Type: Research paper
Subject: Political science
Topic: How have welfare state restructuring affected single mothers”
Style: MLA
Number of pages: 10 pages/double spaced (2750 words)
PowerPoint slides: 0
Additional: None
Number of source/references: 7
Order instructions:
The Premise or Thesis – An argumentative essay is built around a specific statement (a main premise or thesis) that is debatable within the field in which you are studying. In other words, at the centre of an argumentative essay is a statement with which your readers may disagree. Your essay will need to support that statement in a manner that convinces your readers of its truth or validity.
Providing Support for your Premise or Thesis – When you are writing an argumentative essay your aim is to make your readers agree with your debatable statements or premises. Your premises or theses may be true or valid, but by themselves, they are not convincing – they need support. You need to convince your readers of the value or truth of your premises.
Presenting Opposing and Supporting Claims – An important aspect of supporting your premise or thesis involves investigating (and refuting) opposing claims. In presenting opposing arguments it is important that the reader knows that you do not agree with them. You have to make it very clear that you are presenting these arguments only to show that you understand the issue from both sides, that you have anticipated the opposing arguments and wish to criticise them. A common way to do this is to explicitly mark the statement as an argument (e.g., It has been argued that children who attend childcare centres at an early age miss out on important early learning that occurs in parent-child interaction.).
It is important that readers are able to distinguish when you are shifting between supporting and opposing arguments. One way to do this is by clearly marking the point in each paragraph where you shift from one to the other. You can use contrasting connectives to mark this point. The most common of these contrasting connectives is “However”. Another way to do this is to place opposing and contrasting arguments in different paragraphs (again with some form of connective).
Paragraph Structure and the Organization of the Essay – Each paragraph in an argumentative essay discusses a different topic related to the issue of the essay. To ensure coherent paragraphs and a cogent argument generally, you need to sort your individual arguments into different topics and order these topics in a way that most effectively supports your major premise.
Converting from Informal to Formal Language – While informal language is appropriate for everyday speech, it is not appropriate for academic work. You need to convert informal language into more formal, academic style. All 7 sources must be scholarly.
