L'essai argumentatif - Introduction

When writing an argumentative essay, you are trying to convince your audience with your point of view. You need facts. You need arguments that are valid, coherent, logical and supported by the credible sources. That is just good writing.

Things to know about the argumentative essay

State your position. Make sure your audience knows your point of view.
Use VOUS if you address your audience. Again, use VOUS.
You have to support your point of view. Develop an argument. It's the "golden thread" that you will weave throughout your essay.
Support your argument. Use specific facts and examples from the printed material and audio document to accomplish this goal. You do not have to agree with the arguments from the sources. Create your own viewpoint; however, be sure that you support your viewpoint with information from the three sources.
Build your argument around the facts and details from the three sources that you have prioritized.
Cite the three sources without just repeating word-for-word information from the sources. You are NOT expected to summarize the sources. You can quote very sparingly from the sources provided you use quotes and cite. However, this essay is about YOUR writing and YOUR words.
An argument is only as good as its logic and sequencing. Remember the "golden thread"? You are weaving your argument logically and coherently throughout your essay.
Be sure to provide a conclusion - one that ties the information from the three sources with your argument.

Final Note: On the AP exam, you will have a total of about 55 minutes for the argumentative essay. You will have six minutes to read the printed material, 30 seconds to read the introduction for the audio document and five to six minutes to listen to the audio twice. You will have 40 minutes to write your essay.