Organization of an Argumentative Essay There are two common ways to organize an argumentative essay. There are two common ways to organize an argumentative essay. The Block Pattern The Block Pattern The Point by Point Pattern The Point by Point Pattern The first and most important step when teaching argumentative writing is to teach argumentative analysis. Students must have a background in what makes a strong argument before they can write a strong argument. The purpose of this paragraph is to address the points of the counter-argument and to explain why they are false, somewhat false, or unimportant. So how can we respond to the above counter-argument? With research! Please note: Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay. These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing purpose of compare and contrast essay (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy, detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length. Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE.