why study history argumentative essay

Historical Argument Definition, Steps & Examples

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Kathy Clemens is a community college adjunct professor with a Bachelor's Degree from Loyola University and a Master's Degree from Northwestern, and has been teaching for over twenty-five years.

• Instructor Bernadette Galang

Table of Contents

What is a historical argument, historical argument essay example, lesson summary, what are some good historical argument essay topics.

Good examples of historical argument essay topics are those that provide levels of meaning and impact. Some topics are global in scope, such as Greek scholar Homer's foundation for the European study of history. Others are more nationally focused, perhaps discussing the Watergate scandal. Some straddle both, like the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the United States' image during the Cold War. Any topic can be a good argument about history so long as it is concise and places the event in a context that can be understood and explained as to how and why that event occurred in history.

How does one write a historical argument?

A historical argument provides an explanation as to how or why an event occurred in the past. The argument is presented by a thesis statement which must be specific, must be able to be proven, and must be able to be argued. The thesis statement is the main argument of the paper and is supported by evidence that is quality, relevant, and credible in order to make a strong argument.

What are the components of a historical argument?

The components of a historical argument are the thesis (specific, provable, arguable), the evidence (the information provided that supports the thesis statement), and the conclusion (the decision or deduction rendered that clarifies the position of the thesis). Other factors include previous arguments made by other historical scholars, how this particular piece of history impacts the understanding of the past or of the present, and what processes and sources were used to come to any conclusions.

A historical argument provides reasoning as to why and how an event happened in the past, perhaps to explain the importance of that event and why it matters, or maybe to put that event into context for analysis. This way, what occurred in the past can assist with the understanding of what is happening in the present to show the steps taken that might connect one event to the next. Pulling examples from history to examine the past and how society did, or did not, act in a manner that was reasonable, logical, and beneficial can assist with what to do or not do in almost any given situation.

For instance, scholars might study the influenza epidemic of 1918 or the polio outbreaks in the 1950s to see what the best means might be to handle a pandemic of epic proportions. In that case, the development and use of vaccines, protective measures, and public health policies of the times would provide empirical and scientific evidence that would be helpful in the event of current or future contagion. The argument would focus on how the outbreak occurred and why the solutions were useful in mitigating the effects of the disease. In turn, the historical context can be framed for the present day to prevent similar outbreaks, noting what steps need to be taken to remediate an epidemic should one occur.

Since so much of history can be considered subjective, the information used to make a historical argument should be scientific and based on as much solid evidence as possible. If the record is typically documented by the conquerors and not the conquered, that information can be open to various interpretations and any good argument must be won with facts. The purpose of a historical argument is to bring about more understanding of the past and this can be accomplished by analyzing previous events and viewing them through a contextual lens to identify current issues and how those issues can be resolved or possibly avoided altogether in the future.

How to Write a Historical Argument Essay

A historical argument essay has to be fairly specific and have a very focused thesis , otherwise, it is simply an observation of history and not an analysis of an event. The event must be examined thoroughly and an explanation provided that discusses the impact this event has on current matters as well as how the past can be interpreted and understood. History taken as a whole is immense, as it is essentially all of recorded time, so in order to make an argument about a certain period or certain event, that argument must be carefully crafted.

In turn, a historiographical essay analyzes the arguments and issues of a historical topic through the eyes of historians, using multiple sources and perspectives to provide different viewpoints and contexts when presenting information. It is essentially the history of a history, looking at the methods and sources that historians use when constructing the narrative of a particular period or piece of history.

A good example of a historiographical argument might be: ''Through his work on Egypt, Greek scholar Homer laid the foundation for how Europeans would study history. ''This argument is fairly specific, explains that Homer is a scholar, and notes that he is defining the study of history by Europeans through the steps he took when conducting his own educational training. The argument here can be supported by evidence indicating that the structure of Homer's study of Egyptian history can help a scholar in Europe understand the process and analyze the context of world events through the perspective of events that occurred in the past. Homer's work in turn influenced Herodotus, colloquially known as '' The Father of History ''. Herodotus was the author of the first known historical narrative titled ''The Histories'', which focused on the wars between Greece and Persia.

When making a historiographical argument, certain questions need to be asked, such as how other historians have viewed the issue or how a piece of history changed or supported a historian's understanding of the past. Sometimes, the sources and evidence used by historians also provide information as to their own interpretation of events, so those need to be examined also. A good argument for a historical research paper should always address how and why something happened in history. It should also put that something into context so that the argument examines any modern-day implications with respect to recent circumstances.

Steps to Writing a Historical Argument Essay

Simply recounting a historical event, presenting a timeline of events, or listing a set of facts about history does not make an argument. A historical argument essay is meant to expand understanding and not just to inform or to make observations. It is meant to explain how and why an event in the past occurred, as well as analyze that event's relationship to other events. The most important element of any argument is the thesis statement .

The thesis statement presents the main argument of the essay and reflects the direct assertion that a historian is arguing. The thesis needs to have three certain components in order to be truly effective.

• It must be a specific , clear, and concise sentence that declares what the historian is claiming and why that claim is important. The thesis cannot be so broad that it is virtually impossible to make any argument without resorting to conjecture. The thesis is the assertion that forms the basis of the theory that is being proven, so it must be precise and tightly focused, otherwise, it cannot be managed with clarity.
• The thesis also needs to be provable , meaning that it cannot be simply a vague statement that has no means to be tested and verified. There must be a logical way to connect and support the argument being made, and there must be evidence that is relevant, supportive, and credible available that can be used to sufficiently prove the thesis.
• Finally, the thesis must be arguable , meaning there is an idea that is tenable and defensible which is being presented and that the thesis is not simply a matter of opinion. The argument must address the complexities of an issue and it must address the different perspectives and points of view of an issue. Simply stating an observation or providing a description is not a thesis, as the thesis needs to present a goal or objective that can be argued effectively to a satisfactory conclusion or solution.

A good example of a thesis that utilizes the above three components is: ''The Watergate scandal resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon and led to the question of whether a sitting president can be prosecuted for criminal charges while in office. ''

This thesis example is (1) making a specific claim that the fallout from Watergate caused Nixon to resign and raised the issue of whether a president could be criminally charged while still in his term; (2) making a claim that is provable in that an examination of the records from the Watergate Special Prosecution Force or any investigative committee provides evidence of the claim; and (3) making a claim that is arguable as one can note that while Nixon was not forced to resign he was surely going to be convicted in an impeachment hearing and while there was no legal bar at the time to indict a sitting president it was absolutely being discussed.

A lesser example is this: ''The Watergate scandal resulted in many Americans losing their faith in the United States Government and becoming more cynical about politics.'' While this may seem like a viable argument to make, it is pure supposition and opinion with no verifiable or empirical evidence that can be presented to prove this claim. Making a statement that is all conjecture is not the same thing as making an argument.

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The Civil Rights Movement is obviously an important part of American history. However, to simply use a general statement such as this to make an argument as a whole is much too broad, as there are many facets and many different circumstances under which this statement can be applied. There are numerous aspects that can be addressed about the significance of the movement, including the people involved and the various issues at stake that revolved around politics and social justice.

Narrowing the focus and citing a specific circumstance would strengthen the argument considerably, such as stating: ''The Civil Rights Movement became a national priority because racism hurt the USA's global image in the Cold War.'' This statement now is examining a historical event and is explaining a few things with specificity.

The thesis notes the importance of the Civil Rights Movement in that it became a national priority in the United States. The argument is also providing the reason why the Civil Rights Movement became important; because racism hurt the country's image. Further, the argument puts the event into context by suggesting that the United States needed to present a good reputation to the world during the Cold War to maintain credibility against any negative comparisons to the Soviet Union.

This historical essay example can discuss in detail the how and the why of the elements provided in the thesis statement. On a global stage, the Cold War was essentially the geopolitical maneuvering between the United States and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies. The Cold War was mostly fought not with weapons, but with propaganda. For that reason, the United States had to maintain a front of good character which could not be diminished because of the suffering of its own citizens as a result of racism throughout the country.

History itself is a narrative constructed by historians, so it is important to ensure that the arguments are built with clear and direct evidence so that objective conclusions may be drawn about the past. A good historical argument provides solid reasoning as to why and how a historical event occurred and focuses on answering a question for historical research. The argument is succinctly stated through a thesis statement that presents the main argument and is specific, provable, and arguable .

The job of a historian is to place a past event or issue into a context that helps to understand and analyze current circumstances. A historiographical argument can be made about the impact or the study of a historian with respect to an aspect of the study of history, such as Homer or Herodotus as noted above. Essentially, a historiographical argument is a history of a history, so that scholars can analyze and interpret the work of historians to form their own conclusions about an issue or an event. Making any sort of historical or historiographical argument provides a glimpse into the past to help explain the present. If it is understood how and why events happened in the past, it can then be understood how and why events happen in the here and now.

Historical Writing

Historians write…a lot. It's a big part of the profession. So, it's important to know how to write like a historian. Should be easy, right? Isn't historical writing just a recitation of things that happened in the past? Actually, no.

Historical writing can be very scientific, in that the goal is to use hard evidence, not just to lecture, but to present an argument. An argument is central to historical writing. So, what are we arguing? Historians look at the past and argue how ideas or events unfolded, and most importantly, why these things happened. We understand today that history is constructed, it's a narrative built by historians, so creating an argument based on reliable evidence is one way to ensure more objective understandings of the past. In that sense, historians write very much like scientists. The biggest difference is that we write better (sorry scientists, but you know that it's true).

Writing an Argument for a History Research Paper

So, how do you actually write a historical argument? It depends on what kind of historical writing you're doing. Let's start with the most common form: the history research paper . This is the bulk of what historians do. We research the past and present our findings in research papers.

The key to a research paper is to have a solid historical argument, in which you provide an explanation for how and why an event unfolded. Historians present their arguments in the form of a thesis statement , a clear and direct declaration of what they're arguing. For example, I could say ''A popular surge in the concept of Manifest Destiny is the primary reason for James Polk's election in 1844''. I am examining a historical event, the election of 1844, and arguing that popular support of Manifest Destiny was the reason Polk won.

The thesis statement is generally found in, or near, the last sentence of the introduction. This isn't required but is the general trend, followed by most historians, which makes it nice and easy to find the thesis in basically any paper you pick up. To be a strong argument, the thesis statement must be related closely to three things.

• A thesis must be specific enough for you to argue. For example, I could say that American experiences in the Colonial Era led to the independence struggle. That's an argument, but it's so vague that there's really no way to create a research paper around it. What specific experiences occurred and how, exactly, did those motivate independence? This is the same reason that you should never, ever argue ''...and this impacted the world we live in today''. Unless you plan to cover every single moment of history leading up to today, then this is not specific enough to argue.
• A thesis must be provable . Imagine if I argued that FDR's political decisions were framed by his love of grape soda. That's an argument, but the problem is that I have zero sources to prove it. Your thesis must be something that you are capable of proving, giving the sources that you have. As a reminder, we never create the argument before examining the sources. That would be like writing the conclusion to a science paper before conducting the experiment. Examine your sources first, then develop an argument based on what you can prove using that information.
• A thesis must be arguable . Some things cannot be argued in a history paper, like opinions. If your argument states ''...and that's why the USA is the best country in the world'', you are presenting an opinion, but not one that is objectively provable. Similarly, your argument has to actually argue something. I could state ''Americans adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776'', but that's not an argument. There's no way to argue that fact without getting into revisionist history, which we're not doing.

The Historiographical Argument

So, that's all we need to know about a historical argument, right? Well, that form of argument is how we write a historical research paper. Historians also, however, have to write historiographical essays . A historiographical essay is a history of a history. You're not looking at how/why a historical event occurred; you're examining the ways that other historians have studied that historical event. This means you'll be asking different questions, like ''What arguments have historians made about this?'', ''How did a piece of historical research impact our understanding of the past?'', ''how did historians construct the narrative of history?'', or ''What methods and sources did a historian use?'' Historiographical essays can study either the historiography of a topic (how have historians written about the American Revolution) or look at a specific historian's work (how did Thomas Aquinas' writings impact medieval understandings of the past).

These are the questions that we're trying to answer in a historiographical essay, so this is what your thesis statement will argue. Beyond that, your thesis statement must still be specific, provable, and arguable. You still want to present a strong argument about historiography. What that argument is, however, is up to you.

The key to good historical writing is the historical argument, presented in the form of a concise and specific thesis statement . A strong thesis statement must present an argument that is specific enough to examine credibly, provable with reliable sources, and arguable . For a historical research paper , the thesis statement must present an argument about how and why events of the past transpired. For a historiography , the thesis statement must present an argument about how historians studied the past and constructed the narrative of history. These are two very different projects, but the key to each is a solid argument. If you're interested in history, this is something definitely worth practicing. After all, historians write a lot.

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Introducing the Writing Prompt

Published: March 12, 2018

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At a Glance

• Social Studies
• The Holocaust

In the first four lessons of the unit, students explore questions about identity, stereotyping, and group membership. This assessment step introduces students to a writing prompt that builds on these important themes and connects them to the history students explore later in this unit. The prompt is designed to serve as both a thematic frame for the unit and a final writing assignment at the unit’s end.

Unit Writing Prompt:

What does learning about the choices people made during the Weimar Republic, the rise of the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust teach us about the power and impact of our choices today?

Because the students have not yet been introduced to the Weimar era, the rise of the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust, this lesson begins with a modified version of the prompt:

Modified Writing Prompt for this Lesson:

How does learning about the choices people made throughout history help us understand the power and impact of our choices in the world today?

This modified prompt enables students to think through larger themes about history and decision making before delving into the specific history in later lessons. This lesson’s activities provide suggestions to help students start to understand the meaning of the prompt and to stake out a preliminary position in response to it. At key points later in this unit (after Lessons 8, 13, 18, 21, and 23), you will be prompted to give students the opportunity to revisit the prompt and consider stories, documents, and other evidence from history that may influence their thinking about it. At these times, students will also have the opportunity to reflect back on, and potentially modify, the initial position they articulate in this lesson.

There are two additional writing prompts that can be used as summative assessments for this unit included in Facing History’s  Common Core Writing Prompts and Strategies: Holocaust and Human Behavior . This resource includes lesson plans and writing strategies to help guide students through all phases of the writing process.

Essential Question

Guiding Question

Why study history?

Learning Objective

Students will develop an initial position for an argumentative essay in response to a question about the importance and impact of choices in history.

What's Included

This assessment is designed to fit into one 50-min class period and includes:

• 3 activities
• 5 teaching strategies
• 1 assessment
• 1 extension activity

Preparing to Teach

Notes to the teacher.

Anticipation Guide Activity

This lesson introduces the  Anticipation Guides  teaching strategy. You might return to the handout  Why Study History? later in the unit to see if students’ ideas about the study of history have changed.

Duration: 1 class period

Related Materials

• Teaching Strategy Anticipation Guides

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Warm Up with an Anticipation Guide

Before the activity begins, hang four signs in the corners of the classroom that read “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Disagree,” and “Strongly Disagree.”

Pass out the handout  Why Study History?  and ask students to read the statements and decide if they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each one. They should circle their responses and then write a brief explanation for each choice.

Use the  Four Corners  strategy to debrief the anticipation guide. Read each statement aloud and ask students to stand near one of the signs in the classroom to indicate their response. After students find their positions, ask them to explain their thinking to others in their corner.

Next, ask students in each corner to share their ideas with the rest of the class. As one corner disagrees with another, encourage students to respond directly to each other’s statements and have a mini-debate about the prompt. If students’ ideas change due to the debate, tell them that they are free to switch corners.

• Teaching Strategy Four Corners

Generate Initial Responses to a Modified Essay Prompt

Next, ask students to return to their seats and take out their journals so they can reflect on the Four Corners activity and start to think about a new and related question.

Write the modified essay topic on the board and ask students to respond to it in their journals. Students might also reference their ideas about one or more of the quotations on the handout Why Study History? when formulating their responses.

Next, ask students to debrief the journal prompt in a  Think, Pair, Share  discussion. Ask students to try to support their thinking with an example from the history they have studied or their own lives. Finally, ask students to share a few opinions or ideas with the larger group.

Tell students that they will build on these ideas in the upcoming weeks as they learn about the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. They can keep all their notes about these ideas in their journals and use them later to help them think about their essays.

• Teaching Strategy Think-Pair-Share

Exit Tickets

Give each student an  exit ticket  with the following question:

Did today’s class affect your thinking about why we should study history? Did it affect how you think about the connection between the choices people made in history and the choices you make in your own life? If so, explain how. If not, explain why not.

Collect the exit tickets as students leave the classroom. You might share some interesting ideas or patterns at the start of the next lesson. Unless you have permission from the student, we recommend that you keep these anonymous.

• Teaching Strategy Exit Tickets

Check for Understanding

Observe carefully the discussion that occurs during the Four Corners activity in order to check students’ understanding of the themes embedded in the writing prompt. It is important that every student has the opportunity to talk, either in the small groups in their corners or when sharing with the whole group.

Evaluate students’ responses on the exit cards. While their thinking about the writing prompt will evolve over time, check now for evidence that they have a basic understanding of the question itself.

Dissect the Essay Writing Prompt

If your class is ready, you might introduce the full unit writing prompt, rather than the one modified for this lesson. Using the  Dissecting the Prompt  strategy, students can take apart and analyze the prompt, identifying the historical topics they need to learn more about in the rest of the unit to be able to fully answer the question. This will establish several inquiry questions for the class that are related to students’ broader thinking about the purpose of studying history in this lesson.

• Teaching Strategy Dissecting the Prompt

Materials and Downloads

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Why study history revisited.

Peter N. Stearns is university professor of history and provost emeritus at George Mason University. He Tweets @StearnsPeter.

Over two decades ago I was asked to write a pamphlet for the AHA on  the reasons to study history . I emphasized the variety of skills involved in history learning, from writing and developing arguments, to assessing evidence, to dealing with the phenomenon of change over time. The essay has been fairly widely used and consistently ranks among the AHA’s most popular webpages.

Recently the London Publishing Partnership asked me to return to the topic with a British colleague, Marcus Collins. The resultant booklet, just released as  Why Study History?   gave us a chance to reflect on the ways justifying the study of history must now be reframed. Reviewing a past argument is inevitably somewhat chastening—what might have been better anticipated earlier on? Happily, however, some elements still stand up fairly well. 

A rationale for studying history today must acknowledge both the serious challenges to the discipline and the dynamic changes within the discipline that have developed over the past quarter century. The more utilitarian climate for higher education and the changing nature of the student body must be addressed, aided by the abundant data about the career outcomes of the history major now available. But the substantial transformation of historical research and methodology has also enhanced the ways we can explain our discipline to a student audience. Finally, additional decades of teaching and reflection, plus the good thinking available from colleagues including history learning experts, inevitably alters, and hopefully improves, the presentation as well. 

As Marcus and I considered how to update the argument for history, we began with the recognition that  the struggle for enrollments  has become far more demanding than was the case in the 1990s. Changes in the economy plus rising student debt have greatly altered the context for promoting the field, while the presence of more first-generation learners enhances the need to address the practical results of studying a discipline like history.

This means, most obviously, that no one advocating for the study of history today can avoid explicit discussion of the kinds of job opportunities that result from a history degree. We can no longer rely on a presentation of the strengths of history education alone. Students, and those who advise them, need to know the practical results of their commitment. The amount of misinformation that has entered public discourse ever since the Great Recession about the career risk of any concentration beyond a STEM degree compels this new focus as well. Fortunately, the news is quite good on this score.  Data  on rates of employment, clearly competitive pay levels, and job satisfaction all make it clear that the varied careers of history majors rival those of science and business majors. Studying history is a valid professional choice, and we now need to say this vigorously.

Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument

Almost every assignment you complete for a history course will ask you to make an argument. Your instructors will often call this your "thesis"– your position on a subject.

What is an Argument?

An argument takes a stand on an issue. It seeks to persuade an audience of a point of view in much the same way that a lawyer argues a case in a court of law. It is NOT a description or a summary.

• This is an argument: "This paper argues that the movie JFK is inaccurate in its portrayal of President Kennedy."
• This is not an argument: "In this paper, I will describe the portrayal of President Kennedy that is shown in the movie JFK."

What is a Thesis?

A thesis statement is a sentence in which you state an argument about a topic and then describe, briefly, how you will prove your argument.

• This is an argument, but not yet a thesis: "The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President Kennedy."
• This is a thesis: "The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President Kennedy because of the way it ignores Kennedy’s youth, his relationship with his father, and the findings of the Warren Commission."

A thesis makes a specific statement to the reader about what you will be trying to argue. Your thesis can be a few sentences long, but should not be longer than a paragraph. Do not begin to state evidence or use examples in your thesis paragraph.

A Thesis Helps You and Your Reader

Your blueprint for writing:

• Helps you determine your focus and clarify your ideas.
• Provides a "hook" on which you can "hang" your topic sentences.
• Can (and should) be revised as you further refine your evidence and arguments. New evidence often requires you to change your thesis.
• Gives your paper a unified structure and point.

Your reader’s blueprint for reading:

• Serves as a "map" to follow through your paper.
• Keeps the reader focused on your argument.
• Signals to the reader your main points.
• Engages the reader in your argument.

Tips for Writing a Good Thesis

• Find a Focus: Choose a thesis that explores an aspect of your topic that is important to you, or that allows you to say something new about your topic. For example, if your paper topic asks you to analyze women’s domestic labor during the early nineteenth century, you might decide to focus on the products they made from scratch at home.
• Look for Pattern: After determining a general focus, go back and look more closely at your evidence. As you re-examine your evidence and identify patterns, you will develop your argument and some conclusions. For example, you might find that as industrialization increased, women made fewer textiles at home, but retained their butter and soap making tasks.

Strategies for Developing a Thesis Statement

Idea 1. If your paper assignment asks you to answer a specific question, turn the question into an assertion and give reasons for your opinion.

Assignment: How did domestic labor change between 1820 and 1860? Why were the changes in their work important for the growth of the United States?

Beginning thesis: Between 1820 and 1860 women's domestic labor changed as women stopped producing home-made fabric, although they continued to sew their families' clothes, as well as to produce butter and soap. With the cash women earned from the sale of their butter and soap they purchased ready-made cloth, which in turn, helped increase industrial production in the United States before the Civil War.

Idea 2. Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main Idea: Women's labor in their homes during the first half of the nineteenth century contributed to the growth of the national economy.

Idea 3. Spend time "mulling over" your topic. Make a list of the ideas you want to include in the essay, then think about how to group them under several different headings. Often, you will see an organizational plan emerge from the sorting process.

Idea 4. Use a formula to develop a working thesis statement (which you will need to revise later). Here are a few examples:

• Although most readers of ______ have argued that ______, closer examination shows that ______.
• ______ uses ______ and ______ to prove that ______.
• Phenomenon X is a result of the combination of ______, ______, and ______.

These formulas share two characteristics all thesis statements should have: they state an argument and they reveal how you will make that argument. They are not specific enough, however, and require more work.

As you work on your essay, your ideas will change and so will your thesis. Here are examples of weak and strong thesis statements.

• Unspecific thesis: "Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong leader as First Lady."  This thesis lacks an argument. Why was Eleanor Roosevelt a strong leader?
• Specific thesis: "Eleanor Roosevelt recreated the role of the First Lady by her active political leadership in the Democratic Party, by lobbying for national legislation, and by fostering women’s leadership in the Democratic Party."  The second thesis has an argument: Eleanor Roosevelt "recreated" the position of First Lady, and a three-part structure with which to demonstrate just how she remade the job.
• Unspecific thesis: "At the end of the nineteenth century French women lawyers experienced difficulty when they attempted to enter the legal profession."  No historian could argue with this general statement and uninteresting thesis.
• Specific thesis: "At the end of the nineteenth century French women lawyers experienced misogynist attacks from male lawyers when they attempted to enter the legal profession because male lawyers wanted to keep women out of judgeships."  This thesis statement asserts that French male lawyers attacked French women lawyers because they feared women as judges, an intriguing and controversial point.

Making an Argument – Every Thesis Deserves Its Day in Court

You are the best (and only!) advocate for your thesis. Your thesis is defenseless without you to prove that its argument holds up under scrutiny. The jury (i.e., your reader) will expect you, as a good lawyer, to provide evidence to prove your thesis. To prove thesis statements on historical topics, what evidence can an able young lawyer use?

• Primary sources: letters, diaries, government documents, an organization’s meeting minutes, newspapers.
• Secondary sources: articles and books from your class that explain and interpret the historical event or person you are writing about, lecture notes, films or documentaries.

How can you use this evidence?

• Make sure the examples you select from your available evidence address your thesis.
• Use evidence that your reader will believe is credible. This means sifting and sorting your sources, looking for the clearest and fairest. Be sure to identify the biases and shortcomings of each piece of evidence for your reader.
• Use evidence to avoid generalizations. If you assert that all women have been oppressed, what evidence can you use to support this? Using evidence works to check over-general statements.
• Use evidence to address an opposing point of view. How do your sources give examples that refute another historian’s interpretation?

Remember -- if in doubt, talk to your instructor.

Thanks to the web page of the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Writing Center for information used on this page. See writing.wisc.edu/handbook for further information.

Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement.

Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper.  It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant.  Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue.  Then, spend the rest of your paper–each body paragraph–fulfilling that promise.

Your thesis should be between one and three sentences long and is placed at the end of your introduction.  Just because the thesis comes towards the beginning of your paper does not mean you can write it first and then forget about it.  View your thesis as a work in progress while you write your paper.  Once you are satisfied with the overall argument your paper makes, go back to your thesis and see if it captures what you have argued.  If it does not, then revise it.  Crafting a good thesis is one of the most challenging parts of the writing process, so do not expect to perfect it on the first few tries.  Successful writers revise their thesis statements again and again.

A successful thesis statement:

• makes an historical argument
• takes a position that requires defending
• is historically specific
• is focused and precise
• answers the question, “so what?”

How to write a thesis statement:

Suppose you are taking an early American history class and your professor has distributed the following essay prompt:

“Historians have debated the American Revolution’s effect on women.  Some argue that the Revolution had a positive effect because it increased women’s authority in the family.  Others argue that it had a negative effect because it excluded women from politics.  Still others argue that the Revolution changed very little for women, as they remained ensconced in the home.  Write a paper in which you pose your own answer to the question of whether the American Revolution had a positive, negative, or limited effect on women.”

Using this prompt, we will look at both weak and strong thesis statements to see how successful thesis statements work.

While this thesis does take a position, it is problematic because it simply restates the prompt.  It needs to be more specific about how  the Revolution had a limited effect on women and  why it mattered that women remained in the home.

Revised Thesis:  The Revolution wrought little political change in the lives of women because they did not gain the right to vote or run for office.  Instead, women remained firmly in the home, just as they had before the war, making their day-to-day lives look much the same.

This revision is an improvement over the first attempt because it states what standards the writer is using to measure change (the right to vote and run for office) and it shows why women remaining in the home serves as evidence of limited change (because their day-to-day lives looked the same before and after the war).  However, it still relies too heavily on the information given in the prompt, simply saying that women remained in the home.  It needs to make an argument about some element of the war’s limited effect on women.  This thesis requires further revision.

Strong Thesis: While the Revolution presented women unprecedented opportunities to participate in protest movements and manage their family’s farms and businesses, it ultimately did not offer lasting political change, excluding women from the right to vote and serve in office.

Few would argue with the idea that war brings upheaval.  Your thesis needs to be debatable:  it needs to make a claim against which someone could argue.  Your job throughout the paper is to provide evidence in support of your own case.  Here is a revised version:

Strong Thesis: The Revolution caused particular upheaval in the lives of women.  With men away at war, women took on full responsibility for running households, farms, and businesses.  As a result of their increased involvement during the war, many women were reluctant to give up their new-found responsibilities after the fighting ended.

Sexism is a vague word that can mean different things in different times and places.  In order to answer the question and make a compelling argument, this thesis needs to explain exactly what  attitudes toward women were in early America, and  how those attitudes negatively affected women in the Revolutionary period.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a negative impact on women because of the belief that women lacked the rational faculties of men. In a nation that was to be guided by reasonable republican citizens, women were imagined to have no place in politics and were thus firmly relegated to the home.

This thesis addresses too large of a topic for an undergraduate paper.  The terms “social,” “political,” and “economic” are too broad and vague for the writer to analyze them thoroughly in a limited number of pages.  The thesis might focus on one of those concepts, or it might narrow the emphasis to some specific features of social, political, and economic change.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution paved the way for important political changes for women.  As “Republican Mothers,” women contributed to the polity by raising future citizens and nurturing virtuous husbands.  Consequently, women played a far more important role in the new nation’s politics than they had under British rule.

This thesis is off to a strong start, but it needs to go one step further by telling the reader why changes in these three areas mattered.  How did the lives of women improve because of developments in education, law, and economics?  What were women able to do with these advantages?  Obviously the rest of the paper will answer these questions, but the thesis statement needs to give some indication of why these particular changes mattered.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a positive impact on women because it ushered in improvements in female education, legal standing, and economic opportunity.  Progress in these three areas gave women the tools they needed to carve out lives beyond the home, laying the foundation for the cohesive feminist movement that would emerge in the mid-nineteenth century.

Thesis Checklist

When revising your thesis, check it against the following guidelines:

• Does my thesis make an historical argument?
• Does my thesis take a position that requires defending?
• Is my thesis historically specific?
• Is my thesis focused and precise?
• Does my thesis answer the question, “so what?”

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Why study history?

Why study history? Everyone who is considering enrolling in a history course at college or senior secondary levels should give some serious thought this question. It is reasonable to expect that anyone studying history has an interest in the past – but that should not be the only reason. Prospective students should also understand the importance and value of history.

Understanding the value of history

In today’s world, where the focus is very much on today and tomorrow, the value of history is often questioned or challenged.

Many people are sceptical about the practical worth of history. Some question the relevance and usefulness of studying things that happened long ago. Some believe history has little or no bearing on their lives or on the world today. Some doubt the practical value of a history qualification in the career market.

All these questions deserve some thought, particularly for aspiring history students. This page contains some brief points about the value and importance of studying history. It may be useful for those thinking about a history course, as well as teachers or parents advising young people about studying history.

A complex range of skills

Many people hold a negative or dismissive view of history. They may believe that studying history involves rote learning or memorisation and recall of facts and dates, but little else.

Anyone who has studied history at higher levels will know there is much more involved. History requires the acquisition and use of many skills. History students must develop the ability to locate, study and interpret written and visual material, in order to extract evidence and meaning. They must be adept at contextualisation, analysis, problem-solving and critical thinking.

History students also must be strong communicators, in order to express their findings clearly and effectively. History also draws on and utilises knowledge and ideas from many other disciplines, including politics, legal studies, economics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, the sciences and the arts. These skills and knowledge can be extremely useful, both in employment and in the study of other subjects.

Most employers, from both understanding and experience, understand the skills that history graduates have and the value they can offer. Here is a list of some professions and vocations that a history qualification can prepare you for:

Historian, archaeologist, conservator, museum curator, tour guide, archivist, records management, teacher, tutor, researcher, journalist, writer, editor, communications, marketing and PR, content creator, politician, policy officer, public servant, diplomat, humanitarian aid worker, social worker, administrator, management, lawyer, paralegal, human resources.

Lessons about past, present and future

For as long as human beings have studied history, cynics have dismissed it as a curious indulgence, a quaint but worthless fascination with vanished societies and dead people. This attitude was typified by American industrialist Henry Ford, who in 1916 said that “History is more or less bunk [nonsense] … the only history worth a damn is the history we make today”.

Ford’s negative view of history, while not uncommon, is narrow and misguided. History does indeed require study of the past, however, this often enhances your understanding of the modern world.

Most history courses focus on timeless themes and issues – for example, the ways in which people, communities and nations interact; the nature of power and leadership; the difficulties of government and economic management; the impact of war and conflict on societies; and the relationships between different classes, wealth, capital and labour. These themes and issues never die: only the people, places and details change.

History also provides a context that is essential for understanding the modern world. It is impossible to fully understand modern Russia and China, for example, without knowing how these societies have been shaped by imperialism, war, revolution, communism and the Cold War.

Research and interpretation

To be a successful history student or historian, you must first become a good researcher. Research is the skill of locating and gathering information and historical evidence, from many different places. This evidence can be found in a variety of forms, including documents, visual material, physical artefacts, oral and digital sources.

Historians apply their knowledge and skills to locate sources and to extract information, evidence and meaning from them. They think critically about every piece of evidence, testing and evaluating its reliability, credibility, usefulness and significance.

All this makes historians and history graduates skilled at locating, handling and evaluating information. Skills like these are not just valued in history, they are in demand in other academic disciplines and a range of professions.

Thinking and problem-solving

History can be extraordinarily complex. Historical research and interpretation requires a great deal of detective work, careful thought and problem-solving.

When locating and studying information and evidence, historians begin to build up an understanding and a ‘picture’ of the people, event or society being studied. As they delve deeper into the past, historians almost always find unanswered questions, unclear information or missing pieces of evidence.

After finishing his or her research, the historian must start looking for answers. At this point, history becomes akin to assembling a gigantic jigsaw puzzle – except there is no box or picture to serve as a guide and some of the pieces are missing. The historian must weigh up their evidence, think logically and laterally, then develop credible and justifiable arguments or theories.

Clear communication

As in other humanities disciplines, historians and history students must be effective communicators. They must develop and refine techniques in order to share their findings and conclusions.

Historians communicate in many different ways. Many prominent historians publish the findings of their research as books. Academic historians often write articles for scholarly journals, where they are peer reviewed (examined by other historians) before publication. Historians can also articulate their findings in newspaper or magazine articles, interviews, lectures, symposiums and conferences or on the Internet.

History students, in contrast, usually outline their conclusions in essays and term papers, book reports, document or image analyses, oral presentations, performances, projects, slideshows and examinations. All require you to develop a range of communication skills. These skills are used and valued in other academic disciplines, as well as various fields of employment.

A preparation for many professions

One criticism often made of history is its perceived lack of value in the career market. While commerce students go on to work in business and science students have a range of career options, a history qualification seems to offer few direct paths to employment – other than history teaching, academia or museum work.

This is an unfair representation of how useful and well regarded history qualifications can be. The skills and knowledge acquired from studying history are valued by many professions. As effective writers and communicators, many history graduates become successful journalists, copywriters, authors, editors, content managers and marketing professionals.

Being able to locate, organise and manage information has enabled many history graduates to become outstanding researchers, librarians, information managers and administrators. Other history graduates complete additional study to become lawyers, diplomats and public officials.

Politics is another career path for history graduates, some of whom have risen to high office. History is also a useful platform for a career in the military or police forces – or for further studies in economics, business management, records management, social work or psychology.

Who has studied history?

Listed below are some famous people who have studied history at college or university level. The list is far from exhaustive.

Joe Biden (US president) Gordon Brown (British prime minister) Steve Carell (American actor/comedian) King Charles (British monarch) Sacha Baron Cohen (British actor/comedian) Winston Churchill (British prime minister) Dwight D. Eisenhower (US general and president) Katherine Hepburn (American actress) Seymour Hersh (American journalist) Chris Hughes (American entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook) Kareem Abdul Jabbar (American basketballer) John F. Kennedy (American president) Henry Kissinger (American politician and diplomat) Richard Nixon (American president) Ed Norton (American actor) Conan O’Brien (American TV host) Bill O’Reilly (American broadcaster) Samuel Palmisano (American executive, CEO of IBM) Franklin D. Roosevelt (American president) Theodore Roosevelt (American president) Salman Rushdie (British author) Antonin Scalia (US Supreme Court Justice) Shakira (Colombian pop singer) Howard Stringer (Welsh executive, CEO of Sony) Louis Theroux (British documentary maker) H. G. Wells (British author) Gough Whitlam (Australian prime minister) Woodrow Wilson (American president)

History creates good citizens

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, history helps create thoughtful people and good citizens.

Unlike those in fields like mathematics or the physical sciences, history students spend most of their time studying people and societies. They learn what it means to be human. They understand the value of concepts like ethics, empathy, diversity and social justice. They know the risks and the dangers of certain ideas.

Historians and history students learn about the timeless issues and problems that affect human societies, both past and present. This equips them well to understand and work with the people in their own world.

Studying history also creates thoughtful and active citizens who are willing to participate in the political process or in their own communities. History endows many of its students and graduates with healthy scepticism – a willingness and a capacity to question their own world and perhaps find ways to make it better.

Citation information Title: ‘Why study history?’ Authors: Jennifer Llewellyn , Steve Thompson Publisher: Alpha History URL: https://alphahistory.com/why-study-history/ Date published: September 28, 2021 Date updated: November 3, 2023 Date accessed: June 09, 2024 Copyright: The content on this page may not be republished without our express permission. For more information on usage, please refer to our Terms of Use .

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Navigating Historical Debates: History Argumentative Essay Topics

Dipping your toes into the vast ocean of history is an adventure. Each dive deep into its depths brings a new perspective, a fresh understanding, or a challenging contradiction. As a student of history, you don’t just learn about the past; you argue, debate, and discuss it. That’s where “history argumentative essay topics” come in, giving you the perfect platform to exhibit your persuasive skills while furthering your historical understanding.

Table of content

The Importance of Studying History

History isn’t just a record of ancient days; it’s a vibrant tapestry woven with countless threads, each representing a story, an era, a civilization, or an individual. Understanding history empowers us to make sense of our present, forecast future patterns, and appreciate humanity’s collective journey. Delving into argumentative essays adds depth to this exploration, honing your critical thinking, research understanding, and writing prowess.

The Art of Writing an Argumentative History Essay

In a history argumentative essay, your task goes beyond presenting facts. It would help to form an opinion, defend it with strong evidence, and persuade your reader to view history through your lens. Such essays often explore controversial issues, diverse interpretations, or underrepresented perspectives, making them thrilling.

Remember, an effective argumentative essay balances rigor with creativity. Your arguments should be based on solid research, but your writing style should maintain the reader’s interest. Short sentences, active voice, and transitional words will help ensure your essay is clear, concise, and captivating.

History Argumentative Essay Topics: Your Guide to an Engaging Argument

Picking the right history argumentative essay topics is crucial. Your topic should spark your curiosity, offer ample sources for research, and pose a challenge that motivates you to explore, argue, and persuade. The past is brimming with potential argumentative essay topics, from historical events and famous figures to social movements and cultural trends.

Here are a collection of history argumentative essay topics spanning different eras, regions, and themes to get you started. Use them as they are, or let them inspire you to develop your own.

• The Crusades: Religious Devotion or Political Expediency?
• Was the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Justifiable?
• The Impact of Colonialism: Development or Exploitation?
• The Role of Women in World War II: Homefront or Battlefield?
• The American Civil War: Slavery or States’ Rights?
• The French Revolution: Fight for Liberty or Reign of Terror?
• The Renaissance: A Cultural Rebirth or a Period of Conflict?
• Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X: Who Had a Greater Impact on the Civil Rights Movement?
• The Age of Exploration: Discovery or Destruction?
• The Industrial Revolution: Progress or Plight?
• The Fall of the Roman Empire: Invaders or Internal Decay?
• Was the Cold War Inevitable Post-World War II?
• Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?
• The Impact of the Protestant Reformation: Unity or Division?
• The Age of Imperialism: Prosperity or Oppression?
• The Vietnam War: A Necessary Stand or a Futile Endeavor?
• The American Revolution: Liberty or Economic Motives?
• The Russian Revolution: People’s Uprising or Bolshevik Coup?
• The Enlightenment: Philosophical Breakthrough or Social Disruption?
• The Emancipation Proclamation: Sincere or Strategic?
• The Role of Propaganda in Nazi Germany
• Was Alexander the Great Really Great?
• The Partition of India: Religious Freedom or Colonial Divide-and-Rule?
• Did the Suffragette Movement Achieve Its Goals?
• The Cuban Missile Crisis: Near-Apocalypse or Diplomatic Triumph?
• The Influence of the Printing Press: Information Revolution or Religious Turmoil?
• The Crusades: A Pathway to Enlightenment or a Dark Age Misstep?
• The Atomic Age: A New Era or a Dangerous Precedent?
• The Impact of the Ming Dynasty on China’s Global Presence
• The American Westward Expansion: Manifest Destiny or Brutal Displacement?
• The British Raj in India: Beneficial or Destructive?
• The War of 1812: Forgotten War or Critical Conflict?
• The Cultural Revolution in China: Necessary Purge or Disastrous Policy?
• Slavery: The True Cause of the American Civil War?
• The Role of Espionage in the Cold War
• The Contributions of Nikola Tesla: Overlooked or Overrated?
• The Great Depression: Natural Economic Cycle or Result of Poor Policy?
• Was the League of Nations Doomed to Fail?
• The Impact of Napoleon’s Reign on Europe
• The Salem Witch Trials: Mass Hysteria or Religious Extremism?
• The Influence of the Ottoman Empire on Modern Middle East
• Did the Treaty of Versailles Cause World War II?
• The Role of the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe
• Manifest Destiny: Expansionism or Cultural Imperialism?
• The Impact of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire
• The Spanish Inquisition: Religious Persecution or Political Power Play?
• The Influence of the Harlem Renaissance on African American Culture
• The Ethics of Using Atomic Bombs in WWII
• The Role of Britain in the Creation of Israel
• The Egyptian Revolution of 2011: A Springboard for Democracy?
• The Effect of the Gold Rush on California’s Development
• The Role of Social Media in the Arab Spring
• The Implications of the Scramble for Africa
• The Battle of Stalingrad: Turning Point in World War II?
• The Meiji Restoration: Western Influence or Japanese Initiative?
• The Role of Women in the French Revolution
• The Impact of the Black Death on European Society
• The Effect of the Viking Raids on European History
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall: Inevitable or Surprising?
• The Contributions of the Ancient Greeks to Modern Society
• The Influence of the Catholic Church on the European Age of Discovery
• The Impact of Gunpowder on Medieval Warfare
• The Influence of the Spanish Civil War on WWII
• The Causes and Consequences of the Thirty Years’ War
• The Role of the Railroad in the Expansion of the United States
• The Significance of the Magna Carta in the Modern Legal System
• The Impact of the Silk Road on the Exchange of Cultures
• The Role of the Mafia in Prohibition
• The Effect of Charlemagne’s Reign on Europe
• The Implications of the Columbian Exchange
• The Influence of the Persian Empire on the Modern Middle East
• The Impact of Marco Polo’s Travels on Europe
• The Effect of the French Revolution on European Politics
• The Influence of the Great Schism on Christianity
• The Impact of the Space Race on the Cold War
• The Legacy of the Aztec Empire
• The Effect of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Africa
• The Role of the Knights Templar in the Crusades
• The Influence of Gutenberg’s Printing Press on the Reformation
• The Impact of the Han Dynasty on China
• The Causes and Effects of the Boxer Rebellion
• The Significance of the Pax Romana
• The Influence of Confucianism on East Asian Cultures
• The Impact of the Opium Wars on China
• The Role of the French Foreign Legion in Colonial France
• The Effect of the Suez Crisis on the Middle East
• The Influence of the Renaissance on Modern Art
• The Impact of the Zulu Nation on South Africa
• The Causes and Consequences of the Irish Potato Famine
• The Role of the Samurai in Feudal Japan
• The Effect of the Hundred Years’ War on England and France
• The Influence of the Roman Republic on Modern Democracies
• The Impact of the US Constitution on the French Revolution
• The Role of the Huns in the Fall of the Roman Empire
• The Causes and Effects of the Haitian Revolution
• The Influence of the Enlightenment on the US Constitution
• The Impact of the Homestead Act on the American West
• The Effect of the Plague of Justinian on the Byzantine Empire
• The Role of the Medici Family in the Italian Renaissance

Remember, the goal is not just to recount history but to form an argument and defend it persuasively. Use reliable sources like scholarly articles, credible news outlets, and respected history websites for your research ( History.com , JSTOR , Fordham University’s Internet History Sourcebooks Project , etc.).

Conclusion: Your Historical Argument Awaits

Choosing from these argumentative history essay topics is just the beginning. You can turn your chosen topic into a compelling essay with thorough research, careful planning, and passionate writing. As you debate the past, you’re not just learning history but contributing to its discussion. Let these argumentative essay topics be your first step toward a thrilling historical discourse.

📎 Related Articles

1. Hot Topic History: A Journey Through Pivotal Moments 2. Engaging 8th Grade Research Paper Topics for Budding Historians 3. Dive Deep into Western Civilization Research Paper Topics 4. Navigating Through the Labyrinth of Ancient History Topics 5. Stirring the Pot: Controversial Topics in History for Research Paper

Module 9: The New Deal (1932-1941)

Historical arguments and thesis statements, learning objectives.

• Evaluate historical claims and thesis statements

The Research Writing Process

In an earlier historical hack, we talked about the research writing process, as shown below:

• Understand the assignment
• Select a research topic/develop a research question
• Conduct research: find and evaluate sources
• Create your claim (make an argument)
• Synthesize evidence
• Put it together

These are guidelines to help you get started, but the process is iterative, so you may cycle through these steps several times while working towards your finished product. In this hack, we want to focus on the final three steps—once you’ve done your research and have a few ideas about what to say, how do you put it together to create your finished product?

Crafting Historical Arguments

In open-ended historical research assignments, you are almost always expected to create an argument (revisit the assignment prompt or ask your instructor if you’re unsure about this). Historical arguments are not like the arguments that you and your roommate might have about the best show on T.V. or an argument you’d have with the referee at a sporting event; historical arguments require you to pick a stance on an issue and defend it with supporting evidence.

Your objective is not to create an informal persuasive essay convincing others of your viewpoint based on your personal opinions, but an argumentative one, where you defend your stance on an issue by backing it with historical evidence. Argumentative writing is done for a formal, academic purpose— you have a compelling viewpoint on a topic, and you’ve conducted research. Now you are communicating that research and using evidence to back your claim. When you write an argumentative piece, you write as if you are the authority on the topic, a subject-matter expert.

The Differences Between Persuasive and Argumentative Writing

Check out the table below for a quick breakdown of the differences between persuasive and argumentative writing.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell a topic from an argument. If someone sees you reading an article and asks, “What’s that article about?” You might say, “It’s about photography during the Great Depression.” That’s a topic, not an argument. How do we know? You can’t disagree with “photography during the Great Depression.” An argument is something you could disagree with, like “Photography during the Great Depression was essential in bringing the realities of poverty into the public eye.”

Argumentative Statements

Understand the assignment.

Don’t forget the first step in approaching a research paper or assignment—to carefully understand what you are asked to do. Some assignments are more obviously arguments than others. They may ask you to pick an obvious side, like “Was the New Deal effective or ineffective?” Or “How do you think the government should address reparations for slavery? Or “Was the American Revolution really a revolution?”

Understanding Argumentative Statements

Other times the “argument” part is less obvious. The prompt may be more generic or broad. Let’s take a look at this option for a capstone assignment in this class:

Pick a reformer or activist involved with a social movement between 1877 and 1900. Evaluate and analyze the ideas, agenda, strategies, and effectiveness of the work done by your chosen reformer or activist. You can pick one aspect of the person’s involvement or significance to the movement to focus on in your research. You should make a claim in your final report that answers one of the questions below:

• What was the influence of your person on American life during their time period?
• What is their influence and legacy today?
• What changes came about as a direct result of their activism? 
• What obstacles stood in the way of this person from having a more significant impact on society?
• What activism methods used by your reformer were most effective, and why?
• How did their activism compare or contrast with other reform movements from the same time period?
• How are things different today because of their activism? In what ways are things the same?
• Why should people be aware of the work done by your chosen reformer?
• Can you draw any connections to a modern-day reform movement— what reform movement might they support today, and why?

With this prompt, you are tasked with creating an argument about the reformer or activist you chose. It is not simply a narrative or biography where you report about their lives, but you want to pick one of the listed questions to create an argument—something that shows your ability to take a stance (that could be debated by others) and support your view with evidence.

Activity #1

Give it a try—without even doing some research- what argumentative statement could you make about a 19th-century activist?

Let’s take a look at a more detailed example. For example, say that your chosen activist was  Bayard Rustin , a Black activist who was instrumental in organizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. What’s an argument you could make about Rustin?

Here is one option. “While you’ve heard of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech” during the 1963 March on Washington, you may not have heard of Bayard Rustin, whose involvement in planning the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was essential in propelling Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the deputy director of the March, Rustin’s background in nonviolence and vision for the March led leaders to prioritize the civil rights movement and gave public backing to the federal law prohibiting racial discrimination.”

As you’ll learn in just a moment, this argument is what becomes the thesis statement.

Begin With a Thesis

The central claim you make in your argument is called the thesis statement . A thesis consists of a specific topic and an angle on the topic. All of the other ideas in the text support and develop the thesis.

Where in the Essay Should the Thesis Be Placed?

The thesis statement is often found in the introduction, sometimes after an initial “hook” or interesting story; sometimes, however, the thesis is not explicitly stated until the end of an essay, and sometimes it is not stated at all. In those instances, there is an implied thesis statement. You can generally extract the thesis statement by looking for a few key sentences and ideas.

Most readers expect to see the point of your argument (the thesis statement) within the first few paragraphs. This does not mean that it has to be placed there every time. Some writers place it at the very end, slowly building up to it throughout their work, to explain a point after the fact. For history essays, most professors will expect to see a clearly discernible thesis sentence in the introduction.

Characteristics of a Thesis Statement

Thesis statements vary based on the rhetorical strategy of the essay, but thesis statements typically share the following characteristics:

• Presents the main idea
• Most often is one sentence
• It tells the reader what to expect
• Is a summary of the essay topic
• Usually worded to have an argumentative edge
• Written in the third person

Crafting strong argumentative writing is a skill that teaches you how to engage in research, communicate the findings of that research, and express a point of view using supporting evidence.

Link to learning

For a few more examples of how to create arguments and thesis statements, visit this helpful writing guide .

What Makes a Good Claim?

Let’s take a closer look at this process by reviewing a worked example. For this example, we will use a topic you’ve studied recently—the FDR presidency and New Deal. Let’s imagine you’ve been assigned the following prompt:

• Did New Deal spending and programs succeed in restoring American capitalism during the Great Depression, and should the government have spent more money to help the New Deal succeed, or did the New Deal spend unprecedented amounts of money on relief and recovery efforts but ultimately fail to stimulate a full economic recovery?

You’ve already examined the prompt, selected a research topic, and conducted research, and now you are ready to make your claim. First, what claim do you want to make?

Identify the Claim

Let’s look at a sample introductory paragraph that responds to this prompt. Look for the central claim made in the argument.

Example ESSAY #1

Since the stock market crash and the onset of the depression, British economists John Maynard Keynes, Roy Harrod, and others had urged western governments to stop tinkering with monetary solutions and adopt an aggressive program of government spending, especially in the areas of public works and housing, to stimulate the economy during the depression. Keynes stressed these ideas when he met with President Roosevelt, who soon complained to labor secretary Frances Perkins: “He [Keynes] left a whole rigamarole of figures. He must be a mathematician rather than a political economist.” Roosevelt’s comments about Keynes opened a window on one fundamental reason why the president’s New Deal, despite unprecedented federal spending, never achieved full economic recovery between 1933 and 1940. Although surrounded by critical advisers such as Federal Reserve chairman Marriner Eccles, who understood Keynes and his central message about the importance of government spending, Roosevelt did not grasp these ideas intellectually. He remained at heart a fiscal conservative, little different from Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt condoned government spending when necessary to “prime the pump” for recovery and combat hunger and poverty, but not as a deliberate economic recovery tool.

Let’s look at yet another example. This also responds to this same prompt which you can find again below for reference:

Example ESSAY #2

When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his inaugural address on March 4, 1933, America was in the midst of financial collapse. Banking holidays closed banks in 28 states, and investors traded their dollars for gold to have tangible wealth. The president reassured Americans” “This great Nation will endure as it has endured and will revive and will prosper.” He listed three goals to shore up capitalism through his New Deal: banking regulation, laws to curb speculation, and the establishment of a sound currency basis. Roosevelt shored up the financial sector through regulation to restore the public trust that mismanaged banks, and financial speculators had destroyed. His New Deal gave the federal government regulatory responsibility to smooth economic downturns. Over the next eight years, the New Deal’s economic practices and spending helped create recovery and restore capitalism.

Finding the Thesis Statement

You’ve found the central claims from each of these two sample essays. Quite often, the claim is the thesis statement. But sometimes, the thesis statement elaborates on the claim more by including the angle you’ll take about your claim. In the sample essay above, the thesis statement is written in reverse order, with the primary claim coming at the end, but if you read the sentences before that, you can see what the essay’s focus will be as well.”

• “Roosevelt shored up the financial sector through regulation to restore the public trust that mismanaged banks, and financial speculators had destroyed. His New Deal gave the federal government regulatory responsibility to smooth economic downturns. Over the next eight years, the New Deal’s economic practices and spending helped create recovery and restore capitalism”.”

Now we know that the rest of the essay will focus on how the New Deal’s economic practices and spending habits helped the recovery and also show 1) ways that Roosevelt shored up the financial sector and 2) gave the federal government regulatory responsibility.

Pick a reformer or activist involved with a social movement between 1877 and 1900. Pick two questions below and write a thesis statement explaining the main claim and angle you would take in an essay about the topic.

• What changes came about as a direct result of their activism?

Thesis statement #1:

Thesis statement #2:

thesis statement : a statement of the topic of the piece of writing and the angle the writer has on that topic

• Historical Hack: Crafting Historical Arguments. Authored by : Kaitlyn Connell for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Analyzing Documents Using the HAPPY Analysis. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-ushistory2/chapter/analyzing-documents-using-the-happy-analysis/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Secondary source. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_source . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• What is an argument?. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1coreq/chapter/introduction-to-what-is-an-argument/ . Project : English Composition I Corequisite. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Did the New Deal End the Great Depression?. Provided by : OpenStax. Located at : https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:WWZKMA1o@2/12-16-%F0%9F%92%AC-Did-the-New-Deal-End-the-Great-Depression . Project : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. License : CC BY: Attribution . License Terms : Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write an a+ argumentative essay.

Miscellaneous

You'll no doubt have to write a number of argumentative essays in both high school and college, but what, exactly, is an argumentative essay and how do you write the best one possible? Let's take a look.

A great argumentative essay always combines the same basic elements: approaching an argument from a rational perspective, researching sources, supporting your claims using facts rather than opinion, and articulating your reasoning into the most cogent and reasoned points. Argumentative essays are great building blocks for all sorts of research and rhetoric, so your teachers will expect you to master the technique before long.

But if this sounds daunting, never fear! We'll show how an argumentative essay differs from other kinds of papers, how to research and write them, how to pick an argumentative essay topic, and where to find example essays. So let's get started.

What Is an Argumentative Essay? How Is it Different from Other Kinds of Essays?

There are two basic requirements for any and all essays: to state a claim (a thesis statement) and to support that claim with evidence.

Though every essay is founded on these two ideas, there are several different types of essays, differentiated by the style of the writing, how the writer presents the thesis, and the types of evidence used to support the thesis statement.

Essays can be roughly divided into four different types:

#1: Argumentative #2: Persuasive #3: Expository #4: Analytical

So let's look at each type and what the differences are between them before we focus the rest of our time to argumentative essays.

Argumentative Essay

Argumentative essays are what this article is all about, so let's talk about them first.

An argumentative essay attempts to convince a reader to agree with a particular argument (the writer's thesis statement). The writer takes a firm stand one way or another on a topic and then uses hard evidence to support that stance.

An argumentative essay seeks to prove to the reader that one argument —the writer's argument— is the factually and logically correct one. This means that an argumentative essay must use only evidence-based support to back up a claim , rather than emotional or philosophical reasoning (which is often allowed in other types of essays). Thus, an argumentative essay has a burden of substantiated proof and sources , whereas some other types of essays (namely persuasive essays) do not.

You can write an argumentative essay on any topic, so long as there's room for argument. Generally, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one, so long as you support the argumentative essay with hard evidence.

Example topics of an argumentative essay:

• "Should farmers be allowed to shoot wolves if those wolves injure or kill farm animals?"
• "Should the drinking age be lowered in the United States?"
• "Are alternatives to democracy effective and/or feasible to implement?"

The next three types of essays are not argumentative essays, but you may have written them in school. We're going to cover them so you know what not to do for your argumentative essay.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative essays, so it can be easy to get them confused. But knowing what makes an argumentative essay different than a persuasive essay can often mean the difference between an excellent grade and an average one.

Persuasive essays seek to persuade a reader to agree with the point of view of the writer, whether that point of view is based on factual evidence or not. The writer has much more flexibility in the evidence they can use, with the ability to use moral, cultural, or opinion-based reasoning as well as factual reasoning to persuade the reader to agree the writer's side of a given issue.

Instead of being forced to use "pure" reason as one would in an argumentative essay, the writer of a persuasive essay can manipulate or appeal to the reader's emotions. So long as the writer attempts to steer the readers into agreeing with the thesis statement, the writer doesn't necessarily need hard evidence in favor of the argument.

Often, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one—the difference is all in the approach and the evidence you present.

Example topics of a persuasive essay:

• "Should children be responsible for their parents' debts?"
• "Should cheating on a test be automatic grounds for expulsion?"
• "How much should sports leagues be held accountable for player injuries and the long-term consequences of those injuries?"

Expository Essay

An expository essay is typically a short essay in which the writer explains an idea, issue, or theme , or discusses the history of a person, place, or idea.

This is typically a fact-forward essay with little argument or opinion one way or the other.

Example topics of an expository essay:

• "The History of the Philadelphia Liberty Bell"
• "The Reasons I Always Wanted to be a Doctor"
• "The Meaning Behind the Colloquialism ‘People in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones'"

Analytical Essay

An analytical essay seeks to delve into the deeper meaning of a text or work of art, or unpack a complicated idea . These kinds of essays closely interpret a source and look into its meaning by analyzing it at both a macro and micro level.

This type of analysis can be augmented by historical context or other expert or widely-regarded opinions on the subject, but is mainly supported directly through the original source (the piece or art or text being analyzed) .

Example topics of an analytical essay:

• "Victory Gin in Place of Water: The Symbolism Behind Gin as the Only Potable Substance in George Orwell's 1984"
• "Amarna Period Art: The Meaning Behind the Shift from Rigid to Fluid Poses"
• "Adultery During WWII, as Told Through a Series of Letters to and from Soldiers"

There are many different types of essay and, over time, you'll be able to master them all.

A Typical Argumentative Essay Assignment

The average argumentative essay is between three to five pages, and will require at least three or four separate sources with which to back your claims . As for the essay topic , you'll most often be asked to write an argumentative essay in an English class on a "general" topic of your choice, ranging the gamut from science, to history, to literature.

But while the topics of an argumentative essay can span several different fields, the structure of an argumentative essay is always the same: you must support a claim—a claim that can reasonably have multiple sides—using multiple sources and using a standard essay format (which we'll talk about later on).

This is why many argumentative essay topics begin with the word "should," as in:

• "Should all students be required to learn chemistry in high school?"
• "Should children be required to learn a second language?"
• "Should schools or governments be allowed to ban books?"

These topics all have at least two sides of the argument: Yes or no. And you must support the side you choose with evidence as to why your side is the correct one.

But there are also plenty of other ways to frame an argumentative essay as well:

• "Does using social media do more to benefit or harm people?"
• "Does the legal status of artwork or its creators—graffiti and vandalism, pirated media, a creator who's in jail—have an impact on the art itself?"
• "Is or should anyone ever be ‘above the law?'"

Though these are worded differently than the first three, you're still essentially forced to pick between two sides of an issue: yes or no, for or against, benefit or detriment. Though your argument might not fall entirely into one side of the divide or another—for instance, you could claim that social media has positively impacted some aspects of modern life while being a detriment to others—your essay should still support one side of the argument above all. Your final stance would be that overall , social media is beneficial or overall , social media is harmful.

If your argument is one that is mostly text-based or backed by a single source (e.g., "How does Salinger show that Holden Caulfield is an unreliable narrator?" or "Does Gatsby personify the American Dream?"), then it's an analytical essay, rather than an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay will always be focused on more general topics so that you can use multiple sources to back up your claims.

Good Argumentative Essay Topics

So you know the basic idea behind an argumentative essay, but what topic should you write about?

Again, almost always, you'll be asked to write an argumentative essay on a free topic of your choice, or you'll be asked to select between a few given topics . If you're given complete free reign of topics, then it'll be up to you to find an essay topic that no only appeals to you, but that you can turn into an A+ argumentative essay.

What makes a "good" argumentative essay topic depends on both the subject matter and your personal interest —it can be hard to give your best effort on something that bores you to tears! But it can also be near impossible to write an argumentative essay on a topic that has no room for debate.

As we said earlier, a good argumentative essay topic will be one that has the potential to reasonably go in at least two directions—for or against, yes or no, and why . For example, it's pretty hard to write an argumentative essay on whether or not people should be allowed to murder one another—not a whole lot of debate there for most people!—but writing an essay for or against the death penalty has a lot more wiggle room for evidence and argument.

A good topic is also one that can be substantiated through hard evidence and relevant sources . So be sure to pick a topic that other people have studied (or at least studied elements of) so that you can use their data in your argument. For example, if you're arguing that it should be mandatory for all middle school children to play a sport, you might have to apply smaller scientific data points to the larger picture you're trying to justify. There are probably several studies you could cite on the benefits of physical activity and the positive effect structure and teamwork has on young minds, but there's probably no study you could use where a group of scientists put all middle-schoolers in one jurisdiction into a mandatory sports program (since that's probably never happened). So long as your evidence is relevant to your point and you can extrapolate from it to form a larger whole, you can use it as a part of your resource material.

And if you need ideas on where to get started, or just want to see sample argumentative essay topics, then check out these links for hundreds of potential argumentative essay topics.

101 Persuasive (or Argumentative) Essay and Speech Topics

301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing

Top 50 Ideas for Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Writing

[Note: some of these say "persuasive essay topics," but just remember that the same topic can often be used for both a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay; the difference is in your writing style and the evidence you use to support your claims.]

KO! Find that one argumentative essay topic you can absolutely conquer.

Argumentative Essay Format

Argumentative Essays are composed of four main elements:

• A position (your argument)
• Your reasons
• Supporting evidence for those reasons (from reliable sources)
• Counterargument(s) (possible opposing arguments and reasons why those arguments are incorrect)

If you're familiar with essay writing in general, then you're also probably familiar with the five paragraph essay structure . This structure is a simple tool to show how one outlines an essay and breaks it down into its component parts, although it can be expanded into as many paragraphs as you want beyond the core five.

The standard argumentative essay is often 3-5 pages, which will usually mean a lot more than five paragraphs, but your overall structure will look the same as a much shorter essay.

An argumentative essay at its simplest structure will look like:

Paragraph 1: Intro

• Set up the story/problem/issue
• Thesis/claim

Paragraph 2: Support

• Reason #1 claim is correct
• Supporting evidence with sources

Paragraph 3: Support

• Reason #2 claim is correct

Paragraph 4: Counterargument

• Explanation of argument for the other side
• Refutation of opposing argument with supporting evidence

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

• Re-state claim
• Sum up reasons and support of claim from the essay to prove claim is correct

Now let's unpack each of these paragraph types to see how they work (with examples!), what goes into them, and why.

Paragraph 1—Set Up and Claim

Your first task is to introduce the reader to the topic at hand so they'll be prepared for your claim. Give a little background information, set the scene, and give the reader some stakes so that they care about the issue you're going to discuss.

Next, you absolutely must have a position on an argument and make that position clear to the readers. It's not an argumentative essay unless you're arguing for a specific claim, and this claim will be your thesis statement.

Your thesis CANNOT be a mere statement of fact (e.g., "Washington DC is the capital of the United States"). Your thesis must instead be an opinion which can be backed up with evidence and has the potential to be argued against (e.g., "New York should be the capital of the United States").

Paragraphs 2 and 3—Your Evidence

These are your body paragraphs in which you give the reasons why your argument is the best one and back up this reasoning with concrete evidence .

The argument supporting the thesis of an argumentative essay should be one that can be supported by facts and evidence, rather than personal opinion or cultural or religious mores.

For example, if you're arguing that New York should be the new capital of the US, you would have to back up that fact by discussing the factual contrasts between New York and DC in terms of location, population, revenue, and laws. You would then have to talk about the precedents for what makes for a good capital city and why New York fits the bill more than DC does.

Your argument can't simply be that a lot of people think New York is the best city ever and that you agree.

In addition to using concrete evidence, you always want to keep the tone of your essay passionate, but impersonal . Even though you're writing your argument from a single opinion, don't use first person language—"I think," "I feel," "I believe,"—to present your claims. Doing so is repetitive, since by writing the essay you're already telling the audience what you feel, and using first person language weakens your writing voice.

For example,

"I think that Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States."

"Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States."

The second statement sounds far stronger and more analytical.

Paragraph 4—Argument for the Other Side and Refutation

Even without a counter argument, you can make a pretty persuasive claim, but a counterargument will round out your essay into one that is much more persuasive and substantial.

By anticipating an argument against your claim and taking the initiative to counter it, you're allowing yourself to get ahead of the game. This way, you show that you've given great thought to all sides of the issue before choosing your position, and you demonstrate in multiple ways how yours is the more reasoned and supported side.

Paragraph 5—Conclusion

This paragraph is where you re-state your argument and summarize why it's the best claim.

Briefly touch on your supporting evidence and voila! A finished argumentative essay.

Your essay should have just as awesome a skeleton as this plesiosaur does. (In other words: a ridiculously awesome skeleton)

Argumentative Essay Example: 5-Paragraph Style

It always helps to have an example to learn from. I've written a full 5-paragraph argumentative essay here. Look at how I state my thesis in paragraph 1, give supporting evidence in paragraphs 2 and 3, address a counterargument in paragraph 4, and conclude in paragraph 5.

Topic: Is it possible to maintain conflicting loyalties?

Paragraph 1

It is almost impossible to go through life without encountering a situation where your loyalties to different people or causes come into conflict with each other. Maybe you have a loving relationship with your sister, but she disagrees with your decision to join the army, or you find yourself torn between your cultural beliefs and your scientific ones. These conflicting loyalties can often be maintained for a time, but as examples from both history and psychological theory illustrate, sooner or later, people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever.

The first two sentences set the scene and give some hypothetical examples and stakes for the reader to care about.

The third sentence finishes off the intro with the thesis statement, making very clear how the author stands on the issue ("people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever." )

Paragraphs 2 and 3

Psychological theory states that human beings are not equipped to maintain conflicting loyalties indefinitely and that attempting to do so leads to a state called "cognitive dissonance." Cognitive dissonance theory is the psychological idea that people undergo tremendous mental stress or anxiety when holding contradictory beliefs, values, or loyalties (Festinger, 1957). Even if human beings initially hold a conflicting loyalty, they will do their best to find a mental equilibrium by making a choice between those loyalties—stay stalwart to a belief system or change their beliefs. One of the earliest formal examples of cognitive dissonance theory comes from Leon Festinger's When Prophesy Fails . Members of an apocalyptic cult are told that the end of the world will occur on a specific date and that they alone will be spared the Earth's destruction. When that day comes and goes with no apocalypse, the cult members face a cognitive dissonance between what they see and what they've been led to believe (Festinger, 1956). Some choose to believe that the cult's beliefs are still correct, but that the Earth was simply spared from destruction by mercy, while others choose to believe that they were lied to and that the cult was fraudulent all along. Both beliefs cannot be correct at the same time, and so the cult members are forced to make their choice.

But even when conflicting loyalties can lead to potentially physical, rather than just mental, consequences, people will always make a choice to fall on one side or other of a dividing line. Take, for instance, Nicolaus Copernicus, a man born and raised in Catholic Poland (and educated in Catholic Italy). Though the Catholic church dictated specific scientific teachings, Copernicus' loyalty to his own observations and scientific evidence won out over his loyalty to his country's government and belief system. When he published his heliocentric model of the solar system--in opposition to the geocentric model that had been widely accepted for hundreds of years (Hannam, 2011)-- Copernicus was making a choice between his loyalties. In an attempt t o maintain his fealty both to the established system and to what he believed, h e sat on his findings for a number of years (Fantoli, 1994). But, ultimately, Copernicus made the choice to side with his beliefs and observations above all and published his work for the world to see (even though, in doing so, he risked both his reputation and personal freedoms).

These two paragraphs provide the reasons why the author supports the main argument and uses substantiated sources to back those reasons.

The paragraph on cognitive dissonance theory gives both broad supporting evidence and more narrow, detailed supporting evidence to show why the thesis statement is correct not just anecdotally but also scientifically and psychologically. First, we see why people in general have a difficult time accepting conflicting loyalties and desires and then how this applies to individuals through the example of the cult members from the Dr. Festinger's research.

The next paragraph continues to use more detailed examples from history to provide further evidence of why the thesis that people cannot indefinitely maintain conflicting loyalties is true.

Paragraph 4

Some will claim that it is possible to maintain conflicting beliefs or loyalties permanently, but this is often more a matter of people deluding themselves and still making a choice for one side or the other, rather than truly maintaining loyalty to both sides equally. For example, Lancelot du Lac typifies a person who claims to maintain a balanced loyalty between to two parties, but his attempt to do so fails (as all attempts to permanently maintain conflicting loyalties must). Lancelot tells himself and others that he is equally devoted to both King Arthur and his court and to being Queen Guinevere's knight (Malory, 2008). But he can neither be in two places at once to protect both the king and queen, nor can he help but let his romantic feelings for the queen to interfere with his duties to the king and the kingdom. Ultimately, he and Queen Guinevere give into their feelings for one another and Lancelot—though he denies it—chooses his loyalty to her over his loyalty to Arthur. This decision plunges the kingdom into a civil war, ages Lancelot prematurely, and ultimately leads to Camelot's ruin (Raabe, 1987). Though Lancelot claimed to have been loyal to both the king and the queen, this loyalty was ultimately in conflict, and he could not maintain it.

Here we have the acknowledgement of a potential counter-argument and the evidence as to why it isn't true.

The argument is that some people (or literary characters) have asserted that they give equal weight to their conflicting loyalties. The refutation is that, though some may claim to be able to maintain conflicting loyalties, they're either lying to others or deceiving themselves. The paragraph shows why this is true by providing an example of this in action.

Paragraph 5

Whether it be through literature or history, time and time again, people demonstrate the challenges of trying to manage conflicting loyalties and the inevitable consequences of doing so. Though belief systems are malleable and will often change over time, it is not possible to maintain two mutually exclusive loyalties or beliefs at once. In the end, people always make a choice, and loyalty for one party or one side of an issue will always trump loyalty to the other.

The concluding paragraph summarizes the essay, touches on the evidence presented, and re-states the thesis statement.

How to Write an Argumentative Essay: 8 Steps

Writing the best argumentative essay is all about the preparation, so let's talk steps:

#1: Preliminary Research

If you have the option to pick your own argumentative essay topic (which you most likely will), then choose one or two topics you find the most intriguing or that you have a vested interest in and do some preliminary research on both sides of the debate.

Do an open internet search just to see what the general chatter is on the topic and what the research trends are.

Did your preliminary reading influence you to pick a side or change your side? Without diving into all the scholarly articles at length, do you believe there's enough evidence to support your claim? Have there been scientific studies? Experiments? Does a noted scholar in the field agree with you? If not, you may need to pick another topic or side of the argument to support.

#2: Pick Your Side and Form Your Thesis

Now's the time to pick the side of the argument you feel you can support the best and summarize your main point into your thesis statement.

Your thesis will be the basis of your entire essay, so make sure you know which side you're on, that you've stated it clearly, and that you stick by your argument throughout the entire essay .

#3: Heavy-Duty Research Time

You've taken a gander at what the internet at large has to say on your argument, but now's the time to actually read those sources and take notes.

Check scholarly journals online at Google Scholar , the Directory of Open Access Journals , or JStor . You can also search individual university or school libraries and websites to see what kinds of academic articles you can access for free. Keep track of your important quotes and page numbers and put them somewhere that's easy to find later.

And don't forget to check your school or local libraries as well!

#4: Outline

Follow the five-paragraph outline structure from the previous section.

Fill in your topic, your reasons, and your supporting evidence into each of the categories.

Before you begin to flesh out the essay, take a look at what you've got. Is your thesis statement in the first paragraph? Is it clear? Is your argument logical? Does your supporting evidence support your reasoning?

By outlining your essay, you streamline your process and take care of any logic gaps before you dive headfirst into the writing. This will save you a lot of grief later on if you need to change your sources or your structure, so don't get too trigger-happy and skip this step.

Now that you've laid out exactly what you'll need for your essay and where, it's time to fill in all the gaps by writing it out.

Take it one step at a time and expand your ideas into complete sentences and substantiated claims. It may feel daunting to turn an outline into a complete draft, but just remember that you've already laid out all the groundwork; now you're just filling in the gaps.

If you have the time before deadline, give yourself a day or two (or even just an hour!) away from your essay . Looking it over with fresh eyes will allow you to see errors, both minor and major, that you likely would have missed had you tried to edit when it was still raw.

Take a first pass over the entire essay and try your best to ignore any minor spelling or grammar mistakes—you're just looking at the big picture right now. Does it make sense as a whole? Did the essay succeed in making an argument and backing that argument up logically? (Do you feel persuaded?)

If not, go back and make notes so that you can fix it for your final draft.

Once you've made your revisions to the overall structure, mark all your small errors and grammar problems so you can fix them in the next draft.

#7: Final Draft

Use the notes you made on the rough draft and go in and hack and smooth away until you're satisfied with the final result.

A checklist for your final draft:

• Formatting is correct according to your teacher's standards
• No errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• Essay is the right length and size for the assignment
• The argument is present, consistent, and concise
• Each reason is supported by relevant evidence
• The essay makes sense overall

#8: Celebrate!

Once you've brought that final draft to a perfect polish and turned in your assignment, you're done! Go you!

Be prepared and ♪ you'll never go hungry again ♪, *cough*, or struggle with your argumentative essay-writing again. (Walt Disney Studios)

Good Examples of Argumentative Essays Online

Theory is all well and good, but examples are key. Just to get you started on what a fully-fleshed out argumentative essay looks like, let's see some examples in action.

Check out these two argumentative essay examples on the use of landmines and freons (and note the excellent use of concrete sources to back up their arguments!).

The Use of Landmines

A Shattered Sky

The Take-Aways: Keys to Writing an Argumentative Essay

At first, writing an argumentative essay may seem like a monstrous hurdle to overcome, but with the proper preparation and understanding, you'll be able to knock yours out of the park.

Remember the differences between a persuasive essay and an argumentative one, make sure your thesis is clear, and double-check that your supporting evidence is both relevant to your point and well-sourced . Pick your topic, do your research, make your outline, and fill in the gaps. Before you know it, you'll have yourself an A+ argumentative essay there, my friend.

What's Next?

Now you know the ins and outs of an argumentative essay, but how comfortable are you writing in other styles? Learn more about the four writing styles and when it makes sense to use each .

Understand how to make an argument, but still having trouble organizing your thoughts? Check out our guide to three popular essay formats and choose which one is right for you.

Ready to make your case, but not sure what to write about? We've created a list of 50 potential argumentative essay topics to spark your imagination.

Courtney scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT in high school and went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. She is passionate about bringing education and the tools to succeed to students from all backgrounds and walks of life, as she believes open education is one of the great societal equalizers. She has years of tutoring experience and writes creative works in her free time.

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Study — History’s Value: Influence Of History Background On Modern Well-Being

History's Value: Influence of History Background on Modern Well-being

• Categories: Oral History Study

About this sample

Words: 1524 |

Published: Mar 1, 2019

Words: 1524 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

History helps us understand people and societies, history provides identity, the importance of history in our own lives, history is useful in the world of work, works cited.

• acquiring a broad range of historical knowledge and understanding, including a sense of development over time, and an appreciation of the culture and attitudes of societies other than our own
• evaluating critically the significance and utility of a large body of material, including evidence from contemporary sources and the opinions of more recent historians
• engaging directly with questions and presenting independent opinions about them in arguments that are well-written, clearly expressed, coherently organized and effectively supported by relevant evidence;
• gaining the confidence to undertake self-directed learning, making the most effective use of time and resources, and increasingly defining one’s own questions and goals.
• Carr, E. H. (1961). What is history? Random House.
• Gaddis, J. L. (2002). The landscape of history: How historians map the past. Oxford University Press.
• Hobsbawm, E. J. (2012). On history. New Press.
• Jenkins, K. (2011). Re-thinking history. Routledge.
• Marwick, A. (2006). The nature of history. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Nash, G. B. (2015). American odyssey: The United States in the twentieth century. Oxford University Press.
• Scott, J. W. (1991). The evidence of experience. Critical inquiry, 17(4), 773-797.
• Tosh, J. (2017). The pursuit of history: Aims, methods and new directions in the study of history. Routledge.
• White, H. (2014). The content of the form: Narrative discourse and historical representation. JHU Press.
• Wineburg, S. S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts: Charting the future of teaching the past. Temple University Press.

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How to Write an Argumentative Essay | Examples & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An argumentative essay expresses an extended argument for a particular thesis statement . The author takes a clearly defined stance on their subject and builds up an evidence-based case for it.

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Table of contents

When do you write an argumentative essay, approaches to argumentative essays, introducing your argument, the body: developing your argument, concluding your argument, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about argumentative essays.

You might be assigned an argumentative essay as a writing exercise in high school or in a composition class. The prompt will often ask you to argue for one of two positions, and may include terms like “argue” or “argument.” It will frequently take the form of a question.

The prompt may also be more open-ended in terms of the possible arguments you could make.

Argumentative writing at college level

At university, the vast majority of essays or papers you write will involve some form of argumentation. For example, both rhetorical analysis and literary analysis essays involve making arguments about texts.

In this context, you won’t necessarily be told to write an argumentative essay—but making an evidence-based argument is an essential goal of most academic writing, and this should be your default approach unless you’re told otherwise.

Examples of argumentative essay prompts

At a university level, all the prompts below imply an argumentative essay as the appropriate response.

Your research should lead you to develop a specific position on the topic. The essay then argues for that position and aims to convince the reader by presenting your evidence, evaluation and analysis.

• Don’t just list all the effects you can think of.
• Do develop a focused argument about the overall effect and why it matters, backed up by evidence from sources.
• Don’t just provide a selection of data on the measures’ effectiveness.
• Do build up your own argument about which kinds of measures have been most or least effective, and why.
• Don’t just analyze a random selection of doppelgänger characters.
• Do form an argument about specific texts, comparing and contrasting how they express their thematic concerns through doppelgänger characters.

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An argumentative essay should be objective in its approach; your arguments should rely on logic and evidence, not on exaggeration or appeals to emotion.

There are many possible approaches to argumentative essays, but there are two common models that can help you start outlining your arguments: The Toulmin model and the Rogerian model.

Toulmin arguments

The Toulmin model consists of four steps, which may be repeated as many times as necessary for the argument:

• Make a claim
• Provide the grounds (evidence) for the claim
• Explain the warrant (how the grounds support the claim)
• Discuss possible rebuttals to the claim, identifying the limits of the argument and showing that you have considered alternative perspectives

The Toulmin model is a common approach in academic essays. You don’t have to use these specific terms (grounds, warrants, rebuttals), but establishing a clear connection between your claims and the evidence supporting them is crucial in an argumentative essay.

Say you’re making an argument about the effectiveness of workplace anti-discrimination measures. You might:

• Claim that unconscious bias training does not have the desired results, and resources would be better spent on other approaches
• Cite data to support your claim
• Explain how the data indicates that the method is ineffective
• Anticipate objections to your claim based on other data, indicating whether these objections are valid, and if not, why not.

Rogerian arguments

The Rogerian model also consists of four steps you might repeat throughout your essay:

• Discuss what the opposing position gets right and why people might hold this position
• Highlight the problems with this position
• Present your own position , showing how it addresses these problems
• Suggest a possible compromise —what elements of your position would proponents of the opposing position benefit from adopting?

This model builds up a clear picture of both sides of an argument and seeks a compromise. It is particularly useful when people tend to disagree strongly on the issue discussed, allowing you to approach opposing arguments in good faith.

Say you want to argue that the internet has had a positive impact on education. You might:

• Acknowledge that students rely too much on websites like Wikipedia
• Argue that teachers view Wikipedia as more unreliable than it really is
• Suggest that Wikipedia’s system of citations can actually teach students about referencing
• Suggest critical engagement with Wikipedia as a possible assignment for teachers who are skeptical of its usefulness.

You don’t necessarily have to pick one of these models—you may even use elements of both in different parts of your essay—but it’s worth considering them if you struggle to structure your arguments.

Regardless of which approach you take, your essay should always be structured using an introduction , a body , and a conclusion .

Like other academic essays, an argumentative essay begins with an introduction . The introduction serves to capture the reader’s interest, provide background information, present your thesis statement , and (in longer essays) to summarize the structure of the body.

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how a typical introduction works.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

The body of an argumentative essay is where you develop your arguments in detail. Here you’ll present evidence, analysis, and reasoning to convince the reader that your thesis statement is true.

In the standard five-paragraph format for short essays, the body takes up three of your five paragraphs. In longer essays, it will be more paragraphs, and might be divided into sections with headings.

Each paragraph covers its own topic, introduced with a topic sentence . Each of these topics must contribute to your overall argument; don’t include irrelevant information.

This example paragraph takes a Rogerian approach: It first acknowledges the merits of the opposing position and then highlights problems with that position.

Hover over different parts of the example to see how a body paragraph is constructed.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

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An argumentative essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes and reflects on the arguments made in the body.

No new arguments or evidence appear here, but in longer essays you may discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your argument and suggest topics for future research. In all conclusions, you should stress the relevance and importance of your argument.

Hover over the following example to see the typical elements of a conclusion.

The internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. The internet’s dangers, real and imaginary, have been documented exhaustively by skeptics, but the internet is here to stay; it is time to focus seriously on its potential for good.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

The majority of the essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Unless otherwise specified, you can assume that the goal of any essay you’re asked to write is argumentative: To convince the reader of your position using evidence and reasoning.

In composition classes you might be given assignments that specifically test your ability to write an argumentative essay. Look out for prompts including instructions like “argue,” “assess,” or “discuss” to see if this is the goal.

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Supplement to Argument and Argumentation

Historical supplement: argumentation in the history of philosophy.

Arguments and argumentation figure prominently in most (if not all) influential philosophical traditions. This Supplement presents argumentation as discussed in five prominent traditions from the past: ancient Greek, classical Indian, classical Chinese, medieval Latin, and medieval Islamicate philosophy. The goal is not to present an exhaustive historical account of these developments, but rather to offer a sample of reflections on argumentation in five noteworthy philosophical traditions.

2.2 Islamicate

1. ancient traditions.

Argumentative practices in ancient Greece constitute one of the main historical examples of a well-developed argumentative tradition (Dutilh Novaes 2020: ch. 5). The relevant sociopolitical background is that of Athenian democracy (508 to 322 BCE), where citizens could participate in decisions pertaining to governance of the city (M. Hansen 1977–81 [1991]). The three main political bodies were the assembly, the boule, and the courts of law; in all three, decisions were reached on the basis of extensive debates. Thus, being a persuasive orator was of paramount importance for a citizen, both to obtain votes in the assembly and to argue for a legal case in court.

In this setting, those who could train citizens to become skilled orators had something immensely valuable to offer. Many of the well-known thinkers of this period were exactly that: itinerant professional teachers who became collectively known as the Sophists (Notomi 2014; see entry on the Sophists ). But with the end of the so-called golden age of Athenian democracy and the disastrous results of the Peloponnesian Wars (431–404 BCE) for Athens, this mode of discursive engagement came to be criticized as a sign of the failure of democracy as a political system. Plato famously (and somewhat unfairly) offers harsh criticism of the Sophists in his dialogues (e.g., the Gorgias , the Republic ; see entry on Plato ): according to Plato, they only aim at shallow persuasion rather than at the truth (Irani 2017).

Plato promotes a different style of argumentative discourse: instead of the long speeches of the rhetoricians, and following his teacher Socrates (see entry on Socrates ), he favors dialogical interactions where speakers take turns in quick succession, in what became known as dialectical encounters . Dialectic seems to have predated Socrates and Plato, as the Eleatic philosophers (Parmenides, Zeno) were apparently already practitioners of this kind of discourse (Castelnérac & Marion 2009; see entry on Zeno of Elea ). But Plato was arguably the first to reflect and theorize on these different styles of argumentation.

What does a dialectical encounter look like, concretely? There are a number of detailed reconstructions of the basic features of this practice in the literature (Castelnérac & Marion 2009; Fink 2012). Aristotle’s Topics and its “ninth chapter”, the Sophistical Refutations , may be read as the (presumably) first regimentation/systematization of these practices, thus providing support for a general description thereof:

First of all there are the agents: the questioner and the answerer. There may also have been an audience ( Sophistical Refutations 16 175a20–30). The questioner has two main jobs: first, to extract a thesis, the “starting point” for the debate from the answerer; second, to try to force the answerer to admit the contradictory of that starting point, by getting the answerer to agree to certain premises. Alternatively, the questioner can try to reduce the thesis to absurdity. In either case, the questioner aims to refute the answerer. Crucially, the starting point should be something that can be affirmed or denied ( Topics 8.2. 158a14–22). For example, “what is knowledge?” would not be allowed as a starting point, as the answerer cannot reply “yes” or “no”. The answerer, on the other hand, has only one task, which is to remain un-refuted within a fixed time ( Topics 8.10. 161a1–15). If the answerer is refuted, then the answer should make clear that it is not their fault, but is due solely to the starting point ( Topics 8.4. 159a18–22) (Duncombe & Dutilh Novaes 2016: 3).

A key component of dialectic is the concept of refutation , or elenchus in Greek: questioner aims at refutation, answerer tries to avoid being refuted. Readers of Plato will recall the numerous instances where Socrates, by means of questions, elicits various discursive commitments from his interlocutors, only to show that, taken together, these commitments are incoherent. The interlocutor is thus refuted , and must revise their previous discursive commitments so as to restore coherence. But beyond these basic details, there is much discussion in the literature on how best to understand the concept of elenchus (Wolfsdorf 2013).

Practices of dialectic provided the background for the emergence of the first fully-fledged logical system in history, Aristotle’s syllogistic, as described in the Prior Analytics (Dutilh Novaes 2020: ch. 6; see entry on Aristotle’s logic ). Syllogistic differs from dialectic more generally in that it views as valid only arguments having the property of necessary truth-preservation (i.e., deductive arguments), whereas dialectic also allows for inductive and analogical arguments (as attested by the wide range of arguments used in Plato’s dialogues). But Aristotle remained equally interested in dialectic more generally, as attested by his manuals on how to argue well in dialectical encounters, the Topics and the Sophistical Refutations , and by the extensive discussions on dialectic even in the Prior Analytics . A key concept introduced by Aristotle in the Sophistical Refutations is that of fallacies , i.e., arguments that appear correct but are ultimately incorrect, thus leading to faulty conclusions (see entry on fallacies ). For millennia (and to this day), the identification and study of fallacies remained one of the main instruments to study argumentation.

Plato and Aristotle were not the only Greek thinkers interested in dialectic (see entry on the dialectical school ). Later authors continued to discuss the concept of dialectic, even if it acquired different meanings for different authors and traditions (see entry on ancient logic ). The Stoics are particularly worth mentioning, as they are credited with developing the first fully-fledged propositional logic, where the validity of arguments is analyzed by means of schemata where numbers take the place of propositions (whereas in Aristotle’s syllogistic, letters take the place of terms). Modus Ponens, for example, was formulated by the Stoics as:

If the 1 st , then the 2 nd . But the 1 st , therefore the 2 nd

(See entry on ancient logic .) In sum, a concern with rational discourse and argumentation was a constant element in ancient Greek philosophy, from the early stages with pre-Socratic thinkers all the way until late antiquity.

The classical Indian tradition shares with the ancient Greek tradition the pervasiveness of debating practices. In fact, it might seem that Indian thinkers relished engaging in lively debates even more than their Greek peers, as attested by their sophisticated reflections on argumentation (both for instruction and practice, and as theoretical investigations; Matilal 1998: chs 2 and 3; Solomon 1976). As is well known, classical Indian philosophy is extremely diverse, branching into a plethora of schools. These essentially fall within two groups: Brahmanical schools, which accepted the validity of the Vedic sacred texts (such as Nyāya and Yoga), and schools that rejected the authority of the Vedas (such as Buddhism and Jainism). There was much disagreement among these different schools, thus generating ample opportunity for lively discussions.

While the emergence of sustained debating practices in ancient Greece was greatly influenced by the political background, in India debating practices emerged as a response to different circumstances, in particular to address metaphysical, epistemological and religious issues (see entry on epistemology in classical Indian philosophy ). The historical record suggests that kings and rulers encouraged and patronized such debates between sages, thus providing an institutional, social embedding quite different from the background for intellectual endeavors in ancient Greece. On the whole, while the Greeks were primarily interested in moral and political issues, Indian thinkers mainly focused on ontological, epistemological, medical, and religious questions such as the distinction of the soul from the body, the purpose of life, the different sources of knowledge, and the existence of the after-life (Matilal 1998; though these discussions also had moral implications).

The popularity of debates dates back to the early stages in the history of Indian thought (as early as 1700 BCE), but the first theories of argumentation only appeared around the time of the Buddha and other religious reformers (6 th century BCE). By the third and second centuries BCE, monks and Brahmans were required to have training in the art of debating. Debating manuals were written within the different sectarian schools (Matilal 1998), containing accounts of highly regimented debating practices displaying the same level of sophistication (if not beyond) as Greek dialectic (see entry on logic in classical Indian philosophy ). The Indian authors distinguished between friendly, honest debates, where presumably the common goal was the search for truth, from competitive ones where the goal was mere victory. In the influential Nyāya-sūtra manual, attributed to Akṣapāda Gautama and widely available by 150 CE (exact dates of composition are uncertain), the former were called vāda , while the latter were called jalpa and vitaṇḍā (Nicholson 2010). These manuals contained instructions on how to perform at honest debates as well as discussions of clever argumentative tricks that may be used by disputatious opponents in competitive debates, so as to help the novice to identify and rebut these tricks (Prets 2001). In particular, Indian philosophers also developed sophisticated theories of fallacies (Phillips 2017) that served purposes similar to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations (Ganeri 2001).

Indian philosophical discussions also tend to have a strong epistemological focus, with a concern for the nature of evidence and discussions on the means of knowledge, pramāṇa s (see entry on epistemology in classical Indian philosophy ). The Nyāya-sūtra , for example, can be read as offering a formulation of acceptable and sound methods for philosophical discourse and inquiry. Inference ( anumāna ) was viewed by the Nyāya philosophers (as well as by other schools of thought) as one of the pramāṇa s, one of the means of knowledge. But Indian thinkers saw no contradiction between dialectical and epistemological approaches; as is clear in particular in the works of the influential fifth–sixth century CE Buddhist thinker Dignāga, inference—the cognitive process taking one from the known to the unknown—and argument—a device of persuasion—are but two sides of a single coin (see entry on logic in classical Indian philosophy, section 4 ).

There is much discussion among scholars on whether earlier Indian thinkers did or did not draw a sharp distinction between (what we now call) deductive and inductive reasoning (Siderits 2003), and between monotonic and non-monotonic reasoning (Taber 2004). Inferential knowledge was typically viewed as the product of repeated observations of individual cases, and many authors from the earlier period seemed to view these inferences as sufficiently reliable; an exception were some skeptical thinkers, who emphasized precisely the fact that these inferences were not necessarily truth-preserving (Matilal 1998; Siderits 2003). By contrast, later authors, in particular Dignāga, explicitly recognized arguments having the property of necessary truth-preservation as comprising a special class of arguments. Indeed, over the centuries theories and practices of argumentation in the Indian tradition continued to evolve, thus offering much valuable material for those interested in the history of theories of argumentation.

Chinese intellectuals were also deeply interested in argumentation (C. Hansen 1983), a practice described as biàn or biàn shuō in classical Chinese texts. In particular, the thinkers associated with the “School of Names” were especially keen on disputations, including idle contests of wits (at least according to their critics). Indeed, some of these thinkers have been described as the “Chinese sophists”, given the (at least superficial) similarities with the Greek sophists (see entry on the School of Names ). Moreover, Chinese thinkers also dealt with contexts of “mass persuasion”, that is persuasion of large groups of people (even if they were not fellow citizens like in Greece), such as groups of followers of different masters.

Biàn is in fact a more general concept, its core meaning pertaining to drawing distinctions,

as a verb referring to the act of distinguishing or discriminating things from each other and as a noun referring to distinctions. (Fraser 2013: 4)

But for these classical Chinese thinkers, a debate or argument is in fact an activity primarily aimed at drawing distinctions , hence the secondary meaning the term acquired as referring to disputation and argument. Essentially, the question in a disputation is usually whether a given name is suitably applied to a given object (or event), as revealed by a passage from the Mohist Dialectics (A74, as cited in the entry on Mohist canons (note 25) ):

Canon: Biàn is contending over converses. Winning in biàn is fitting the thing. Explanation: One calls it “ox”, the other calls it “non-ox”. This is contending over converses. These do not jointly fit the object. If they do not jointly fit, it must be that one does not fit.

While this may seem like an idle discussion, Chinese thinkers took the rectification of names to be of paramount importance. If speakers do not use names and terms uniformly, chaos and anarchy will ensue. In particular, they will not be able to follow commands as intended by their superiors, as these thinkers emphasized the action-guiding over the descriptive functions of language (see entry on the School of Names, supplement “Disputation in context” ).

While intellectuals of all main traditions in the classical period discussed (and presumably engaged in) biàn , there are three main (interrelated) accounts of argumentation in classical Chinese thought: that of the early Mohists in their rebuttal of fatalism, that of the later Mohist dialectic, and that of Xúnzǐ (a prominent thinker in the Confucian tradition; Fraser 2013). And yet, while they contain sophisticated analyses of proper and improper uses of language in disputations, they remain fundamentally different from the theories of argumentation found in Aristotle’s texts, for example, in particular in that there is no explicit articulation of inferential rules and principles—even if implicitly they seem to endorse certain principles, such as the principle of non-contradiction when stating that something cannot both be called “ox” and “non-ox” (see passage quoted above). The key concept in the Chinese context is that of analogy:

inference is thus understood as the act of distinguishing something as a certain kind of thing on the basis of having distinguished it as similar to a relevant “model” or “standard”. (Fraser 2013: 4)

As noted above, analogical reasoning is also widely present in the Greek tradition, but in the latter it coexists with other modes of reasoning, including deductive reasoning. In this respect, we may say that the property of necessary truth-preservation did not stand out for the Chinese thinkers, who were primarily concerned with language-world relations rather than with relations between sentences (as part of a more general pragmatic intellectual orientation). So here again we have an argumentative tradition tailored to the needs of its practitioners in their own sociocultural circumstances.

2. Medieval Traditions

The Latin medieval intellectual tradition is commonly thought to span from Boethius in the sixth century up to the fifteenth century and beyond. The common denominators were the use of Latin as lingua franca and its (institutional as well as intellectual) proximity with Christianity. A focus on debating and argumentation is a crucial feature of this tradition, in particular as crystalized in what is known as scholastic disputation . Scholastic disputation is a formalized, rigorous procedure for debate, based on fairly strict rules, which became one of the main approaches for intellectual inquiry in medieval Europe (Novikoff 2013). Inspired by ancient Greek argumentation methods, it was then further developed in the monasteries of the early Middle Ages. It reached its pinnacle from the twelfth century onwards, especially with the birth and growth of universities, where it became one of the main teaching methods (see entry on literary forms of medieval philosophy ). The influence of disputations went well beyond universities, expanding towards multiple spheres of cultural life.

Schematically, such disputations may be described thus:

[A disputation] is a regular form of teaching, apprenticeship and research, presided over by a master, characterized by a dialectical method which consists of bringing forward and examining arguments based on reason and authority which oppose one another on a given theoretical or practical problem and which are furnished by participants, and where the master must come to a doctrinal solution by an act of determination which confirms him in his function as master. (Bazán, Wippel, Fransen, & Jacquart 1985: 40; as quoted in the entry on literary forms of medieval philosophy )

In other words, a disputation starts with a statement, and then goes on to examine arguments in favor and against the statement. A disputation is essentially a dialogical practice in that it features two (possibly fictive) parties disagreeing on a given statement and producing arguments to defend their respective positions, even if both roles can be played by one and the same person. The goal may simply be that of convincing an interlocutor and/or the audience, but the implication is typically that something deeper is achieved, namely coming closer to the truth by examining the question from many different angles (Angelelli 1970).

Medieval intellectuals engaged in “live” disputations, both privately, between a master and a pupil, and as grand public events attended by the university community at large (Novikoff 2013). Moreover, the general structure is used extensively in some of the most prominent writings by these authors (some of them are in fact written-up versions of disputations actually having taken place, known as reportatio ). For example, Aquinas’ Summa Theologica —possibly the most influential work from the scholastic tradition—follows the structure of a disputation, with arguments for and against specific claims being examined (see entry on Thomas Aquinas ). Indeed, disputation became one of the chief methods for intellectual inquiry in general, and medieval treatises on philosophical topics typically contain a fair amount of disputational vocabulary. The widespread presence of disputation and related genres has been described as “the institutionalization of conflict” in scholasticism (see entry on literary forms of medieval philosophy ).

Logical textbooks were expected to provide the required training to excel in the art of disputation, with chapters on fallacies, consequence, the logical structure and meaning of propositions, obligationes (a special kind of disputation) etc., all of which are directly relevant for the art of disputation (see entries on medieval theories of consequence , properties of terms , and obligationes ). In fact, to a great extent Latin medieval authors did not differentiate between “ logica ” and “ dialectica ”, as attested by the fact that a number of influential logical textbooks—Abelard’s De Dialectica , Buridan’s Summulae de dialectica —bore the term “ dialectica ” in their titles. As late as in the sixteenth century, the Spanish scholastic author Domingo de Soto still defined dialectic/logic as “the art or science of disputing” (Ashworth 2011).

But elsewhere, Renaissance authors such as Lorenzo Valla (Nauta 2009; see entry on Lorenzo Valla ) were harsh critics of the genre of scholastic disputation. These authors deplored the lack of applicability of scholastic logic; Valla for example saw syllogisms as an artificial type of reasoning, useless for orators on account of being too far removed from natural ways of speaking and arguing. They condemned the cumbersome, artificial and overly technical Latin of scholastic authors, and defended a return to the classical Latin of Cicero and Vergil. Many Renaissance authors did not belong to the university system, where scholasticism was still the norm in the fifteenth century; instead, many were civil servants, and were thus involved in politics, administration, and civic life in general. As such, they were much more interested in rhetoric and persuasion than in logic and demonstration (Dutilh Novaes 2017).

The demise of scholasticism was a gradual process, and for centuries the logic taught at universities was still based on general Aristotelian theories such as syllogistic. But as a whole, logic and argumentation became less prominent topics of discussion for thinkers in the early modern period (Dutilh Novaes 2020: ch. 7). One exception is the so-called Port Royal Logic (1662), which presented itself explicitly as a manual on the art of thinking, but which contains extensive discussions on modes of arguing as well (see entry on Port Royal logic ).

With the advent of Islam in the seventh century, a new cultural and intellectual tradition was initiated; alongside the novelty of Islam, it drew significantly from earlier sources such as ancient Greek philosophy and also Persian and Arabic sources (among others). (The term “Islamicate” is used to refer to what pertains to regions in which Muslims are culturally dominant, but not specifically to the religion of Islam as such.) The primary language of learning in this tradition was Arabic, but significant texts were also written in Persian, Turkish and Hebrew (among other languages).

In this tradition, the term jadal was generally used to refer to argumentative practices and accompanying theories; it is commonly translated as “dialectic” or “disputation theory” (Young 2017; Miller 2020). Islamicate theories of argumentation come in many kinds, emerging within specific fields of inquiry such as theology and later jurisprudence, but also as domain-independent reflections on how to reason and argue well, in particular but not exclusively in connection with logic and ancient Greek sources such as Aristotle (see entry on Arabic and Islamic philosophy of language and logic ).

The advent of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) marked the beginning of systematic efforts to translate a wide range of ancient Greek texts, in particular texts by Aristotle and his commentators, under the protection and sponsorship of these rulers. The translation movement culminated around 830 in the circle of al-Kindî in Baghdad, and inaugurated the intellectual tradition of falsafa (an alliteration for the Greek word “ philosophia ”), which, at least initially, was viewed as a competitor for the “local” traditions of kalam (rational theology) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) (Miller 2020; see entries on Greek sources in Arabic and Islamic philosophy and on Arabic and Islamic natural philosophy and natural science ). The latter also offered accounts of reasoning and argumentation (in their specific domains), but until the eleventh century there was little cross-pollination between them and Greek-inspired logic and philosophy.

The earliest fully-fledged theories of jadal emerged in theological contexts, around the turn of the ninth to the tenth century (Miller 2020: ch. 2). For these theologians, jadal is a method for attaining truth, used by God in disputing with the Jews, and taught by God to his prophet. The focus is thus predominantly epistemological, but jadal is said to explicitly involve at least two people (thus being different from solitary speculation) who exchange questions and answers. The ultimate goal is to defend and prove the truth of Islam in contexts of religious disputes. The authors in this tradition wrote detailed treatises that included discussions of rules of conduct during debates, objections and counter-objections, and signs of defeat. The theological tradition of jadal then provided the substratum for the development of dialectical theories of jurisprudence (Miller 2020: ch. 4).

Within falsafa , argumentation was initially studied from the perspective of the Aristotelian Organon . By the early tenth century, a group of self-declared Peripatetics in Baghdad presented themselves as the defenders of Aristotelian orthodoxy. The most famous member of this group was al-Farabi, who composed a series of commentaries on the books of the Organon , including an influential commentary on Aristotle’s Topics , which was known as the Book of Dialectic ( Kitāb al-Jadal ; (DiPasquale 2019; see entries on al-Farabi and al-Farabi’s philosophy of logic and language ). At this stage, unsurprisingly, these thinkers were predominantly interested in the key topics of Aristotle’s logical canon such as syllogistic, dialectic, and demonstration, and developed detailed theories on argumentation (Miller 2020: ch. 3).

All this was to change thanks to the larger-than-life figure of Ibn Sina (Avicenna; ca. 970–1037; see entry on Ibn Sina ). Ibn Sina reoriented the Aristotelian conception of logic as closely connected with dialectic and argumentation towards a more epistemological, mentalistic approach (see entry on Ibn Sina’s logic ). Ibn Sina went on to become the most influential thinker in the Islamicate tradition in subsequent centuries, and this meant that the study of logic, referred to as mantiq , became by and large divorced from jadal .

In later periods, the “foreign” theories of the falsafa tradition were finally (partially) incorporated into the original traditions in jurisprudence, law and theology, in particular with the rise of the madrasa system starting in the late eleventh century (El-Rouayheb 2016; madrasas were official institutions of learning, functionally similar to European universities). In the madrasas, the Arabic scholastic method became consolidated and widely disseminated (see entry on Arabic and Islamic philosophy of language and logic ). But theories of disputation tended to be studied as an independent discipline, called “the science of disputation” ( 'ilm al-munazara ) or “the rules of discussion” ( ādāb al-baḥth ), whereas logic ( mantiq ) remained focused on epistemological concerns. As described by Miller (2020: 103),

ādāb al-baḥth emerged as an independent intellectual discipline and literary genre by adopting concepts from Aristotelian logic and philosophy as well as rules formulated in the context of both juridical and theological dialectics. (The earliest works in the ādāb al-baḥth tradition date to the first half of the 14 th century)

Thus, over the centuries, authors and thinkers in the Islamic World produced sophisticated theories of argumentation, and this from different angles, in particular theology, law, and philosophy.

Copyright © 2021 by Catarina Dutilh Novaes < cdutilhnovaes @ gmail . com >

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The Big List of Essay Topics for High School (120+ Ideas!)

Ideas to inspire every young writer!

High school students generally do a lot of writing, learning to use language clearly, concisely, and persuasively. When it’s time to choose an essay topic, though, it’s easy to come up blank. If that’s the case, check out this huge round-up of essay topics for high school. You’ll find choices for every subject and writing style.

• Argumentative Essay Topics
• Cause-and-Effect Essay Topics
• Compare-Contrast Essay Topics
• Descriptive Essay Topics
• Expository and Informative Essay Topics
• Humorous Essay Topics

Literary Essay Topics

• Narrative and Personal Essay Topics
• Personal Essay Topics
• Persuasive Essay Topics

Research Essay Topics

Argumentative essay topics for high school.

When writing an argumentative essay, remember to do the research and lay out the facts clearly. Your goal is not necessarily to persuade someone to agree with you, but to encourage your reader to accept your point of view as valid. Here are some possible argumentative topics to try. ( Here are 100 more compelling argumentative essay topics. )

• The most important challenge our country is currently facing is … (e.g., immigration, gun control, economy)
• The government should provide free internet access for every citizen.
• All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed.
• Vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco.
• The best country in the world is …
• Parents should be punished for their minor children’s crimes.
• Should all students have the ability to attend college for free?
• Should physical education be part of the standard high school curriculum?

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• Schools should require recommended vaccines for all students, with very limited exceptions.
• Is it acceptable to use animals for experiments and research?
• Does social media do more harm than good?
• Capital punishment does/does not deter crime.
• What one class should all high schools students be required to take and pass in order to graduate?
• Do we really learn anything from history, or does it just repeat itself over and over?
• Are men and women treated equally?

Cause-and-Effect Essay Topics for High School

A cause-and-effect essay is a type of argumentative essay. Your goal is to show how one specific thing directly influences another specific thing. You’ll likely need to do some research to make your point. Here are some ideas for cause-and-effect essays. ( Get a big list of 100 cause-and-effect essay topics here. )

• Humans are causing accelerated climate change.
• Fast-food restaurants have made human health worse over the decades.
• What caused World War II? (Choose any conflict for this one.)
• Describe the effects social media has on young adults.

• How does playing sports affect people?
• What are the effects of loving to read?
• Being an only/oldest/youngest/middle child makes you …
• What effect does violence in movies or video games have on kids?
• Traveling to new places opens people’s minds to new ideas.
• Racism is caused by …

Compare-Contrast Essay Topics for High School

As the name indicates, in compare-and-contrast essays, writers show the similarities and differences between two things. They combine descriptive writing with analysis, making connections and showing dissimilarities. The following ideas work well for compare-contrast essays. ( Find 80+ compare-contrast essay topics for all ages here. )

• Public and private schools
• Capitalism vs. communism
• Monarchy or democracy
• Dogs vs. cats as pets

• Paper books or e-books
• Two political candidates in a current race
• Going to college vs. starting work full-time
• Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
• iPhone or Android
• Instagram vs. Twitter (or choose any other two social media platforms)

Descriptive Essay Topics for High School

Bring on the adjectives! Descriptive writing is all about creating a rich picture for the reader. Take readers on a journey to far-off places, help them understand an experience, or introduce them to a new person. Remember: Show, don’t tell. These topics make excellent descriptive essays.

• Who is the funniest person you know?
• What is your happiest memory?
• Tell about the most inspirational person in your life.
• Write about your favorite place.
• When you were little, what was your favorite thing to do?
• Choose a piece of art or music and explain how it makes you feel.
• What is your earliest memory?

• What’s the best/worst vacation you’ve ever taken?
• Describe your favorite pet.
• What is the most important item in the world to you?
• Give a tour of your bedroom (or another favorite room in your home).
• Describe yourself to someone who has never met you.
• Lay out your perfect day from start to finish.
• Explain what it’s like to move to a new town or start a new school.
• Tell what it would be like to live on the moon.

Expository and Informative Essay Topics for High School

Expository essays set out clear explanations of a particular topic. You might be defining a word or phrase or explaining how something works. Expository or informative essays are based on facts, and while you might explore different points of view, you won’t necessarily say which one is “better” or “right.” Remember: Expository essays educate the reader. Here are some expository and informative essay topics to explore. ( See 70+ expository and informative essay topics here. )

• What makes a good leader?
• Explain why a given school subject (math, history, science, etc.) is important for students to learn.
• What is the “glass ceiling” and how does it affect society?
• Describe how the internet changed the world.
• What does it mean to be a good teacher?

• Explain how we could colonize the moon or another planet.
• Discuss why mental health is just as important as physical health.
• Describe a healthy lifestyle for a teenager.
• Choose an American president and explain how their time in office affected the country.
• What does “financial responsibility” mean?

Humorous Essay Topics for High School

Humorous essays can take on any form, like narrative, persuasive, or expository. You might employ sarcasm or satire, or simply tell a story about a funny person or event. Even though these essay topics are lighthearted, they still take some skill to tackle well. Give these ideas a try.

• What would happen if cats (or any other animal) ruled the world?
• What do newborn babies wish their parents knew?
• Explain the best ways to be annoying on social media.
• Invent a wacky new sport, explain the rules, and describe a game or match.

• Imagine a discussion between two historic figures from very different times, like Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I.
• Retell a familiar story in tweets or other social media posts.
• Describe present-day Earth from an alien’s point of view.
• Choose a fictional character and explain why they should be the next president.
• Describe a day when kids are in charge of everything, at school and at home.

Literary essays analyze a piece of writing, like a book or a play. In high school, students usually write literary essays about the works they study in class. These literary essay topic ideas focus on books students often read in high school, but many of them can be tweaked to fit other works as well.

• Discuss the portrayal of women in Shakespeare’s Othello .
• Explore the symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter .
• Explain the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men .
• Compare and contrast the romantic relationships in Pride and Prejudice .

• Dissect the allegory of Animal Farm and its relation to contemporary events.
• Interpret the author’s take on society and class structure in The Great Gatsby .
• Explore the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia.
• Discuss whether Shakespeare’s portrayal of young love in Romeo and Juliet is accurate.
• Explain the imagery used in Beowulf .

Narrative and Personal Essay Topics for High School

Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use some of the same techniques that you would for a descriptive essay, but be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. A narrative essay doesn’t necessarily need to be personal, but they often are. Take inspiration from these narrative and personal essay topics.

• Describe a performance or sporting event you took part in.
• Explain the process of cooking and eating your favorite meal.
• Write about meeting your best friend for the first time and how your relationship developed.
• Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.
• Describe a time in your life when you’ve been scared.

• Share the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you.
• Tell about a time when you overcame a big challenge.
• Tell the story of how you learned an important life lesson.
• Describe a time when you or someone you know experienced prejudice or oppression.
• Explain a family tradition, how it developed, and its importance today.
• What is your favorite holiday? How does your family celebrate it?
• Retell a familiar story from the point of view of a different character.
• Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
• Tell about your proudest moment.

Persuasive Essay Topics for High School

Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative , but they rely less on facts and more on emotion to sway the reader. It’s important to know your audience, so you can anticipate any counterarguments they might make and try to overcome them. Try these topics to persuade someone to come around to your point of view. ( Discover 60 more intriguing persuasive essay topics here. )

• Do you think homework should be required, optional, or not given at all?
• Everyone should be vegetarian or vegan.
• What animal makes the best pet?
• Visit an animal shelter, choose an animal that needs a home, and write an essay persuading someone to adopt that animal.
• Who is the world’s best athlete, present or past?
• Should little kids be allowed to play competitive sports?
• Are professional athletes/musicians/actors overpaid?
• The best music genre is …

• Is democracy the best form of government?
• Is capitalism the best form of economy?
• Students should/should not be able to use their phones during the school day.
• Should schools have dress codes?
• If I could change one school rule, it would be …
• Is year-round school a good idea?

A research essay is a classic high school assignment. These papers require deep research into primary source documents, with lots of supporting facts and evidence that’s properly cited. Research essays can be in any of the styles shown above. Here are some possible topics, across a variety of subjects.

• Which country’s style of government is best for the people who live there?
• Choose a country and analyze its development from founding to present day.
• Describe the causes and effects of a specific war.
• Formulate an ideal economic plan for our country.
• What scientific discovery has had the biggest impact on life today?

• Analyze the way mental health is viewed and treated in this country.
• Explore the ways systemic racism impacts people in all walks of life.
• Defend the importance of teaching music and the arts in public schools.
• Choose one animal from the endangered species list, and propose a realistic plan to protect it.

What are some of your favorite essay topics for high school? Come share your prompts on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out the ultimate guide to student writing contests .

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100 Thought-Provoking Argumentative Writing Prompts for Kids and Teens

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From the Executive Director

The “Proper Study of History”

What the Public Thinks about Historical Thinking

James Grossman | Oct 1, 2014

“They have all this Afro stuff on the AP now, and I realized that if I don’t know how to get it into the course my students won’t do well on the exam.”

T he moment I heard that, nearly 30 years ago, was the moment I realized how important Advanced Placement could be in changing the way students learn history. This was a Chicago social studies teacher, introducing himself to a summer institute in American social history and responding to the traditional “why are you here” aspect of introductions. I have no recollection as to whether I eventually convinced him of the intellectual value of the readings in African American history or other aspects of the American past beyond the conventional political narrative. Less than a decade later, however, this issue erupted nationally in what came to be called the “history wars” of the 1990s—a debate over national standards for US history, commissioned by the National Endowment for the Humanities, subsequently denounced by the agency’s chair, Lynn Cheney, and condemned by the US Senate by a vote of 99–1. Washington was not ready in 1994 for American students to benefit from the generation of historical scholarship that had begun to make its way into the high school curriculum in other ways, but was still anything but mainstream.

A generation later, we face once again the possibility of a debate over whether changes in historical scholarship—yes, “revisionism”—should have an impact on what students learn in high school. The AP is now mainstream; the US history exam is now taken by approximately 500,000 students each year. And this past summer the College Board came under fire for a new framework for preparing students to take the exam. In response to what it considered ill-informed and unfair criticism of the framework, the AHA Council issued a statement of support (see page 15) for the new approach, which had been developed by professional historians working in secondary and postsecondary education. The Association’s statement appropriately emphasized the positive, focusing on the value and validity of the framework, rather than picking apart the arguments against it.

But the substance of the emerging debate is important, and it stimulated me to submit an opinion essay to the New York Times responding to the particular critique that had surfaced. The argument in that essay will be familiar to many readers of Perspectives . The critics claim that the framework “reflects a radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects,”1 and provides inadequate attention to the Founding Fathers, iconic documents, and national achievements. I pointed to the capaciousness of the framework, its emphasis on historical thinking rather than “a litany of names, dates, and facts.” And the legitimacy—indeed necessity—of revisionism. Hardly any surprises here. The response, however, was striking, as the article rose to #2 on the newspaper’s “most e-mailed” list and attracted 543 online comments before the newspaper closed the gate. Americans care about their history, especially when it comes to what our children learn in school.

To think historically is to understand the nature and necessity of revisionism, and I urge all historians to find an opportunity to explain this in public venues.

The broad response offers a glimpse into what one unrepresentative portion of the American public—readers of the New York Times —thinks about history, pedagogy, and the role of both in the creation of an educated citizenry. On one issue, just about everyone agreed: “a proper study of history is one of the key foundations of American citizenship,”2 in the words of one of the critics. The problem is what we mean by “a proper study of history,” and perhaps also the role of a citizen in a democratic society. Critics of the framework seem to be arguing that citizenship in this context rests in knowledge of and appreciation for a nation’s accomplishments, virtues, and continuities. If one tilts more toward lifelong learning and a citizenry whose virtue lies in its certain skills, such as asking good questions; finding, sifting, and evaluating evidence; and making informed judgments based on inquiry rather than accepting conventional wisdom, then the skills that we teach our students are at least as important as the information they imbibe (much of which passes through rather quickly anyway).

My framing of these skills engendered considerable debate among those who posted comments and sent me private e-mail messages. I referred, for example, to attention to context as “work that requires and builds empathy, an essential aspect of historical thinking.” Even some people who were sympathetic to my general argument had trouble with this, conflating empathy with historical relativism, vicarious experience across time and place, and an emphasis on “feelings.” As one correspondent put it, “I suppose the word ‘empathy’ has entered the pantheon of coded language which sets off alarm bells in one half of the country or the other.” I meant instead an emphasis on reading history forward, rather than backward; teaching students that to understand how people made decisions, one had to situate oneself within a world defined by their experience and the information available to them. As Virginia Scharff explains it to her students at the University of New Mexico, “The people we’re studying were not always dead.” To understand their lives, their experience, requires empathy. This pertains as much to George Washington and Franklin Roosevelt as it does to the ordinary people whose experiences have allegedly eclipsed them in our lesson plans.

The disagreements over historical thinking, however, were encouraging in the sense that they suggested exactly the kind of conceptual engagement we want to promote, whether in classrooms or any other place where people discuss the past. Less encouraging were some of the notions of the nature of historical work and thinking itself. To many readers of the Times essay, the debate is hardly surprising because history is little more than opinion. One narrative is just as good as any other, and historians shape their narratives according to their politics. Others went to the opposite extreme: history is “what happened.” With a proper curriculum and a good teacher, students learn “what happened” and then use that knowledge for higher-order thinking. The notion that interpretation lies in selecting and organizing “what happened” is apparently as difficult for many people to grasp as the fact that such selection and organization is more than a matter of personal preference and opinion. Indeed, much of the conversation in the online postings consisted of a fascinating debate over what should be included. That debate alone would make for a productive session in any public humanities venue, although it would still focus not on why we teach history—which should always be the prior question—but on what we teach.

Controversies over what we teach brings us to revisionism, the all-purpose accusation that resonates so effectively in public discourse. I admit that one motivation for writing this essay for a daily newspaper was a long-held impatience with the way in which “revisionist” has emerged as a conventional reference to narrative dishonesty. I doubt that any newspaper will publish an essay called “On Revisionism,” in which I get to explain what revisionism is and why it is essential, not only to historical scholarship but to much of what we do in life. My friend and colleague Jim Horton used to ask audiences how they would feel about a surgeon who didn’t read revisionist medical literature—an analogy that resonated with my readers.

Much of what we do in life requires a willingness to reconsider our narratives, our understandings based on new evidence, and new ways of thinking. This is, after all, one reason why we study history—to learn why this process is essential, and how to do it. To think historically is to understand the nature and necessity of revisionism, and I urge all historians to find an opportunity to explain this in public venues. If every student taking the advanced placement exam in history learns how to reconsider a narrative based on new evidence and new questions, then we will have answered, at least in part, that prior question about why we study history in the first place.

James Grossman is the executive director of the American Historical Association. Follow at @JimGrossmanAHA.

1. Republican National Committee, Resolution Concerning Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH), Edweek, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/RNC .JPG. See also Peter Wood, “The New AP History: A Preliminary Report,” National Association of Scholars website (July 1, 2014), http://www.nas.org/articles/the_new_ap_history_a_preliminary_report .

2. “Red/Blue America: How Should Schools Teach History?,” Provo Daily Herald , September 4, 2014 ( http://bit.ly/1BJy9WO ). The quotation is from Ben Boychuk, associate editor of the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal .

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What’s the Israel-Palestine conflict about? A simple guide

It’s killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. And its future lies in its past. We break it down.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced many millions of people and has its roots in a colonial act carried out more than a century ago.

With Israel declaring war on the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented attack by the armed Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday, the world’s eyes are again sharply focused on what might come next.

Keep reading

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Hamas fighters have killed more than 800 Israelis in assaults on multiple towns in southern Israel. In response, Israel has launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians. It has mobilised troops along the Gaza border, apparently in preparation for a ground attack. And on Monday, it announced a “total blockade” of the Gaza Strip, stopping the supply of food, fuel and other essential commodities to the already besieged enclave in an act that under international law amounts to a war crime.

But what unfolds in the coming days and weeks has its seed in history.

For decades, Western media outlets, academics, military experts and world leaders have described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as intractable, complicated and deadlocked.

Here’s a simple guide to break down one of the world’s longest-running conflicts:

What was the Balfour Declaration?

• More than 100 years ago, on November 2, 1917, Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.
• The letter was short – just 67 words – but its contents had a seismic effect on Palestine that is still felt to this day.
• It committed the British government to “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and to facilitating “the achievement of this object”. The letter is known as the Balfour Declaration .
• In essence, a European power promised the Zionist movement a country where Palestinian Arab natives made up more than 90 percent of the population.
• A British Mandate was created in 1923 and lasted until 1948. During that period, the British facilitated mass Jewish immigration – many of the new residents were fleeing Nazism in Europe – and they also faced protests and strikes. Palestinians were alarmed by their country’s changing demographics and British confiscation of their lands to be handed over to Jewish settlers.

What happened during the 1930s?

• Escalating tensions eventually led to the Arab Revolt, which lasted from 1936 to 1939.
• In April 1936, the newly formed Arab National Committee called on Palestinians to launch a general strike, withhold tax payments and boycott Jewish products to protest British colonialism and growing Jewish immigration.
• The six-month strike was brutally repressed by the British, who launched a mass arrest campaign and carried out punitive home demolitions , a practice that Israel continues to implement against Palestinians today.
• The second phase of the revolt began in late 1937 and was led by the Palestinian peasant   resistance movement, which targeted British forces and colonialism.
• By the second half of 1939, Britain had massed 30,000 troops in Palestine. Villages were bombed by air, curfews imposed, homes demolished, and administrative detentions and summary killings were widespread.
• In tandem, the British collaborated with the Jewish settler community and formed armed groups and a British-led “counterinsurgency force” of Jewish fighters named the Special Night Squads.
• Within the Yishuv, the pre-state settler community, arms were secretly imported and weapons factories established to expand the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary that later became the core of the Israeli army.
• In those three years of revolt, 5,000 Palestinians were killed, 15,000 to 20,000 were wounded and 5,600 were imprisoned.

What was the UN partition plan?

• By 1947, the Jewish population had ballooned to 33 percent of Palestine, but they owned only 6 percent of the land.
• The United Nations adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.
• The Palestinians rejected the plan because it allotted about 55 percent of Palestine to the Jewish state, including most of the fertile coastal region.
• At the time, the Palestinians owned 94 percent of historic Palestine and comprised 67 percent of its population.

The 1948 Nakba, or the ethnic cleansing of Palestine

• Even before the British Mandate expired on May 14, 1948, Zionist paramilitaries were already embarking on a military operation to destroy Palestinian towns and villages to expand the borders of the Zionist state that was to be born.
• In April 1948, more than 100 Palestinian men, women and children were killed in the village of Deir Yassin on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
• That set the tone for the rest of the operation, and from 1947 to 1949, more than 500 Palestinian villages, towns and cities were destroyed in what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba , or “catastrophe” in Arabic.
• An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed, including in dozens of massacres.
• The Zionist movement captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.
• An estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes.
• Today their descendants live as six million refugees in 58 squalid camps throughout Palestine and in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
• On May 15, 1948, Israel announced its establishment.
• The following day, the first Arab-Israeli war began and fighting ended in January 1949 after an armistice between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
• In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194, which calls for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The years after the Nakba

• At least 150,000 Palestinians remained in the newly created state of Israel and lived under a tightly controlled military occupation for almost 20 years before they were eventually granted Israeli citizenship.
• Egypt took over the Gaza Strip, and in 1950, Jordan began its administrative rule over the West Bank.
• In 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed, and a year later, the Fatah political party was established.

The Naksa, or the Six-Day War and the settlements

• On June 5, 1967, Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War against a coalition of Arab armies.
• For some Palestinians, this led to a second forced displacement, or Naksa, which means “setback” in Arabic.
• In December 1967, the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was formed. Over the next decade, a series of attacks and plane hijackings by leftist groups drew the world’s attention to the plight of the Palestinians.
• Settlement construction began in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. A two-tier system was created with Jewish settlers afforded all the rights and privileges of being Israeli citizens whereas Palestinians had to live under a military occupation that discriminated against them and barred any form of political or civic expression.

The first Intifada 1987-1993

• The first Palestinian Intifada erupted in the Gaza Strip in December 1987 after four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli truck collided with two vans carrying Palestinian workers.
• Protests spread rapidly to the West Bank with young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli army tanks and soldiers.
• It also led to the establishment of the Hamas movement, an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that engaged in armed resistance against the Israeli occupation.
• The Israeli army’s heavy-handed response was encapsulated by the “Break their Bones” policy advocated by then-Defence Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It included summary killings, closures of universities, deportations of activists and destruction of homes.
• The Intifada was primarily carried out by young people and was directed by the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, a coalition of Palestinian political factions committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing Palestinian independence.
• In 1988, the Arab League recognised the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
• The Intifada was characterised by popular mobilisations, mass protests, civil disobedience, well-organised strikes and communal cooperatives.
• According to the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, 1,070 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the Intifada, including 237 children. More than 175,000 Palestinians were arrested.
• The Intifada also prompted the international community to search for a solution to the conflict.

The Oslo years and the Palestinian Authority

• The Intifada ended with the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), an interim government that was granted limited self-rule in pockets of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• The PLO recognised Israel on the basis of a two-state solution and effectively signed agreements that gave Israel control of 60 percent of the West Bank, and much of the territory’s land and water resources.
• The PA was supposed to make way for the first elected Palestinian government running an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with its capital in East Jerusalem, but that has never happened.
• Critics of the PA view it as a corrupt subcontractor to the Israeli occupation that collaborates closely with the Israeli military in clamping down on dissent and political activism against Israel.
• In 1995, Israel built an electronic fence and concrete wall around the Gaza Strip, snapping interactions between the split Palestinian territories.

The second Intifada

• The second Intifada began on September 28, 2000, when Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with thousands of security forces deployed in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces killed five Palestinians and injured 200 over two days.
• The incident sparked a widespread armed uprising. During the Intifada, Israel caused unprecedented damage to the Palestinian economy and infrastructure.
• Israel reoccupied areas governed by the Palestinian Authority and began construction of a separation wall that along with rampant settlement construction, destroyed Palestinian livelihoods and communities.
• Settlements are illegal under international law, but over the years, hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers have moved to colonies built on stolen Palestinian land. The space for Palestinians is shrinking as settler-only roads and infrastructure slice up the occupied West Bank, forcing Palestinian cities and towns into bantustans, the isolated enclaves for Black South Africans that the country’s former apartheid regime created.
• At the time the Oslo Accords were signed, just over 110,000 Jewish settlers lived in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Today, the figure is more than 700,000 living on more than 100,000 hectares (390sq miles) of land expropriated from the Palestinians.

The Palestinian division and the Gaza blockade

• PLO leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004, and a year later, the second Intifada ended, Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled, and Israeli soldiers and 9,000 settlers left the enclave.
• A year later, Palestinians voted in a general election for the first time.
• Hamas won a majority. However, a Fatah-Hamas civil war broke out, lasting for months, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians.
• Hamas expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip, and Fatah – the main party of the Palestinian Authority – resumed control of parts of the West Bank.
• In June 2007, Israel imposed a land, air and naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of “terrorism”.

The wars on the Gaza Strip

• Israel has launched four protracted military assaults on Gaza: in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including many children , and tens of thousands of homes, schools and office buildings have been destroyed.
• Rebuilding has been next to impossible because the siege prevents construction materials, such as steel and cement, from reaching Gaza.
• The 2008 assault involved the use of internationally banned weaponry, such as phosphorus gas.
• In 2014, over a span of 50 days, Israel killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians and close to 500 children.
• During the  assault , called Operation Protective Edge by the Israelis, about 11,000 Palestinians were wounded, 20,000 homes were destroyed and half a million people displaced .

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How Governor Hochul Decided to Kill Congestion Pricing in New York

Although the governor said she long feared the program might hurt New York City’s economy, she never disclosed her reservations, leaving some feeling betrayed.

By Grace Ashford ,  Dana Rubinstein and Claire Fahy

Reporting from New York City and the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y.

In the last few months, Gov. Kathy Hochul has privately exchanged anxieties about moving forward on congestion pricing with business leaders, political advisers and, in her telling, a great number of ordinary New Yorkers in diners.

But she never shared them with the group that would be most affected by the program: the public at large, which had every reason to believe that the new tolling structure would be in place in Manhattan later this month.

The move to abandon a plan that was decades in the making jolted lawmakers, real estate leaders, transit advocates and other stakeholders. The governor said she was reluctant to deter people from driving to New York City when its economic recovery was still fragile; critics called it an election year ploy to help Democrats in suburban districts where congestion pricing is notably unpopular.

Ms. Hochul’s announcement was particularly jarring given her past championing of the plan. Indeed, as recently as this year, the governor stressed the need to get vehicles off the road — a dissonance that has fed a sense of duplicity and a feeling of betrayal among those who considered her an ally.

On Friday, Jon Orcutt, a longtime congestion pricing proponent and a consultant for Reinvent Albany, described Ms. Hochul’s about-face as “a fundamental sense of betrayal, like, inner-core rock bottom.”

“It would be one thing if she inherited the thing and said, ‘This isn’t my priority,’” he added. “But we got to, not the 11th hour, but 10 seconds before midnight.”

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