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while presenting a clear statement of your paper's argument.

Body

The body paragraphs need to present an organized, coherent, and logical argument for your readers. If it is a short essay, such as the common five-paragraph theme, each paragraph will have a topic sentence that makes a claim in support of your position, and the paragraph will provide evidence or support for the claim. In a medium-sized essay that has more than five paragraphs, one or more paragraph might address counter arguments or opposing views. In order not to alienate readers who hold those views, it is important to present them respectfully. At the same time, you will want to provide evidence or a well-reasoned argument for why the counter arguments or opposing views are not convincing enough.

A longer essay, one of several pages, often begins with a section of background, historical arguments made in the past, and current debates, providing and overview of the main positions before embarking on "proving" your own position. In such a longer essay, often a section could make a claim in one paragraph and then provide evidence and support in several succeeding paragraphs. More evidence might be presented, and counter claims might be addressed (respectfully, then dismissed thoughtfully) in each section.

Conclusion

In all cases, the conclusion tends to sum up the arguments in favor of your position and leave the reader with a sense of a "finished" debate. The conclusion should clearly re-state your argument (thesis). Write assertively and take a firm stand, without alienating those who might have started out opposed to you. While they might not be fully convinced, if you've done a good job, they might now be open to hearing more. Keep those readers on your side, because, after all, you don't usually need to convince those who already agree with you.

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