Key Idea: A developed argument grows. Each section adds a layer, so the essay ends somewhere richer than the thesis it started with.
Developing an argument
- Thesis — A clear claim to build on.
- Add layers — Each paragraph deepens, extends or complicates it.
- Arrive — End richer than you started: answer 'so what?'.
Ways to add a layer
- Deepen the point.
- Extend it to a new part of the work.
- Complicate the thesis.
- Answer a reading against it (a counter-idea).
Each paragraph should move the argument forward, not prove the same point again.
What is the 'carousel' mistake? Re-proving one point with different quotations: no growth.
How does answering a counter-idea help? It shows evaluation and deepens the argument.
Where should the essay end up? At a richer conclusion than the opening thesis.
What does each section add? A new layer.