Argument structure is the way your paragraphs are built and arranged so that a reader can follow your position from the first sentence to the last. In First Language English 0500, writing that takes a position is assessed on how well it is controlled and organised, so structure is a skill you can practise. Check your own syllabus year on the Cambridge subject page for the exact tasks.
This module belongs to the English First Language learning guide, and it sits beside audience, purpose and register and narrative design.
What should you already know?
You should be able to write a clear sentence and a short paragraph. Some knowledge of connectives such as because, however and therefore is enough. You do not need advanced vocabulary.
An orienting example
Take the claim Phones should be kept out of lessons. It is a position, but not yet an argument.
Make it precise: Phones should be kept out of lessons, because one notification can break the attention a hard task needs. Add evidence: a student halfway through an algebra problem glances at a message. Add explanation: she must find her place again, so the interruption costs more than its length. Link back to the claim.
That is one paragraph. Now imagine three of them in an order that builds: the problem, the solution, then the objection answered. Close with a limit: in lessons needing sustained thought, unless a device is part of the task. That is an argument.
In what order should you study the lessons?
- Build a paragraph around a precise claim. Everything else depends on a claim you can defend.
- Link evidence and explanation. This is the step that turns facts into reasoning.
- Order arguments for a coherent progression. It arranges your paragraphs so the whole piece moves.
- Write a qualified conclusion. It ends the argument with a position that has limits.
- Revise a paragraph whose examples do not support its point. This gives you a checking habit.
Then test yourself with the argument structure practice set.
What are the common traps?
- Topic instead of claim. “Phones in school” gives the paragraph nothing to prove.
- Evidence with no explanation. The number sits there and the reader must guess.
- Random order. “Another reason is…” hides how ideas relate.
- Overclaiming. “Always” and “never” invite the reader to find one exception.
- Examples that prove something nearby. The paragraph sounds fine and persuades nobody.
How should you use the practice set?
Write each answer before opening the worked one. Compare your reasoning rather than your wording, since many good answers exist. Log any repeated error in the mistake log and retest queue, and use the writing revision compare view to set an early draft beside a revised one.
If you want help applying these skills to your own essays, our teachers offer online one-to-one English First Language tuition across Malaysia.