An argumentative essay develops a position through reasons and evidence, then addresses a serious challenge. Use these original exercises for the optional in-school essay route when your school includes it. A strong response needs a defensible rule, not simply a list of opinions about the topic.
Reason through the task
Read the prompt for the tension it asks you to resolve. Plan a qualified thesis, one or two developed examples and an objection that could actually weaken your position. Explain how each example supports the rule: naming a historical event without analyzing its relevant features is insufficient. A reasonable practice allocation for thirty minutes is four minutes planning, twenty-two drafting and four revising; adjust after rehearsal. Check logical transitions, unsupported generalizations and sentence clarity at the end.
Worked example and a tempting error
Original prompt: should a club revise a promise when new evidence shows that keeping it would cause avoidable harm? A thesis might say that revision is justified by serious new risk if the club explains the change and reduces others’ reliance costs. Develop a canceled outdoor trip after a credible storm warning: show the new evidence, the danger and the arrangements offered to participants. “Promises should change whenever inconvenient” drops both the seriousness threshold and the reliance responsibility.
Try a different case
Transfer objection: allowing exceptions may make every promise unreliable. Answer that concern with a constraint, not “some people disagree.” Explain that documented new risk, public reasons and compensating plans distinguish responsible revision from convenience. The revised commitment should still protect trust where possible. This response takes the objection seriously while showing why strict fulfillment can sometimes defeat the responsibility that originally made the promise important.