Writing an Argumentative Essay

A large number of people have difficulties in writing an effective Argumentative Essay. A quick perusal of most sample essay provided by students show that they either have no idea what an argumentative essay is or they don't know how to provide a strong argument, which is the focal point of the aforementioned essay. Also referred to as "Persuasive Essays", an argumentative essay is a critical essay that aims to convince the reader to agree with your facts, share your values, and accept your argument and conclusions.

While it is very similar to an Expository Essay, which provides facts and conclusions, an Argumentative or Persuasive Essay is different in terms of intent. An expository essay aims to expound on facts and can be passive. An argumentative type essay on the other hand, uses facts to support its own argument, or to challenge other arguments. Whereas an expository essay may use facts to prevent an argument or disagreement from developing, an argumentative essay will use facts AND opinions to support an argument or a disagreement.

In terms of tone or voice, an argumentative essay is also different because it needs to be written in an active voice. A passive voice may sound weak as opposed to the strong impact provided by an active tone, which also helps it save space for more arguments and facts instead of wasting it on superfluous words and terms necessitated by a passive, more polite tone. In theory, a good argumentative essay should be concise, straight to the point, and give a strong impression intended to "persuade" the reader to your side of the argument.

Provide strong facts for your argument and always double-check them. Stating it as a fact is not enough and it is bound to be challenged. Not double-checking facts or proper citing of sources tend to be the Achilles Heel of most argumentative essays, since an argument can only be as strong as its supporting facts.

Don't write an argumentative essay if you do not believe it yourself. If you're not convinced with your own arguments, it will show up in your essay and almost all of your points, facts, and conclusion will seem weak, unfounded, and easy to counter.

You should also try to put yourself in the reader's shoes or point of view. In support of that, you can also get a friend or colleague to read your essay and gauge his reaction. If you weren't able to convince or get a reaction from him, chances are your essay is not very effective.

Next, always check your spelling and grammar. Incorrect spelling and grammar could distract greatly from your argument and weaken the entire essay's effect. Keep a thesaurus handy or use your word processor's built-in spell and grammar checking tools. Edit and correct as necessary.

Lastly, be strong and confident. An argumentative essay is meant to be challenged and will surely be met with criticisms and other argumentative essays. Do not take it personally as arguments and challenging discussions are what argumentative essays were meant for.

Intervention and Drug Addiction

When you have a friend or a family member who is struggling with drug addiction, often staging an intervention can be an effective way to help them face their addiction and get help. Intervention involves getting a variety of people together who have been affected by the user's addiction in a neutral location and telling the user how their addiction has affected their lives.

Intervention isn't an easy process and it's certainly not an easy situation. It requires extensive planning and meeting prior to the actual day and knowing what you want to say and how you want to say it.

If you are thinking about an drug intervention, you first need to get the help of a professional – someone who is experienced in drug abuse and addiction and someone who can effectively moderate the intervention as it is going on. This professional can not only help the drug user but he or she can help you too as you deal with your feelings about the whole thing.

You may initially be apprehensive and confused. You may be angry or hurt. You may be afraid that when you confront the user about their habits that they will hate you for it. Know that this is a real possibility – at least at first. The whole idea behind an intervention is to let the user know that when they use drugs, their addiction affects more than just them. It affects those around them, and they need to know exactly how.

There is no absolute right way to intervene in someone else's life. In fact, there is a school of thought that argues that any form of intervention is abhorrent, a violation of free speech and of an individual's right to choose. Nevertheless, as individuals and as a society we are always influencing others whether or not we want to, and sometimes we decide to intervene purposefully.

A simple alcohol intervention is done when you want the person with the drug addiction to get help for their problem. A crisis intervention is done when there is a behavior or behaviors that have reached dangerous proportions like the threat of death, use of weapons, or being arrested. The point of crisis intervention is to step in, calm the crisis, and restore safety to all involved.

In an intervention, all attention is focused on the person with the drug addiction. Participants are encouraged to be completely honest, even brutally honest, as they related how the addiction has caused them problems or concern. The atmosphere will be uncomfortable and even angry, but this will subside as the addict begins to realize their addiction is bigger than him or her.

Intervention for drug addiction is the most loving, powerful and successful method yet for helping people accept help. A family intervention can be done with love and respect in a non-confrontational, non-judgmental manner. Drug addiction affects more than just the addict. A family intervention is often the answer, the only answer. It can be done. It can be done now.

Drug Addiction and the Family

When a family is dealing with drug addiction, everyone is affected. Having an addict in the family can put stress and strain on all relationships as well as the family dynamics. The addiction causes pain, frustration, and anger in all members involved. Because it does affect everyone, the need for family therapy is so important.

There are many emotions involved in a family when dealing with drug addiction. You may find yourself feeling angry toward the addict. This is normal. You wonder how this happened, why it happened, and what you could have done to stop it and if they need an alcohol rehab program.

You may feel depressed and helpless, even responsible for your loved one's addiction. This too is a normal reaction. Often when someone we love is in pain, such as the pain associated with drug addiction, we tend to look for excuses for their behavior. We take the pain on for them and don't make them take responsibility for their actions.

To begin with, realize that this is a huge mistake. The person with the drug addiction was the one who brought it into your family in the first place, and he or she needs to take responsibility for that. It's not easy and will be painful for all involved, but once the addict realizes that their actions have consequences, they can take charge of their recovery fully.

Family therapy along with a drug rehab program is a great way to help with drug addiction. Family therapy consists of all members of the family getting together with the assistance of a trained professional and talking about the issues that all are having when it comes to the addict and the addiction itself. Family therapy can be intense but amazingly therapeutic as well. It's the perfect time to air your feelings in a safe setting with the help of a moderator to keep things on track.

Family and friends can play critical roles in motivating loved ones with an addiction to enter and stay in treatment. Family therapy is important – especially with teen addicts. Having the involvement of family members in a person's treatment program can strengthen and extend the benefits of the addict's treatment program.

Drug addiction and family is a volatile situation, but one that can be faced and addressed with love, caring, and compassion. If your family is affected by drug addiction, be supportive and listen with an open heart. It will help you, those around you, and most important the family member with the addiction.

Drug Addiction Treatment Program

For people who are struggling with drug addiction, the good news is that there are now many treatment programs available to help them with their recovery. At one point in time, treatment programs for drug addiction were cold and stark addressing only the addiction itself not the psychological implications brought about by that addiction.

Now, the treatment programs that are available focus on healing not only the body but the mind as well. They realize that drug addiction is more than just a physical craving for drugs, it also take control of the mind to keep the addict using and prevent total recovery.

There are a variety of in-patient drug rehab centers that offer treatment for drug addiction. These programs are set in beautiful places with plenty of room to reflect and move about. They often offer classes in various coping skills and things you can do to keep yourself from putting yourself in the situation you were in when you began using drugs in the first place.

Rehab facilities also offer many types of therapy in the form of group therapy, family counseling, and individual one-on-one therapy. Using this type of treatment, you will be receiving treatment for all aspects of your addiction – not just one.

These facilities also have medical personnel on hand to help with the detoxification process. When you take drugs out of your system, you will be beset with some pretty difficult physical symptoms. The medical staff will help you cope with those reactions and take measures to make you as comfortable as possible.

You can choose an out-patient treatment program for your drug addiction as well. These types of programs are generally in the form of 12 step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. You attend meetings and participate in discussions that will help you cope with your own addictions and help others with theirs.

These treatment programs can be very effective, but your commitment must be strong so that you will follow through with the treatment completely and not relapse back into drug use. When you work the full 12 steps in the program, you will find support from others who share your addiction and you will be given tools to use when you are tempted to use again.

Be sure that you are completely committed to your treatment if you choose an out-patient program for your drug addiction. When you are going through withdrawal, the urge to use again may overpower your desire to become clean. If your drug use is especially involved, a rehab facility might be a better choice for your recovery.

Drug treatment programs have undergone amazing changes in the last few decades, and the stigma that used to be attached to checking into one of these clinics no longer exists. If you or a loved one have a problem with drug addiction, know your options when it comes to treatment programs and seek out ways to live a clean and sober life.

Law School Essays

A Law School Essay is a vital part of the law school admission process. It will serve as your personal statement where you can provide an outline of your strengths and unique skills or abilities. The admissions committee will use your law school essay as a way to know your reasons for going to law school and to get a basic idea of your qualifications. Usually, when it comes down to choosing between 2 or even 200 applicants with similar qualifications, the law school essay helps the admissions committee which one is more deserving of the available slot.

Due to its sheer importance, a law school essay should be outlined prior to writing. Organization is very important in law school and your essay should mirror that same trait. Facts and arguments will always appear stronger when presented in an organized manner. This tends to be easy since most law school applicants already have a sense of organization stemming from previous experience in writing a sociology term paper.

Learn how to reassess your law school essay in parts instead of one big paragraph. Most law school essays contain several arguments and supporting facts and can usually be broken down into several paragraphs containing their own "argument vs. fact" structure. It is important that you place the strongest of your arguments and counter facts at the top, to catch the admissions committee's attention. A law school essay may be academic but that does not necessarily mean it has to be as boring as writing term paper assignments your colleagues rejected.

In regards to your law school essay's readability and being boring, try not to make too many issues or points. Having too many elements to your law school essay could make it look cluttered and disorganized, and would take up a lot of space that could have otherwise been used to provide more factual support. This has the unwanted result of making you look mentally weak, feeble, and indecisive – traits that have no place in a lawyer's character. Learn how to substitute one strong argument for every three weak arguments in your law school essay. Quality should always come first over quantity.

Last but not the least; you have to pay special attention to the overall tone of your law school essay. Similar to oral communication skills, the ability to affect the emotion of the person you're talking to can rest largely on your tone. When it comes to law school essays, you need to find a delicate balance between being forceful and being friendly. Being too forceful in your tone will cause the readers – who reserve the right to refuse or give you admission – to become hostile and try to disagree with you. On the other hand, being too friendly could either make you sound weak and undetermined or give them the idea that you are faking a good attitude. It is important to stay measured and find yourself somewhere in the middle of aggressively strong and passively friendly.