The Argumentative Essay The argumentative essay expresses an opinion for or against a controversial issue.  As the writer, you must establish your position and persuade your readers to agree with you by using strong persuasive language. Organization In your introduction, the first paragraph, the hook (or catch) introduces the issue.  Next, background information expands the issue and tells the reader why it is important.  Then your thesis statement clearly and forcefully states your position on the issue, and why your position is important. You may also include your points of development. An Argumentative Thesis…

If you want to be a good reader, you must be able to identify main ideas and supporting details. What's the difference between the topic and the main idea? The topic is what a paragraph is about. The main idea is the point the writer is making about the topic. If we look at the topic sentence of a paragraph then, we should have a basic understanding of the main idea. For example: Cells phones today come equipped with HD cameras.…

The purpose for summarizing a passage is to condense information, either to provide an overview for others to read, or for your own research projects. Organization: In the first sentence include the author’s full name, the title of the article, and the author’s intent for writing the passage. Then organize the main ideas, no details, into a paragraph.  Make sure to use your own words. Usually a summary is about one-forth to one-third the length of the original work. NOTE: Summarizing is…

Cause and Effect Essays give reasons why something happened. They explain either the situations or actions that caused something to happen, or they explain the effects from something that happened.