In an argumentative essay you give your own opinion and then try to convince other
people you are right with your reasons and examples. You can see examples of the
argumentative style of writing when you read editorial columns and letters in the
newspaper or online.
Before beginning to write an argumentative essay think about your own opinion and ask yourself:
Do you have a strong opinion?
What have other people said on the subject and do you think they are right?
Is there any other evidence you can think of to support your views?
To write an argumentative essay, use the following steps to help you:
1. Begin by introducing the debate topic in your own words.
2. Then write if you agree or disagree with the argument
3. Tell people why you hold that opinion and come up with ideas and examples to
back up your arguments. Try to put these ideas in an order with the most important
ideas first and links between each idea so that the essay flows well.
4. Think about why people might have a different opinion (objections) and try to
show why they are not important or they are not true.
5. Conclude with a brief summary and try to make a strong last sentence that
people will remember. For example Oprah Winfrey famously wrote," I believe the
choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the
intention to require more from yourself." The rest of the article maybe forgotten, but
that strong sentence is remembered.
Sample of an argumentative essay: That online computer games do not cause violence in real life.
It is already common knowledge that violent games cause violence in people. This fact is not even doubted by the majority of people. Every other person says that the reason lies in games being too close to reality. The opinion that games make violent actions normal for the player and therefore make the player pitiless, can be often heard. In this case the game is the cause of violence and the act of violence by itself is a consequence. Can real-life violence exist in the reality of a game? Is the transfer of the definition of “violence” with all its peculiarities from one world to another justified only according to the external similarity of these two worlds?
Originally computer games were just entertainment. Contemporary games are very realistic and for this reason they are a source of great experience for the player to develop their imagination. Yes, games are entertainment and even more then that. In addition, the statistics of the New York University lead by Green and Bavelier claim that the players preferring active games get an improvement of some types of brain activity, related to processing of visual information. In particular, game players cope with problems of simultaneously tracking several moving objects at the average level of 30% better then people who do not play active computer video games. The “gaming” violent experience may not be the cause of violent behavior in reality. None of the playing experience will become the priority in making important decisions concerning problems in real life. A game is an abstraction. A player gets abstract tasks and acts according to abstract rules.
Games are also the possibility to be however a person wants to them be and to rest from the outside world for some time. But what if a person gets so excited with the game scene that he becomes violent in real life? Then it proves that the games cause people to become violent. Let us stop for a moment right at this point. Those who do not participate in this type of activity usually make the conclusion of presence of violence in the game-world. Nobody will ever hear this kind of statement from those who play, from those who know the rules of the game and understand that it is just a virtual world. A psychologically healthy person will never confuse or connect these two different worlds. A game is a virtual world with visual images very similar to human. These images represent by themselves nothing but simple playing obstacles.
Computer games may potentially give the opportunity to “destroy the obstacles” that may not be destroyed according to the rules, but it is more about personal choice whether to do so or not. This leads us to the conclusion that violence is not a consequence but the cause. People who are originally prone to violence may get irritated by games and perform violent acts in the real world. But in this case, violence in games is a simple justification of the original violent nature of the player.
For learning
English | Category
Tips | Level
B2: Intermediate |
Second language
English | Created
Jan 06, 2012 11:41 | Views
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