Computing Science

20. Argument and evidence - getting started

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For many students, the most daunting part of essay writing is getting started. Students are not alone here. Newspaper columnists, authors and report writers also often find it hard to get started. However, there are strategies to adopt and actions to take that will certainly help.

First of all, read the essay title closely and carefully. Read it again. Is it a discursive or an argumentative essay, or does it contain elements of both?

A discursive essay will use terms like 'discuss' or 'assess'. In a discursive essay, you set the boundaries of your discussion or assessment and outline these in your opening paragraph. You need to look at the topic from all angles, not necessarily coming down in favour of any. However, the point of a discursive essay is not to sit on the fence: it is to leave the reader much better informed about the topic and the issues it raises.

An argumentative essay will ask you to take a stand, i.e. have a distinct point of view. This should be stated in your opening paragraph, and every subsequent paragraph should add meat to your argument, leading the reader either to agree with your conclusions or, if he or she disagrees, at least able to follow the logic of your argument. This doesn't mean ignoring all the counter-arguments. If you can outline a counter-argument and refute it, that's a very powerful argumentative tool. It is also the case that for some questions, there is no precisely correct answer. However, if you are asked to give your view, don't be afraid to give it. Markers aren't looking for you to agree with their view, they are looking for a piece of coherent, logical and persuasive writing.

Some essays are a mixture of discursive and argumentative, for example: America is the home of the computing wizard. Is this true? If so, assess the implications for computing science in British universities. In these instances, your opening paragraph should state your thesis, then outline the broad themes you will address in your assessment.

In Argument and evidence - general, you'll find more information about essay writing, and you may find it useful to look at the Argument and evidence - relevance of content to question section. The exercises below are just to help get you into essay writing mode.
TaskTask TypeDifficulty
Task 1Word clickMore Challenging
Task 2Word clickModerate
Task 3Word clickModerate