http://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/ArgumentSampleEssays.html
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
Definition: In this kind of essay, we not only give
information but also present an argument with the PROS (supporting ideas) and
CONS (opposing ideas) of an argumentative issue. We should clearly take our
stand and write as if we are trying to persuade an opposing audience to adopt
new beliefs or behavior. The primary objective is to persuade people to change
beliefs that many of them do not want to change.
Choosing
an argumentative topic is not an easy task. The topic should be such that
- it should be narrowed down
X Marijuana should be considered illegal. (Not a good topic because it is
too general. In some medical cases, marijuana is prescribed by the
doctors and the patients are encouraged to use it in case of suffering from
too much pain)
√ Selling and using marijuana in public
places should be considered illegal.
- it should contain an argument
X We should decide whether we want a bicycle
or a car. (our
stand is not clear: do we support having bicycles or cars?)
√ If we are under the
age of 30 and want a healthy life, we should definitely get a bicycle instead
of a car.
X Are you one of those who thinks cheating is
not good for students? (a question cannot be an argument)
√ Cheating helps students learn.
X Considering its geological position, Turkey has an important
geopolitical role in the EU. (facts cannot be arguments)
√ Considering its geopolitical role, we can clearly say that the EU cannot be
without Turkey.
- it should be a topic that can be adequately supported (with statistics, outside source citations, etc.)
X I feel that writing an argumentative essay
is definitely a challenging task. (feelings cannot be supported; we cannot persuade other
people)
If
you believe that you can find enough evidence to support your idea and refute
others effectively, you can choose challenging topics as well. You can enjoy
writing about such topics:
Cheating
is beneficial for students.
Murat 124 is
a very good choice for conscientious drivers.
Stress is good for the human body.
Polygamy
is quite natural.
For women, there is no need for men.
Organization: All argumentative topics have PROs
and CONs. Before starting writing, it is imperative
to make a list of these ideas and choose the most suitable ones among them for
supporting and refuting.
There
are three possible organization patterns:
Pattern
1:
Thesis statement:
PRO idea 1
PRO idea 2
CON(s) + Refutation(s)
Conclusion
Pattern
2:
Thesis statement:
CON(s) + Refutation(s)
PRO idea 1
PRO idea 2
Conclusion
Pattern
3:
Thesis statement:
CON idea 1 -----> Refutation
CON idea 2 -----> Refutation
CON idea 3 -----> Refutation
Conclusion
The
sample essay has been written according to the
third pattern.
Thesis:
Do Reiki instead of taking
medicine.
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Counter arguments
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Refutation
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1.
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People should
trust medicine since it is effective and scientifically proven.
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----->
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Reiki is also
scientifically proven and does not have side effects. (refutation method: insufficient claim)
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2.
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Serious
illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer cannot be treated without medicine.
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----->
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Medicine also
cannot treat serious illnesses if not diagnosed at an early stage. (refutation method: opponents are partially
correct)
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3.
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Reiki, like
alternative healing methods, requires a lot of time.
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----->
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Reiki requires
less time if done regularly.
(refutation method: opponents are completely wrong)
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Supporting
our ideas: This
is the most important part when persuading others. We are asking some people to change their beliefs
or actions. We should be supporting our ideas with such facts, statistics
and/or authorities that there should not be room
for any doubts. Here are some faulty supports
we should avoid:
Thesis: Leaving
the university and starting to work is good for the adolescent because …
- Feelings, emotional arguments (… it makes one feel much better.)
- Irrelevant examples (wandering off the topic) (… he would then be able to take his girlfriend to expensive restaurants.)
- Oversimplification (… only then would he understand what it means to be an adult.)
- Hasty generalizations (... it is a widely known fact that all adolescents look forward to earning money.)
- Unreliable, even false outside sources (… according to www.doubtme.com, 80% of working men wish they quit school when they were at university and started working at an earlier age.)
For more mistakes in the logic of arguments,
see Fallacies.
Refuting opposing arguments: Before we start saying that the opponents are wrong, we
should specify their opposing ideas.
Otherwise, it would be like hitting the other person with eyes closed. We
should see clearly what we are hitting and be prepared beforehand so that he
cannot hit us back. We can do this by knowing what we are refuting.
e.g. X Some
people may say that adolescents should not leave university education; however,
they are wrong. (what
they say is not wrong. Maybe their supporting idea is wrong /irrelevant
/insufficient. We should state their supporting idea specifically to be able to
refute it.)
√ Some people may say that adolescents should
not leave university education because they are not physically and
psychologically mature enough to cope with the problems of the real world.
However, they forget one fact: adolescents can vote or start driving at the age
of 18 (in some countries even before that age!), which proves that they are
considered physically and psychologically mature at
that age.
Language: Signposts gain importance in the argumentative essay.
They enable the readers to follow our arguments easily.
When
pointing out opposing arguments (CONs):
Opponents
of this idea claim / maintain that …
Those
who disagree / are against these ideas may say / assert that …
Some
people may disagree with this idea.
When
stating specifically why they think like that:
The
put forward this idea because …
They
claim that … since …
Reaching
the turning point:
However,
but
On
the other hand,
When
refuting the opposing idea, we may use the following strategies:
- compromise but prove that their argument is not powerful enough:
They have a point in thinking
like that.
To a certain extent they are
right.
- completely disagree:
After seeing this evidence, there is no way
we can agree with what they say.
- say that their argument is irrelevant to the topic:
What we are discussing here is not what
they are trying to prove.
Their argument is irrelevant.
HEALTH AND HEALING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Throw
out the bottles and boxes of drugs in your house. A new theory suggests that
medicine could be bad for your health, which should at least come as good news
to people who cannot afford to buy expensive medicine. However, it is a blow to
the medicine industry, and an even bigger blow to our confidence in the
progress of science. This new theory argues that healing is at our fingertips:
we can be healthy by doing Reiki on a regular basis.
Supporters
of medical treatment argue that medicine should be trusted since it is effective and
scientifically proven. They say that there is no need for spiritual methods
such as Reiki, Yoga, Tai Chi. These waste our time, something which is quite precious in
our material world. There is medicine that can kill our pain, x-rays
that show us our fractured bones or MRI that scans our brain for tumors. We must
admit that these methods are very effective in the examples that they provide.
However, there are some “every day complaints” such as back pains, headaches,
insomnia, which are treated currently with medicine. When you have a headache,
you take an Aspirin, or Vermidon, when you cannot
sleep, you take Xanax without thinking of the side
effects of these. When you use these pills for a long period, you become
addicted to them; you cannot sleep without them. We pay huge amounts of money
and become addicted instead of getting better. How about a safer and more
economical way of healing? When doing Reiki to yourself, you do not need
anything except your energy so it is very economical. As for its history,
it was discovered in Japan in the early 1900s and its popularity has spread
particularly throughout America and Western Europe. In quantum physics, energy is recognized as
the fundamental substance of which the universe is composed. Reiki depends on the
energy within our bodies. It is a simple and effective way of restoring the
energy flow. There are no side effects and it is scientifically explained.
Opponents
of alternative healing methods also claim that serious illnesses such as
HIV/AIDS and cancer cannot be treated without drugs. They think so
because these patients spend the rest of their lives in the hospital taking
medicine. How can Reiki make these people healthy again? It is very unfortunate
that these patients have to live in the hospital losing their hair because of
chemotherapy, losing weight because of the side effects of the medicine they
take. Actually, it is common knowledge that except for when the cancer is
diagnosed at an early stage, drugs also cannot treat AIDS or cancer. Most of
the medicine these patients use are to ease their pain
and their sufferings because of the medical treatment they undergo. Instead of
drugs which are expensive and have many side effects, you can use your energy
to overcome the hardships of life, find an emotional balance, leave the stress
of everyday life and let go of the everyday worries. Most of the chronic
conditions such as eczema or migraine are known to have causes such as poor
diet and stress. Deep-rooted anger or other strong emotions can contribute to
viral infections as well. Since balancing our emotions and controlling our
thoughts are very important for our well-being, we should definitely start
learning Reiki and avoid illnesses before it is too late.
Some
people may still maintain that in our material world, everything depends on
time. It is even “lacking time” that causes much of the stress that leads to
the illnesses we mentioned. How would it be possible to find time to do
Reiki to ourselves and the people around us when we cannot even find time to go to
the theater? This is one good thing about Reiki; it does not require more than
15 minutes of our time. There is no need for changing clothes or special
equipment. It is a wonderfully simple healing art, an effective method of
relaxation and stress-relief. Most important of all, it is less time consuming
than medicine if we think of all the time we spend taking
medicine for some complaints and taking some more for the side effects as well.
