argumentative essay tips ap lang

argumentative essay tips ap lang

Effective Strategies for Writing Persuasive Argumentative Essays in AP Language and Composition

1. Introduction to Argumentative Essays in AP Language and Composition

High school students willing to take Advanced Placement courses and exams understand that they must face a college-level course on a given subject and develop an analytical, critical, and persuasive writing guided by a sophisticated use of rhetoric. These preparations will, in fact, convert them into professionals of the word who will have a solid foundation to face and succeed in whatever career they choose. This article will be a practical guide for students who take the AP Language and Composition course, analyzing the methodology and structure of argumentative essays, works that are detected mainly in the three sections that make up the examination performed by the College Board, both in the Multiple Choice section as well as in the Synthesis and Argument section, which analyzes the student’s ability to argue and persuade readers about a given topic.

2. Structuring Your Argumentative Essay for Success

As an AP teacher, I have found that the negative effects of the five-paragraph structure are reversed with the use of a counterclaim. Too often, students fall into the trap of feeling that they must argue for paragraph three, no matter the side; it was the easiest to support using skills they had already mastered. With a print structure, students are taught to prove that they can argue a point, but not necessarily that it was a strong, meaningful point. By adding a counterclaim, students are drawn to the side that is easiest and ultimately has higher quality writing because of that ease.

The five-paragraph structure consists of an introductory paragraph followed by three supporting paragraphs and ends with the conclusion. An alternative to the five-paragraph structure is the counterclaim format. The counterclaim format is similar to the five-paragraph structure with one difference – one paragraph is a counterclaim. This format can add length to a paper, but it can also help a writer provide a well-rounded, intelligent argument. By providing a counterclaim, the writer is acknowledging other points of view that exist and then takes a moment to refute those points of view providing a better, more successful argument. By including a counterclaim, students add depth to their work, assuming a thoughtful stance on their subject. As a result, the AP readers and graders are provided with a more sophisticated, successful essay.

3. Incorporating Evidence and Analysis to Strengthen Your Argument

You should use effective and purposeful quotes that can either prove your arguments to be true or match up with counterclaims. Quoting may help you better explore your evidence by playing into ethos, logos, and pathos, effectively supercharging your analysis. Additionally, linking all identified elements altogether is crucial and should not be overlooked. Always strive to maintain a good balance between quotation length and analysis. A well-crafted quote and a follow-up analysis is your best friend in the argumentative essay.

Over the course of your argumentative essay, you will use several types of evidence to strengthen your argument. You will support your claims with evidence, primarily quotes from experts or paraphrased information from a source. This outside information may be from several sources, but what you choose to include should be clear. You may also use internal evidence or analysis, which is an explanation of your evidence and how it relates to your claim. This analysis can also show ethos, logos, and pathos within your evidence. Ethos is the credibility in the right of your character in stating this particular case. Logos is the logic of the evidence you use, while pathos is an appeal to the reader’s emotions, values, or desires.

4. Crafting Persuasive Introductions and Conclusions

Once students have established the debate’s frame, they should provide vital background information. Though many of those in composition classes might argue that an audience is likely to already be familiar with a topic of debate, this is not necessarily the case. Furthermore, an audience’s age, ethnicity, or geographic location influences their ability to be acquainted with the writer’s topic. Acquaintance with interesting, surprising, or potentially controversial background information enables students to preview key argumentative tactics and place essential attention-grabbing hooks at the end of the first, broad paragraph in which students provide background data.

The introduction is the best opportunity for an essayist to frame an argument and persuade readers that it is vital to take the issue at hand seriously. Introductory paragraphs, consisting essentially of a sentence general enough to discuss the essay’s overall topic, a concrete detail to ground the discussion, and an assertion that establishes the writer’s unique position or interpretation, should be crafted with care. The assertion must manage to answer the essay’s driving question. Students should dodge overuse of twaddle, empty buzzwords, and zinging one-liners that many writers employ to begin the introduction.

5. Refining Your Writing Style and Language for Impact

Go beyond mere empathy and use language that helps to persuade readers. Persuasive choices involve involving readers by shifting focus from subject to reader, involving readers in the process of discovery, and using the language of possibility and opportunity. They also involve resonating with readers by using an empathic style and language and noticing readers. Focus on involving readers will shift from asking what the matter is about to how the matter relates to readers. Reframe your thoughts and delivery to express how readers connect to all the bits and pieces of your argument, thereby finding personal meaning. Your goal is to offer readers opportunities and possibilities. Whether you develop the thesis or the controlling idea, involve readers in a world of what could be. Note these persuasive strategies: Rather than tell audiences what to do, use the language of possibility, opportunity, and permission. Use an active voice, rather than passive constructions. In general, the active voice tends to sound more authoritative than the passive voice. With an active voice, narratives will flow smoothly and quickly. As a rule, strive to use the active voice. Finally, use power verbs that resonate with strength and authority.

Voice and Tone. Students should aim to create an authoritative voice, which necessitates a formal, academic tone. Avoid the colloquial usage of contractions. Use of “we” should also be limited because writers often imagine that their readers share similar beliefs. Most of the time, we can make a claim without referring explicitly to ourselves, our readers, or everyone else. Simply make the claim, back it up with examples, and let readers draw their own conclusions. Because writers want readers to view them as an authority on a topic, arguments should be grounded in solid evidence, not appeals to the authority of the writer, the qualities of the audience, or the beliefs of our contemporaries. Readers want to see critical thinking, not a regurgitation of ideas presented by politicians, the media, teachers, and other influential individuals. Facile writing enhances reader empathy and understanding and helps to persuade readers. Empathic style and language is also associated with mature genres, such as editorial columns, book reviews, letters to the editor, and essays.