5.4 Argumentative essays

An argumentative essay is an essay in which you agree or disagree with an issue, using reasons to support your opinion. Your goal is to convince your reader that your opinion is right. Argumentation is a popular kind of essay question because it forces students to think on their own: They have to take a stand on an issue, support their stand with solid reasons, and support their reasons with solid evidence.

In a general writing test such as the IELTS or TOEFL examinations, you might encounter questions such as these:

The U.S. Declaration of Independence states, “All men are created equal.” Agree or disagree with this statement. Support your opinion with reasons and examples.

The most important element in a friendship is trust. Agree or disagree with this statement. Support your opinion with reasons and examples.

In an academic class, your instructor might ask a question such as this:

Criminal justice Some cities in the United States and the United Kingdom have passed laws establishing curfews for young people. Young people (usually age 17 and younger) may not be out on the streets after 9 or 10 p.m. Do you agree or disagree with such curfews?

What is unique about an argumentative essay is that you do not just give reasons to support your point of view. You must also discuss the other reasons and then rebut them. (Rebut means to point out problems with the other side’s reasons to prove that they are not good reasons.) We do this because we want readers to know that we have considered all sides of the issue. When we show that we are reason­able and open-minded, readers are more likely to listen to our point of view.

Choose topic and write an argumentative essay.

Agree or disagree with the following statement:

It is worth the expense and risk to make a manned flight to Mars.

Writing an argumentative essay requires especially careful planning.

Step 1 Clarify in your mind what the two sides of the argument are. Decide which side you agree with.

Step 2 Write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement can state either just your point of view or both points of view.

Step 3 Research the topic to get ideas and supporting reasons for both sides of the argument. Read the article and do the exercises for your topic before you begin this writing assignment. You should use quotations, summaries, or paraphrases from the appropriate parts of the readings to support your arguments.

Step 4 Write your first draft. Write an explanatory or an attention-getting introduction, as you prefer.

Step 5 Use the Self-Editing Worksheet and revise your essay if necessary.

Step 6 Exchange papers with a classmate. Review each other’s essays and complete the Peer-Editing.

Reading

This article from a popular weekly news magazine argues against sending a manned spacecraft to explore Mars.

Why we should not Go to Mars: Someday people may walk on the planet, but not until it makes technological sense^.

“Two centuries ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis to explore the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase,” George W. Bush said, announcing his desire for a program to send men and women to Mars.² “They made that journey in the spirit of discovery. . . . America has ventured forth into space for the same reasons.”

Yet there are vital differences between Lewis and Clark’s expedition and a Mars mission. First, Lewis and Clark were headed to a place amenable to life; hundreds of thousands of people were already living there. Second, Lewis and Clark were certain to discover places and things of immediate value to the new nation. Third, the Lewis and Clark venture cost next to nothing by today’s standards. In 1989, NASA estimated that a people-to-Mars program would cost $400 billion, which inflates to $600 billion today. The Hoover Dam cost $700 million in today’s money, meaning that sending people to Mars might cost as much as building about 800 new Hoover Dams. A Mars mission may be the single most expensive non-wartime undertaking in U.S. history.

The thought of travel to Mars is exhilarating. Surely men and women will someday walk upon that planet, and surely they will make wondrous discoveries about geology and the history of the solar system, perhaps even about the very origin of life. Many times, I have stared up at Mars in the evening sky—in the mountains, away from cities, you can almost see the red tint—and wondered what is there or was there.

However, the fact that a destination is tantalizing does not mean the journey makes sense, even considering the human calling to explore. In addition, Mars as a destination for people makes absolutely no sense with current technology.

Present systems for getting from Earth’s surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending, or other important programs— or by raising taxes. Absent some remarkable discovery, astronauts, geologists, and biologists once on Mars could do little more than analyze rocks and feel awestruck beholding the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyzed by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny fraction of the cost of sending people.

Space exploration proponents deride as lack of vision the mention of technical barriers or the insistence that needs on Earth come first. Not so. The former is rationality, the latter the setting of priorities. If Mars proponents want to raise $600 billion privately and stage their own expedition, more power to them; many of the great expeditions of the past were privately mounted. If Mars proponents expect taxpayers to foot their bill, then they must make their case against the many other competing needs for money. In addition, against the needs for health care, education, poverty reduction, reinforcement of the military, and reduction of the federal deficit, the case for vast expenditures to go to Mars using current technology is very weak.

Exercise № 55. Think over these tasks and present an argumentative essay on each of the topics.

1. What is more profitable for me: get a Bachelor degree diploma or gain precious knowledge in my profession?

2. What is better: get a hundred of friends or a friend in need is a friend indeed?

3. The United States or the Russian Federation: where life is more secured?