Argumentative Essay: In this type of essay, you will be asked to present your views for or against the topic. You will have to arrive at a conclusion through reasoning and logic. You need to consider various aspects of the subject matter before proceeding to make a statement of your own on the subject. Reason, evidence and factual information should support your personal opinion to prove the argument.
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Argumentative Essay
Areas of Argumentative Essays
Subjects of argumentative compositions are usually current social issues, political issues, and subjects where the overall opinion of the public could be in favour or against something. Some of the areas are:
- Social issues like education, poverty, corruption, reservation for OBC, etc.
- Topics related to politics.
- Topics related to moral issues.
Guidelines for an Argumentative Essays
- Pick a side, and do not attempt to just explain both points of view on the issue in one go.
- Do not decide to attempt the topic if you do not have an interest in that topic. 4- Be sure that you have sufficient information on the topic.
- You must be clear in your perception from the start. There should be no confusion about it.
- You must rise above personal prejudice, if any, and balance the pros and cons of the issue.
- Think carefully and write down all the points you can.
- You may strengthen your view-points with facts, figures and historical evidence.
- Your composition must begin impressively with a statement of assertion.
- Conclusion must be very transparent and acceptable with a well thought out personal view on the subject.
Sample Essays
1. Technology has made us overly dependent on its existence
For the motion:
Billy Lox, a very famous American bassist said, “Technology should improve your life, not become your life.” That’s one thing that every one of us should learn and adopt. We need technology just to improve and help us do our work, which otherwise would be time consuming, in a much easier and faster way. That is it. We do not have to become slaves of technology. Gadgets, equipments, machines etc., are just a part of life not a way of life.
We need to loosen our grip on technology and tighten it on human interaction. Albert Einstein once said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” We definitely do not want our generation and the coming generations to be skill-less nitwits.
Gone are the days when kids would want to play outside in the parks or gardens. They now want to have a smart phone or a laptop or a television in front of them where they either play games, watch shows etc. We know that these actions have serious repercussions.
Depression, insomnia, hyperactivity disorder are some major disorders that today’s kids are facing are directly linked to gadgets. A very important question here is not what technology has done and is doing ‘for’ us but what technology has done and is doing ‘to’ us. One to one communication is losing its essence.
While sitting together for dinner in a restaurant, in a party, in a family gathering or any social event, people are seen glued to their smart phone. Reading stories to children, listening to live music, having a soulful conversation with a family member or friend seems forgotten tales.
Our increasing dependence on technology for getting us through all our daily chores, our day to day obligatory communication, our days and our nights, is removing the power of choice. We take what technology has to offer without weighing our options because it’s easy and quick that way. I conclude with just one sentence. Technology is a useful servant but a very, very dangerous master.
Against the motion:
American Physicist Freeman Dyson says, “Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations of arts and of sciences.” Technology has given us freedom to express ourselves in an open forum. It has given us the opportunity to see the things, we only dreamt of. It is present in every aspect of our lives, enriching us, and our work’s output.
Agreed that too much dependency on technology is not called for. But to come to think of it, right from morning till the end of our day, we have to use technology for something or the other. Be it making a smoother for breakfast, or using an elevator to get to the 25th floor, or to present an impressionable powerpoint presentation, technology is omnipresent.
The field of health and medication would still be reeling under manual scans whose authentication was always doubtful. Enter hi-tech technology, the scene changes. Accurate diagnosis, surgical procedures, improved patient care etc., are the result of development of some brilliant medical innovations like MRI machines, artificial organs, and robotic prosthetic limbs.
Technology is best when it brings people together. So many of us have reconnected with friends and acquaintances whom we had not seen or heard from, in years. Social media is a very precious gift from technology to us. Our world has come closer. Inter personal communication is better, faster and most of all possible.
Sending money, gifts, consignments anywhere in the world was a nearly impossible dream. Even if it was possible, it was either very timeconsuming or expensive. But not anymore. We can do all these things with a snap of our fingers. No boundaries separate nations. We all are on one global platform.
Technology has given the word “possibility” new and wider dimension. We can hope and imagine better and easier ways of living our lives. We are changing the world with technology. Technology will never replace great thinkers but technology in the hands of great thinkers is transformational. Technology is used everyday in every field in everything we do.
2. Why Democracy Works
For the motion:
As much as Democracy is understood, it is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The ability of the people to have a voice in the running of the State, in the economy, health, education, infrastructural development, etc. creates a balanced environment for governance to thrive; this can only be achieved in a democratic governance.
Democratic states have the right to vote for their government by deciding the policy of their nation and what their nation should be like. They have more freedom of speech and expression than in autocracies. In particular they are free to criticize their own government.
The government represents the views of the people who elect them and the same people can throw them out if the government does things that the people do not approve of. Unlike other forms of government democracy is about the common man, rather than the elite that are often disconnected from ground realities.
Democracy is more about having checks and balances and having transparency of decision-making, than about elections and the populace throwing governments out of power. In a democracy the parliament, the media and sometimes the judiciary all keep an eye on what is being done with people’s money.
They are therefore able to keep a check on things that are detrimental to the country, are immoral, or even illegal. Even where such actions are not visible on the surface there are separate institutions that have the power to investigate and watch any ‘secret’ deals or actions that are going on, away from public view.
If democracy is put at its appropriate performance, then, all facet of human rights will be respected. The citizens would have the rights to exercise freedom of speech concerning the well-being of the populace in the areas of economy, education, health, infrastructural development, etc. These are the reasons I believe why democracy works in any country.
Against the motion:
It is an accepted fact that liberal democracy is the worst possible political system—except for all the others.
We are not perfect—and neither are our governments, since they are made of humans too. It is most advisable to be skeptical, even of democracy itself. One of the foundations of democracy is the assumption that all votes are equal. Well, that’s the theory—but in fact it is rarely so. It assumes that all opinions are worth the same, which is quite a big leap of faith, since we are putting the same value on the opinions of the educated and the ignorant, and the law-abiding citizens and crooks.
A common criticism of democracy is that in the end it devolves into a popularity contest. Polls don’t decide who is right—that’s simply decided by whoever is most willing to say what people like to hear.
In a democracy, tribal mentality is very dangerous, because it will make you vote “for your team” instead of voting according to issues. Unfair legislation can be passed if there are vocal groups in the majority (by oppressing the minority) or in the minorities (by entitling them to privileges that the majority can’t enjoy).
Corruption is not a specific flaw of democracy, and in fact it can be argued that democracy tends to be less prone to corruption than other systems, since it leaves the possibility of ejecting someone from office. But that possibility also favors a very specific kind of corruption: machine politics, a political organisation in which the bosses dole out rewards in exchange for the vote.
It can be as simple as paying money to someone in exchange for their vote, or giving someone a job in the office of the politician who commands the machine. A softer form of machine politics (or “clientelism”) involves the earmarking of federal funds for certain districts or states, so that Representatives and Senators vote for the programs those funds are allocated to.
Another side-effect of democracy is that if the State starts providing a service or a pay to someone, they begin to feel entitled to it. Most people will never vote for the party of someone who “took their jobs”, no matter how long ago this might have happened.
These are the reasons why I feel that democracy does not work.
Suggested Outlines of Argumentative Essay
1. Euthanasia (Mercy killing) should be legalized
For the motion :
- Right to choose when to die
- Euthanasia should be allowed if the patient is in any case as good as dead.
- Ends the patients suffering
- Gives the patient the right to have a dignified end
Against the motion:
- Just another name for assisted suicide
- Can be taken advantage off by greedy heirs and nominees
- Goes against the fundamental right to live
- Goes against the Hippocratic oath taken by doctors
2. Animal testing should be allowed
For the motion :
- Animals play a vital role in research.
- No one uses them uncaringly. They are sedated/drugged before being used for testing.
- Many breakthrough drugs would not have been possible if animal testing was not allowed.
Against the motion:
1. Animals feel pain and fear just as we do.
2. No animal should ever face being genetically engineered to develop cancer medicines, as mice are; being intentionally paralyzed from brain damage, as are monkeys. Approximately 90% of medicines that pass tests on animals fail on people.
3. Death Penalty should be abolished
For the motion:
- It is not ethical (We cannot play God – not able to give back life, so no right to take life).
- Gives wrong message to the public (that violence can be dealt with violence)
- It is hypocritical- The nation that denounces the practice of murder resorts to the same act cannot be revoked.
- Statistics prove no decrease in death rate even in countries where it is legalized, so why go for an obsolete way of punishment?
- Does not give opportunity for the criminal to realize the magnitude of his crime.
- Does not achieve the goal of punishment to reform character.
Against the motion:
- Acts as a deterrent to crimes by instilling fear of death.
- It is the ultimate warning to terrorists, rapists and professional killers.
- More secure society.
- Can be revoked if proved innocent of crime.
4. There should be no school uniforms
For the motion :
- Uniforms ultimately cost more.
- Uniforms do not teach children how to deal with people who are different from them.
- Cliques will still form.
- It is impossible to prevent all outside intrusion.
- Children will still ask for designer labels for outside of school clothing. (Uniforms will not make this issue go away.)
- Uniforms teach children that in order to get along with everyone they must conform to the same standards.
Against the motion:
- Uniforms will stop other students being judged on how they look.
- Uniforms will save families’ money.
- Uniforms will make it harder for cliques to form.
- Uniforms will make it easier to identify those who are not from the school and therefore increase security/safety.
5. Examinations are necessary
For the motion:
- Self analysis of one’s own abilities Tool for learning and working Spirit of competition Scholarships and awards Good future
- Single examination-multiple students Easy detection of teaching flaws
Against the motion:
- Source of stress and pressure
- Tendency of suicide
- Breaking of companionship due to competitiveness
- Exams are a formality
- Pressure creates disinterest in studies
- Examinations are not the real test
6.Computers are being used more and more in education. Is it a positive trend or negative?
For the motion:
- More information than ever before (the world brought to your classroom)
- In depth knowledge
- No need to carry heavy bags
- Online examinations and homework
- Notes taken on easily
Against the motion:
- Deprives real human interaction
- Lack of interaction and empathy with fellow students
- Encourages passive life-style
- Explosion of information difficult to handle
- Accessibility to wrong information and wrong application of it
7. Over exposure to tourism will erode tradition and culture
For the motion:
- Tourists bring the culture of their country.
- Youngsters are enamoured by foreign ways of life, attitude and behaviour and try to follow alien life style.
- Traditional values forgotten may despise their own language, customs and beliefs.
- Exposure to cosmopolitan culture leads too confusion in mind.
- Modern dresses adopted, even if they do not suit body structure, weather/ climate, sensibilities and ethos.
Against the motion:
- Tourism is here to stay. Globalisation makes it inevitable.
- Local traditions, art, architecture get a boost.
- Feel proud of heritage that is appreciated by visitors.
- Artistes are encouraged to showcase their talents.
- Handicrafts get a boost and more and more art forms appear – leads to creative sensibilities.
- Local cuisine gets a fillip.
- Old buildings and monuments get a new life, being spruced up to represent the face of the country.
- Revival of interest in traditional attire-embroidery, block printing, tye and dye, batik prints, etc.
8. Talent is more important for success than training
For the motion:
- Inborn ability cannot be matched.
- Gives a head start to overshadow others.
- No amount of training can originate innate capabilities
- Only talent will result in genuine interest and passion, determination to pull along.
Against the motion:
- Talent has to be recognised and developed by self and experts.
- For want of training, many have not reached the peak of success.
- Only by constant practice, inborn skills can be polished to outshine others.
- All renowned artists go for higher level of training and practice regularly. ‘Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration”.
Assignment
- “Cinema both entertains and educates the masses.” Express your views either for or against this statement. .
- “Teenagers today are more worldly-wise than their parents.” Express your views for or against this statement.
- “Men and women should have equal rights.” Give your views for or against this topic.
- Which in your opinion is more important, a healthy body or a healthy mind? Give relevant arguments to support your opinion.
- “Cigarette smoking in public place should not be allowed.” Argue either for or against this statement.
- Set out briefly but clearly the arguments for and against animals being used in public and street performances.
- “There is no scope for adventure in the modern world.” Give your views for or against this statement.