Argumentative. Building an argument. What does the building of an argument involve? Do you think it even requires 'building', or does it simply come about? Think about it. When you have a point to put across and you need to convince others of that point, don't you have certain reasons and arguments on which you base that point? This you do so that people have reasons enough and are convinced of your point of view. Without those argument points, and simply stating something and hoping that people will understand it because YOU believe in it, is not going to get you anywhere. And moreover, you cannot hope to convince an audience. Thus an argument becomes necessary. And that is exactly what an argumentative essay involves. It being essay writing and not a speech, it becomes even more difficult, because you get to convince people only through your writing skills. In the following article, we will look into the outline of an argumentative essay in detail and try to understand how a perfect argumentative essay should be written. The Format The outline of argumentative essays works in the way that a person has to build a argument taking the help of certain key concepts like stating an opinion, putting forth a theory and then deducing a hypothesis from the same. The details of how to go about this writing are explained below, with the help of some examples. Introduction An introduction will talk about the topic at hand by giving a brief background about it and then stating the thesis statement of the topic. The introduction needs to be given after careful planning has gone in to select a particular topic. You need to be extremely careful about choosing the topic from a wide range of topics. This is because, you have to explain why you've chosen that topic and what is the significance of it. For which it has to be duly understood by you first. Make sure that you have researched the topic well and know it inside out, so that you can argue about it perfectly. The thesis statement will state your position on the topic. Are you on the pros side or the cons side. It should be made clear with the statement. Body The body is the main part of an argumentative essay outline. It will house the main content of the essay. The body should have a sequential order, a statement of the arguments and the reasons behind making those statement. Thus, it should literally go in a point format. Stress should be laid on thorough research for the essay to be successful. This will allow you to base your points of argument with a unique zeal and there will be credibility in making those points as well. These points could involve some or all the following pointers (depending on what your topic is) - History of the problem, the extent of the problem and whether there have been attempts at finding a solution, the consequences and repercussions of the problem. Once you have given all your points of arguments and the reasons behind those points, move to the conclusion. Make sure, however, that you lead up to a conclusion and do not simply rush into it. Conclusion The conclusion should have you reiterating the essay topic at hand and giving a summary of the arguments made by you. Do not give an emotional point of view, but a logical base when you make your arguments. Also, it is important to state the sources from where you got the information. Which of course means that you should never make up 'facts'. There you go. Start penning an essay with the help of the pointers provided in the article and draw up something really good for yourself.