Content

• Steps
• Advice

A persuasive essay is an essay that is used to convince your readers to agree with a particular point of view that you believe and support. You can write a persuasive essay to express your opinion on any topic. Whether you want to oppose eating junk food at school or persuading your boss to raise your salary, persuasive essay writing is a skill that everyone needs.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Write convincing

1. 

   Choose a solid point of view as your thesis. The main thesis is your argument she recast in one sentence. For a persuasive essay, your thesis statement needs to show a clear attitude about your topic. Don't try to write in a double or vague style - you won't convince anyone.
   • Good: "It is necessary to remove the priority policy because it assigns people in the target group to positions that they are incapable of taking, limiting the opportunities of those with good capacity".
   • Not good: "The priority policy benefits many ethnic groups, but at the same time takes away the interests of other groups."
   • Note, you can persuade the reader to keep an open mind. Saying "Priority policy is a policy that needs to be scrutinized, should not be completely kept or canceled", still shows a firm opinion ".

2. 

   
   
   Start each paragraph with a clear, direct topic sentence. Think of the opening sentence of each paragraph as a small thesis to ensure cohesion when developing argument. Build your perspective step-by-step so as not to confuse the reader.
   • Good: "The destruction of the tropical rainforests of the world also destroys the potential of finding breakthrough drugs and scientific inventions in that mysterious and diverse ecosystem.
   • Good: "The rainforest is home to so many species of plants and animals that are beneficial for medicine and science — the benefits will be lost if we continue to destroy them."
   • Not good: "Destroying the rainforest is not a good thing."

3. 

   
   
   Combine evidence and evidence to clarify your point of view. When you make a confusing opinion or statement, you need to explain it. One of the best ways to do this is to do the opposite. Offer your evidence first and then come to your point - guide the reader in your way.
   • Good: "A recent survey found that 51% of young whites of the millennials generation (those born between the 1980s and early 2000s) said they were also subjected to similar discrimination. as the ethnic minorities. Young whites of this generation believe that racial equality exists, and they also believe they have found them. "
   • Good: "Freedom and equality are not only for personal benefit but also for society as a whole. In addition, lack of freedom is said to be" the source of corruption and depression ", and prevents" injustice. What really important innovation period… in the terms of human society ”(Mill, 98).
   • Not good: "The prison system has segregated drugs and dangerous criminals from society, and this has certainly made Americans safer." "If you don't explain it, this would be. a meaningless statement ”.

4. 

   
   
   Write short sentences and get to the point. Just make a point or point in a sentence.You want your readers to properly understand your point of view, but they won't be able to get lost in too many ideas.
   • Good: The people who are considered the founding fathers of America are intellectuals, and the majority of the American people are not. Education is the right of the rich, and it is achieved through expensive private schools or private tutors. In the early 1800s, Horace Mann, from Massachusetts, devoted himself to changing this situation.
   • Good: Public education is no longer a priority in this country as only 2% of taxes are spent on schools, and it is clear that we need to find ways to raise these funds if we want to make real progress. in the education system.
   • Not good: America is not an educational country because education is considered the right of the rich. So in the early 1800s Horace Mann decided to change this situation.

5. 

   Use a variety of persuasion techniques to drill down into your readers' hearts. The art of persuasion has been studied since ancient Greece. Although it takes a lifetime to master the art, if you learn a few techniques and tools, you can become a good writer almost instantly. For example, in an article on the topic of allowing Syrian refugees, you could use:
   • Repetition: Repeating your point of view. Tell them what you are going to talk about, let them know about it, and then say what you said again. Eventually they will understand the problem.
     • For example: A lot of times, the statistics don't lie - we need to be open to helping refugees.
   • Use social recognition: Cite to indicate that you are not alone in defending this view. It is the general message of society that if they want to fit in, they need to consider your point of view.
     • For example: "Let us not forget the inscriptions on the most solemn monument of the country, the statue of the Statue of Liberty, ask us to" Give me fatigue, poverty, crowded crowds of desire. the thirst to breathe free air. ”There was no reason why the Syrians were not included in that crowd.
   • The agitation of the problem:Before giving any solution, let the reader see how bad things are. Give them reasons to care about your point of view.
     • Example: "More than 100 million refugees have been displaced. President Assad not only stole power, but also attacked with poison gas and bombed his own people. He despised the Geneva Accords, long ago. was set up as a standard of social behavior and basic human rights, and people have no choice but to run away ”.

6. 

   Be strong and determined. You need to be an expert, a trustworthy person. Eliminate unimportant and obscure words for a strong style.
   • Good: "Science has repeatedly shown that oil and gas exploitation in the Arctic is very dangerous. It is not worth the economic or environmental risks."
   • Good: "Without promoting our energy independence, in the Arctic or elsewhere, we would push ourselves into the dangerous dependence that raised the prices of petroleum in the 1980s."
   • Not good: "The oil and gas production in the Arctic may not be perfect, but it will keep us from having to use oil imported from abroad. In this respect, I think that's a good thing.

7. 

   Challenge the reader. Persuasion is to influence thoughts and force the reader to reconsider. However, you should not be rude or confront them, you need to aim for the potential that they care about.
   • Good: Do you think the vandalism of a semester, or someone's chance to go abroad is the result of a crime without victim? Is it justified to actively promote drinking alcohol as a legitimate and unproductive option through the school? How much longer can we stick to the excuse "just because it's safer than alcohol, doesn't mean we should allow legalization", without thinking about the fact that the drug's worst effect. Not a physical or chemical effect, but an entire organization?
   • Good: We all want less crime, more resilient families, and less dangerous skirmishes against drugs. However, we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to change the situation to get that result.
   • Not good: This policy makes us look like idiots. It is unrealistic, and the people who believe in it are the most delusional and cruel.

8. 

   Acknowledge, and contradict, opposing views. Your point of view will be more convincing if you acknowledge and refute the opposite. Usually you should do this in the last two paragraphs ..
   • Good: It is true that using guns can protect you from threats. But the fact also proves that when using a gun you will harm you more easily than protect yourself from others.
   • Good: Even though there did indeed happen to have gun accidents in the house, the government has no responsibility to protect people from themselves. If they harm themselves, it is their right.
   • Not good: The most obvious solution is to ban guns. Besides, there are no more controversial views.
   advertisement

Part 2 of 4: Building the foundation of the article

1. 

   Read the beginning of the article carefully. Each persuasive essay has a specific requirement. It is very important to read the entire title carefully ..
   • Find clues that tell you if you need to write a simple persuasive essay or argument. For example, if there are words like "personal experience" or "personal opinion" in the article, then you can use those things to defend your point of view.
   • On the other hand, words like "protect" or "argue" indicate that you need to write a more formal argument and limit your use of personal experience.
   • If you are not sure how to write it, don't be afraid to ask the teacher.

2. 

   Invest your time. If possible, take some time to refine the point you want to write about. A rushed essay is hard to convince others. Give yourself enough time to think, write, and edit.
   • Write as soon as possible. That way, even if you have an emergency such as a computer failure, you will have enough time to complete your essay.

3. 

   Context study. Each article has a context that includes five factors: context (essay), author (writer), reader, purpose of communication and context.
   • The essay should be clear and documented (it could be your opinion if allowed).
   • Frequently ask rhetorical questions in the article, for example: How would you feel if someone littered your home? If someone pollutes your home, will you be happy, etc. Rhetorical questions are questions that do not need an answer.
   • Giving an opinion is a great way to convince others. For example, I believe dogs are better than cats, or life in the countryside is better than city life, and so on.
   • Writers need to ensure credibility by conducting the necessary research. Give appropriate views and evidence, without distorting the facts and circumstances.
   • The purpose of communication is to convince the reader that your point of view on the topic is the most accurate.
   • Context is very diverse. Often the setting will be the exercises you do to get your grades in class.

4. 

   Understand the principles of compelling essay writing. Unless otherwise stated in the topic, you need to follow a few basic rules when writing.
   • Persuasive essays, like argument essays, use "rhetorical methods" to persuade the reader. You can add emotional elements (pathos) in addition to reasoning, logos, and reliability (ethos).
   • Use many types of evidence. Evidence is usually data, facts; Other "hard" evidence is also very convincing to the reader.
   • Your argument is clear, giving your opinion and your "side" in advance. This allows the reader to know exactly what you are arguing for.

5. 

   Consider the reader. There are convincing things to one person, but not convincing to others. So consider who your essay is aimed at. Your teacher will be the first reader, but also target other audiences.
   • For example, if you are writing to protest against unhealthy school lunches, there are many different approaches based on the audience. In the case of targeting school administrators, you need to associate academic performance with healthy food. If the readers are parents, you can talk about their children's health and the cost of healing caused by bad food. If you only want to target classmates, then you can use your personal interests to persuade.

6. 

   Choose a topic. You may be assigned a certain topic. But if you do have a choice, consider the following:

7. 

   Emotional language can easily make others feel compassion, for example: Write about the poor, resilient animals that are suffering from waste.
   • The topic you find appealing. A persuasive essay is often based on emotional appeal, so choose to write about things that really interest you. Choose a topic that you are emotionally passionate about and can argue with.
   • The subject has depth. Maybe you really love pizza, but it's very difficult to write an interesting essay about it. Topics that interest you and have depth of field like - animal violence or government spending - will be better options.
   • Find contradictory views. If it is difficult to find a contradiction, your point will not be controversial enough to write a convincing essay. However, if you have too many opposing views, it is difficult to defend your point of view, choose topics with many reasons to refute the opposite views.
   • Stand up for. A good persuasive essay will consider both conflicting arguments and find ways to convince the reader that your point of view is more plausible. Choose a topic that you have thoroughly prepared for opposing arguments. (For this reason, topics like religion are often not used for persuasive essay writing, you will be difficult to advise others give up their religious beliefs.)
   • Control your essay's focus. Your essay may be quite short, consisting of 5 paragraphs or a few pages, but you need to narrow the focus to be able to exploit the topic appropriately. For example, an essay intended to convince the reader that war is a crime is unlikely to succeed because the subject is so broad. Choose narrower topics — for example, attacking with a drone is a crime — and you'll have plenty of time to delve deeply for evidence.

8. 

   Come up with the thesis statement. Your thesis statement clearly presents your opinion and is usually placed at the end of your opening paragraph. It's important to have a clear thesis statement that tells the reader exactly what they are expecting.
   • Thesis sentence shows the structure of the essay. Don't put your main ideas out in one order, and then develop them in another order.
   • For example, there is a thesis statement like this: “Processed food is cheap but not good for the students. Schools need to provide students with healthy, fresh meals even at a higher cost. Healthy lunches make a big difference, and the lack of these meals will negatively affect students' lives.
   • Note that this thesis statement is not a three-prong thesis. You do not need to state all the main points in the article (unless required by the beginning). What you need to do is convey exactly what you are trying to convince.

9. 

   Thinking for evidence. Once you have chosen a topic, prepare well before you write. You need to research why you choose that viewpoint and what will be the most convincing argument. At this point, you also need to think of opposing views that might overrule your point of view.
   • Use mind maps. Start by framing the main topic, then organize the ideas you have in smaller bubbles around them. Connect the bubbles together to find the structures and relationships between ideas.
   • Don't worry about whether you can make enough of it. Thinking and finding new ideas is the most important step at this stage.

10. 

    Research if necessary. Once you have your ideas in place, you may discover that some of them need to be studied more. Researching before writing will make the writing process more fluid.
    • For example, if you're advocating healthier school lunches, you could say that eating fresh, natural foods will taste better. This is a personal opinion and does not require research and support. However, if you want to be convinced that raw foods contain more vitamins and nutrients than processed foods, you need a reliable source of information to prove it.
    • If you know someone who works in the library, talk to them. Librarians will be a great resource to help guide your research.
    advertisement

Part 3 of 4: Draft writing

1. 

   Outline. Persuasive essays often have a clear structure that presents your points in an understandable and convincing way. Here are the parts of a persuasive essay:
   • Introduction. You need to come up with a "bait" to attract the reader's attention and to make an argument. A thesis is making clear statements about the issues that you are arguing or convincing the reader.
   • The body. In the essay there are 5 paragraphs, the 3 paragraphs will be in the body. In other genres, you can write as many paragraphs as you want. Regardless of order, each body paragraph should focus on one main idea and provide evidence to support it. You should also refute any opposing views in these passages if any.
   • Conclusion. The conclusion of the article is the part where you fix the problem. You can influence your emotions, repeat your most convincing evidence, or extend your perspective to a broader context. Because your goal is to "persuade" the reader to do / think about a problem, end with a call to action.

2. 

   Create a "bait". The sentence "bait" is the first sentence that attracts readers. You can use a question, a quote, a truth or anecdote, a definition or a humorous story. As long as it makes the reader want to keep reading or catches the attention, you have succeeded.
   • For example, you could start an essay on the necessity of finding alternative energy sources like this: "Imagine a world without polar bears." This is a vivid quote that mentions an image that everyone is familiar with and loves (polar bears). This verse also encourages the reader to continue reading to learn why they need to imagine such a world.
   • You may not find the bait for your essay right away, but don't get stuck at this step. You can leave it there and go back to work once you have completed your outline.

3. 

   Write your opening paragraph. Many people think the opening paragraph is the most important part of an essay because it determines whether or not to engage your audience in your essay. A good opening gives the reader just enough information to engage and make them want to keep reading.
   • Release the "bait" first. Then, take turns working from general idea to own idea until you have built up your thesis statement.
   • Don't be sloppy in your essay writing. A thesis statement is a short summary of the problem you need to convince. The thesis statement is usually a sentence, placed near the end of the opening. You need to combine the most convincing arguments, or use the strongest argument in your thesis statement to get the best persuasive effect.

4. 

   Build your body structure. The body should contain at least three paragraphs. Each paragraph should present a main idea related to your thesis. These passages are the tools you use to justify your argument and to provide evidence. Remember that if you don't provide evidence, your argument won't be convincing enough.
   • Start your paragraph with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main content of the paragraph.
   • Give clear and accurate evidence. For example, instead of writing: “Dolphins are an intelligent animal. They are widely known for their intelligence ”. Write: “Dolphins are intelligent animals. Many studies have shown that dolphins know how to combine with humans to hunt.If so, very few species can develop a symbiotic relationship with humans like that.
   • Use actual data as evidence when possible. Factual data from reliable sources will give readers a basis to believe. If possible, use factual data from a variety of perspectives to support an argument. For example"
     • "The South, where 80% of the executions of the United States take place, still accounts for the highest murder rate in the country. This is in contrast to the notion that execution will reduce the crime rate."
     • "Not only that, states without execution have fewer murder crimes. If execution can actually reduce murder crime, why isn't there an" increase "in the number of murder crimes? in states without execution? ”
   • Consider linking your body paragraphs. Make sure your point is rigorously formulated, one after another rather than sporadically.

5. 

   Use the last sentence of each body paragraph to move on to the next paragraph. To make your essay coherent, you need to spontaneously transition from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next paragraph. For example:
   • End of the first paragraph: "If execution still cannot prevent crime, and the crime rate is at its highest level ever, what if someone is falsely convicted?"
   • The opening of the second paragraph: "More than 100 prisoners who were falsely convicted while waiting for execution were acquitted, some just before their execution."

6. 

   Take in a mixed point of view. You don't have to do this, but taking a conflicting stance will make your essay more coherent. Imagine that you have an opponent who is defending your point of view. Think of their two most compelling arguments and find one to refute them.
   • For example: “Those who object to allowing students to bring snacks into the classroom say it causes too much distraction, reducing students' ability to learn. However, think that high school students age is developing. Their bodies need energy, and their minds can become tired after a long period of not eating. Allowing snacks in the classroom will actually increase the students' ability to focus while reducing the distraction of hunger.
   • Another very effective way is to start your paragraph with the opposite point of view, then contradict it and give your point.

7. 

   Write the conclusion at the end of the essay. As a general rule, you should repeat all of the main points and end the essay by provoking the reader's thoughts. If it provokes unforgettable things, your essay will leave a lasting impression. Don't just repeat the main points, consider how you broke up with your readers. Here are some things to consider:
   • How can this view be applied in broader contexts?
   • Why is this opinion or opinion important to me?
   • What other matters of concern do my views suggest?
   • What can readers do after reading my essay?
   advertisement

Part 4 of 4: Purifying essay

1. 

   Take a day or two off without touching your essay. If you have prepared it in advance then this should not be difficult. After a day or two, go back and check the whole essay again. The resting time will help you to have a clear mind to find the mistakes. If there are hard areas that have not been fixed, you can leave it there and check it again.

2. 

   Read the draft again. A common mistake students encounter is not spending enough time reviewing their first draft. Read your essay from start to finish and consider the following:
   • Does the essay present a clear point of view?
   • Is this point of view supported by arguments and evidence?
   • Do the passages have off-topic information? Does each paragraph focus on one main idea?
   • Are there any opposing views that are presented satisfactorily and not misleading? If so, have these views been convincingly rejected?
   • Are the paragraphs in the essay arranged in a logical order and step by step clarification for the thesis?
   • Does the end of the article convey the importance of the point made and motivate the reader to think / act?

3. 

   Edit if necessary. Not only do you correct spelling mistakes, you can change the layout of your essay, change the order of your paragraphs to make alignment, or even rewrite new paragraphs using new, more convincing arguments. Be ready to make even bigger changes for a better essay.
   • Ask a trusted friend to read the essay for any confusing or unclear areas, and if so, you need to revisit those areas.

4. 

   Correct spelling mistakes carefully. If available, use software to check spelling in your computer. Reading the entire essay aloud also helps you find spelling mistakes.
   • You can also print out your essay and mark the error with a pencil or ballpoint pen. As you type with a computer, your eyes will read what you think you have written down and miss the error. Reading the hard copy forces you to focus on the article in a different way.
   • Correct post format. For example, some teachers will have their own rules about margins and fonts.
   advertisement

Advice

• Use clear and accurate language.
• Use a variety of writing techniques to convince readers.
• Use sentences with first sound repetition. A sentence that begins with the same sound is a sentence that has words beginning with the same consonant.
• Make a clear point of view, do not change your opinion or appear to conflict with your own opinion.
• Read other essays for reference in word usage.
• Count the number of sentences. Writing too many sentences will not express the main idea. Always write clearly and accurately.
• Avoid using proper pronouns like "I" and "you" as subjects. Using proper pronouns will lose the professionalism of the article.
• Beware of opposing views that might contradict your point of view. You need to prepare in advance for that. List some easy to come across conflicting positions and find their refutations.
• Many writers find it easier to write the body first, then write the opening and concluding the next article. If you get stuck in one of those steps, go on to another step and come back later.
• If possible, ask a friend to read it and help you correct the errors in the article.