by tommywallach Sun Jun 23, 2013 11:17 am
Hey Er,
Issue Essay
Introduction: Give your thesis (whether you agree or disagree with the prompt--remember, you should choose a side 99% of the time, instead of trying to just discuss the topic vaguely). Define any terms that need defining (i.e., "I'm going to use the word innovative in this essay to mean any idea that hasn't been pulled into the mainstream yet"). Finally, give a short outline of the examples you plan to use (i.e., "I'm going to support this conclusion by discussing Microsoft, the Concord, and World War II."). But don't be quite so obvious about it. : )
Conclusion: Give your mini-outline again, and try to make some big grand statement about something important (life, the universe, morality, art, culture, history, etc.). This makes it seem like your essay was actually about something.
Argument Essay:
Intro: Because the Argument Essay always presents you with a flawed argument, your thesis is always the same. Some variation on: "While the author comes to a plausible conclusion, his/her argument is flawed." Then give a little outline of the flaws/assumptions you plan to talk about (i.e., "The author uses too small a sample size, has no control group, and mistakes correlation for causation).
Conclusion: I like to repeat my "thesis," then give a mini-outline of all the fixes I recommended in the essay's body paragraphs. (In each paragraph, you should describe a flaw, then explain how the author could fix that particular flaw). This allows you to end on a positive note, which is good, because the point of the argument essay is that you not only want to explain what's wrong, but how it could be fixed.
Hope that helps!
-t