Argument Terms

A belief statement, usually supported by evidence

Evidence is the specific pieces of information that support a claim. Evidence can take the form of facts, quotations, examples, statistics, or personal experiences.

The opposing view or opposite idea

To prove wrong by argument with evidence. in an essay, it's a statement that highlights or explains what's wrong with an opponent's argument.

Interesting sentence, phrase, or quotation that catches the reader's attention. This is found at the beginning of an essay (often the first line) and introduces the topic, tone, or theme of the essay. - anecdote, interesting facts, humorous story, personal experience(s), etc.

A word, phrase, or sentence that moves the reader from one topic to the next in a way that keeps the reader's attention and bridges the \"idea gap\" between the two topics.

A statement that explains to the reader exactly what that specific paragraph is going to be about.

A position taken in an argument supported by a set of reasons and presented as a single (compound/complex) sentence that is usually found at the very end of the introductory paragraph of an argumentative essay.

A paragraph that has a statement at the beginning which \"hooks\" the reader into an explanation as to the main point of the essay and goes on to define the argument in question. An introduction then lists the main points (sub-topics) that will be proven, and ends with a statement that says what side the argument the author is taking - this is called a thesis statement.

In the introduction - be sure to provide enough background information that the reader might need in order to understand your topic. If you're writing about a story, be sure to summarize the story. If you're writing about a research topic, provide enough information about that topic so your reader understands that topic before you go diving into the specifics.

A paragraph that states if your thesis was proven and goes on to summarize all the main points of the essay (stated as fact now that they've been proven) in order to make a final, now fully supported claim, regarding your stance in an argument you've fully developed.

A quote from a text that is given word for word. These quotes are used as evidence to support your claims in any piece of writing. The quote will have quotation marks and an in text citation afterwards.

The MLA citation of direct quotes - the author/source, and page number that is placed at the end of a direct quote.

A paraphrased quote where you restate information from a text in your own words - it is not word for word and will not have quotation marks or an in text citation. Instead it will include a phrase that introduces the source- we call this a \"tag-line\"