Whether you’re writing an editorial for your local paper, an argumentative essay for class, or a ranting blog post, you want to change minds.

Right?

In that case, there is one simple thing you can do to knock your opponent’s viewpoint and elevate your own.

Ready?

Acknowledge, and even validate, the opposing viewpoint in your essay.

Yup! Seriously, it’s that simple. When I was in college and studying for my B.S. in Journalism, my professor taught us this trick for writing convincing editorials.

The structure works like this:

• State your position
• Cite your facts and sources to back up your position
• Acknowledge the opposing viewpoint and why it might make sense
• Return to your position and counter the opposing viewpoint by citing additional facts and sources

Works like a charm. 🙂

Of course, you want your argumentative essay to be well-researched and use information from reputable sources. However, by acknowledging and validating your opponent’s viewpoint, you can actually delegitimize it more.

Try it, and let me know what you think!

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