Core Skills & Competencies

Effectively conducting research is important for writers when developing argumentative essays. Researching requires a writer to search for, locate, analyze, synthesize, organize, and use information from other sources. The information a writer gathers and uses in the research process must be high-quality and relevant to the topic for the research to adequately support the essay’s argument. People can conduct numerous types of research, including through their own observations and experiments; however, research conducted for argumentative essays is usually done by searching for academic or peer-reviewed articles relating to the topic. Writers conducting research should be sure to use high-quality sources of information, as the writer’s claim will be persuasive only if the writer uses strong research and evidence from reliable sources.

Critical thinking is another skill writers use when crafting argumentative essays. Critical thinking requires a person to analyze and make judgments about facts and evidence. It is reflective thinking in which a person creates a belief. Critical thinking is required in various parts throughout the essay-writing process. A writer must use critical thinking when developing the essay’s thesis, as he or she must fully understand all the collected evidence and data to form a position. The writer must analyze the information to understand what the evidence suggests. He or she must also use critical thinking when including the reasons and evidence that will support the thesis. The writer will use critical thinking to ensure that a piece of evidence strongly supports the overall claim.

A writer should also be able to follow the five-step writing process when writing an argumentative essay. The first step in the process is prewriting. In this step, the writer generates ideas, conducts research, develops a thesis statement, and plans the writing (often by using an outline or a graphic organizer). The second step in the writing process is the first draft of the essay. The writer should structure the essay with its three main parts and attempt to include the best information. The third step is revising. Once a writer completes the first draft of an essay, he or she should review it. Writers often need to restructure parts of a first draft to ensure that the pieces are in the most logical order. Revision also requires a writer to remove extraneous information that does not work with the rest of the text. Writers may need to go through the revision step more than one time. The fourth step in the writing process is editing and proofreading. In this step, the writer should review the essay for grammar, usage, and spelling mistakes. The final step is publishing the writing. When writing for a class, publishing the work may mean submitting it for a grade.