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You've probably taken a college or high school English class that taught how to write argumentative papers or essays. Your class probably taught you how to write based on formulas using an objective tone. After taking these classes you probably assumed argumentative papers were plodding and stodgy, filled with polysyllabic words in a tone that was dry as dust.

To this, I say, piffle. Instead, you can use upfront research and preparation to determine a strong thesis. Then apply the paper's structure as a foundation instead of a straight jacket. And finally, if you combine the first two techniques with memorable prose, taking your audience in mind, you can write an argumentative paper that holds your reader's interest.

You can't write an argumentative paper until you know what you are going to argue. And, that you can prove your stand before you start writing your paper. This is what most textbooks refer to as a thesis. Taking time to develop a strong thesis will make writing a paper easier and more interesting.

So,what do I mean by a thesis? It's easier to first look at what isn't a thesis. For example, "How to Write an Argumentative Paper" is not a thesis, is it? It's a topic asking for a procedure, not something we can take a stand on. To write a thesis about argumentative papers, we need a question that we will set out to answer or a point of difficulty to clear up.

I could take the stand that argumentative papers must include an introduction, body and conclusion as a thesis. To which point, you, the reader, will yawn and say, "Tell me something I don't know." The problem with this thesis is I don't need to craft any supporting arguments. A few examples will do the trick and I'll be done. Instead, let's think about what I can argue for and against. So, let's argue that argumentative papers can be interesting. But what about all those research papers and doctoral thesis that do a good job as a natural sleep aid? Isn't that an argument against these papers being interesting? See, I do have a thesis that I can now defend.

At its most basic, the argumentative paper should have an introduction, middle and conclusion. Wow! That seems really straightforward-and somewhat boring. Now, let's break this down some more.

The introduction is what it sounds like; a way to introduce the subject of the paper. You'll need to tell the reader what your stand or thesis is and how you're going to prove it. How you do this is your choice. But just like you usually don't run up to a

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