EAPP

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

PARTS OF ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

● Most people think that when we create essays, it is only

made up of the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. It is

partly correct; however, if we wish our essays to be

noticed and eventually published, another part that we

have to consider is the title. Therefore, when we talk of

essays, we have to understand that it is made up of four

parts—Title, Introduction, body, and Conclusion.

● However, one important thing to note is that merely

dividing your essays into four, and simply labelling each

as title, introduction, body, and conclusion, are not

enough. An essay to be considered a good essay should

have all four parts present, and at the same time, each

part should function the way it expected to function in the

essay.

Title

● The function of the title is to catch the reader’s attention.

● It sometimes makes or breaks the writer.

● As readers, we have the tendency to judge works based

on their titles alone. For example, when reading a

newspaper, you cannot expect everyone to read all the

articles in it. Sometimes, people just look at the title. If it

seems uninteresting for them, there is a high chance that

the article will no longer be read. Therefore, in order to

come up with a catchy title, you have to make it interesting

enough to entice your readers into wanting to read more

about your essay.

Introduction

● If the purpose of the title is to catch the reader’s attention,

the function of the introduction is to establish a territory.

● To establish a territory means to make sure that you

provide your readers what to expect all throughout the

essay. This is to make sure that they will not expect

beyond what you say you will be writing about.

● This is why, it is in the introduction, where you will find the

thesis statement. The thesis statement is the main idea of

your essay and where all your other ideas all throughout

your work will have to be based on. In addition, your

introduction should also serve to sustain your reader’s

interest. Consequently, you have to strategize by

providing statistics, or citing lines taken from famous

poems or songs, and other similarly interesting ways to

introduce a topic.

Body

● considered as the part of the essay that provides the

supporting details.

● Supporting details are those sub-points that will support

the thesis statement or the main idea provided in the

introduction. The idea is that when you provide your

supporting details, they should be able to justify why the

readers should believe the thesis statement.

Conclusion

● The function of the conclusion is to summarize everything

that has been said, and at the same time, provide your

last or final say about the topic.

Is another example of argumentative writing and is written

to discuss the writer’s stand on an issue or phenomenon,

in terms of how to deal with it or if it’s a pressing matter,

how to address or solve it.

CHARACTERISTICS

Debatable

● It should be focused on the aspect of the issue that is

worth arguing about.

● Once you have decided about an issue, your claim about

it should be arguable.

● Contestable – something not easily agreeable

● Focus on the issue

● Focus on something that is not a fact already.

● it only means that when you choose an issue you want to

talk about and your claim about it, it should be arguable.

Simply put, if you are merely going to state facts, there is

nothing more to argue on, thereby rendering your position

paper undebatable.

Clear

● It should specifically state the author’s stand.

● One well-worded thesis statement only.

● You have to be able to craft efficiently your thesis

statement avoiding wordy expressions, and at the same

time, making sure that it points to one argument only. A

position with many claims demands many position papers

as well. Therefore, it is imperative that you think first on

which aspect of the issue you are capitalizing on and stick

with it. If you find that there are other arguments that may

be related but a little off the topic already, reserve it for

another position paper.

Factual

● It should be made up of arguments that are well-

supported.

● Backed up by evidence.

● Just like any argumentative texts, any supporting details

or argument supporting your claim, should be backed up

by well-researched ideas.

Engaging

● It should sustain the reader’s interest from the

beginning to the end.

● You have to keep your readers hooked.

● Establish good territory in introduction.

● Provide good arguments in the body.

● Have a valid conclusion.

● How to make it engaging?

○ Stay true to structure

○ Stay true to functions of each part of

argumentative text.

● This means that you should be able to keep your

audience’s interest in your paper all throughout, from start

to finish.

● This can be achieved by making sure to follow the Title-

Intro-Body-Conclusion structure.

Resolute

● It should provide not only problems but also

suggestions and solutions.

● It means that apart from arguing about the problem, your

responsibility as the writer should also be to suggest ways

on how to possibly address or solve the issue. For

example, when writing your arguable opinion about the

government’s lack of preparation when it comes to dealing

with the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines, it is not

enough that you criticize the government and all other

persons related to the issue. You also have to suggest

ways on how best to attack the problem.

COMPONENTS OF POSITION PAPERS

● Claim

● Evidence

● Explanation

● Counter claim

● Refutation

● Transition

Claim

● When we talk of the claim, this is the thesis statement.

This may sometime be referred to as the argument. There

are different types of claims—Claims of Fact, Policy, &

Value.

○ Claim of Fact

■ the argument presented is based on

verifiable data like figures, statistics

and the likes.

○ Claims of policies

■ arguments that either propose or

challenge existing rules.

○ Claims of values

■ claims based sole on your opinions.

● Proponent, meanwhile, simply refers to you as the one

making the claim.

Counterarguments

● They are arguments that oppose your claim. One may

think that providing counterclaims are unproductive and

unnecessary since they weaken one’s claim. However,

that is not the case. You provide a counterargument to

simply prove your readers that you can actually refute

them. This is the reason why we also have a refutation.

Refutation

● If counterclaims provide an opportunity for you to refute

ideas that oppose your main claim, refutations are the

ideas that would oppose the counterclaims.

PURPOSE OF POSITION PAPERS

● On other situations, it may seek to generate support from

an organization like the government by creating

policies/laws that support its cause.

● It discusses an issue to inform the people and increase

their awareness, and ultimately, gain their support in

whatever means the public could extend.

● Position appears are commonly published in academic, in

politics, in law, in medical field, and in other domains.

● Position papers range from the simple format of a letter-to-

the-editor through the most complex, in the form of a

multi-author academic position position.

● Based on the following additional descriptions, there are

two things that we have to add to our understanding of

position papers,

○ First, they may come in various forms, from

simple to complex ones. They may come in

forms of editorials, opposite-editorials, letters to

SHS_ENG 3 – POSITION PAPERS

Castilla, Selene Mari D. | 3

the editor, written individually, and they may

also come in more formal forms, written as a

group forming an example of multi-authored

academic position papers.

○ Second, a position paper may also be written

not only with the general public, but also with an

organization as the target audience. On one

hand, you do the former in order to increase the

public’s awareness of the issue and eventually

gaining their support. On the other hand, in the

case of the latter, you write to various

organizations if you think that they are an

institution that can either provide you with the

means to carry out your suggested solutions to

the problem, or impose policies addressing the

issue. In this case, you may want to consider

including in your position papers, ideas that will

explain how the organization or agency may

benefit from the solutions you are suggesting.

Lastly, on some cases, position papers may

also be written by various organizations to

speak their minds about issues they are

advocating for.

STEPS TO BUILD A POSITION

1. Explore the issue by researching on the topic.

• Read widely and gather all pieces of information

about the topic.

2. Create assertions.

• Formulate your views about the issue based on what

you have learned.

3. Gather the evidence.

• Each assertion should be well-supported.

4. Have credible resources.

• Evidence should come from reliable resources.

5. Refine your argument.

• Arguments should be presented through the following

structure: AssEvEx

• Assertion

• Evidence

• Explanation

o Connect idea of assertion and explanation

• Example:

• Assertion:

o MANDATORY R.O.T.C. is an added

burden to the already overwhelming

requirements of the students and should

therefore no longer be implemented.

• Evidence:

o (You may want to talk about the number of

subjects offered in Senior High School)

• Explanation:

o (Proceed by discussing further, the

requirement for each of the subjects)

6. Prepare for the opposition.

• Cite the strongest counterarguments and prepare to

counter them with your strongest refutations.

7. Write your position.

• Compose the position paper following the usual I B C

structure.

PARTS OF A POSITION PAPER

(for presentation to an organization)

• Suggestions only.

• It is important to note though that you don’t have to

force all of these ideas to be part of your position

paper. Include only those that apply and will help

advance your cause.

1. A brief introduction to your country and its history

concerning the topic and the

committee.

2. How the issue affects the country.

3. Your country's policies with respect to the issue and your

country's justification for these policies.

4. Quotes from your country's leaders about the issue.

5. Statistics to back up your country's position in the issue.

6. Actions taken by your government with regard to the

issue.

7. Conventions and resolutions that your country has signed

and ratified.

8. UN actions that your country supported or opposed.

9. What your country believes should be done to address the

issue.

10. What your country would like to accomplish in the

committee's resolution.

11. How the positions of other countries affect your country's

position.