Don't scream at me! I'm not Arguing with you dangit! Ok! Lets talk logically! Shoot..,

I think the point of his argument of his 20 pages of glory was that a really great argument, doesn’t necessarily sound like an argument. Skip the back and forth, skip the screaming, and save your “point” for later.
One of his best references was talking about how an argument against capital punishment was sandwiched in between a narrative about someone going through capital punishment.
His other points were that you shouldn’t start with an argument, then find ways to support it, but instead should do lots of research on a topic, then make a tentative decision, then investigate more. Finally, make your opinion paper.
Other points he made were to avoid faulty logic, because dangit, he will snuff it right out if you send it as a letter to the editor to the ‘statesman and it’s faulty. Just kidding, but seriously use good logic, don’t use faulty logic like begging the question or using people that sound smart, and heck, maybe are smart, when they’re not the only view of an opinion. Use those other opinions too, then break them down logically.
What else…
One of his points was to craft your lead first, because it’s important. I think that’s really dumb because yeah, it is freaking important, so don’t waste your time starting at the screen. Write it all out then go back to it. Seriously… That’s like saying to perfect the first sentence of your research paper before beginning… Stupid, I say.
Finally, he said take an active approach in constantly editing your story, not just in typos and organization and composition of sentences, but literally in the way you approach the whole idea and especially how to convey sub ideas.
This relates pretty dang heartily to our English class because we do a lot of papers. Ultimately working on the approach of your papers is going to pay off dividends compared to running spell check. Spell check will always be there, but unless you make it a habit, constantly looking at ideas in a new light won’t.