Outline for Argumentative Essay TEMPLATE
For this week’s assignment, you will build an entire outline for your essay. Going beyond just using phrases or words, as you might do in a traditional type of outline, you will be writing complete sentences that will form your working thesis, your body paragraphs, and your opposition paragraph.
In this assignment, you will also be starting to match your source material to the appropriate points that support your working thesis. By carefully constructing this outline, you will be setting yourself up for success in the upcoming rough draft.
Type your responses directly on this file, ensuring that you are writing in complete sentences and fully covering each point. Download and save this file, type in it, and then save and submit it for this week’s assignment.
Step 1: Identify your purpose; will you be arguing to persuade or arguing to solve a problem?
Step 2: Draft a working claim (thesis) statement.
Step 3: Check your thesis statement. Is it arguable? That is, who will disagree with it or pose an alternative position to it?
Step 4: Ask yourself “how” or “why” your claim is true. Using because statements, list three reasons to support your working thesis statement. Try to answer each because statement with multiple sentences. These will form the basis of your body paragraphs for this essay, so the more you write here, the more you are working on your rough draft for next week.
- My claim is true because
- My claim is true because
- My claim is true because
Step 5: How will you support your because statements? What information/evidence will you need to prove or explain? You might mention your sources, parts of your sources, statistics from your sources, sources you still need to gather, etc. Again, the more specific and thorough you are here, the more you will have accomplished for next week’s rough draft.
- Support for Because statement #1
- Support for Because statement #2
- Support for Because statement #3
Step 6:What may skeptics say when they object to your point of view on the issue? What reasons might they present to oppose your position?
Step 7:How will you refute or concede to the opposition’s point of view? Answer this question as fully as possible to build your draft’s opposition paragraph.
