topic. Every good argumentative paper should have a section that addresses counterarguments and rebuts them.
5. Strengthen Your Core Argument
Finally, when you have all the resources you need to write your paper, take some time to apply the collected data to strengthen your own argument.
How do you do this? First of all, if possible, focus on statistics and numbers. Such data is great for backing up your statements. Also, you can use:
- Figures;
- Verifiable facts;
- Research findings, and
- Opinions of respected authorities and leaders in the relevant field
If you can leverage such things to support your argument, it is a sure way to make it look compelling and convincing.
6. Develop an Outline
After the previous stage, it can feel like you have everything to get straight to writing. That’s what the majority of students do. But, this is not the best approach to academic writing. So here is one last secret to success: make a detailed outline before you start writing.
Formulating an outline may take additional time. Nevertheless, it is a MUST-DO thing when writing an argumentative paper. With its help, you can ensure that your final draft has a logical structure and that all arguments flow seamlessly one after another. Also, an outline will help you save plenty of time during the writing stage and ensure that you don’t overlook something important.
Don’t skip this stage. Once you have everything ready for writing, take a little extra time to organize a detailed outline that includes all of your key ideas, arguments and supporting materials. Only after this can you move on to the final stage of completing your assignment.
The Bottom Line
Although writing an argumentative paper may not seem like such a big deal at first, when you get to the task, you will see that it’s a real challenge. Such tasks require plenty of time, attention to detail and focus on completing. They also require lots of research and strong critical thinking. But no matter how hard it can get, it is possible to handle the task and succeed if you only know what to do.
Now you know about the six main secrets to crafting a strong paper. Use them in practice to secure a high grade for yourself with ease.