The Dialectical Essay Overview A dialectical essay is very similar to a Persuasive essay, though a dialectical essay follows a more rigid format than a Persuasive essay. Depending on how you were taught by your English teachers, a Dialectical essay might be exactly the same as a Persuasive essay, or it could be a completely different form of essay. Carefully read the description below to make sure you understand what is meant by a "Dialectical essay" for this class. Five Paragraphs For our purposes in this course, a dialectical essay follows one train of thought through a sort of dialogue (hence "dialectic") of argumentation, and it will consist of the following five paragraphs: Paragraph 1:  The Introduction of the Thesis The introductory paragraph should simply introduce the thesis, and it should make very clear what exactly is being asserted by the thesis. This entire paragraph might be no more than one sentence, but it is usually appropriate to include other sentences that clarify the meanings of the terms in the thesis. The first paragraph might also include an explicit declaration that the thesis is controversial.  Important: The thesis is absolutely not to be supported by any argumentation in paragraph #1!  The 1st paragraph must be absolutely argument-free!  Save your argument for the second paragraph! Paragraph 2:  The Argument The second paragraph includes a single main argument in support of the thesis.  It should consist of reasons or evidence given in support of the thesis. In other words, the author's thesis is made into the conclusion of an argument. Here the author is disclosing their own sincerely-held beliefs. The reasons or evidence provided should be things that one would expect a rational reader to find perfectly plausible. The most important thing is this:  If a person accepts these reasons (premises), then her logical thought processes should lead her to accept the thesis as well. As the central feature of the essay, this main argument must be absolutely clear and it must have good form and true premises (so it will be sound if deductive, cogent if inductive). One way to make the argument clear is by using a conclusion indicator (and perhaps premise indicators as well). If this argument is unclear, or if it has bad form (or content), the rest of the essay will suffer. This paragraph will also contain enough supporting information – such as definitions of key terms - to help the reader properly understand and contextualize the thesis. Paragraph 3:  An Objection In the third paragraph, the author plays the Devil’s Advocate (arguing for a position that is not sincerely believed by the author). This position is an anticipated criticism of the argument featured in the second paragraph. The first sentence of the third paragraph must use transitional language to indicate that the author is changing their role from arguing for their own sincere beliefs to providing an account of the thinking of those who might disagree. Exa.

1. The Dialectical Essay
Overview
A dialectical essay is very similar to a Persuasive essay, though
a dialectical essay follows a more rigid format than a Persuasive
essay. Depending on how you were taught by your English
teachers, a Dialectical essay might be exactly the same as a
Persuasive essay, or it could be a completely different form of
essay. Carefully read the description below to make sure you
understand what is meant by a "Dialectical essay" for this class.
Five Paragraphs
For our purposes in this course, a dialectical essay follows one
train of thought through a sort of dialogue (hence "dialectic") of
argumentation, and it will consist of the following five
paragraphs:
Paragraph 1: The Introduction of the Thesis
The introductory paragraph should simply introduce the thesis,
and it should make very clear what exactly is being asserted by
the thesis. This entire paragraph might be no more than one
sentence, but it is usually appropriate to include other sentences
that clarify the meanings of the terms in the thesis. The first
paragraph might also include an explicit declaration that the
thesis is controversial. Important: The thesis is
absolutely not to be supported by any argumentation in
paragraph #1! The 1st paragraph must be absolutely argument-
free! Save your argument for the second paragraph!
Paragraph 2: The Argument
The second paragraph includes a single main argument in
support of the thesis. It should consist of reasons or evidence
given in support of the thesis. In other words, the author's thesis
is made into the conclusion of an argument. Here the author is
disclosing their own sincerely-held beliefs. The reasons or

2. evidence provided should be things that one would expect a
rational reader to find perfectly plausible. The most important
thing is this: If a person accepts these reasons (premises), then
her logical thought processes should lead her to accept the
thesis as well. As the central feature of the essay, this main
argument must be absolutely clear and it must have good form
and true premises (so it will be sound if deductive, cogent if
inductive). One way to make the argument clear is by using a
conclusion indicator (and perhaps premise indicators as well). If
this argument is unclear, or if it has bad form (or content), the
rest of the essay will suffer. This paragraph will also contain
enough supporting information – such as definitions of key
terms - to help the reader properly understand and contextualize
the thesis.
Paragraph 3: An Objection
In the third paragraph, the author plays the Devil’s Advocate
(arguing for a position that is not sincerely believed by the
author). This position is an anticipated criticism of the
argument featured in the second paragraph. The first sentence of
the third paragraph must use transitional language to indicate
that the author is changing their role from arguing for their own
sincere beliefs to providing an account of the thinking of those
who might disagree. Examples of such transitional language
would be a sentence or a phrase such as "There are those who
disagree with the above line of reasoning..." or "Some might
suggest that the above argument is flawed, because..." The
rest of the third paragraph proceeds to offer a supposed direct
objection to the argument presented in the second paragraph (as
though in an argument or debate). This is not to be an objection
to the thesis itself, but rather it should be a direct response to
the central argument found in paragraph 2. In other words, this
paragraph gives reasons to believe that the argument in
paragraph 2 is flawed in some way. The goal of the objection is
not to show that the thesis is false, but rather to show that the
argument in paragraph 2 fails to establish the truth of the thesis.

3. (Important: If the main argument from paragraph 2 is not clear,
it will be impossible for the objection to respond to it directly.
This is why the argument in paragraph 2 must be clear!)
Paragraph 4: The Response
Here the author returns to defending their own sincerely held
views, and once again the first sentence here must use
appropriate transitional language to make it perfectly clear that
the author is returning to their own voice. This paragraph is a
response to the objection in the third paragraph. It should not
be a restatement of paragraph 2. Instead, it is to be a direct
counter-response (again as in a debate) to the specific objection
just raised in paragraph 3. By this point one will likely have
moved away from discussing the thesis, since at this time you
are arguing that there is some flaw in the objection (which itself
may have little to do with the thesis). Do not make the mistake
of offering a new argument for the thesis. Instead, focus on
analyzing and critiquing the objection raised in paragraph 3.
Paragraph 5: The Conclusion
This final paragraph briefly summarizes the chain of dialectic
that has been traced through the preceding paragraphs. The
conclusion will usually include the thesis restatement in a new
way.
EXAMPLE #1:
The Responsibility of American News Reporters
by Jim Watkins
Most news reports are influenced by the perspective of those
who have produced those reports. American news reporters have
an obligation to our society to strive for impartiality in their
reporting.
In the voting booth, our decisions should be made with a full
understanding of the relevant issues. However, even those who
do not understand the issues get to vote. Consequently, the

4. American people could conceivably be voting against their own
interests without knowing it, and our free elections could
actually be undermining the common interests of the people.
Thus, an informed populace is essential to the health of our
society. Importantly, the average American is too busy to
acquire firsthand knowledge of the important issues and events
in our society, so the American people must rely on the news
media to stay informed. If the American people get their news
from biased sources, then they won’t have a full understanding
of the issues when they step into the voting booth at election
time. Thus, given that an informed populace is essential to the
health of our society, and given that the American people must
rely on the news media to stay informed, American news
reporters have an obligation to our society to strive for
impartiality in their reporting.
Some would say that American reporters have no such
obligations, and that the above argument mistakenly presumes
that American reporters have a special obligation to do
whatever they can to prevent the American people from
undermining their own interests. It is argued that this alleged
moral requirement is an unreasonable burden on our news
reporters. In other words, it’s not the job of the news media to
babysit the American people. For those Americans who are too
busy or ignorant to get their facts straight, that’s their problem.
Thus, American news reporters are off the hook.
In response to the above objection, it is worth noting that the
original argument does indeed make a presumption, but this
presumption has been mis-characterized. The objection given
above suggests that all news reporters have a special
obligation to do whatever they can to prevent the American
people from undermining their own interests. Were this
presumption necessary to the original argument, the objection
might stand. However, the original argument need only presume
that all Americans have a general obligation to avoid courses of
action that could conceivably undermine the larger interests of
our society. Since enough Americans have a mistaken belief that

5. they can get their news from any source to get “the facts,” or
the belief that their own particular news sources of choice
usually get the facts right, we can foresee the possibility that
biased news reporting can undermine the interests of the
American people.
In summary, an informed populace is essential to the health of
our society, but the American people must rely on the news
media to stay informed. When news reporting is biased, the
American people can be largely misinformed. This can
undermine the true interests of the American people.
Thus, American news reporters have a moral obligation to our
society to strive for impartiality in their reporting.
EXAMPLE #2:
Learning to Reason Well
by Jim Watkins
There are important similarities between learning to drive a
stick shift and learning how to think critically, such that it is
safe to say that learning to reason well is like learning to drive
a manual transmission in a car.
Consider the contrast between a manual versus an automatic
transmission. All other things being equal, a manual
transmission puts more control in the hands of the driver. This
can lead to better overall performance. Under these conditions,
greater control will be beneficial if it is placed in the hands of
those who are competent. At first, we are not competent to drive
a stick shift. Importantly, we develop our shifting skills
by operating the transmission (often poorly at first),
recognizing our errors, and refining our habits to the point that
we can operate the transmission well. By analogy, the manual
transmission is like reason. An automatic transmission is
like intuition. In contrast with human intuition, reasoning puts
more control in the hands of the person. In theory, this can lead
to deeper understanding. Like driving a manual transmission,

6. the greater control offered by reason will only be beneficial if it
is placed in the hands of those who are competent. Importantly,
we develop our reasoning skills by using our reason (often
poorly at first), recognizing our errors, and refining our habits
to the point that we can reason well. Given the similarity
between the transmission and the human mind with regard to
how an individual develops the ability to operate either of these
things. So, learning to reason well is like learning to
successfully operate a manual transmission in a car.
Some might object that the analogy breaks down because there
is a relevant difference between automobile transmissions and
human minds. Automatic transmissions, it is argued, offer a
level of performance that is sufficient for fulfilling our
objective (travelling around town), while normal human
intuition is insufficient for fulfilling our objective (refining our
understanding.) Thus, it is said, the analogy breaks down.
The above objection is mistaken. The cited difference does not
detract from the similarity between the two cases regarding the
manner in which the given skills are acquired. Both cases
require the learner to actively engage the relevant apparatus to
the point that they develop the skills necessary to operate the
given apparatus (whether the “apparatus” is the transmission or
the mind). Both new drivers and new thinkers will struggle, but
in both cases success will come through the committed efforts
of the students. So, while the objection cites a real difference,
that difference is irrelevant to the original argument.
There are important similarities between learning to drive a
stick shift and learning how to think critically. Differences
between the two cases are irrelevant to the fact that learning to
reason well is like learning to drive a manual transmission in a
car.

7. The Dialectical Essay
O
verview
A dialectical essay is very similar to a Persuasive essay, though
a dialectical essay
follows a more rigid format than a Persuasive essay. Depending
on how you were
taught by your English teachers, a Dialectical essay might be
exactly the same as a
Persuas
ive essay, or
it could be a completely different form of essay
. Carefully read the
description below to make sure you understand what is meant by
a "Dialectical
essay"
for this class
.
Five Paragraphs
For our purposes in this course, a dialectical essay f
ollows one train of thought through
a sort of dialogue (hence "dialectic") of argumentation, and it
will consist of the following
five paragraphs:

8. Paragraph 1:
The Introduction of the
Thesis
The introductory paragraph should simply introduce the thesis,
and it should make very
clear what exactly is being asserted by the thesis. This entire
paragraph might be no
more than one sentence, but it is usually appropriate to include
other sentences that
clarify the meanings of the terms in the thesis. The first
paragraph might also include an
explicit declaration that the thesis is controversial.
Important:
The thesis is
absolutely
not
to be supported by
any
argumentation in paragraph #1!
The 1st
paragraph must be absolutely argument
-

9. free
!
Save your argument f
or the second
paragraph!
Paragraph 2:
The Argument
The second paragraph includes
a single main argument in support of the
thesis
.
It
should consist of reasons or evidence given in support of the
thesis. In other words,
the
author's thesis is made into the
conclusion
of an
argument
.

10. Here the author is
disclosing their own sincerely
-
held beliefs. The reasons or evidence provided sho
uld be
things that one would expect a rational reader to find perfectly
plausible. The most
important thing is this:
If a person accepts these reasons (premises), then her logical
thought processes should lead her to accept the thesis as well.
As the cent
ral feature of
the essay,
this main argument must be absolutely clear
and
it must have good form and
true premises
(so it will be
sound
if deductive,
cogent
if inductive). One way to make the
The Dialectical Essay
Overview
A dialectical essay is very similar to a Persuasive essay, though

11. a dialectical essay
follows a more rigid format than a Persuasive essay. Depending
on how you were
taught by your English teachers, a Dialectical essay might be
exactly the same as a
Persuasive essay, or it could be a completely different form of
essay. Carefully read the
description below to make sure you understand what is meant by
a "Dialectical
essay" for this class.
Five Paragraphs
For our purposes in this course, a dialectical essay follows one
train of thought through
a sort of dialogue (hence "dialectic") of argumentation, and it
will consist of the following
five paragraphs:
Paragraph 1: The Introduction of the Thesis
The introductory paragraph should simply introduce the thesis,
and it should make very
clear what exactly is being asserted by the thesis. This entire
paragraph might be no
more than one sentence, but it is usually appropriate to include
other sentences that
clarify the meanings of the terms in the thesis. The first
paragraph might also include an
explicit declaration that the thesis is controversial. Important:
The thesis is
absolutely not to be supported by any argumentation in
paragraph #1! The 1st
paragraph must be absolutely argument-free! Save your
argument for the second
paragraph!
Paragraph 2: The Argument

12. The second paragraph includes a single main argument in
support of the thesis. It
should consist of reasons or evidence given in support of the
thesis. In other words, the
author's thesis is made into the conclusion of an argument. Here
the author is
disclosing their own sincerely-held beliefs. The reasons or
evidence provided should be
things that one would expect a rational reader to find perfectly
plausible. The most
important thing is this: If a person accepts these reasons
(premises), then her logical
thought processes should lead her to accept the thesis as well.
As the central feature of
the essay, this main argument must be absolutely clear and it
must have good form and
true premises (so it will be sound if deductive, cogent if
inductive). One way to make the
For this essay, you will defend a definite position on a topic or
an issue of your choice. (In keeping with standard practice at
the college level, I will not suggest or approve of topics for any
student. Choosing your topic is a part of your assignment.) The
first step is to identify the position that you wish to defend, and
then express that position clearly and concisely in a single
proposition. This proposition becomes the thesis of your essay.
Then, you will write a dialectical essay that defends your thesis.
See the detailed prompt, below.
write a dialectical essay that meets the following requirements:
· The essay is a dialectical essay (to refresh your memory, see
The Dialectical Essay)
· Requirements regarding paragraph #1:
· The thesis must appear as the very last sentence of the
paragraph. (Note: A thesis itself should not be a compound
sentence. If your thesis is embedded within a compound

13. sentence, ensure that the thesis is the very last of the component
sentences.)
· The paragraph contains no argumentation at all
· Requirements regarding paragraph #2
· Your argument in favor of your thesis makes its very first
appearance here
· Your argument is logically problem-free
· Your argument has a conclusion indicator
· The conclusion of your argument mirrors the very last
sentence of the first paragraph.
· Requirements regarding paragraph #3
· Consists solely in a direct reply to the core content of
paragraph #2
· Represents the views of someone other than the author of the
essay
· Begins with transitional language to make clear that the author
is now playing the Devil's Advocate
· Features an anticipated objection to the argument in paragraph
#2
· Helpful hint: See if one of the informal fallacies is something
that an opponent might use. If so, use it!
· Also, this could consist in questioning the truth of one or more
of the premises, or in questioning the argument form
· Ideally, avoids objecting to the thesis itself (It should be
objecting only to the argument in paragraph #2)
· Ideally, avoids offering a separate argument completely
unrelated to the argument in paragraph #2 (It should be
objecting only to the argument in paragraph #2)
· Requirements regarding paragraph #4
· Consists solely in a direct reply to the
core content of paragraph #3
· Represents the views of the author of the essay
· Begins with transitional language to make clear that the author
has now returned to advocating for their own position(s)
· Explains why the anticipated objection in paragraph #3 is
mistaken

14. · Hint: If you used an informal fallacy as the anticipated
objection in paragraph #3, you can basically just name and
explain the fallacy.
· Requirements regarding paragraph #5
· Summarizes the chain of reasoning through paragraphs 2-4
For this essay, you will defend a definite position on a topic or
an issue of your choice. (In
keeping with standard practice at the college level,
I will not suggest or approve of topics for any
studen
t
. Choosing your topic is
a part of your assignmen
t
.)
The first step is to identify the
position that you wish to defend, and then express that position
clearly and concisely in a single
proposition. This proposition becomes the thesis of your essay.
Then, you will write a
dialectical
essa
y
that defends your
thesis. See the detailed prompt, below
.

15. write a dialectical essay that meets the following requirements:
·
The essay is a dialectical essay (to refresh your memory, see
The Dialectical Essay)
·
Requirements regarding parag
raph #1:
o
The thesis must appear as the very last sentence of the
paragraph. (Note: A
thesis itself should not be a compound sentence. If your thesis
is embedded
within a compound sentence, ensure that the thesis is the very
last of the
component sentences.
)
o
The paragraph
contains no argumentation
at all
·
Requirements regarding paragraph #2
o

16. Your argument in favor of your thesis makes its
very first appearance
here
o
Your argument is logically problem
-
free
o
Your argument has a conclusion indicator
o
The conclusion
of your argument mirrors the very last sentence of the first
paragraph.
·
Requirements regarding paragraph #3
o
Consists solely in a direct reply to the core content of paragraph
#2
o
Represents the views of someone other than the author of the
essay

17. o
Begins with
transitional language
to make clear that the author is now playing the
Devil's Adv
ocate
o
Features an anticipated objection to the
argument
in paragraph #2
§
Helpful hint: See if one of the informal fallacies is something
that an opponent
might use. If so, us
e it!
§
Also, this could consist in questioning the truth of one or more
of the
premises, or in questioning the argument form
o
Ideally,

18. avoids
objecting to the
thesis
itself (It should be objecting only to
the
argument
in paragraph #2)
o
Ideally,
avoids
offering a separate argu
ment completely unrelated to the
argument in paragraph #2 (It should be objecting only to the
argument
in
paragraph #2)
·
Requirements regarding paragraph #4
o
Consists solely in a

19. direct reply
to the core
content
of
paragraph #3
o
Repres
ents the views of the
author
of the essay
o
Begins with
transitional language
to make clear that the author has now returned
to advocating for their own position(s)
o
Explains why the anticipated objection in paragraph #3 is
mistaken
o
Hint: If you used an informal fallacy as the anticipated

20. objection in paragraph #3,
you can basically just name and explain the fallacy.
For this essay, you will defend a definite position on a topic or
an issue of your choice. (In
keeping with standard practice at the college level, I will not
suggest or approve of topics for any
student. Choosing your topic is a part of your assignment.) The
first step is to identify the
position that you wish to defend, and then express that position
clearly and concisely in a single
proposition. This proposition becomes the thesis of your essay.
Then, you will write a dialectical
essay that defends your thesis. See the detailed prompt, below.
write a dialectical essay that meets the following requirements:
The Dialectical Essay)
uirements regarding paragraph #1:
o The thesis must appear as the very last sentence of the
paragraph. (Note: A
thesis itself should not be a compound sentence. If your thesis
is embedded
within a compound sentence, ensure that the thesis is the very
last of the
component sentences.)
o The paragraph contains no argumentation at all
o Your argument in favor of your thesis makes its very first
appearance here
o Your argument is logically problem-free
o Your argument has a conclusion indicator
o The conclusion of your argument mirrors the very last
sentence of the first
paragraph.

21. o Consists solely in a direct reply to the core content of
paragraph #2
o Represents the views of someone other than the author of the
essay
o Begins with transitional language to make clear that the
author is now playing the
Devil's Advocate
o Features an anticipated objection to the argument in paragraph
#2
informal fallacies is something
that an opponent
might use. If so, use it!
more of the
premises, or in questioning the argument form
o Ideally, avoids objecting to the thesis itself (It should be
objecting only to
the argument in paragraph #2)
o Ideally, avoids offering a separate argument completely
unrelated to the
argument in paragraph #2 (It should be objecting only to the
argument in
paragraph #2)
#4
o Consists solely in a direct reply to the core content of
paragraph #3
o Represents the views of the author of the essay
o Begins with transitional language to make clear that the
author has now returned
to advocating for their own position(s)
o Explains why the anticipated objection in paragraph #3 is
mistaken
o Hint: If you used an informal fallacy as the anticipated
objection in paragraph #3,
you can basically just name and explain the fallacy.