ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

What is it?

An argumentative essay is a text in which you discuss the advantages and disadvantages of something: a topic, an
issue, a current debate, etc. The focus of the text is to develop arguments for and against a topic. These
arguments are supported by main ideas (around one or two, depending on the word limit). Unlike the opinion
essay, the point of writing an argumentative essay is to show your capacity to develop arguments on both sides
of a topic. This means that your opinion is not important. Because of this, you should include your opinion at the
end of the text, in the conclusion.

How do we know if we are asked to write an opinion essay?

Normally we are presented with prompts like: Advantages and disadvantages of… Pros and cons of…Also, we may
find the verb discuss. Let’s see a definition of this verb:

Prompts with this verb will normally look like this: Playing team sports is better than playing individual sports. Discuss.

Key aspects of an opinion essay

BRAINSTORMING FOR IDEAS

Although some people skip this step, I strongly recommend that you spend about two minutes brainstorming for ideas.
This means sketching some short ideas that could be included in your essay. For example, suppose you are
presented with this topic: Advantages and disadvantages of meeting people online. In this case, your brainstorming
may look like this:

Pros: you can meet people from all over the world, it’s easier to filter people by interests, etc.

Cons: fake identities, less natural than in person, etc.

Once you have some ideas on your paper, it’s time to filter them. This means that you should keep the best ideas for
your essay and discard the rest. The best ideas are the most convincing ones and also the ones you can put
into words. If you don’t have the necessary vocabulary to express an idea, you shouldn’t write about it. Instead, write
about things that you can express.

VOCABULARY

Before you start writing your essay, make sure that you handle the necessary vocabulary to address a topic. For
example, if your topic is about social media, your vocabulary list should include words like: device, smartphones,
internet connection, privacy, addiction, addictive, spend time on…, check my/your phone/Instagram, upload a picture,
screenshot, etc. If, for instance, your text is about AI and school, you should know these words: cheat, original
content, learning process, evaluation/assessment, tasks/projects, exams, study time, struggle with maths/biology,
plagiarism, etc.
Remember that good writing is not about choosing the topic that you like the most, but the one you know
better This means having good ideas and appropriate vocabulary.

PUNCTUATION AND LINKING WORDS

Many students overlook this aspect and consequently fail to reach a good mark in their essay. A few ideas you should
always bear in mind:

- Keep your sentences simple: write short sentences, always. Sometimes you can write longer sentences by
using conjunctions (and, but, so, etc.). This is completely ok, but remember this: if your sentence is two or
three lines long, it’s very likely that you have not used the right punctuation. Do not write one sentence for a
full paragraph. In most cases you will be lengthening a sentence that can easily be split into smaller ones.
Finally, some sentences are obviously longer than others, like concessive ones (although, in spite of, even
though, while it is true that… etc.). These longer sentences will help you reach the highest mark, but do not
use them randomly, they always have their place in a text and that should be respected.

- Linking words: you cannot write a text without linking words. They are absolutely essential. It’s also true
that you should never flood your text with them. My advice is that you use them wisely. This means that
you should remember about one to three options from each category (also, in addition, furthermore //
however, on the other hand, but // in conclusion, to conclude // therefore, so // because, since …). I believe
your text should include, at least, between seven and fifteen linking words (remember that also, and, but count
as linking words). Make a list of your favourite ones, the ones that you can use with confidence. Also,
remember that each type of text requires a different type of linking words. If you are writing a narrative text,
you should include words like: at first, then, before, after that, etc. If you are writing an argumentative text, you
should include words like: on the contrary, on the other hand, in conclusion, etc.

STRUCTURE

As every other type of text, an opinion essay is made up of three parts: opening, body and closing. Let’s dive into each
of them.

1. Opening

This is the part where you introduce the topic of discussion. The opening paragraph can be divided into two broader
sections:

a. Icebreaker: it is the opening sentence. There are several ways to “break the ice” with the first sentence. I
suggest you learn at least two and put them into practice.

- General statement: this is a sentence that you use to speak broadly about a topic. Examples: Over the
last years we have witnessed an increase in smartphone use in schools // Nowadays smartphones are
present in every aspect of our lives // There is no doubt that smartphones are causing trouble at schools.

Useful structures to introduce general statements:

There is no doubt that…
It goes without saying that…
It is undeniable that…
 It is widely acknowledged that…

You can also add some time perspective to your sentence:

Over the last/past years/decades,
Nowadays,
In recent times,
With the rise of social media/online gaming,
In today’s rapidly changing world,
Throughout history,

If you want to up your game, try using an impersonal passive structure:

It is thought that smartphones help students get better marks at school.
It is said that students benefit from using smartphones at school.

… and if you feel comfortable with those, try harder:

Smartphones are thought to help students get better marks at school.
Over the last years, technology has been thought to help students improve their results at school.

Perhaps you wish to combine everything to create more sophisticated openings:

In today’s rapidly changing world, there is no doubt that smartphones have become the most popular
device used by teenagers.

- Rhetorical question: this is a question from which we do not expect an answer. There are several ways
to build this type of questions:
Have you ever thought about the amount of pollution that cars produce in cities?
Did you know that 60% of kids living in cities are exposed to air pollution?
Are we protecting our children from air pollution?
Should we restrict cars in our cities to protect our children’s health?

Useful structures to introduce rhetorical questions:

Have you ever…?
Did you know that…?
Should we/people…?
Do we/people…?
Are we…?

- Quotes, percentages and research: we can use real or fake ones to introduce our topic. Examples: A
recent study from the University of Texas reveal that 90% of teenagers are addicted to smartphones //
According to Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kanehman, our brains are being severely affected by the
overuse of technology.

Useful structures to introduce quotes, percentages and research

As Nietzsche once said, “life without music would be a mistake”

 “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”, as the famous philosopher
Aristotle once stated.

Recent research shows that…

A recent study from the University of Oxford shows that…

Once you have written your first sentence, you should support your first idea with at least one
secondary idea. This will help you develop your introduction a bit more so your icebreaker doesn’t
lack coherence nor extension.

Example: Over the last years, there has been a significant increase in smartphone use at schools (main
idea). This has brought about many problems that didn’t use to occur before: use of AI, social media
misconduct, etc (secondary idea: it shows a consequence of the first idea and also gives
examples).

Example: About 33% of children in our cities are at risk of developing pulmonary diseases (main idea).
This is caused by the excessive levels of air pollution that private vehicles are responsible of. (secondary
idea: it explains the cause of the first idea).

b. Lead-in: once you’ve introduced the topic of your writing, it’s time to lead the reader to the next paragraph.
This part is usually made up of fixed formulas that leave little space for the imagination. Examples: There are
several advantages and disadvantages of using smartphones at school, so let’s discuss some of them // In
this text, I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of using smartphones at school. This part shouldn’t take
more than one or two sentences.

Useful structures to use in your lead-in

In this text, I am going to expose/examine/talk about/speak about/discuss the advantages and

disadvantages/the pros and cons of…
This text analyses some advantages and disadvantages of…
There are both advantages and disadvantages of… Let’s have a look at/examine both sides.
Since there are opposed views on… , let’s have a look at both sides.

If we do the math, your opening paragraph should consist of 3 to 5 sentences, which could easily
translate to about 30 to 50 words. Remember that the most important part of your essay should be the
body, so we’d better use our word limit responsibly.

2. Body

This is the most important part of your text. You are expected to develop one or two ideas considerably. In this part
you should be able to combine the following elements: appropriate linking words, medium to high level grammar
structures, appropriate vocabulary and correct punctuation. Because it is an argumentative essay, one paragraph
should be highlighting the advantages and the other paragraph the disadvantages. Never mix both. Normally
we write about the advantages in our third paragraph (second paragraph in the body).
Now, let’s think about paragraph structure. Normally we will begin with our main idea in the first sentence. Let’s see:

To begin with, it is clear that smartphones cause distractions at school.

We can also use other structures like:

One clear disadvantage of using smartphones at school is…

There are some negative aspects of using smartphones at school. First…

A major disadvantage of using smartphones at school is…

One drawback of using smartphones at school…

Once we have completed our first paragraph, it’s time to write the second one. This is a golden rule: we have to start
by using a linking word that shows contrast. There are many options, but these are the most common ones:

On the other hand, (you can use this alone or combine it with on the one hand, which is used in the first
paragraph of the body)

However,

Remember that you are opposing arguments, so that’s why you need to use this type of linking word. Once you have
it, you may continue with a similar sentence as in the first paragraph. Examples:

On the other hand, for some people, using smartphones at school is a clear advantage.

However, some people believe that using smartphones at school is recommendable.

However, using smartphones at school also offers interesting advantages.

Now that we have our main idea, it’s time to add secondary ideas. We have a few options to continue:

- Give an example: …distractions at school. For instance, a lot of students miss information in class
because they are checking their phones’ notifications or simply chatting with friends.

- Expose the consequences of something: … distractions at school. Because of this, a lot of students
cannot focus in class and they need extra support at home.

- Add a conditional sentence: …distractions at school. If students didn’t use their smartphones so much,
they would probably pay more attention in class.

- Explain/elaborate on the main idea: …distractions at school. This means that it’s getting harder for
students to concentrate in class.

Useful structures you can use in this section

Linking words

To list ideas: first, second, third, // in the first/second/third place, // to begin/start with, // first/second of all,
To add information: furthermore, // in addition, // on top of that, // what’s more, // besides, // also, // as well as
 To explain the consequence of sth: as a result, // because of this, // due to this, // consequently, //
therefore, // for this reason, // that’s why
To explain the cause of sth: because // since // as
To rephrase or explain something: in other words, // to put it another way, // this means that…
To give an example: for example/instance, // an example of this is… // such is the case of… // such as
To show intention: in order to + verb // to + verb // so that + full sentence
To show emphasis: in fact, // clearly, // obviously, // most importantly

Conditional sentences
These are the most common structures you can use in your main paragraph.
Time clauses / zero conditional: when students check their phones, they are missing important information.
First conditional: If students don’t pay attention in class, they will need to study more at home.
Second conditional: If students didn’t use phones, they would be more focused in class.
In some occasions, a third conditional structure may work well in your text, although I would opt for the options
above instead.
Third conditional: If students hadn’t got distracted in class, they would have done better at school.

Remember that each paragraph should contain at least one or two main ideas.
Example of two paragraphs in this section (can you spot all the structures I am using here?):

On the one hand, using smartphones at school has important drawbacks. First, our students get more easily
distracted and do not pay attention in class. Secondly, they stop playing games during recess and instead
spend their time on whatsapp and social media.

On the other hand, it’s true that smartphones can offer us interesting advantages at school. For example,
some teachers use educative apps in class that actively contribute in the learning process of our students.
Secondly, it’s more convenient than using a laptop of tablet, which normally takes more space.

Now, since this is the most important section in your essay, it should take more space than the opening and
the closing. We are dealing with one or two main ideas, each of which should be around 40 words long. This
translates to roughly 80 words in total.

3. Conclusion

Now that you have exposed your ideas about a topic, it’s time to bring your text to a close. In the conclusion there is
one golden rule you should always obey: DO NOT ADD NEW IDEAS. This means that you can add some reflection,
or maybe you want to summarise what you’ve written before, but, in any case, do not start a new idea here. In any
case, here is where you should tell what your side is in the discussion. Remember that this is the end of your
text and your main ideas should have already been exposed in the middle section.

There are some common techniques you can apply to your conclusion. Let’s see them:

a. Wrap-up: this means that you summarise the content of your essay. You don’t have to develop your ideas
again, just speak about them superficially. Example: In conclusion, it seems/we have seen/it is clear that
banning smartphones at school would bring about positive changes in our students.
b. Personal reflection: you can openly state your opinion again while you briefly support it with a summary of
your previous ideas. Example: In my opinion, I personally/firmly believe that banning smartphones at school
would be beneficial for everybody because of the reasons I already mentioned.

c. Speculate about the future: this is a very useful strategy for the final sentence of your conclusion. Example:
Maybe in the future all schools will ban smartphones in class. // If we act rapidly now, we will be able to
change the future of our students for the better (a first conditional sentence fits perfectly well here)

d. A concessive clause: this type of sentences is built with linking words like although, even though, in spite of
and despite. They are very useful sentences when you want to contrast information. They are sophisticated
and will always look good and upgrade your text. Example: Although smartphones can sometimes be useful
in class, it’s true that they are becoming an important obstacle in teenagers’ education.

e. Rhetorical question: this may be a good way to finish your last sentence. Be always mindful about the
impact of this device. Example: All in all, it is clear that phones need to be banned at schools immediately.
What are we waiting for?

Useful structures to use in your conclusion

Linking words

In conclusion,
To conclude,
All in all,
All-things-considered,
To sum up,
In sum,
Attention: NEVER use finally to begin this paragraph. We use it when we are speaking about the last thing
in a list: Example: first, second, finally.

Sentences to wrap up your main ideas

It’s true that…
It seems that…
The truth is that…
I firmly/strongly/personally/honestly believe that…
I strongly support the idea that…
Smartphones not only distract our students in class, but also they can bring about dangerous addictions.

Concessive clauses
While it is true that smartphones can be useful in class, the reality is that they are causing a lot of damage in
our students.
Although/even though smartphones can be useful in class, they are also causing a lot of damage in our
students.
In spite of some small advantages, smartphones really are slowing down our students’ learning process.

Example (can you spot all the techniques I am using?):

In conclusion, it is clear that there are both advantages and disadvantages of using smartphones in class. In
my opinion, I believe the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, we could start rethinking
the ways we could implement this device in our classrooms.

Your conclusion should take around 30 to 50 words maximum.