Opening and Concluding Paragraphs to an Argumentative Essay Dr. John Eigenauer Taft College

The opening paragraph

 The opening paragraph contains the conclusion (central thesis) and all the supporting reasons.

Effective opening sentence:

 I will argue in this essay that…

The opening paragraph

 Make sure that all of your reasons support your thesis.

Which of the following reasons does not support the thesis?

 Thesis: I will argue in this paper that college education should be free for all students:  Many students who need an education cannot afford one.

  The United States need to return to being an economic power.

Free education will produce more qualified workers.

Opening Paragraph

 I will argue in this paper that the death penalty should be illegal . To do so, I will show that no government has the right to take life . Even if a government had that right, however, the death penalty would not be helpful because it does not deter criminals, even though many argue that it does . In addition to not acting as a deterrent, I will demonstrate that the death penalty is more costly than life imprisonment . While the justification from cost can be countered , the argument that all humans have a right to life cannot.

A Map:

Closing Paragraph

 Summarize your argument.

Closing Paragraph

 Despite some good reasons favoring the death penalty, there are many more sound reasons for making the death penalty illegal. The evidence shows that the most common arguments in favor of the death penalty, such as deterrence and cost, are false. Adding to that the fact that no government has the right to take life, and that all humans have a right to live, it is obvious that the death penalty should be illegal.