Argumentative essay

By Javier Felipe Ballesteros

What is it
“An argumentative essay is an essay which purpose is to present
evidence to support an idea. For example, you might write an essay
arguing that military service should be mandatory. You would do
research exploring the benefits of mandatory military service in the
countries that enforce it. Though you will be taking a side on the issue,
you would also acknowledge the opposing side. The main thrust of an
argumentative essay is that all information presented be supported by
facts and evidence.”
https://www.essaytigers.com/how-write-argumentative-essay
Taken from: ESSAY TIGERS
STRUCTURE
1. An introduction with a thesis statement.
2. Background on the subject. Background on this subject can involve
early studies.
3. Main arguments - Some time should be spent elaborating the main
arguments.
4. Refutation - The opposing side should be briefly presented and
refuted as not valid.
5. Conclusion - The conclusion may present a summary of the main
arguments or suggest solutions or studies that should be conducted
in the future.
Introduction with a thesis statement

Education has become a matter of surveillance. Most teachers in

Colombia spend more time watching students not copying and
cheating, than preparing lessons and applying better pedagogical
methods.
Background

A study from the Cambridge University has found that educators in

Colombia are spending 60 percent of their time trying to figure out
what, where, and when their pupils are copying.
Argument
Less activities and marks could be done by the teacher, in order to have
more time for checking, marking and doing proper enforcement to
those students who decide to copy. Thus, pupils will be encouraged to
develop activities sincerely and an incentives system would lead
students to do better assignments.
Refutation.
It is argue, that students copy because they haven’t found a link
between what they are taught and what it is being done. However, that
argument doesn´t take into account other explanations such as:
laziness; cultural tendency to cheat (informal institutions); end lack of
enforcement by the teachers, directives and parents etc…
Linking topics seen in class with the assignments and duties delivered
at school, it’s a step towards the objective of reducing the amount of
copy. Nevertheless, there are plenty of different reasons that have to
be tackled in order to reduce plagiarism.
Conclusion
Plagiarism, copying and practices cheating are widespread among
colleges, universities, and educational centres. Nevertheless, the
appropriate link between the assignments given and the topics seen in
class, it is not enough to discourage it. In order to tackle the problem
more variables are needed to be contemplate. One of them it is the
reduction of the assignment given in class, and simultaneously,
strengthen the enforcement methodologies that will create an
incentive system leading to a decline in unwished practices.