Argumentative Essay Example and Template (Annotated)

Paragraph 1 (introduction). Every summer, thousands of students spend a year's learning on a few hours in an exam hall, where a headache, a bad night's sleep or a misread question can shape a final grade. Supporters of final exams argue that they are the fairest test of independent knowledge, because everyone sits the same paper under the same conditions. Critics reply that a single high-pressure sitting measures memory and composure more than understanding. Universities should replace most traditional final exams with well-designed coursework, because coursework assesses the skills degrees claim to develop, gives a more reliable picture of performance over time, and encourages deeper learning rather than last-minute memorization.

Paragraph 2 (body 1: skills). The strongest reason to favor coursework is that it measures what graduates actually need to do. Most degree programs list outcomes such as analyzing sources, constructing an argument, managing a project and communicating findings. A timed exam can test some of these in compressed form, but it cannot ask a student to locate and evaluate sources, revise a draft or sustain an analysis over several weeks. A research essay, a lab report or a policy brief requires exactly those abilities. If a history degree is meant to produce people who can investigate the past, assessing them by recall under time pressure measures the wrong thing.

Paragraph 3 (body 2: reliability). Coursework also gives a more reliable picture of performance because it spreads assessment across several tasks. A final exam concentrates a large share of the grade in one morning, so illness, anxiety or a single unfamiliar question can distort the result. Several assessed pieces across a module reduce the weight of any one bad day. They also give tutors more evidence of how a student thinks, which makes grades easier to justify and gives students feedback they can act on before the module ends.

Paragraph 4 (body 3: learning). Finally, the way students are assessed shapes the way they study. When the grade depends on one exam, a common strategy is to memorize likely answers in the final weeks and forget them soon after. Coursework rewards steady engagement: reading, drafting, receiving feedback and improving. Educational research on feedback and spaced practice generally supports this kind of repeated engagement as a route to longer-lasting learning, which is the purpose of a degree.

Paragraph 5 (counterargument and rebuttal). The most serious objection is academic integrity. Critics argue that coursework is easier to plagiarise or outsource, and that only invigilated exams guarantee the work is the student's own. This concern is legitimate, and it has become sharper as generative AI tools improve. However, it is an argument for better coursework design, not for abandoning coursework. Assessments can include drafts submitted at stages, short oral discussions of the work, in-class writing components and tasks tied to local data or personal fieldwork. These measures protect integrity while keeping the benefits of extended assessment. Exams also have integrity problems of their own, and they cannot test the extended skills discussed above at all.

Paragraph 6 (conclusion). Final exams survive largely because they are familiar and efficient to administer, not because they best measure learning. Well-designed coursework assesses the abilities degrees promise, reduces the influence of a single bad day and encourages study habits that last. Some exams may still have a place, particularly where rapid recall is a professional requirement. But as the default model of assessment, coursework serves students and universities better, provided institutions invest in designing it carefully.

Model paragraph (written for illustration): (Claim) A four-day school week would improve teacher retention in rural districts. (Evidence) Districts that have adopted the schedule commonly report that recruitment becomes easier, and teachers in surveys often cite the extra day as a reason to stay. (Explanation) For rural schools that struggle to compete with city salaries, a schedule benefit costs little and addresses one of the main reasons teachers leave: burnout from long weeks. (Link) Retaining experienced teachers is therefore a practical advantage that should weigh heavily in the decision.