How to create a strong topic for argument research paper

The First step is to remind yourself of the aim of an argument essay. Basically you need to convince your reader of what is believed to be true. As a writer you have to make sure that you back up your claims with watertight evidence to support your argument.

The Second step. Think about the subject or topic of your essay. Think about your audience. If you are writing about the positive side of doing homework and your audience is your teacher, then you do not have to do anything to convince your teacher about the rewards of doing homework. It would not be an argument essay.

The Third step. Think about the evidence that you will need to provide to convince your reader. It is not enough to say 'I think', you need to look beyond the familiar.

An argument essay should

• tackle issues that may be controversial or tackle an issue from a different angle.
• should present more than one point of view.
• should be balanced and informative.
• claims need to be supported by expert opinion, statistics or data.

The writer of the argument essay should

• have knowledge of their audience
• be prepared to extensively research the topic and produce references obtained from academic sources
• balance their argument so the reader knows that there is more than one viewpoint
• sift through resources to produce relevant statistical support

One very clever idea is to spend a some time reading other argument essays and determining their impact and validity. Learn what works well and learn what does not work well.

Make sure that

• your own work follows a logical progression of ideas. Guide your reader through the information and do not assume that they are open to your line of reasoning
• make sure that you writing follows the correct format. Start with an introduction, lead into the main body of the essay and make sure that that you gather all your points together in the conclusion
• check the construction of your paragraphs. Make sure that the fist sentence introduces the idea that you will be discussing in the main part; that the main part does give all the information that the reader needs and that the last sentence will help lead into the next paragraph.

Best advice

• choose a topic that is interesting and that you are comfortable discussing
• back up your good choice of topic by sound research and do not cite obscure work
• provide information in a logical manner
• know your audience