You must first start with research. Although you may have decided on a stance for the argument (students should be able to use cellphones or should not), you should research articles that from both sides of the argument. In fact, you may want to choose the side that presents more evidence rather than the side that you personally agree with.
You will need to have a clear introduction with a sound thesis presenting your claim and reasons supporting it. Be sure to have solid reasons that have clear evidence available. In your body paragraphs, you will explain your reasons, evidence, and warrants (general rule connecting your evidence to your reason and thesis) more thoroughly.
You may also want to include a counterclaim and rebuttal which mentions the opposite side of the argument. However, depending on your grade and teacher, you may not be required.
Last, you will need a conclusion restating your thesis. A conclusion also leaves the reader with some final thoughts. Think about what you want the reader to walk away thinking.
Good Luck!
First off, it's important to take a stance on the question. After you have decided whether you want to argue for supporting smartphone use or argue against smartphone use in schools, you should come up with a list of reasons supporting your argument. With these reasons, you can create a thesis statement, a statement which will display what you will argue about in the rest of your essay. For example, your thesis could be: "Smartphone use in schools should not be allowed because smartphones can become a distraction in class and could be used as a method of cheating." The thesis as shown reveals your argument and gives a few reasons supporting your argument. After creating your thesis, you should think of a counterargument for your topic that you will incorporate in your essay. A counterargument is an argument against your argument and you have to persuade the reader why the counterargument should not be supported. For example, if the counterargument was: "Smartphones should be used in schools because they provide an easy way to search up information related to schoolwork", then the writer could argue against it like this: "Although smartphones give easy access to the web, they also allow easy access to apps unrelated to coursework that can prevent students from concentrating in class." In your essay, you have to incorporate a counterargument so that readers know you are considering other viewpoints and are confident with your argument. After forming your counterargument, you should create an outline. The outline will basically list what you will talk about in your intro (the thesis + overview of topic), body paragraphs (your reasons supporting your argument and your counterargument), and conclusion(summary of your essay). In the outline, you can also make some notes of which sources you are going to use for your analysis in which body paragraph. When you're finished with the outline, you're good to write! In the essay, make sure to cite the sources you get information from so the authors of those sources are credited, and be sure to go in depth about the reasons behind your argument. :)
Any well-written argumentative essay needs a few things. First, you must have a solid thesis statement stating your stance and the reasoning behind it. For example, if you believe that smartphones should be allowed in school, your thesis could look something like this: "Smartphones are an invaluable tool in classrooms."
The second step is to craft your support. Here I will use the opposite view. If you believe that smartphones should not be used, you would need to find numerous reasons to support this claim. One reason why smartphones should not be used in the classroom is that not every student can afford a smartphone. You would then need to discuss why not having a smartphone could prove to be detrimental to the students who do not have one. I would suggest having three to five ideas that support your stance.
Next, you need to make sure that you present the Rogerian argument. The Rogerian argument shows that you accept views which oppose your own. In the Rogerian paragraph, you would present at least two strong arguments against your own personal stand. The inclusion of the Rogerian argument shows readers that you are both ethical and open to alternative viewpoints. The ethicality of the inclusion shows that you have thought deeply about both sides of the argument and are making an educated stand. The openness to alternative viewpoints, and illustrating them openly and honestly in the essay, further illustrate your desire to offer readers transparency regarding the argument itself.
As for the opening (introduction) and closing (conclusion) of the argumentative essay, you need to be sure of a few things. First, do not present any of your support in the introduction. Support is left for the body paragraphs. Also, do not bring up any new information in the conclusion. If you happen to bring something up in the conclusion that you did not discuss in the body paragraphs, decide how important the information is. If it is deemed important, create a new paragraph to detail this new idea. If deemed unimportant, simply omit the information.
Teachers look for novel (new) and fresh information in argumentative essays. If you present your essay filled with regurgitations, you are simply restating what is already known. Find ideas to support your stand with ideas which have not been previously stated.
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