Introduce the topic.
Provide background information.
Present the thesis statement or main argument.
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An argumentative essay presents a specific claim or argument and supports it with evidence and reasoning. Here’s an outline for an argumentative essay, along with examples for each section: 3
1. Introduction :
Example: “Did you know that plastic pollution is threatening marine life at an alarming rate?”
Example: “Plastic pollution has become a global environmental concern, with millions of tons of plastic waste entering our oceans yearly.”
Example: “We must take immediate action to reduce plastic usage and implement more sustainable alternatives to protect our marine ecosystem.”
2. Body Paragraphs :
Example: “The first step towards addressing the plastic pollution crisis is reducing single-use plastic consumption.”
Example: “Research shows that plastic straws alone contribute to millions of tons of plastic waste annually, and many marine animals suffer from ingestion or entanglement.”
Example: “Some argue that banning plastic straws is inconvenient for consumers, but the long-term environmental benefits far outweigh the temporary inconvenience.”
Example: “Having addressed the issue of single-use plastics, the focus must now shift to promoting sustainable alternatives.”
3. Counterargument Paragraph :
Example: “While some may argue that individual actions cannot significantly impact global plastic pollution, the cumulative effect of collective efforts must be considered.”
Example: “However, individual actions, when multiplied across millions of people, can substantially reduce plastic waste. Small changes in behavior, such as using reusable bags and containers, can have a significant positive impact.”
4. Conclusion :
Example: “In conclusion, adopting sustainable practices and reducing single-use plastic is crucial for preserving our oceans and marine life.”
Example: “It is our responsibility to make environmentally conscious choices and advocate for policies that prioritize the health of our planet. By collectively embracing sustainable alternatives, we can contribute to a cleaner and healthier future.”
A claim is a statement or proposition a writer puts forward with evidence to persuade the reader. 4 Here are some common types of argument claims, along with examples:
Understanding these argument claims can help writers construct more persuasive and well-supported arguments tailored to the specific nature of the claim.
If you’re wondering how to start an argumentative essay, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with the argumentative essay format and writing process.
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Here are eight strategies to craft a compelling argumentative essay:
Let’s consider a sample of argumentative essay on how social media enhances connectivity:
In the digital age, social media has emerged as a powerful tool that transcends geographical boundaries, connecting individuals from diverse backgrounds and providing a platform for an array of voices to be heard. While critics argue that social media fosters division and amplifies negativity, it is essential to recognize the positive aspects of this digital revolution and how it enhances connectivity by providing a platform for diverse voices to flourish. One of the primary benefits of social media is its ability to facilitate instant communication and connection across the globe. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram break down geographical barriers, enabling people to establish and maintain relationships regardless of physical location and fostering a sense of global community. Furthermore, social media has transformed how people stay connected with friends and family. Whether separated by miles or time zones, social media ensures that relationships remain dynamic and relevant, contributing to a more interconnected world. Moreover, social media has played a pivotal role in giving voice to social justice movements and marginalized communities. Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #ClimateStrike have gained momentum through social media, allowing individuals to share their stories and advocate for change on a global scale. This digital activism can shape public opinion and hold institutions accountable. Social media platforms provide a dynamic space for open dialogue and discourse. Users can engage in discussions, share information, and challenge each other’s perspectives, fostering a culture of critical thinking. This open exchange of ideas contributes to a more informed and enlightened society where individuals can broaden their horizons and develop a nuanced understanding of complex issues. While criticisms of social media abound, it is crucial to recognize its positive impact on connectivity and the amplification of diverse voices. Social media transcends physical and cultural barriers, connecting people across the globe and providing a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. By fostering open dialogue and facilitating the exchange of ideas, social media contributes to a more interconnected and empowered society. Embracing the positive aspects of social media allows us to harness its potential for positive change and collective growth.
Writing a winning argumentative essay not only showcases your ability to critically analyze a topic but also demonstrates your skill in persuasively presenting your stance backed by evidence. Achieving this level of writing excellence can be time-consuming. This is where Paperpal, your AI academic writing assistant, steps in to revolutionize the way you approach argumentative essays. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Paperpal to write your essay:
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The length of an argumentative essay can vary, but it typically falls within the range of 1,000 to 2,500 words. However, the specific requirements may depend on the guidelines provided.
You might write an argumentative essay when: 1. You want to convince others of the validity of your position. 2. There is a controversial or debatable issue that requires discussion. 3. You need to present evidence and logical reasoning to support your claims. 4. You want to explore and critically analyze different perspectives on a topic.
Argumentative Essay: Purpose : An argumentative essay aims to persuade the reader to accept or agree with a specific point of view or argument. Structure : It follows a clear structure with an introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, counterarguments and refutations, and a conclusion. Tone : The tone is formal and relies on logical reasoning, evidence, and critical analysis. Narrative/Descriptive Essay: Purpose : These aim to tell a story or describe an experience, while a descriptive essay focuses on creating a vivid picture of a person, place, or thing. Structure : They may have a more flexible structure. They often include an engaging introduction, a well-developed body that builds the story or description, and a conclusion. Tone : The tone is more personal and expressive to evoke emotions or provide sensory details.
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General Education
If there’s one writing skill you need to have in your toolkit for standardized tests, AP exams, and college-level writing, it’s the ability to make a persuasive argument. Effectively arguing for a position on a topic or issue isn’t just for the debate team— it’s for anyone who wants to ace the essay portion of an exam or make As in college courses.
To give you everything you need to know about how to write an argumentative essay , we’re going to answer the following questions for you:
By the end of this article, you’ll be prepped and ready to write a great argumentative essay yourself!
Now, let’s break this down.
An argumentative essay is a type of writing that presents the writer’s position or stance on a specific topic and uses evidence to support that position. The goal of an argumentative essay is to convince your reader that your position is logical, ethical, and, ultimately, right . In argumentative essays, writers accomplish this by writing:
Introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion: these are the main sections of an argumentative essay. Those probably sound familiar. Where does arguing come into all of this, though? It’s not like you’re having a shouting match with your little brother across the dinner table. You’re just writing words down on a page!
...or are you? Even though writing papers can feel like a lonely process, one of the most important things you can do to be successful in argumentative writing is to think about your argument as participating in a larger conversation . For one thing, you’re going to be responding to the ideas of others as you write your argument. And when you’re done writing, someone—a teacher, a professor, or exam scorer—is going to be reading and evaluating your argument.
If you want to make a strong argument on any topic, you have to get informed about what’s already been said on that topic . That includes researching the different views and positions, figuring out what evidence has been produced, and learning the history of the topic. That means—you guessed it!—argumentative essays almost always require you to incorporate outside sources into your writing.
Argumentative essays are different from other types of essays for one main reason: in an argumentative essay, you decide what the argument will be . Some types of essays, like summaries or syntheses, don’t want you to show your stance on the topic—they want you to remain unbiased and neutral.
In argumentative essays, you’re presenting your point of view as the writer and, sometimes, choosing the topic you’ll be arguing about. You just want to make sure that that point of view comes across as informed, well-reasoned, and persuasive.
Another thing about argumentative essays: they’re often longer than other types of essays. Why, you ask? Because it takes time to develop an effective argument. If your argument is going to be persuasive to readers, you have to address multiple points that support your argument, acknowledge counterpoints, and provide enough evidence and explanations to convince your reader that your points are valid.
The first step to writing an argumentative essay deciding what to write about! Choosing a topic for your argumentative essay might seem daunting, though. It can feel like you could make an argument about anything under the sun. For example, you could write an argumentative essay about how cats are way cooler than dogs, right?
It’s not quite that simple . Here are some strategies for choosing a topic that serves as a solid foundation for a strong argument.
First, you want to make sure the topic you choose allows you to make a claim that can be supported by evidence that’s considered credible and appropriate for the subject matter ...and, unfortunately, your personal opinions or that Buzzfeed quiz you took last week don’t quite make the cut.
Some topics—like whether cats or dogs are cooler—can generate heated arguments, but at the end of the day, any argument you make on that topic is just going to be a matter of opinion. You have to pick a topic that allows you to take a position that can be supported by actual, researched evidence.
(Quick note: you could write an argumentative paper over the general idea that dogs are better than cats—or visa versa!—if you’re a) more specific and b) choose an idea that has some scientific research behind it. For example, a strong argumentative topic could be proving that dogs make better assistance animals than cats do.)
You also don’t want to make an argument about a topic that’s already a proven fact, like that drinking water is good for you. While some people might dislike the taste of water, there is an overwhelming body of evidence that proves—beyond the shadow of a doubt—that drinking water is a key part of good health.
To avoid choosing a topic that’s either unprovable or already proven, try brainstorming some issues that have recently been discussed in the news, that you’ve seen people debating on social media, or that affect your local community. If you explore those outlets for potential topics, you’ll likely stumble upon something that piques your audience’s interest as well.
Topics that have local, national, or global relevance often also resonate with us on a personal level. Consider choosing a topic that holds a connection between something you know or care about and something that is relevant to the rest of society. These don’t have to be super serious issues, but they should be topics that are timely and significant.
For example, if you are a huge football fan, a great argumentative topic for you might be arguing whether football leagues need to do more to prevent concussions . Is this as “important” an issue as climate change? No, but it’s still a timely topic that affects many people. And not only is this a great argumentative topic: you also get to write about one of your passions! Ultimately, if you’re working with a topic you enjoy, you’ll have more to say—and probably write a better essay .
Another word of caution on choosing a topic for an argumentative paper: while it can be effective to choose a topic that matters to you personally, you also want to make sure you’re choosing a topic that you can keep your cool over. You’ve got to be able to stay unemotional, interpret the evidence persuasively, and, when appropriate, discuss opposing points of view without getting too salty.
In some situations, choosing a topic for your argumentative paper won’t be an issue at all: the test or exam will choose it for you . In that case, you’ve got to do the best you can with what you’re given.
In the next sections, we’re going to break down how to write any argumentative essay —regardless of whether you get to choose your own topic or have one assigned to you! Our expert tips and tricks will make sure that you’re knocking your paper out of the park.
You’ve chosen a topic or, more likely, read the exam question telling you to defend, challenge, or qualify a claim on an assigned topic. What do you do now?
You establish your position on the topic by writing a killer thesis statement ! The thesis statement, sometimes just called “the thesis,” is the backbone of your argument, the north star that keeps you oriented as you develop your main points, the—well, you get the idea.
In more concrete terms, a thesis statement conveys your point of view on your topic, usually in one sentence toward the end of your introduction paragraph . It’s very important that you state your point of view in your thesis statement in an argumentative way—in other words, it should state a point of view that is debatable.
And since your thesis statement is going to present your argument on the topic, it’s the thing that you’ll spend the rest of your argumentative paper defending. That’s where persuasion comes in. Your thesis statement tells your reader what your argument is, then the rest of your essay shows and explains why your argument is logical.
Why does an argumentative essay need a thesis, though? Well, the thesis statement—the sentence with your main claim—is actually the entire point of an argumentative essay. If you don’t clearly state an arguable claim at the beginning of your paper, then it’s not an argumentative essay. No thesis statement = no argumentative essay. Got it?
Other types of essays that you’re familiar with might simply use a thesis statement to forecast what the rest of the essay is going to discuss or to communicate what the topic is. That’s not the case here. If your thesis statement doesn’t make a claim or establish your position, you’ll need to go back to the drawing board.
Here are a couple of examples of thesis statements that aren’t argumentative and thesis statements that are argumentative
The sky is blue.
The thesis statement above conveys a fact, not a claim, so it’s not argumentative.
To keep the sky blue, governments must pass clean air legislation and regulate emissions.
The second example states a position on a topic. What’s the topic in that second sentence? The best way to keep the sky blue. And what position is being conveyed? That the best way to keep the sky blue is by passing clean air legislation and regulating emissions.
Some people would probably respond to that thesis statement with gusto: “No! Governments should not pass clean air legislation and regulate emissions! That infringes on my right to pollute the earth!” And there you have it: a thesis statement that presents a clear, debatable position on a topic.
Here’s one more set of thesis statement examples, just to throw in a little variety:
Spirituality and otherworldliness characterize A$AP Rocky’s portrayals of urban life and the American Dream in his rap songs and music videos.
The statement above is another example that isn’t argumentative, but you could write a really interesting analytical essay with that thesis statement. Long live A$AP! Now here’s another one that is argumentative:
To give students an understanding of the role of the American Dream in contemporary life, teachers should incorporate pop culture, like the music of A$AP Rocky, into their lessons and curriculum.
The argument in this one? Teachers should incorporate more relevant pop culture texts into their curriculum.
This thesis statement also gives a specific reason for making the argument above: To give students an understanding of the role of the American Dream in contemporary life. If you can let your reader know why you’re making your argument in your thesis statement, it will help them understand your argument better.
An actual image of you killing your argumentative essay prompts after reading this article!
Now that you know how to pick a topic for an argumentative essay and how to make a strong claim on your topic in a thesis statement, you’re ready to think about writing the other sections of an argumentative essay. These are the parts that will flesh out your argument and support the claim you made in your thesis statement.
Like other types of essays, argumentative essays typically have three main sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Within those sections, there are some key elements that a reader—and especially an exam scorer or professor—is always going to expect you to include.
Let’s look at a quick outline of those three sections with their essential pieces here:
Now, there are some key concepts in those sections that you’ve got to understand if you’re going to master how to write an argumentative essay. To make the most of the body section, you have to know how to support your claim (your thesis statement), what evidence and explanations are and when you should use them, and how and when to address opposing viewpoints. To finish strong, you’ve got to have a strategy for writing a stellar conclusion.
This probably feels like a big deal! The body and conclusion make up most of the essay, right? Let’s get down to it, then.
Once you have your topic and thesis, you’re ready for the hard part: actually writing your argument. If you make strategic choices—like the ones we’re about to talk about—writing a strong argumentative essay won’t feel so difficult.
There are three main areas where you want to focus your energy as you develop a strategy for how to write an argumentative essay: supporting your claim—your thesis statement—in your essay, addressing other viewpoints on your topic, and writing a solid conclusion. If you put thought and effort into these three things, you’re much more likely to write an argumentative essay that’s engaging, persuasive, and memorable...aka A+ material.
So you’ve chosen your topic, decided what your position will be, and written a thesis statement. But like we see in comment threads across the Internet, if you make a claim and don’t back it up with evidence, what do people say? “Where’s your proof?” “Show me the facts!” “Do you have any evidence to support that claim?”
Of course you’ve done your research like we talked about. Supporting your claim in your thesis statement is where that research comes in handy.
You can’t just use your research to state the facts, though. Remember your reader? They’re going to expect you to do some of the dirty work of interpreting the evidence for them. That’s why it’s important to know the difference between evidence and explanations, and how and when to use both in your argumentative essay.
Evidence can be material from any authoritative and credible outside source that supports your position on your topic. In some cases, evidence can come in the form of photos, video footage, or audio recordings. In other cases, you might be pulling reasons, facts, or statistics from news media articles, public policy, or scholarly books or journals.
There are some clues you can look for that indicate whether or not a source is credible , such as whether:
This is just a short list of some of the clues that a source is likely a credible one, but just because a source was published by a prestigious press or the authors all have PhDs doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best piece of evidence for you to use to support your argument.
In addition to evaluating the source’s credibility, you’ve got to consider what types of evidence might come across as most persuasive in the context of the argument you’re making and who your readers are. In other words, stepping back and getting a bird’s eye view of the entire context of your argumentative paper is key to choosing evidence that will strengthen your argument.
On some exams, like the AP exams , you may be given pretty strict parameters for what evidence to use and how to use it. You might be given six short readings that all address the same topic, have 15 minutes to read them, then be required to pull material from a minimum of three of the short readings to support your claim in an argumentative essay.
When the sources are handed to you like that, be sure to take notes that will help you pick out evidence as you read. Highlight, underline, put checkmarks in the margins of your exam . . . do whatever you need to do to begin identifying the material that you find most helpful or relevant. Those highlights and check marks might just turn into your quotes, paraphrases, or summaries of evidence in your completed exam essay.
Now you know that taking a strategic mindset toward evidence and explanations is critical to grasping how to write an argumentative essay. Unfortunately, evidence doesn’t speak for itself. While it may be obvious to you, the researcher and writer, how the pieces of evidence you’ve included are relevant to your audience, it might not be as obvious to your reader.
That’s where explanations—or analysis, or interpretations—come in. You never want to just stick some quotes from an article into your paragraph and call it a day. You do want to interpret the evidence you’ve included to show your reader how that evidence supports your claim.
Now, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be saying, “This piece of evidence supports my argument because...”. Instead, you want to comment on the evidence in a way that helps your reader see how it supports the position you stated in your thesis. We’ll talk more about how to do this when we show you an example of a strong body paragraph from an argumentative essay here in a bit.
Understanding how to incorporate evidence and explanations to your advantage is really important. Here’s why: when you’re writing an argumentative essay, particularly on standardized tests or the AP exam, the exam scorers can’t penalize you for the position you take. Instead, their evaluation is going to focus on the way you incorporated evidence and explained it in your essay.
Why would we be making arguments at all if there weren’t multiple views out there on a given topic? As you do research and consider the background surrounding your topic, you’ll probably come across arguments that stand in direct opposition to your position.
Oftentimes, teachers will ask you to “address the opposition” in your argumentative essay. What does that mean, though, to “ address the opposition ?”
Opposing viewpoints function kind of like an elephant in the room. Your audience knows they’re there. In fact, your audience might even buy into an opposing viewpoint and be waiting for you to show them why your viewpoint is better. If you don’t, it means that you’ll have a hard time convincing your audience to buy your argument.
Addressing the opposition is a balancing act: you don’t want to undermine your own argument, but you don’t want to dismiss the validity of opposing viewpoints out-of-hand or ignore them altogether, which can also undermine your argument.
This isn’t the only acceptable approach, but it’s common practice to wait to address the opposition until close to the end of an argumentative essay. But why?
Well, waiting to present an opposing viewpoint until after you’ve thoroughly supported your own argument is strategic. You aren’t going to go into great detail discussing the opposing viewpoint: you’re going to explain what that viewpoint is fairly, but you’re also going to point out what’s wrong with it.
It can also be effective to read the opposition through the lens of your own argument and the evidence you’ve used to support it. If the evidence you’ve already included supports your argument, it probably doesn’t support the opposing viewpoint. Without being too obvious, it might be worth pointing this out when you address the opposition.
It’s common to conclude an argumentative essay by reiterating the thesis statement in some way, either by reminding the reader what the overarching argument was in the first place or by reviewing the main points and evidence that you covered.
You don’t just want to restate your thesis statement and review your main points and call it a day, though. So much has happened since you stated your thesis in the introduction! And why waste a whole paragraph—the very last thing your audience is going to read—on just repeating yourself?
Here’s an approach to the conclusion that can give your audience a fresh perspective on your argument: reinterpret your thesis statement for them in light of all the evidence and explanations you’ve provided. Think about how your readers might read your thesis statement in a new light now that they’ve heard your whole argument out.
That’s what you want to leave your audience with as you conclude your argumentative paper: a brief explanation of why all that arguing mattered in the first place. If you can give your audience something to continue pondering after they’ve read your argument, that’s even better.
One thing you want to avoid in your conclusion, though: presenting new supporting points or new evidence. That can just be confusing for your reader. Stick to telling your reader why the argument you’ve already made matters, and your argument will stick with your reader.
For some aspiring argumentative essay writers, showing is better than telling. To show rather than tell you what makes a strong argumentative essay, we’ve provided three examples of possible body paragraphs for an argumentative essay below.
Think of these example paragraphs as taking on the form of the “Argumentative Point #1 → Evidence —> Explanation —> Repeat” process we talked through earlier. It’s always nice to be able to compare examples, so we’ve included three paragraphs from an argumentative paper ranging from poor (or needs a lot of improvement, if you’re feeling generous), to better, to best.
All of the example paragraphs are for an essay with this thesis statement:
Thesis Statement: In order to most effectively protect user data and combat the spread of disinformation, the U.S. government should implement more stringent regulations of Facebook and other social media outlets.
As you read the examples, think about what makes them different, and what makes the “best” paragraph more effective than the “better” and “poor” paragraphs. Here we go:
Example Body Paragraph: Data mining has affected a lot of people in recent years. Facebook has 2.23 billion users from around the world, and though it would take a huge amount of time and effort to make sure a company as big as Facebook was complying with privacy regulations in countries across the globe, adopting a common framework for privacy regulation in more countries would be the first step. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg himself supports adopting a global framework for privacy and data protection, which would protect more users than before.
First, let’s look at the thesis statement. Ask yourself: does this make a claim that some people might agree with, but others might disagree with?
The answer is yes. Some people probably think that Facebook should be regulated, while others might believe that’s too much government intervention. Also, there are definitely good, reliable sources out there that will help this writer prove their argument. So this paper is off to a strong start!
Unfortunately, this writer doesn’t do a great job proving their thesis in their body paragraph. First, the topic sentence—aka the first sentence of the paragraph—doesn’t make a point that directly supports the position stated in the thesis. We’re trying to argue that government regulation will help protect user data and combat the spread of misinformation, remember? The topic sentence should make a point that gets right at that, instead of throwing out a random fact about data mining.
Second, because the topic sentence isn’t focused on making a clear point, the rest of the paragraph doesn’t have much relevant information, and it fails to provide credible evidence that supports the claim made in the thesis statement. For example, it would be a great idea to include exactly what Mark Zuckerberg said ! So while there’s definitely some relevant information in this paragraph, it needs to be presented with more evidence.
This paragraph is a bit better than the first one, but it still needs some work. The topic sentence is a bit too long, and it doesn’t make a point that clearly supports the position laid out in the thesis statement. The reader already knows that mining user data is a big issue, so the topic sentence would be a great place to make a point about why more stringent government regulations would most effectively protect user data.
There’s also a problem with how the evidence is incorporated in this example. While there is some relevant, persuasive evidence included in this paragraph, there’s no explanation of why or how it is relevant . Remember, you can’t assume that your evidence speaks for itself: you have to interpret its relevance for your reader. That means including at least a sentence that tells your reader why the evidence you’ve chosen proves your argument.
Example Body Paragraph: Though Facebook claims to be implementing company policies that will protect user data and stop the spread of misinformation , its attempts have been unsuccessful compared to those made by the federal government. When PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a Federal Trade Commission-mandated assessment of Facebook’s partnerships with Microsoft and the makers of the Blackberry handset in 2013, the team found limited evidence that Facebook had monitored or even checked that its partners had complied with Facebook’s existing data use policies. In fact, Facebook’s own auditors confirmed the PricewaterhouseCoopers findings, despite the fact that Facebook claimed that the company was making greater attempts to safeguard users’ personal information. In contrast, bills written by Congress have been more successful in changing Facebook’s practices than Facebook’s own company policies have. According to The Washington Post, The Honest Ads Act of 2017 “created public demand for transparency and changed how social media companies disclose online political advertising.” These policy efforts, though thus far unsuccessful in passing legislation, have nevertheless pushed social media companies to change some of their practices by sparking public outrage and negative media attention.
This paragraph isn’t perfect, but it is the most effective at doing some of the things that you want to do when you write an argumentative essay.
First, the topic sentences get to the point . . . and it’s a point that supports and explains the claim made in the thesis statement! It gives a clear reason why our claim in favor of more stringent government regulations is a good claim : because Facebook has failed to self-regulate its practices.
This paragraph also provides strong evidence and specific examples that support the point made in the topic sentence. The evidence presented shows specific instances in which Facebook has failed to self-regulate, and other examples where the federal government has successfully influenced regulation of Facebook’s practices for the better.
Perhaps most importantly, though, this writer explains why the evidence is important. The bold sentence in the example is where the writer links the evidence back to their opinion. In this case, they explain that the pressure from Federal Trade Commission and Congress—and the threat of regulation—have helped change Facebook for the better.
Why point out that this isn’t a perfect paragraph, though? Because you won’t be writing perfect paragraphs when you’re taking timed exams either. But get this: you don’t have to write perfect paragraphs to make a good score on AP exams or even on an essay you write for class. Like in this example paragraph, you just have to effectively develop your position by appropriately and convincingly relying on evidence from good sources.
This is all great information, right? If (when) you have to write an argumentative essay, you’ll be ready. But when in doubt, remember these three things about how to write an argumentative essay, and you’ll emerge victorious:
This tip applies to every aspect of writing an argumentative essay. From making sure you’re addressing your prompt, to really digging into your sources, to proofreading your final paper...you’ll need to actively and pay attention! This is especially true if you’re writing on the clock, like during an AP exam.
Define your position clearly in your thesis statement and stick to that position! The thesis is the backbone of your paper, and every paragraph should help prove your thesis in one way or another. But sometimes you get to the end of your essay and realize that you’ve gotten off topic, or that your thesis doesn’t quite fit. Don’t worry—if that happens, you can always rewrite your thesis to fit your paper!
Nothing is as powerful as good, strong evidence. First, make sure you’re finding credible sources that support your argument. Then you can paraphrase, briefly summarize, or quote from your sources as you incorporate them into your paragraphs. But remember the most important part: you have to explain why you’ve chosen that evidence and why it proves your thesis.
Once you’re comfortable with how to write an argumentative essay, it’s time to learn some more advanced tips and tricks for putting together a killer argument.
Keep in mind that argumentative essays are just one type of essay you might encounter. That’s why we’ve put together more specific guides on how to tackle IB essays , SAT essays , and ACT essays .
But what about admissions essays? We’ve got you covered. Not only do we have comprehensive guides to the Coalition App and Common App essays, we also have tons of individual college application guides, too . You can search through all of our college-specific posts by clicking here.
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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.
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Freedom of speech is synonymous with freedom of expression. These two terms do not only explain the ability to speak or voice opinions without limitation or interference, but also the use of other means in communicating or impacting information.
This includes the use of expressions, music and art like painting, photography, and performing. In many countries, this freedom is provided for in as a basic freedom. Under the Universal Declaration of human rights in the United Nations there is a provision for this freedom. There are many genuine reasons why free speech is an important freedom.
Expressing oneself is a basic and important aspect of life and is also part of the basis for communication; it is more instinctive than learned. Throughout childhood and life, freedom of speech supports the learning of an individual through the acquisition of new views, ideas, concepts and theories in scientific, social and other fields of education.
One is able to participate in healthy debates and discussions, learn how to win and persuade in arguments and tolerate or even accept other people’s perceptions and ways of thinking. When an individual is able to express their ideas and opinions, it enables them to relate with others, participate in and enjoy interaction and bonding with other members of a group, team and community.
The main importance of speech learning and development is to facilitate expression and help an individual to live in harmony with other people in society, making sure that there needs are met and their rights, values and principles are not violated. Limiting or interfering with the freedom to speak and express oneself is a big violation of the basic rights of an individual and it restrains an individual from living a normal, productive and independent life.
Freedom of speech is an important aspect of social life in a civilized and democratic society. It enables people to make decisions on their rulers, systems of development and administration and initiate debates and discussions on important issues that concern public policy and governance.
People can voice their concerns over any problems or issues on accountability, responsibility and transparency of leadership. Freedom of speech is essential in the maintaining of law and order and making sure that there are checks and balances on individuals or groups which violate the law.
Although there has been debate on the justification of freedom of speech, it is important to realize that society cannot develop or advance when imparting of and access to information is impeded. In some instances privacy, control and protection of information is required but this does not mean that information should be completely barred from the public.
Freedom of expression is also important where social and cultural issues are concerned. When people are at liberty to express their opinions on critical issues concerning social values, norms and standards, social harmony and order is achieved.
In order to facilitate effective change which is inevitable, sensitive Issues concerning social life, like abortion, aesthesia, divorce, parenting, marriage etc. should be open to debate whether there is consensus or not. It is obviously clear that not all forms and means of freedom of expression that supported and defended but in order to prevent social tension and chaos people should be free to speak.
There are many reasons why free speech is an important freedom. Most societies agree that there should be clearly set guarantees on protecting and defending of this freedom without very little limitation except when it is very necessary and there has been general consensus on taking action against disbursement of information.
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IvyPanda . "Why Free Speech Is An Important Freedom." September 12, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/why-free-speech-is-an-important-freedom/.
4-minute read
An argumentative essay is a structured, compelling piece of writing where an author clearly defines their stance on a specific topic. This is a very popular style of writing assigned to students at schools, colleges, and universities. Learn the steps to researching, structuring, and writing an effective argumentative essay below.
To effectively achieve its purpose, an argumentative essay must contain:
● A concise thesis statement that introduces readers to the central argument of the essay
● A clear, logical, argument that engages readers
● Ample research and evidence that supports your argument
1. classical.
● Clearly present the central argument.
● Outline your opinion.
● Provide enough evidence to support your theory.
● State your claim.
● Supply the evidence for your stance.
● Explain how these findings support the argument.
● Include and discuss any limitations of your belief.
● Explain the opposing stance of your argument.
● Discuss the problems with adopting this viewpoint.
● Offer your position on the matter.
● Provide reasons for why yours is the more beneficial stance.
● Include a potential compromise for the topic at hand.
● Introduce your topic in a bold, direct, and engaging manner to captivate your readers and encourage them to keep reading.
● Provide sufficient evidence to justify your argument and convince readers to adopt this point of view.
● Consider, include, and fairly present all sides of the topic.
● Structure your argument in a clear, logical manner that helps your readers to understand your thought process.
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● Discuss any counterarguments that might be posed.
● Use persuasive writing that’s appropriate for your target audience and motivates them to agree with you.
Follow these basic steps to write a powerful and meaningful argumentative essay :
If you’ve already been given a topic to write about, pick a stance that resonates deeply with you. This will shine through in your writing, make the research process easier, and positively influence the outcome of your argument.
To write an emotive argumentative essay , finding enough research to support your theory is a must. You’ll need solid evidence to convince readers to agree with your take on the matter. You’ll also need to logically organize the research so that it naturally convinces readers of your viewpoint and leaves no room for questioning.
A good structure to ensure a well-written and effective argumentative essay includes:
● Introduce your topic.
● Offer background information on the claim.
● Discuss the evidence you’ll present to support your argument.
● State your thesis statement, a one-to-two sentence summary of your claim.
● This is the section where you’ll develop and expand on your argument.
● It should be split into three or four coherent paragraphs, with each one presenting its own idea.
● Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that indicates why readers should adopt your belief or stance.
● Include your research, statistics, citations, and other supporting evidence.
● Discuss opposing viewpoints and why they’re invalid.
● This part typically consists of one paragraph.
● Summarize your research and the findings that were presented.
● Emphasize your initial thesis statement.
● Persuade readers to agree with your stance.
We certainly hope that you feel inspired to use these tips when writing your next argumentative essay . And, if you’re currently elbow-deep in writing one, consider submitting a free sample to us once it’s completed. Our expert team of editors can help ensure that it’s concise, error-free, and effective!
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Type of paper: Argumentative Essay
Topic: United States , Sociology , Oil , Violence , Culture , Middle East , Students , Democracy
Words: 2000
Published: 11/12/2019
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The term freedom can be used by individuals in various aspects. In speech, freedom is the right to speak freely; in movement, freedom is the ability to move freely; and in society, freedom is the absence of slavery and captivity. A country on the other hand may look at freedom as the right to self rule, without any interference from another country. Human actions, when not restricted or monitored properly, can greatly result in lack of freedom. Susan Faludi in her article “The Naked Citadel” writes about men who do not want the citadel to go coed. She discovers something puzzling: The boys want freedom for themselves, but at the same time want to deny others the freedom. Jon Krakauer in “Into the Wild” centers his story on a young boy who has been disheartened with his society, so on his quest for freedom, he is careless of other people’s happiness. Andrew Bachevich in “The real world war IV” writes the story from the American society point of view. The Americans are pursuing their freedom by controlling other nations. Generally, freedom can be defined as the ability of an individual or a group of people to act and live freely without being subjected to some form of pressure or restrictions. However, the American concept of freedom is merely another name for selfishness. In its broader perspective, freedom on one side may infringe the freedom of another side.
In all of these articles, freedom is portrayed in a way which affects others negatively, the freedom to live without others taking actions in response. This can clearly be seen in “The Naked Citadel” where one of the teachers complained about the hazing, “…she submitted the written threats she had received to her -chairman…The dean she said did nothing for some months, then, after she inquired, said he had ‘misplaced’ the offending document” ( Faludi 194). It is depicted here that the dean deliberately failed to act after receiving the woman’s complains about the treats. The dean’s failure to act is a sign of discrimination against the woman. In this quote, the urgency of this case is not considered, simply because it was the woman who was offended. The senior cadets think that they can do whatever they want to, because no one can interfere with their decisions. Constantly, they threatened the junior cadets as no one could control them; they are the boss of their own life. The freedom without restrictions or control is also seen in the American Society. The Americans are allowed by their freedom to invade the Middle East countries in their quest for oil. This is very wanting. We are told that, “… today, American political leaders cling to the belief that skillful application of military power will enable the United States to decide the fate not simply of the Persian Gulf proper but of the entire greater Middle East” ( Basewich 53). Americans believe that no one can control them. In stead, their freedom allows them to control others. They believe that their freedom allows them to invade and control Middle East; thereby ensuring uninterruptible flow of oil to America. They are prepared to accomplish this even if it means infringing other people’s rights. Their freedom allows them to live and act without others taking actions in response. Another form of freedom where there is lack of control is depicted in Jon Krakauer’s article “Into the Wild”. Chris McCandless is seen to be longing for independence. He wants to be alone, free from the influence of other people. He doesn’t want any restriction created by these people. It is stated that, “McCandles was Candid about his intent to spend the summer alone in the bush, living off the land. … he didn’t want to see a single person, no airplanes, no sign of civilization. He wanted to prove to himself that he could make it on his own, without anybody’s help.” (Krakauer 346). Chris believes that the people back home made him to be dependent on material things, luxuries, and ease. He therefore wants to pull out of this restriction by going into the bush alone where nobody can influence him. Although Chris wants to be a better person as he understands the dangers of restriction, he sets to search for freedom by running away from responsibility to both friends and family. He refuses to write to anyone about where he is and his condition. Finally, he endangers himself as he meets his early death. Though his motive is good, Chris causes harm to both himself and others back at home. This is contrary to the perception of freedom by the Americans and citadels, who believe that freedom must come with restrictions. The question we are left asking is, “Does greed for autonomy have restrictions?”
No restrictions can lead to greed for autonomy. We can clearly see this scenario depicted in all the three articles. Starting with “Into the Wild”, Chris is determined to attain what he regards as freedom, even if it means hurting both himself and other people. He could not be prevented by any restriction from achieving his objective. His friend Andy says “Chris was born into the wrong century. He was looking for more adventure and freedom which today’s society gives people … With his idiosyncratic logic, he came up with an elegant solution to his dilemma” (Krakauer 356). The main objective of Chris was to go into the bush alone and be independent, away from the influence of other people. Chris is seen to be very greedy for unrestricted power, which he sets out to find in spite of all the dangers. “The Naked Citadel” also portrays greed for unrestricted autonomy. In the article, freshmen were the constant victims of violence. The class difference within the cadet corps is the greatest cause of the violence and brutality as the seniors were constantly mistreating their juniors. The senior corps’ greed for autonomy makes them instill fear on their juniors through violence and brutality. They are not prepared for any challenge. One prime example of the cadet’s brutality is, “… two upper-class men burst into the room of two freshmen and reportedly kneed them in the genitals, pulled out some of their chest hair, and beat them up.” (Faludi, 200). The upper-class men are seen to be abusing their freedom. They are greedy for power. Their greed directly causes conflict, terror, and brutality to those in the lower class; whom they were supposed be protecting. Faludi writes, “… a senior cadet bursts into the room at 10p.m, and repeatedly struck the juniors in the chest and stomach, bruising them.” Here, the freshmen are denied what seems to be their freedom by their seniors. The upper class men have a great greed for power, which they constantly abuse. Under no circumstance are the senior men willing to let go the power as they believe that the freshmen do not deserve any freedom. This greed for autonomy is the center of focus in the American Society. Americans are portrayed as those who can go extra miles, even if it means creating conflict, engaging in war, applying brutality and killing the innocent; just to achieve their desires.
This is greed indeed! The attack in Middle East attests to this. From the American point of view, “The war on terror has offered important benefits. We know what to do, we know how it ends” (Basewich, 48). By asserting this, the Americans confirm that greed can drive them into conflict, war and brutality so that they can achieve their objectives. America was greedy for oil and they wanted to obtain oil by any means so that they could fulfill their interests. This greed led the Americas into denying other countries the freedom they deserved. America was by all means prepared to achieve whatever its greed drove it to, without restrictions from elsewhere.
Thus, the individuals in these articles create a “culture” to support their false ideal of freedom as not being controlled at all. Freedom is what a culture defines it to be. All these articles highlight the impacts of culture on freedom. In fact, it is culture which defines freedom. Culture is the greatest enemy of civilization when it is coupled with ignorance. We can see the various roles played by culture in the pursuit of freedom.
In the “Naked Citadel”, Faludi exposes the ignorance associated with some cultures. The cadets ignorantly abused the concept of the fourth class system without trying to find out its benefits. “The strict rule that upperclassmen not fraternize with knobs, meant that they couldn’t simply counsel the freshmen kindly.” (Faludi 68). As a result, they resort to beatings which infringed the freedom of the new students. This was a direct manifestation of ignorance. The culture allowed the older students within the student run-regimental command to punish and instill discipline on the new students. This resulted into various brutal incidents. The impacts of culture on freedom can also be identified in Andrew Basewich’s “World War IV”. America developed a materialistic culture which they respect to-date. From President Carter’s Doctrine, “An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” ( Basewich 53). The materialistic culture of Americans drives them to a belief that it is their right to control the oil in the Persian Gulf and any opposition to this must be dealt with properly. This is the very culture that has made America to invade Middle East in order to control the oil flow. Even though culture plays a very important role in an individual’s perception of freedom, “Into the Wild” introduces us to one man who believes that culture misleads.
Chris criticizes his culture and believes that he can live and attain the freedom without the influence of culture at all. Krakauer states “… so nature made it, and man may use it if he can. Man was not to be associated with it. It was matter, vast, terrific…” ( Krakauer 354). Chris rejects his culture which promotes dependency, goes into the bush, and meets his death. If he could have honored the culture, he would have not deceased that early.
Freedom should not be based on lack of freedom for others. It should not be used as a tool that propagates restrictions to others, as depicted here-in. America, with its freedom which causes restrictions to the Middle East, should have resorted to democracy rather than the use of force. America ought to have realized that countries in the Middle East are independent and needs to be respected. Freedom always comes with responsibility. The men in “The Naked Citadel”, who are entrusted with protecting the freshmen, ought to have realized that their greed for power directly affected others. Even though culture may have its own aspect of freedom, it should always try not to affect others negatively as depicted in the above cases. Freedom is meant to be enjoyed; however, this is not the case. In many cases, women have been denied their freedom of equality and are therefore discriminated on gender grounds. As shown in the article “The Naked Citadel”, males constantly deny women their freedom of equality. It is high time that one should realize that every person is equal, male or female. In fact, females have proved to be better than males in some occasions. Greed and the abuse of freedom have taken the centre stage in all the three articles. The men in the “The Naked Citadel” constantly abused the power bestowed upon them. The Americans have also used its powers negatively. The American freedom can thus be summarized by one word: greed. It is the greed and the selfish interests that drive America into colonizing countries. By taking control over a country’s product like oil, they infringe the host country’s freedom. It is quite shameful and embarrassing that America, of all the countries, can formulate fake reasons and policies so that they satisfy their insatiable demand for dominance.
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The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner.
Please note : Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay. These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy, detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length. Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE.
Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material. Argumentative assignments may also require empirical research where the student collects data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. Detailed research allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the topic so that she/he may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research. Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear thesis and follow sound reasoning.
The structure of the argumentative essay is held together by the following.
In the first paragraph of an argument essay, students should set the context by reviewing the topic in a general way. Next the author should explain why the topic is important ( exigence ) or why readers should care about the issue. Lastly, students should present the thesis statement. It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay.
Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will collapse. Transitions should wrap up the idea from the previous section and introduce the idea that is to follow in the next section.
Each paragraph should be limited to the discussion of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and direction throughout the essay. In addition, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph. Some paragraphs will directly support the thesis statement with evidence collected during research. It is also important to explain how and why the evidence supports the thesis ( warrant ).
However, argumentative essays should also consider and explain differing points of view regarding the topic. Depending on the length of the assignment, students should dedicate one or two paragraphs of an argumentative essay to discussing conflicting opinions on the topic. Rather than explaining how these differing opinions are wrong outright, students should note how opinions that do not align with their thesis might not be well informed or how they might be out of date.
The argumentative essay requires well-researched, accurate, detailed, and current information to support the thesis statement and consider other points of view. Some factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal evidence should support the thesis. However, students must consider multiple points of view when collecting evidence. As noted in the paragraph above, a successful and well-rounded argumentative essay will also discuss opinions not aligning with the thesis. It is unethical to exclude evidence that may not support the thesis. It is not the student’s job to point out how other positions are wrong outright, but rather to explain how other positions may not be well informed or up to date on the topic.
It is at this point of the essay that students may begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize the information presented in the body of the essay. Restate why the topic is important, review the main points, and review your thesis. You may also want to include a short discussion of more research that should be completed in light of your work.
Perhaps it is helpful to think of an essay in terms of a conversation or debate with a classmate. If I were to discuss the cause of World War II and its current effect on those who lived through the tumultuous time, there would be a beginning, middle, and end to the conversation. In fact, if I were to end the argument in the middle of my second point, questions would arise concerning the current effects on those who lived through the conflict. Therefore, the argumentative essay must be complete, and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its intent or argument.
A common method for writing an argumentative essay is the five-paragraph approach. This is, however, by no means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is because it is; in fact, the method consists of (a) an introductory paragraph (b) three evidentiary body paragraphs that may include discussion of opposing views and (c) a conclusion.
Complex issues and detailed research call for complex and detailed essays. Argumentative essays discussing a number of research sources or empirical research will most certainly be longer than five paragraphs. Authors may have to discuss the context surrounding the topic, sources of information and their credibility, as well as a number of different opinions on the issue before concluding the essay. Many of these factors will be determined by the assignment.
Senior Advisor to the Chancellor, Head of Vanderbilt's Project on Unity and American Democracy, and Co-Director of Vanderbilt Poll, Vanderbilt University
Research Professor of Political Science and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech, Vanderbilt University
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Vanderbilt University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.
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Americans’ views on free speech change directions every so often. One of those times was during the protests at U.S. universities about the Israel-Hamas war. As scholars of free speech and public opinion , we set out to find out what happened and why.
The Supreme Court itself, as recently as 1989, has declared that the “bedrock principle” of the First Amendment is that “ the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”
For years, conservative politicians and commentators have warned that college campuses are not strong enough protectors of free speech. But as demonstrations erupted, these same people complained that the protests were filled with antisemitic hate speech . Leading conservatives declared the demonstrations should be banned and halted, by force if necessary.
Liberals executed a similar reversal. Many of them have supported increased regulation of hate speech against minority groups. But during the campus protests, liberals cautioned that crackdowns by university administrators, state officials and the police violated protestors’ free speech rights.
As researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Project on Unity and American Democracy and The Future of Free Speech , respectively, we sought to determine where Americans stand. We drew inspiration from a poll done in November 1939 in which 3,500 Americans answered questions about free speech. In June 2024, we asked 1,000 Americans the identical questions.
We found that the vast majority of Americans – both then and now – agree that democracy requires freedom of speech. That’s in the abstract.
When the questions get more concrete, though, their support wanes.
Only about half of the respondents in both the 1939 and 2024 polls agreed that anybody in America should be allowed to speak on any subject at any time. The rest believed some speech – or certain subjects or speakers – should be prohibited.
This pattern is not unique to Americans. A 2021 survey in 33 countries by The Future of Free Speech , a nonpartisan think tank based at Vanderbilt, similarly found high levels of support for free speech in the abstract across all countries but lower support across the board for specific speech that was offensive to minority groups or religious beliefs.
We dug deeper in surveys in March and June 2024, asking which subjects or speakers should be banned. We thought the public’s appetite for free speech might have weakened amid the campus turmoil. We found the opposite.
When asked whether seven people with widely varied viewpoints should be allowed to speak, the share of people who said “Yes” rose for each one between March and June. Some of the differences were within the surveys’ margins of error, but it’s nevertheless noteworthy that all of them shifted in the same direction.
While showing a slightly increased appetite for free speech, these polls still fit with the overall contradiction: Large majorities of Americans passionately uphold free speech as a cornerstone of democracy. But fewer of them are supportive of free speech when faced with specific controversial speakers or topics.
Our surveys found that the public has a nuanced view of free speech. For instance, in our June 2024 survey we added some additional categories of potential speakers to the list we had asked about in March. More respondents were comfortable with a pro-Palestinian speaker than a leader of Hamas and with a scientist who believes that IQ varies by race rather than an outright white supremacist.
This pattern suggests that the public distinguishes between extreme and more moderate positions and is less tolerant of the rights of those with more extreme views.
This shift runs against the purpose of the First Amendment, which was intended to protect unpopular speech . The amendment very specifically was not intended to apply only to certain speakers or viewpoints.
Ours is not the only survey to find that many people don’t fully appreciate the logic and principles behind free speech.
In 2020, a Knight Foundation poll found that members of both political parties oppose speech that goes against their values or beliefs .
Later polls, including those conducted by other organizations, found more specifics: For instance, Democrats were more likely to support censorship of racist hate speech or vaccine misinformation.
And Republicans opposed drag shows and kneeling during the playing of the national anthem .
A February 2022 national poll commissioned by The New York Times and Siena College found that 30% of Americans believed that “ sometimes you have to shut down speech that is anti-democratic, bigoted, or simply untrue.”
With the 2024 election looming and polarization increasing among Americans, some people may want only those who agree with them to be allowed to speak.
But a true commitment to the fundamental principles of free speech requires people to allow space for controversial and even offensive viewpoints to be aired.
History reveals that censorship of hateful ideas is often a cure that is worse than the disease , deepening social divides. James Madison, a key drafter of both the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment, wrote in 1800:
“ Some degree of abuse is inseparable from the proper use of every thing … it is better to leave a few of its noxious branches, to their luxuriant growth, than by pruning them away, to injure the vigor of those yielding the proper fruits.”
As the founders knew, a respect for diverse viewpoints and the ability to express those views – good, bad and harmful alike – in the public sphere are essential to a healthy democracy.
Democracy challenged
Credit... Photo illustration by Matt Chase
Supported by
By David Leonhardt
David Leonhardt is a senior writer at The Times who won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Great Recession.
The United States has experienced deep political turmoil several times before over the past century. The Great Depression caused Americans to doubt the country’s economic system. World War II and the Cold War presented threats from global totalitarian movements. The 1960s and ’70s were marred by assassinations, riots, a losing war and a disgraced president.
These earlier periods were each more alarming in some ways than anything that has happened in the United States recently. Yet during each of those previous times of tumult, the basic dynamics of American democracy held firm. Candidates who won the most votes were able to take power and attempt to address the country’s problems.
The current period is different. As a result, the United States today finds itself in a situation with little historical precedent. American democracy is facing two distinct threats, which together represent the most serious challenge to the country’s governing ideals in decades.
The first threat is acute: a growing movement inside one of the country’s two major parties — the Republican Party — to refuse to accept defeat in an election.
The violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress , meant to prevent the certification of President Biden’s election, was the clearest manifestation of this movement, but it has continued since then. Hundreds of elected Republican officials around the country falsely claim that the 2020 election was rigged. Some of them are running for statewide offices that would oversee future elections, potentially putting them in position to overturn an election in 2024 or beyond.
“There is the possibility, for the first time in American history, that a legitimately elected president will not be able to take office,” said Yascha Mounk, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University who studies democracy.
Senate representation by state.
Residents of less populated states like Wyoming and North Dakota, who are disproportionately white, have outsize influence.
1 voter in Wyoming
has similar representation as
1 voter in North Dakota
6 voters in Connecticut
7 voters in Alabama
18 voters in Michigan
59 voters in California
has similar
representation as
There were about twice as many districts where a Democratic House candidate won by at least 50 percentage points as there were districts where a Republican candidate won by as much.
Landslide (one candidate won
by at least 50 percentage points)
Barbara Lee
Calif. District 13
Jerry Nadler
N.Y. District 10
Diana DeGette
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Donald Payne Jr.
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Jesús García
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Essay: Salman Rushdie’s Next Act
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In his life-affirming memoir “knife,” the writer shows how society must respond to untrammeled hatred..
It was more than 33 years after the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa, or Islamic legal ruling, condemning Salman Rushdie to death when the novelist was attacked by a deluded man. This man had not read the novel The Satanic Verses , which had so offended the ayatollah and prompted the fatwa. Nor had Khomeini, who had been smarting under the humiliation of an Iran-Iraq truce and sought to divert the attention of angry Iranians by singling out the book, which he said insulted Islam.
On Aug. 12, 2022, Rushdie was at a literary festival in Chautauqua, a calm retreat in upstate New York. That morning, he was meant to be speaking with Henry Reese, the founder of City of Asylum , a project in Pittsburgh that offers refuge to writers fleeing persecution. Rushdie had helped raise funds when the project launched in 2004. The tranquil surroundings in 2022 symbolized the project’s central idea: a place where writers can be at peace, safe from harm, so they might reflect and write again without fear.
In a mere 27 seconds—the time it takes to read a Shakespearean sonnet, as Rushdie points out in his hauntingly engrossing, sobering, and ultimately life-affirming new memoir, Knife —the man (who Rushdie does not name in the book) rushed toward Rushdie and plunged a knife all over his body, more than a dozen times, severing his tendons and nerves in his left hand. Rushdie lay sprawling on the ground, still conscious. His life was saved, foremost, by Reese (who also took blows and was injured), a doctor who rushed to the site, and other emergency responders who tried to stop the flow of blood.
A long process of recovery followed, permanently altering Rushdie’s life. The attacker had managed to pierce Rushdie’s right eye, destroying its optic nerve; slashed Rushdie’s neck; and wounded other organs. But he had missed vital veins and arteries—only because he did not know how to kill.
Rushdie has spent his life rebelling against the idea that people can be killed for their thought. He has challenged those with power—politicians or religious leaders—and been a persistent and outspoken champion of free speech. Freedom to imagine, think, write, doubt, disagree, challenge, hold one’s own, be irreverent, laugh, ridicule, rejoice, celebrate: These are the foundational principles of his thinking, work, and life.
Rushdie, photographed in his home in London, circa 1988. Horst Tappe/Getty Images
In the process, Rushdie has ended up defending even those who have later profoundly disagreed with him. He has supported the freedom of those who wish him ill. He is in the public eye, but he has not spoken out to court publicity or limelight; rather, he reminds us why we must keep the light shining on the idea of liberty (because darker forces want to snuff it out) and that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. In his earlier memoir, Joseph Anton , published in 2012, Rushdie wrote about himself in the third person, saying he was aware that defending freedom was a battle that could cost his life: “Is the thing for which you are fighting worth losing your life for? And he had found it possible to answer YES. He was prepared to die if dying became necessary for what Carmen Callil had called ‘a bloody book’.”
During his many years in hiding, there had been undisclosed attempts on his life. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses and a scholar of Islamic art, had been murdered; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator of The Satanic Verses , was stabbed but survived; and William Nygaard, the book’s Norwegian publisher, was shot. As Rushdie recently recounted in an interview, when he reached out to Nygaard to apologize, Nygaard said: “Salman, don’t apologize. I’m a grown-up. I knew that I wanted to publish The Satanic Verses , and I’m very happy that I did …. Guess what. I’ve just ordered a very large reprint.”
As Rushdie writes in this new memoir, one of his worst nightmares is losing his eyesight; in the attack, he lost one eye. Long before the attack, he had written the manuscript of his 2023 novel, Victory City (his 16th book since the fatwa), in which the protagonist is blinded on orders of an enraged ruler. As Rushdie recovered at home, he was gripped with nightmarish visions of the Duke of Gloucester being blinded in King Lear and the opening sequence of the Luis Buñuel movie An Andalusian Dog , in which a cloud drifting across the moon becomes a razor blade slicing an eye.
Knife , which came out earlier this year, tells in excruciating detail the pain Rushdie endured after the attack. The real hero of the book is Rushdie’s wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, whose courage, affirmation, support, and love helped him recover. Courage, Ernest Hemingway wrote, is grace under pressure; Rushdie has shown that courage leads to triumph, for it shows defiant will in the face of violence. Rushdie’s remarkable genius—of word associations; of astonishing memory recalling stories from myths, literature, and history; of playfulness—remains undiminished.
In this reflective memoir, Rushdie writes how in late summer 2022 he felt he had forewarning of the attack. A few nights before the attempt on his life, he dreamt about a man with a spear attacking him. But nightmares must not intrude on reality, Rushdie believed. And yet, that morning he saw a frenzied man race towards him. As Rushdie recalls in the book, his first thought was: “So it is you. Here you are.” And then: “Why now? Really? It’s been so long. Why now, after all these years?”
The questions Rushdie had—Why now? Why after all these years?—are not rhetorical. Born in India’s most cosmopolitan city, then known as Bombay, Rushdie went on to make polyglot London his home. But at the turn of the millennium, with the fatwa clipping his wings and continued uncharitable and churlish criticism of his writing, he decided to leave London for New York, the international city with a mind of its own. Rushdie wanted to remake himself, to leave life under the shadow of the fatwa, which often made it seem as if he had written only one book.
For those of us who grew up in post-independence India, and particularly those from Bombay, Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children made many of us feel English was our language, as well. We could do it, too; it was not an alien language. We too owned it.
I first met Rushdie in 1983, on his first visit to India after he won the Booker Prize for Midnight’s Children . (I’ve interviewed him several times since, reviewed his works, and in recent years been in conversations with him at literary festivals.) Many of us were appalled when, in 1988, India became the first country in the world to effectively ban The Satanic Verses by preventing its import; its Indian publisher, meanwhile, decided not to publish it. At the time, I worked at the magazine India Today and wrote among the earliest editorials criticizing that profoundly illiberal act by the Indian government.
The Satanic Verses is easily among the most imaginative novels of all time. It is about hybridity, migration, and our divided selves—where angels take on the garb of devils, and devils can deceive and appear angelic. It is multilayered. It is about two men landing in Britain from an exploded jet, one of whom is an actor who loses his mind and imagines the birth of a great religion. In the hallucination the protagonist imagines listening to divine voices and later rejects some verses as inspired by the Satan. This is from an episode from Islamic history and ripe with speculative possibilities. What kind of an idea are you, the protagonist asks in the novel, “Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself to society, aims to find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed, bloody-minded, ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than sway with the breeze? – The kind that will almost certainly, ninety-nine times out of hundred, be smashed to bits; but, the hundredth time, will change the world.”
Rushdie persists, and remains important, because of that spirit of defiance. The Satanic Verses celebrated the migrant, the marginalized, the one cast on an alien shore forced to adopt new norms. The migrant blended into the city and changed it, though the city remained “visible but unseen.” He had to transform himself, and in that confused state it became difficult to distinguish between history and myth, between fact and lies, between certainty and doubt.
The fatwa was the ultimate test. Rushdie could change himself and write different kinds of books—safer, simpler, offering comfort. He could become less of an artist, scared into submission, avoiding risks. Or he could write angry books seeking revenge. Both approaches would have distracted him from the path he had chosen, that of a storyteller. “One of the greatest acts of will that I’ve ever performed in my life was to try and not let my writing be knocked off track [by the fatwa],” he said recently.
The British government offered Rushdie protection after the fatwa was issued, and some of his closest friends—Ian McEwan, Christopher Hitchens, James Fenton, Martin Amis, and others—defended him. But many other public figures, including John le Carré, John Berger, Germaine Greer, Hugh Trevor-Roper, then-Prince Charles, and Jimmy Carter, all felt Rushdie was somehow wrong; that he had overstepped the mark, and that offending the faith was simply not done.
Rushdie was active on issues of race in Britain, speaking out for racial equality and joining anti-racism campaigns during the tumultuous 1970s when the right wing National Front party began marching through British cities, inspired by Winston Churchill’s opposition of migration from Caribbean countries in the 1950s and Conservative parliamentarian Enoch Powell’s speech warning of “ rivers of blood ” if uncontrolled migration from former colonies continued. When graffiti saying “KBW,” or “Keep Britain White,” began to appear in immigrant neighborhoods, Rushdie spoke up. But after the fatwa, many of the people he supported also wanted him prosecuted, and some were burning The Satanic Verses in British towns.
From left to right: American authors Susan Sontag, Gay Talese, E. L. Doctorow, and Norman Mailer are seated among a group of people at Writers in Support of Salman Rushdie in New York City on Feb. 22, 1989. Sara Krulwich/New York Times Co./Getty Images
As Rushdie puts it in Joseph Anton : “He needed to understand that there were people who would never love him. No matter how carefully he explained his work or clarified his intentions in creating it, they would not love him. The unreasoning mind, driven by the doubt-free absolutes of faith, could not be convinced by reason. Those who had demonized him would never say, ‘Oh, look, he’s not a demon after all.’ … He needed, now, to be clear of what he was fighting for. Freedom of speech, freedom of the imagination, freedom from fear, and the beautiful, ancient art of which he was privileged to be a practitioner. Also skepticism, irreverence, doubt, satire, comedy, and unholy glee. He would never again flinch from the defense of these things.”
In Knife , there is a section where Rushdie imagines a conversation with the failed assassin, who tells Rushdie: “You are hated by two billion people …. You must feel like a worm. Beneath all your smart talk, you know you are less than a worm. To be crushed beneath our heel.” It hurt Rushdie that India, where he was born, was the first country to restrict The Satanic Verses , and that India’s Hindu nationalist leadership had nothing substantial to say about the attack on Rushdie in 2022. Rushdie didn’t have anything good to say about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s politics either—in speeches, in a short piece he wrote for an anthology I co-edited when India turned 75, and most importantly in Victory City , which was published after the attack and is a love letter to the pluralist India getting lost in the Modi era.
Victory City , published in early 2023, tells the story of Pampa Kampana and the city she creates, Bisnaga. Bisnaga is a corrupted way to pronounce Vijaynagara (“city of victory”), a real city-empire in southern India between the 14th and 16th centuries. As a girl, Pampa Kampana saw her mother burn herself, and a goddess gave her divine powers and a curse: She was to fight to protect women from being burned and would live a long time. She was to see both the success and failure of her mission, because what is life, if not victory and defeat? The narrative she writes is appropriately called Jayaparajaya , or “victory and defeat.”
By spraying magical seeds on the ground, Pampa created Bisnaga and lived for 247 years—a period approximating the length of the Vijayanagara empire, and also, as Judith Shulevitz noted in the Atlantic , coinciding with the length of time from 1776, the year the United States declared independence, to 2023, the year of the novel’s publication. Pampa Kampana’s vision—tolerance, women’s rights, equality—coincided with the liberal instincts of India’s founding fathers, which the Modi administration seems so determined to overturn. Victory City ends: “While they lived, they were victors, or vanquished, or both. Now they are neither. … I myself am nothing now. All that remains is this city of words. Words are the only victors.”
Augustus expelled Ovid, but Ovid’s poetry survived. Joseph Stalin sent Osip Mandelstam to the Gulag, but Mandelstam’s verses remain; Stalin’s deeds only record Soviet darkness. Francisco Franco’s fascists killed Federico García Lorca, but his works are recalled around the world; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn outlived the Soviet Union, and Liu Xiaobo will be remembered long after Xi Jinping is forgotten. Words outlive tyrants.
Writers gather to read selected works of Rushdie, one week after he was stabbed, during a rally to show solidarity for free expression outside the New York Public Library in New York City on Aug. 19, 2022. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
In 2000, Rushdie came to the United States. He wanted to live his life, enjoy his liberty, and pursue happiness. He succeeded, although his early days in New York weren’t easy. Some people would balk being near him, and he thought the only way he could stop that was by behaving as if he were not scared. He had to show them that there was nothing to be scared about. As the years passed, not only was it possible to see Rushdie at art galleries, parties, restaurants, or walking in a park or strolling on a sidewalk, he continued to speak for liberty. As Knife shows, through love, and Griffiths, his wife, he discovered happiness. It is not easy to write about happiness. Rushdie cites the French writer Henry de Montherlant: “Happiness writes in white ink on white pages.” Easy to experience, difficult to describe.
Rushdie speaks on stage at the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 18, 2023. Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Rushdie fought for the freedom of thought and the freedom to speak long before he wrote his first novel, Grimus , in 1975. He was involved with the literary and human rights society English PEN and later was president of PEN America. He helped setting up Reese’s City of Asylum project, and with enlightened European activists he supported the formation of the International Cities of Refuge Network , a coalition of 86 cities in Europe and the Americas that has provided temporary refuge to more than 200 writers and artists from around the world. He has unfailingly helped writers seeking help— supporting Taslima Nasrin of Bangladesh, who was hounded by fundamentalists, and honoring the slain cartoonists of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo . As former chair of the Writers in Prison Committee at PEN International, on a few occasions I had to reach out to Rushdie to seek a statement from him, or some intervention or other help, to help a writer in distress. He responded promptly and unflinchingly.
But being firm in his commitment to freedom of expression does not make Rushdie stubborn. He has reflected on the spread of the internet and its profusion of voices and what they can mean. The internet lets lies travel fast and wide (including those with sinister consequences, such as election denial or questioning the effectiveness of science and vaccines). In a conversation I had with him and the German writer Carolin Emcke in 2021, Rushdie reflected on European restrictions on lies and propaganda and whether they could be effective in stopping the spread of hate speech. “One has to distinguish between hate speech and falsehood,” he said, “and the speech with which we disagree. We have to somehow find that line.”
Rushdie has discovered outrageous statements attributed to him spread far and wide on the internet, reappearing despite his periodic, strenuous, and exasperated denials of the attributions. In a 2020 story he wrote in the New Yorker , “The Old Man in the Piazza,” he showed that Manichaean divide of false binaries is crowding out nuance and arguments.
Rushdie is also dismayed by the way the progressive world has ceded the battle of free speech to the unscrupulous right. In Knife , He writes of progressives’ priorities evolving, wherein “protecting the rights and sensibilities of groups perceived as vulnerable would take precedence over freedom of speech, which the Nobel laureate Elias Canetti had called ‘the tongue set free.’” The right, Rushdie writes, has “a new social agenda, one that sounded a lot like an old one: authoritarianism, backed up by unscrupulous media, big money, complicit politicians, and corrupt judges”—far away from the ideas of freedom Rushdie understood, of Thomas Paine, of the Enlightenment, of John Stuart Mill.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) speaks with Rushdie and his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, in Berlin on May 16. Guido Bergmann/Bundesregierung via Getty Images
One question Rushdie reflects on in Knife is: What to do with the gift of time he now has, thanks to extraordinary love from his family and close friends and the exceptional skills of the medical professionals who treated him? He would like nothing better than to be what he has wished to be—the writer in a room making things up and writing those stories. Once, Rushdie did not think he would write about the attack, but his agent and friend Andrew Wylie was convinced that he would. In Knife , Rushdie explains his change of heart: “To write would be my way of owning what happened, taking charge of it, making it mine, refusing to be a mere victim. I would answer violence with art.”
Salman Rushdie’s life, ideas, literature, and beliefs have been steadfast in upholding love over hate, truth over falsehoods, doubt over certainty, defiance over compliance, and art over noise. Joseph Anton was written in the third person, as if Rushdie was looking at himself by stepping outside that experience—of the fatwa—and leaving it behind him. With Knife , he has returned center-stage with a singular account in the first person.
Rushdie loves comics; when he joined social media, he doffed his proverbial hat to Popeye the Sailor and wrote, “I yam what I yam.” And so he is.
Salil Tripathi is a writer based in New York. He is the author of The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy , and he is working on a book about the Gujaratis.
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