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Argumentative essay outline template

An argumentative essay states one claim plainly enough to be disagreed with, gives the evidence for it with the strongest first, makes the best case against it fairly, and answers that case. It ends on what follows if the claim is right.

Evidence supports a central claim while a contrasting argument is connected by a rebuttal.

When to use it

  • You are writing an opinion piece, a position paper, or a school essay.
  • Your draft only argues one side. The objection section makes you face the other.
  • Your conclusion repeats your introduction. What Follows gives it somewhere to go.

The 7 sections at 1,500 words

The marks assume 1,500 words, because opinion pieces and essays usually run 800 to 2,500 words. Each chapter starts at an even share of the whole; yours will run longer or shorter. The story structure calculator works them out for any length.

  1. Introduction The question, and why it is worth settling.
  2. The Claim What you are arguing, stated so plainly it could be disagreed with.
  3. The Evidence The reasons to believe it, strongest first.
  4. The Objection The best case against you, made fairly.
  5. The Answer Why the objection does not defeat the claim.
  6. What Follows What changes if you are right.
  7. Conclusion The claim again, now earned.

A worked example

Cities should let residents plant fruit trees on the grass strips outside their homes.

  1. Introduction. Every street has a strip of grass the city mows and nobody uses.
  2. The Claim. Residents should be allowed to plant fruit trees there, at their own cost.
  3. The Evidence. Shade, food, lower mowing budgets, and three cities where it already works.
  4. The Objection. Falling fruit is a mess and a liability, and someone has to clean it up.
  5. The Answer. The resident who plants the tree signs to harvest it; the three cities report fewer complaints than for leaves.
  6. What Follows. A street that feeds itself a little, and neighbors who have a reason to talk.
  7. Conclusion. The strip is already public land. Let the public use it.

Open this template in Tabularia

Start a new project, choose Article, and pick the Argument shape. Each section arrives with its heading and its note beside it.

Open in Tabularia

Or take it away

The Word file has every section with its note and mark, a line under each for your own plan, and the example above. It opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages, and LibreOffice.

Download for Word